CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priorities of Chinese Patent Application No 200920135477 5, filed on March 10, 2009, Chinese Patent Application No 200920306690 8, file on July 22, 2009, and Chinese Patent Application No 200920314008 X, file on November 4, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference

FIELD OF PATENT APPLICATION

The present application relates to a feeding apparatus

BACKGROUND

Milk bottles are used to contain liquid state food such as milk and beverage for feeding infants However, there is no suitable feeding apparatus to hold small pieces of cut fruit such as pear, apple and vegetable for feeding infants There is a need to provide a feeding apparatus that can be used to feed infants with food such as fruit, jelly, yogurt, fish, meat, etc

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, there is provided a feeding apparatus including a food container including an open, a closed end, and at least one aperture, a first coupling member having an opening in communication with the container open end, the food container being engaged with the first coupling member, and a second coupling member cooperating with the first coupling member and movable between an open configuration allowing food to pass through the opening and into the food container, and a sealed configuration where the second coupling member covers the opening of the first coupling member thereby sealing the open end of the food container, wherein the food container is made of a soft resilient material, and the at least one aperture and the food container are sized and shaped such that normally the food container stays in its original shape and the food stays inside the food container, and wherein the food container while in a person's mouth collapses by external force that forces the food to pass through the at least one aperture, and the food container returns to its original shape upon release of the force In one embodiment, the soft resilient material is silicone, latex or rubber suitable for use with foodstuff

In one embodiment, a protrusion is formed around each aperture on an outer surface of the food container

In one embodiment, the outer surface of the protrusion is generally in the shape of a truncated dome

In one embodiment, the feeding apparatus further includes at least one fastening mechanism for fastening the first and second coupling members together while in the sealed configuration

In one embodiment, the first and second coupling members are fastened together by screw threads or fasteners

In one embodiment, the first and second coupling members are hingedly connected together at one side and fastened together at the other side

In one embodiment, the first and second coupling members are fastened together at two sides thereof by two fasteners respectively

In one embodiment, the open end of the food container, the outer surfaces of the first and second coupling members are generally circular in shape

In one embodiment, the food container is generally in the shape of a nipple of a milk-feeding bottle

In one embodiment, the shape of the closed end of the food container generally conforms to the shape of the mouth of an infant

In one embodiment, the feeding apparatus further includes a cap for covering the food container

In one embodiment, the open end of the food container includes an annular flange which is adapted to be clamped between an annular platform of the first coupling member and the second coupling member while in the sealed configuration

In one embodiment, the feeding apparatus further includes a position-fixing mechanism, wherein the position of the annular flange relative to the annular platform is fixed by the position- fixing mechanism so that a person's hand is substantially horizontal when the food container is in the person's mouth In one embodiment, the position-fixing mechanism includes a notch formed on the annular flange and a corresponding projection formed on the annular platform

In one embodiment, the handle assembly comprises a handle core, a handle pad and a handle sleeve, the handle core being connected to the second coupling member, the handle pad being fixed to the handle core, and the handle sleeve being wrapped around the handle pad

In one embodiment, the at least one aperture is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 1 mm to about

5 mm

In one embodiment, the distance between two adjacent apertures is about 2 mm to about 10 mm

In one embodiment, the food container of the feeding apparatus includes a plurality of apertures

In one embodiment, the apertures are arranged 360 degrees around the food container

In one embodiment, the feeding apparatus further includes a plurality of projections formed on the outer surface of the food container

Although the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application is shown and described with respect to certain embodiments, it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification The present application includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scope of the claims

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein

FIG 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 2 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 3 is an exploded view of a third embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 4 is a perspective view of the third embodiment of the feeding apparatus, FIG 5 is a partially exploded view of a fourth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 6 is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 7 is a partially exploded view of a fifth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 7a is a top view of an annular projection provided on the feeding apparatus,

FIG 7b is a cross sectional view taken along line X-X of the annular projection in FIG 7a,

FIG 8 is a perspective view of the fifth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 9 is a partially exploded view of a sixth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 10 is a perspective view of the sixth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 11 is a cross sectional view taken along line A-A of the feeding apparatus in FIG 10,

FIG 12 is a perspective view of the seventh embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 13 is a perspective view of the eighth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 14 is a perspective view of the ninth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 15 is a perspective view of the tenth embodiment of the feeding apparatus,

FIG 16 is a perspective view of a food container with apertures and projections,

FIG 17 is a top plan view of a projection provided on the food container, and

FIG 18 is a cross sectional view taken along line Y-Y of the projection in FIG 17

