Bottles and jars – Nursing bottles and nipples
Patent
1996-08-13
1998-08-04
Weaver, Sue A.
Bottles and jars
Nursing bottles and nipples
215 114, 119 71, A61J 1100
Patent
active
057880972
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to an improved teat. Where animals are to be artificially reared on milk or other liquids, teats are usually the preferred means of facilitating a young animal to self-feed.
For example, in order to feed numerous calves at one time, there may be a row of teats projecting horizontally around the top perimeter of a container and those teats would normally be connected to tubes equipped with one-way valves to enable liquid to be drawn up from the bottom of the container when the teat is sucked. Obviously in such a construction, as long as the teat level is above the liquid level, there is no danger of appreciable quantities of the liquid leaking out of the teat under gravitational pressure.
However, where the teats are to be gravity fed they may be situated, for example, at the base of a container so that there is a head of liquid above the teats of perhaps up to 2 metres, and it then becomes imperative that the teats be self-sealing and able to resist that amount of pressure.
This invention relates to a modification of the invention described in my PCT Patent Application NZ 93/00065, published as WO 94/04023 on 3 Mar. 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,809.
With constant heavy use it has been found that the teats of that invention can tend to flatten as the rubber of which they are made fatigues and when this occurs the teat slit is left slightly open allowing a small amount of leakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists in a teat having a wall or walls; having a hollow interior defined by the wall or walls; having an inlet end; having fastening means at the inlet end enabling the teat to be fastened to a source of liquid in use to project outwardly from the source; having an outer end which is closed apart from a slit in it which slit is itself normally adapted to be closed to provide a liquid seal; the teat being made of a resilient material with integral internal reinforcing means on either side of the slit selectively stiffening part of the teat so that if the end of the teat is squashed or compressed by forces with components along the direction of the slit, the reinforcing means stretch the slit open, thereby allowing liquid to flow out of it in use, characterised in that internal wall-stiffening means is provided joining opposite areas of the internal face or faces of the wall or walls, beyond the slit, together to provide internal stiffening tending to hold the slit closed.
The advantage of the present invention is that the previous small slit can be used with still better sealing characteristics while ensuring a high volume of liquid is released through the slit by stretching it open when sucking occurs and maintaining it closed when there is no sucking.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred form of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a central longitudinal cross-section of my prior preferred form of teat as shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,809, the section being aligned with the slit,
FIG. 2 shows a side elevation of the teat of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal cross-section of the teat of FIG. 1 at right angles to the cross-section of FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view on the plane IV--IV of FIG. 2,
FIG. 5 shows an end view in the direction V--V of FIG. 2,
FIG. 6 shows an end view in the direction VI--VI of FIG. 2,
FIG. 7 shows a central longitudinal cross-section of the teat of the present invention showing the modification made to my prior invention, the section being aligned with the slot, and
FIG. 8 shows a longitudinal cross-section of the teat of FIG. 7 at right angles to the cross-section of FIG. 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
My prior teat is preferably substantially cylindrical, having a hollow interior 1 and the thickness of the wall 2 is thinner at what will be the outer end of the teat in use, compared to the thickness of the inner portion 3 which will abut the liquid source--usually a container. A flange 4 is adapted to lie against
REFERENCES:
patent: 131130 (1872-09-01), Stevenson
patent: 1683246 (1928-09-01), Griffiths
patent: 2708421 (1955-05-01), Jauch
patent: 3645414 (1972-02-01), Barr
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