Abstract:
A baby feeding bottle which is capable of being used either with or without a disposable bag, has a hollow cylindrical elongated body that defines an inner chamber and a circular opening at each end. A first cap is provided which includes a nipple which is capable of covering one opening at an end of the cylindrical body by being twisted onto the elongated body. A second cap is provided which is capable of being twisted onto the other end of the elongated body for forming a leak resistant covering with the other opening.

Description:
[0001]    This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/104,020 filed on Oct. 9, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to a baby feeding bottle and more specifically to a cylindrically shaped feeding bottle for use with or without a disposable bag that has substantially equal sized openings at each end of the cylindrically shaped bottle and where each end of the bottle has threads for receiving either a twist on cap which includes a nipple or a leak resistant twist on cap 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Conventional feeding bottles for holding and providing a liquid such as milk, water, etc. for feeding a baby are typically cylindrical in shape with a closed bottom and a narrow opening at the top having threads for receiving a removable cap with a nipple. Also known are feeding bottles that have a closed bottom and a removable cap with a nipple where the fluid in the bottle is in a disposable bag. 
         [0006]    For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,935 by Atkin et al. discloses a baby feeding bottle of the disposable bag type where the bottom of the filled bag is supported by a removable base which is inserted in the open bottom end of the bottle. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,016 to Wiedemann discloses a nursing bottle having a disposable bag and a plunger for eliminating air that is present in the disposable bag. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,825 to Di Scala et al. discloses a nursing bottle having a flexible liner and a ring/disc combination which is used to eliminate air within the flexible liner. 
         [0009]    Most prior art bottles that use disposable bags have members that press fit into the bottom of the nursing bottle, but some nursing bottles have bottom members that are removal such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,896 to Cheng which shows a baby bottle having a removable bottom that includes a vent for allowing air to flow into the bottle. 
         [0010]    None of the nursing bottles which use a disposable bag have top and bottom openings which are substantially equal in size where each opening is adapted to receive either a top cap having a nursing nipple or a bottom leak resistant cap. In addition, both caps can be removed when cleaning the bottle and, when desired, the nursing bottle can be used either with or without a disposable bag for holding a liquid such as milk, water, juice etc. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a baby feeding bottle which is capable of being used either with or without a disposable bag. The bottle has a hollow cylindrical elongated body that defines an inner chamber and a circular opening at each end. A first cap is provided which includes a nipple which is capable of covering one opening at an end of the cylindrical body by being twisted onto the elongated body. A second cap is provided which is capable of being twisted onto the other end of the elongated body for forming a leak resistant covering with the other opening. 
         [0012]    The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a cylindrically shaped baby feeding bottle having a top cap and nipple, a disposable bag and a removable leak resistant bottom cap in accordance with the principles of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the baby feeding bottle in use with a disposable bag without the bottom cap being attached to the bottle; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the baby feeding bottle in use without the disposable bag and with a leak resistant bottom cap attached to the bottle in accordance with the principles if the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an exploded view of a cylindrically shaped baby feeding bottle  10  having a top cap and nipple, a disposable bag and a removable leak resistant bottom cap in accordance with the principles of the invention. 
         [0018]    The baby feeding bottle  10  has a main body portion that has a hollow cylindrical shaped elongated body  12  with a circular open top portion  14  and a circular open bottom portion  16 . The openings at the top and bottom of the cylinder are substantially equal in size. Located at the top opening  14  and on the outside of the cylindrical body  12  is a screw thread  18  which provides for receiving a screw thread located on the inside surface of cap  20 . Located at the bottom opening  16  and on the outside of the cylindrical body  12  are screw threads  22  which are provided for receiving internally located screw threads on cap  24 . 
         [0019]    The top of cap  20  includes a centrally located opening for receiving a nipple  26  which is composed of a soft material such as rubber or plastic and which includes at its top end a small opening through which liquid can pass. The inside surface of the sides of cap  20  has screw threads which mate with the external screw threads  18  on the outside surface of the cylindrical body  12 . The cap and nipple form a leak resistant seal with the top of cylindrical body  12  when the cap  20  is screwed onto the threads  18  on the cylindrical body. 
         [0020]    Cap  24  has a continuous bottom surface  28  and its sides has internally located screw threads that mate with the threads  22  on the outside surface at the bottom of cylindrical body  12 . A leak resistant seal is formed when the cap  24  is screwed onto the bottom of the cylindrical body. 
