Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to bottle warming devices and, more particularly, to a bottle warming device capable of accommodating bottles of different sizes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various devices exist for warming the contents of bottles, such a bottles containing baby milk. For example, known bottle warming devices utilize a housing containing a heated water bath and/or steam to heat the contents of a bottle placed within the housing. 
     While existing bottle warming devices are generally suitable for what is regarded as ordinary performance, there is room for improvement in terms of efficiency, ease of use and performance. In particular, existing bottle warming devices are not particularly suited to warming bottles of different sizes, such as baby bottles which are sold in both short and tall varieties. Moreover, existing devices are limited to warming the contents of bottles and are not well suited to warm other items such as baby food and the like. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device capable of accommodating bottles of different size. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device that warms the contents of a bottle quickly and evenly. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device that steam-heats the contents of a bottle. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device that is capable of warming jars of baby food in addition to the contents of a bottle. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a bottle warming device having a built-in nightlight. 
     These and other objects are achieved by the present invention. 
     The bottle warming device of the present invention includes a housing, a heating element disposed in the housing, and a basket receivable in the housing. The basket is movable between a first position in which a bottom of the basket is positioned a first distance from a top of the housing, and a second position in which the bottom of the basket is positioned a second distance from the top of the housing, the first distance being greater than the second distance. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bottle warming device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the bottle warming device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a left-side elevational view of the bottle warming device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the bottle warming device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of a bottle basket of the bottle warming device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the bottle basket of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a front elevational view of a jar basket of the bottle warming device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the jar basket of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 0 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 45 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 90 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 135 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 180 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 225 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 15  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 270 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
         FIG. 16  is a diagram depicting an orientation of the bottle basket at 315 degrees with respect to the housing of the bottle warming device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a bottle warming device  10  is shown. The bottle warming device includes a housing  12  having a bottle-receiving opening  14  in the top thereof for receiving a bottle, such as baby bottle  16 . The housing  12  is configured to hold a volume of water in the bottom thereof. A heating element  13  is disposed at the bottom of the housing  12  and is actuatable from an OFF position to an ON position by rotation of a dial  18  on the front of the housing  12 . The heating means serves to heat the water within the housing  12  to produce steam to heat the contents of the bottle  16 . The heating element  13  may be any type of heating element known in the art, such as a resistive heating element. In an embodiment, the dial  18  includes an automatic timer that automatically turns off the heating element after a pre-set duration sufficient to warm the contents of the bottle  16  to an optimum temperature for feeding. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the bottle warming device  10  includes an integrated measuring cup  20  received in a recess in the housing  12 . The measuring cup  20  is easily accessible by a user to pour a measured quantity of water into the housing  12 . In addition, the bottle warming device  10  includes a built-in nightlight (not shown) that is actuatable via a button  22  located on the top surface of the housing  12 . In an embodiment, the nightlight is located within the housing  12  so as to illuminate the bottle  16  and the contents thereof to make nighttime feedings easier. In another embodiment, the nightlight is located within the housing so as to illuminate the dial and the measuring cup on the front face of the device. 
     As best shown in  FIG. 4 , the bottle-receiving opening  14  is defined by substantially cylindrical sidewalls. As shown therein, eight vertically extending slots are formed in the cylindrical sidewalls of opening  14 . In particular three long slots  24  are formed in the sidewalls. A first long slot  24  is oriented at an angular orientation of 0 degrees (adjacent the back of the housing  12  and opposite the front of the housing; the top-most slot  24  in  FIG. 4 ), and the other two long slots  24  are located at substantially 135 degrees and 225 degrees with respect to the first long slot. The remaining slots are short slots  26  and are located at approximately 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees and 315 degrees with respect to the first long slot  24 . Importantly, the short slots  26  do not extend as deeply into the opening  14  as the long slots  24 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the bottle warming device  10  further includes a bottle basket  28  that is dimensioned to fit within the opening  14  in the housing  12 . As shown therein, the bottle basket  28  is generally cylindrical in shape and has a pair of handles  30  that are dimensioned to be received in handle recesses  32  in the outer walls of the housing  12 . The basket  28  has numerous openings  34  in the bottom and sidewalls thereof to permit steam to pass therethrough, as discussed hereinafter. As best shown in  FIG. 5 , the basket  28  has three vertically extending ribs  36  on the sidewalls thereof that correspond in position to the three long slots  24  of the opening  14  (i.e., one at ‘0’ degrees, one at 135 degrees and one at 225 degrees, respectively, when viewed from the top). The long slots  24  of the opening  14  and the ribs  36  of the basket  28  are dimensioned such that the top of the basket  28  sits substantially flush with the top of the housing  12  when the basket is received in the opening  14  and the ribs  36  are received in the long slots  24 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 9-16 , various positions of the basket  28  with respect to the housing are shown. As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the ribs  36  on the basket are aligned with the long slots  24  in the opening of the housing  12 , the basket  28  is able to sit fully within the opening  14  such that the top of the basket  28  is generally flush with the top of the housing  12 . In this position, the basket  28  is fully received within the opening  14  of the housing  12  such that a tall bottle may be warmed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , if the basket  28  is rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise (‘45 degree position’) with respect to the housing  12 , each of the ribs  36  will be received in short slots  26 . Because the short slots  26  do not extend as deeply into the housing, downwards travel of the basket into the opening  14  is limited. As a result, the bottom of the basket  28  does not sit as far below the top surface of the housing  12  as it does when in the ‘0 degree’ position of  FIG. 9 . In this position, a shorter bottle may be placed in the basket  28  to be warmed. 
       FIG. 11 , depicts the basket  28  in a ‘90 degree’ position. In this position, the basket is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the housing, such that one of the ribs  36  is received in a long slot  24  while the other two ribs are received in short slots  26 . As the two short slots  26  prevent the basket  28  from reaching its fully seated position, the bottom of the basket  28  is in the same position as shown in  FIG. 10 , such that a short bottle may be accommodated. 
       FIGS. 12-16  illustrate the basket  28  at other degrees of rotation with respect to the housing  12 . In particular, these figures illustrate the basket  28  in a ‘135 degree position,’ a ‘180 degree position,’ a ‘225 degree position,’ a ‘270 degree position,’ and a ‘315 degree position.’ Notably, the basket  28  can only be fully received within the housing  12  when the three ribs  36  are received in the three long slots  24 , i.e., in the 0 degree position. In all of the other positions, the basket  28  is in the elevated position such that a short bottle may be accommodated. As will be readily appreciated, by elevating the basket  28  for short bottles, access to the bottle for removal from the device is facilitated. In the absence of such a feature, short bottles would be difficult to retrieve from the bottom of the housing. 
     While  FIGS. 1-16  show the bottle warming device  10  as having an opening with eight slots (3 long slots and 5 short slots) and a basket with three vertical ribs, an opening having more or fewer long and short slots and a basket with more or fewer vertical ribs is also possible and contemplated by the present invention. 
     With further reference to  FIG. 1 , the bottle warming device  10  may also include an adapter ring  38  that is received by the top of the basket  28 . The adapter ring  38  has a smaller inner diameter than the basket  28  to more closely receive a bottle therethrough. 
     In operation, a user of the bottle warming device  10  plugs the device into a standard wall outlet. A measured quantity of water may then be poured into the housing  12  through the opening  14  using the integrated measuring cup  20 . Depending on the size bottle to be warmed, a user may then place the basket in the ‘0 degree position,’ for tall bottles, or in any of the other positions for short bottles. The adapter ring  38  may also be placed into position on the basket  28  to more closely receive the bottle  16 . The user may then insert the bottle  16  into the basket  28  and rotate the dial  18  to the ON position. When in the ON position, the heating element  13  is energized to heat the water in the housing  12  to produce steam. The steam rises and travels through the openings  34  in the basket  28  to heat the contents of the bottle  16 .] 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the bottle warming device  10  of the present invention may also be utilized to heat jars of baby food and the like in a similar manner. In particular, the device  10  also includes a food jar basket  40  that may be utilized in place of the bottle basket  28 . As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the food jar basket includes a lower basket portion  42  having a plurality of openings or apertures  44  therein through which steam may pass through, and a handle  46  attached to the lower basket portion  42 . The food jar basket  40  is dimensioned so as to receive a jar of baby food therein and, like the bottle basket  28 , is dimensioned so as to be received in the opening  14  in the housing  12 . 
     While the bottle warming device  10  of the present invention is particularly adapted to warm the contents of baby bottles, the device may also be utilized with other bottles utilized for other purposes. 
     Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed description, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of this disclosure.

Technology Category: 1