Thermal container, particularly feeding bottle

Abstract

 A thermal container, particularly a feeding bottle, comprising a bottle (2) provided with an externally threaded neck (3) which forms a mouth (5), a teat (7) provided with an annular portion (6) which is arranged on the mouth (5) and a ring which is screwed onto the neck (3) so as to hermetically secure the annular portion on the mouth, the ring (9) having a flange (10) with which an enclosure (13) is associated, the enclosure defining, together with the bottle, an interspace (14) for thermal insulation.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a thermal container, particularly a feeding bottle.

[0002] Conventional feeding bottles are constituted by a bottle provided with a threaded neck on which a ring for locking a teat is screwed. Conventional feeding bottles entail the severe drawback that they are unable to keep the milk at a constant temperature for long enough; accordingly, if the feed lasts a long time it is necessary to reheat the milk.

[0003] The aim of the present invention is to provide a thermal container, particularly a feeding bottle, which allows to keep the temperature of the liquid contained therein constant for a long time.

[0004] This aim is achieved with a thermal container, particularly a feeding bottle, which comprises a bottle provided with an externally threaded neck which forms a mouth, a teat provided with an annular portion which is arranged on said mouth and a ring which is screwed onto said neck so as to hermetically secure said annular portion on said mouth, characterized in that said ring has a flange with which an enclosure is associated, said enclosure defining, together with said bottle, an interspace for thermal insulation.

[0005] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description on the basis of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partially sectional view of a feeding bottle according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a partially sectional view of a feeding bottle according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0006] With reference to Figure 1, the reference numeral 1 designates a feeding bottle which comprises a bottle 2 for containing milk, which has a neck 3 provided with an outer thread 4. Conveniently, the thread 4 tapers slightly.

[0007] The neck 3 surrounds a mouth 5 on the rim of which there is provided an annular portion 6 of a conventional teat 7 made of a suitable rubber-type material.

[0008] The teat 7 is retained on the mouth of the bottle by an internal collar 8 of a ring 9 which is screwed onto the outer thread 4 and is provided with a conical internal thread which is complementary to the outer thread 4.

[0009] A bell-shaped flange 10 protrudes outward from the ring 9 and ends with a tubular portion 11 whose inside diameter is greater than the inside diameter of the bottle 2. The tubular portion 11 is internally threaded and an end 12 of a cylindrical enclosure 13 is screwed therein: together with the lateral and bottom surfaces of the bottle 2, the enclosure 13 defines a thermal insulation interspace 14. The enclosure 13 comprises a cylindrical wall 15 and a bottom 16 which form an inside angle in which radial wings 17 are distributed which keep the bottle 2 centered and spaced from the enclosure, thus avoiding thermal bridges.

[0010] The described feeding bottle perfectly achieves the intended aim. In particular, it should be observed that the conical coupling of the ring 9 on the neck 3 allows to compensate for size and shape tolerances of the bottle which, due to the elasticity of the collar 6, might cause the bottle to make contact with the enclosure when the ring is tightened. In the container according to the present invention, the coupling provided by means of conical threads between the ring and the neck, by allowing a greater freedom of movement than allowed by a coupling with cylindrical threads, allows to compensate for the size and shape tolerances of the enclosure, whereas the wings 17 ensure centering of the bottle 2 inside the enclosure 13.

[0011] In a second embodiment of the container, shown in Figure 2, the cylindrical portion 11 is longer than the corresponding one in Figure 1, so as to cover a substantial portion of the bottle 2, and the threads of the ring 9 and of the neck 3 are cylindrical.

[0012] In this embodiment the lower edge of the cylindrical portion 11 has an undulated shape which is complementary to an undulated shape of an upper edge of the enclosure 13.

[0013] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. PS98A000020 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0014] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A thermal container, particularly a feeding bottle, comprising a bottle provided with an externally threaded neck which forms a mouth, a teat provided with an annular portion which is arranged on said mouth and a ring which is screwed onto said neck so as to hermetically secure said annular portion on said mouth, characterized in that said ring has a flange with which an enclosure is associated, said enclosure defining, together with said bottle, an interspace for thermal insulation.

2. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that said flange is bell-shaped and ends with a tubular portion which has a larger inside diameter than said bottle.

3. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that said tubular portion is internally threaded, an upper end of a cylindrical enclosure being screwed into said tubular portion, said enclosure, together with a lateral and bottom surfaces of said bottle, defining said thermal insulation interspace.

4. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that said enclosure comprises internal centering wings for said bottle.

5. The container according to claim 4, characterized in that said enclosure has a cylindrical wall and a bottom which form an internal angle in which said internal centering wings for centering said bottle are distributed.

6. The container according to claim 5, characterized in that said internal centering wings are radially distributed.

7. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that said threads of said ring and of said neck are conical.

8. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that said threads of said ring and of said neck are cylindrical.

9. The container according to claim 2, characterized in that a lower edge of said tubular portion has an undulated shape which complementarily couples to an undulated upper edge of said enclosure.

Drawing