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application, examples of which are also provided in the following description Exemplary embodiments of the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application are described in detail, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features that are not particularly important to an understanding of the feeding apparatus may not be shown for the sake of clarity

Furthermore, it should be understood that the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application is not limited to the precise embodiments described below and that various changes and modifications thereof may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims

It should be noted that throughout the specification and claims herein, when one element is said to be "coupled" or "connected" to another, this does not necessarily mean that one element is fastened, secured, or otherwise attached to another element Instead, the term "coupled" or "connected" means that one element is either connected directly or indirectly to another element, or is in mechanical or electrical communication with another element

FIG 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of the feeding apparatus The apparatus includes a food container 7, a first coupling member 5, and a second coupling member 3 The food container 7 has an open end 71 and a closed end 72 The first coupling member 5 includes an opening 51 The food container 7 can be removably engaged with the first coupling member 5 When the food container 7 is coupled to the first coupling member 5, the open end 71 of the food container 7 is in communication with the opening 51 of the first coupling member 5 Food can be put into the food container 7 through the opening 51 of the first coupling member and the open end 71 of the food container 7 The second coupling member 3 can be cooperating with the first coupling member 5 and movable between an open configuration and a sealed configuration In the open configuration, food can be put into the food container 7 through the opening 51 of the first coupling member 5 and the open end 71 of the food container 7 In the sealed configuration, the second coupling member 3 covers the opening 51 of the first coupling member 5 thereby sealing the open end 71 of the food container 7

The food container 7 is provided with at least one aperture 8 According to the illustrated embodiment, the food container 7 has a plurality of apertures 8 arranged 360 degrees around the food container 7 The size and shape of the apertures 8 can be so designed that food coming out from the apertures 8 would not choke a person consuming the food According to the illustrated embodiments, the apertures 8 are circular in shape and can have a diameter of about 1 mm to about 5 mm. The size, number and arrangement of the apertures 8 may vary according to different designs and requirements

The food container 7 may be made of a soft resilient material suitable for use with foodstuff This soft resilient material for foodstuff use may include silicone or latex, or rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for foodstuff use. Silicone material is non-toxic, environmental-friendly, wear resistant, resistant to high and low temperatures, and aging resistant. Products made of silicone are more environmental-friendly, more safe and more durable It is appreciated that the food container 7 can be made of a transparent soft resilient material allowing a person to readily see through the food container 7 and know whether the container 7 is full or empty.

Normally, the food container 7 stays in its original shape and the food stays inside the food container 7. When the food container 7 is put inside a person's mouth and a person chews, bites or sucks on the food container 7, the food container 7 collapses by the external force that forces the food (such as small pieces of crushed food, fruit puree, marc, juice, etc.) to seep and pass through the apertures 8 The food container 7 returns to its original shape upon release of the force due to the resiliency of the food container 7.

The food container 7 may be sized and shaped to hold small pieces of fruit or other food such as jelly, yogurt, vegetable, meat or fish, etc. The food container 7 can be put inside the mouth of a person for biting, sucking or chewing For a fruit having juice and marc, fruit juice and small pieces of marc can be sucked through the apertures 8 and into a person's mouth, whilst larger pieces of marc remain inside the food container 7 Since the apertures 8 are smaller than the esophagus of a person eating the food, the person will not be choked by the food coming out from the apertures 8. This can protect the safety of the person eating food out of the feeding apparatus. For fruit having puree but without marc, the fruit puree can be dispensed through the apertures 8 and into the person's mouth. Therefore, one can use the feeding apparatus to feed an infant or baby with food such a fruit, and teach an infant or baby to chew and swallow without the risk of being choked by the fruit The feeding apparatus is safe to an infant or baby and is convenient to use because it is not necessary for a caretaker to squeeze juice from the fruit before feeding Using the feeding apparatus, an infant or baby can readily eat fresh fruit (such as strawberry, apple and pear), vegetable, fish, meat, etc.