         [0021]    The threads  18  and  22  on the end portions of the cylindrical body are similar and, therefore, cap  20  can be threaded onto threads  18  or  22 . In a similar manner, cap  24  can be threaded onto threads  18  or  22 . Thus, either cap  20  or cap  24  can be threaded onto either end of the cylindrical shaped body  12 . The cylindrical body  12  has an inside diameter which is sufficient to receive a disposable bag  30 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , when the cylindrically shaped baby feeding bottle  10  is being used as a nursing bottle for a very young baby, a disposable bag  30  can be inserted into an end of the cylinder  12  and the open end of the disposable bag is wrapped over the top edge of the cylindrical body  12 . The disposable bag is then filled with a desired liquid  32  such a formula, and the cap  20  together with the nipple  26  is then threaded onto the end of the cylindrical body to form a leak proof seal. If the bottle is to be used at this time, cap  24  is either not threaded onto the bottom end of the bottle as shown in  FIG. 2 , or the cap  24  can be loosely threaded onto the end of the cylindrical body. If the cap  24  is threaded onto the cylinder while the bottle is being used to feed a baby, it must remain loose to allow air to enter the cylindrical body as the liquid in the disposable bag is being removed. 
         [0023]    If, after the disposable bag is filled with a liquid such as a formula and the bottle is not going to be used immediately, the cap  24  can then be threaded tightly onto the bottom of the bottle. However, prior to being used the cap  24  must be either loosened or removed to allow air to enter the bottle as the liquid in the disposable bag is removed. As noted above, the two ends of the cylindrically shaped body  12  are substantially similar and cap  20  with the nipple can be threaded onto the end  14  or the end  16 . 
         [0024]    The convertible feeding bottle  10  here disclosed can be used with a disposable bag or without a disposable bag. It in not limited to being used only with a disposable bag. Referring to  FIG. 3 , to use the feeding bottle without a disposable bag, after the cylindrical body  12  is washed and dried, cap  24  is threaded tightly onto either end of cylindrical body  12 . The body is then filled with a desired fluid  32  such as a formula, milk, water, etc., and the cap  20  with the nipple  26  is then threaded tightly onto the open end of the cylindrical body. The feeding bottle is now ready for use by a child. 
         [0025]    After the nursing bottle has been used, either with or without a disposable bag, the cap  20  with the nipple  26  is unscrewed from the body  12  and the cap  24  is unscrewed from the body. The nipple  26  is removed from the cap  20  and the various parts are cleaned and sterilized. The body  12  can be easily cleaned and sterilized without requiring a brush or repeated rinsing because the cylindrical body is open at each end. It does not have a bottom that is sealed. 
         [0026]    The cylindrical body  12  can be made of a clear or opaque glass or plastic and, when made of plastic, the body  12  can colored with the traditional color of blue for boys or pink for girls. In addition, the cylindrical body can include ounce measure lines and numbers  34 , see  FIG. 1 , to show the amount of fluid that is in the nursing bottle at any specific time. 
         [0027]    The convertible baby feeding bottle here disclosed can be used either with or without a disposable bag. The bottle consists of four parts, a top cap which includes a nipple, a bottom cap, and a cylindrical shaped body that is open at each end. In one embodiment of the invention the openings at each end have similar dimensions which allows either cap to be threaded onto either end of the cylindrical body. In use, the cap is not placed on the bottom of the convertible baby feeding bottle, or is loosely placed on the bottom opening when the bottle is used with a disposable bag. 
         [0028]    When the convertible baby feeding bottle is not used with a disposable bag, cap  24  is threaded tightly onto the bottom of the cylindrical body to make a leak proof seal. Thus, when the cap  24  is threaded onto the bottom of the cylindrical body, the bottle is converted from a bottle that uses a disposable bag to a standard baby feeding bottle. 
         [0029]    The convertible baby feeding bottle here disclosed is easy to clean and sterilize because it has an opening at each end. In addition, by being convertible from a bottle that uses disposable bags to a standard baby feeding bottle, a parent can save money and reduce the amount of bottle usage for the baby. 
         [0030]    While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes of the form and details of the apparatus illustrated and in the operation may be done by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention.