Bottles and jars – Nursing bottles and nipples – With temperature responsive indicator
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-19
2001-07-24
Weaver, Sue A. (Department: 3727)
Bottles and jars
Nursing bottles and nipples
With temperature responsive indicator
C215S011100, C374S150000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264049
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in feeding bottles and food containers for liquids and loose foods in which the temperature of the content within the bottle is determined. More particularly, it relates to improvements in nursing bottles in a manner that allows to determine the temperature inside of the bottle.
Based upon the fact that the preferable temperature of the food given to an infant (including formulas as well as previously stored mother's milk or even water) has to be of normal human body temperature (36.6° C.±0.5° C.) it is very important to accurately control the temperature of the substance given to the baby. Substance at a temperature that is substantially higher than that mentioned above may burn the baby's lips and mouth, and it is known that food at a temperature significantly below the optimal level might cause indigestion or be rejected by the baby.
The most common conventional method for determining the temperature of the nursing bottle content is the tactile feeling with the hand, palm, or fingers. Though this simple method is generally reliable, in some instances it leaves enough room for error due to its reliance upon the subjective thermal feeling of a particular person. Furthermore, it is influenced by the temperature of the surrounding media as well as the temperature of the media that was surrounding the person's hands before testing the temperature. For example, if some one was washing their hands in hot water before checking the temperature of the nursing bottle content, they will be more likely to overheat the bottle.
There were a number of prior arts aimed to improve the conventional method for determining the temperature of the nursing bottle content.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,941 to G. Cope shows a temperature responsive probe with a thermometer unit utilized for temperature indication.
Unfortunately, this proposed method of measuring temperature of the nursing bottle content is cumbersome and inconvenient. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,941 shows a thermometer unit installed into the neck of the bottle. This anticipates a two staged process of first determining the temperature and then feeding the baby. First, the bottle has to be heated to reach the desired content temperature. Then the thermometer unit has to be replaced with a nipple. The transition to the second step has to be done quickly to prevent the temperature of the content from dropping significantly. Furthermore, handling a bimetallic coil (as proposed for one of the embodiments) that has been being submerged in the nursing bottle content (i.e. cleaning, storing and disinfecting) is an additional and a relatively labor intensive procedure all in itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,226 to P. R. Finch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,814,202 to R. D. Frans show temperature indication means mounted in the neck of the bottle and extending into the bottle content.
Regardless of the particular temperature indication means type used this design arrangement would require a special separate care for the temperature indication means that is being submerged in the nursing bottle content. Furthermore, the temperature indication means will have to be food compatible, which will affect the price of the product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,344 to A. N. Lopez shows temperature indication means using liquid bulb-type thermometers installed in the bore formed in the thickened portion of the bottle wall. In the lower portion of the thickened portion of the bottle wall the end of the thermometer is allowed to protrude free at the bottom of the bottle.
Though, the description of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,344 does not discuss the assembly process of the bottle, it can be done either through an external opening of the bore at the top of the bottle, or by permanently molding the thermometer into the wall. In the first case the external opening of the bore at the top of the bottle has to be welded later to prevent the bottle contents from leaking.
In either case the process of manufacturing such a bottle would be expensive.
Furthermore, using a liquid bulb-type thermometer in such arrangement carries the obvious risk of having the thermometer crack inside the bottle from the bottle being dropped or otherwise misused by an infant or by accident. The resulting danger of cuts or poisoning is a definite disadvantage of the proposed solutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,984 to H. Okuyama shows temperature indication means using plurality of recessed pockets on the side wall of the nursing bottle with each pocket containing wax with a particular melting temperature. Each recess also has a mark located behind the layer of wax. When the temperature in the nursing bottle reaches a certain point, the wax in the pockets with a melting temperature equal to or below that point melts and becomes transparent, revealing the temperature mark, and thus, indicating the temperature.
This proposed solution, however, will result in an expensive product due to the numerous parts involved that have to be assembled. The accuracy of such a temperature measurement will be poor: first, due to the insulating layer of plastic (from which the bottle is made) between the substance in the bottle and the wax pockets, and second, due to the limited incremental resolution of the measurements. To increase the resolution of the measurements it will take an increase in the number of pockets as well as the number of recesses in the bottle, consequently making the bottle even more expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,365 to F. Heinmets et al shows temperature indication means using a thermochromic paint on the surface of the bottle. The color of the paint changes with the temperature of the bottle, thus providing temperature indication.
The first disadvantage of this method is the poor accuracy of the temperature measurement due to the fact that the film of the thermochromic paint is placed on the external surface of the bottle while the substance the temperature of which is being measured is inside of the bottle; thus, there is a layer of plastic between the substance in the bottle and the temperature sensing film. In addition, the longevity of the paint layer on the external surface of a nursing bottle will be very low, taking into consideration the fact that this surface will be the most frequently touched and rubbed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,588 to J. Ephraim shows temperature indication means using commercially available liquid crystal temperature indicator strips. The strips are bonded to the external surface of the bottle (which is molded so to accommodate the strips) and then sealed with a clear cover to protect the indicator from damage. The liquid crystal temperature indicator strips contain squares of encapsulated liquid crystals, usually sandwiched between mylar sheets. The color of each relevant square changes when the surrounding temperature reaches the level the square was built to indicate.
Unfortunately this method of temperature indication is very inaccurate. Inexpensive commercially available liquid crystal temperature indicator strips provide temperature indication incrementally with a very coarse increment of 5° C. The inaccuracy increases by having a layer of plastic, from which the bottle is made, between the indicator strip and the substance in the bottle, the temperature of which is being measured. The second problem, is the durability of the bonding between the indicator strip and the bottle. In addition, most plastics used for such bottles are not very adherent and the bonding, seemingly adequate at first, perishes rapidly. For the same reason, sealing the indicator strip with a clear cover (as proposed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,588) will not be reliable unless plastic welding is used to seal the strip. However, welding will complicate the manufacturing process, and thus, increase the cost of the product.
Regardless of the precise merits, features, and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieve or fulfill the goal of providing an inexpensive, simple to handle, long lasting, and safe to use baby nur
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