When the food container 7 contains a mixture of food in solid state and liquid state, the liquid can form a sealing membrane over the apertures 8 under the influence of surface tension. Therefore, food inside the container 7 cannot be easily escaped through the apertures 8. An infant or baby needs to perform a suck action to suck the food through the apertures 8. This can train the muscles around the mouth as well as train the lung capacity of an infant or baby. Also, it can prevent leakage of liquid through the apertures 8 and spoilage of the clothing of the person eating the food out of the feeding apparatus If the food container 7 is made of a mesh, the apertures on the mesh are not resilient and therefore it is difficult to form a sealing membrane over the apertures of the mesh As the apertures on the mesh are close to each other, it becomes more difficult to form a sealing membrane over the mesh's apertures The distance between two apertures 8 in the present application can be about 2 mm to about 10 mm

As shown in FIG. 1, the first coupling member 5 and the second coupling member 3 may be coupled together For example, the first coupling member 5 may be provided with an annular recess and the second coupling member 3 may be provided with an annular projection A sealing configuration can be formed when the annular projection is pressed into the annular recess. An open configuration can be formed when the annular projection is pulled out from the annular recess. Of course, the first coupling member 5 and the second coupling member 3 can be coupled together by other suitable coupling mechanism such as screw threads

As shown in FIG 2, the feeding apparatus may further be provided with a handle assembly 1 which is connected to the second coupling member 3. This facilitates the grasping of the feeding apparatus by a person eating the food. This can promote the training of the muscles of the hands of a person, especially for babies and patients, and can promote his or her hand, brain and mouth coordination This feeding apparatus design can realize the food-eating initiative of an infant or baby.

The feeding apparatus may also include a cap 9 for covering the food container 7. The cap 9 serves to separate the food from the outer environment. The cap 9 can prevent any dust and dirt from contaminating the food while a person is not eating. The cap 9 may be removably attached to the first coupling member 5. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the cap 9 can be attached to the first coupling member 5 by a simple snap-fitting mechanism. It is understood that the cap 9 may be attached to the first coupling member 5 by any other appropriate mechanism such as screw threads. The closed end of the cap 9 may be provided with a plurality of supporting elements 91. The supporting elements 91 allow the cap 9 to steadily stand on a flat surface such as a desk To fill the food container 7 with food, one can attach the cap 9 to the first coupling member 5, and then place the cap 9 on a desk in a stand-up position by the supporting elements 9. This facilitates the filling of the food container 7 with food even with one hand. The cap 9 may also be transparent and allow one to see the food inside the food container 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the feeding apparatus may be provided with a rope-attaching element 10 by which a rope can be tied. The rope-attaching element 10 may be generally in the form of a ring integrally formed on the second coupling member 3. The rope-attaching element 10 may be made of a hard plastic material or any other suitable material. A rope can be tied or threaded through the rope-attaching element 10 so that the feeding apparatus can be hung around a person This prevents the feeding apparatus from accidentally dropping on the ground and contaminating the food

The food container 7 may be formed into the shape of a nipple of a milk-feeding bottle It serves as a pacifier to comfort an infant or baby and induces the infant or baby to eat the food The closed end of the food container 7 may be formed into a shape substantially conforming to the shape of the mouth of an infant or baby This facilitates the infant in holding the food container 7 inside the mouth, and sucking fruit juice, puree or marc out of the food container 7 without choking

According to the illustrated embodiment, the open end 71 of the food container 7, the outer surfaces of the first coupling member 5 and the second coupling member 3 are generally circular in shape This prevents the trapping of dirt on the feeding apparatus and facilitates cleaning of the feeding apparatus

The feeding apparatus may also be provided with a fastening mechanism for fastening the first and second coupling members 5, 3 of the feeding apparatus in the sealed configuration The fastening mechanism can strengthen the sealing between the first and second coupling members 5, 3, and prevent accidentally detaching the first coupling member 5 from the second coupling member 3 and therefore dropping the food

According to the illustrated embodiment in FIGS 3 and 4, the fastening mechanism may include a hinge 17 and a fastener 18 One side of the first and second coupling members 5, 3 can be hingedly connected to each other by the hinge 17 The other side of the first and second coupling members 5, 3 can be secured together by the fastening 18 One end 181 of the fastener 18 can be movably connected to the second coupling member 3 The other end 183 of the fastener 18 may include a fastening hole for frictional engagement with a corresponding fastening projection integrally formed on the first coupling member 5 It is contemplated that the hinge 17 and the fastener 18 are simple in construction, and can make opening and closing of the first and second coupling members 5, 3 easy

According to another embodiment illustrated in FIGS 5 and 6, the fastening mechanism may include two fasteners 18, 18 The two sides of the first and second coupling members 5, 3 can be secured together by the two fasteners 18, 18 respectively

As depicted in FIGS 7, 7a, 7b and 8, an annular protrusion 81 may be integrally formed on the outer surface around of the aperture 8' The protrusion 81 can be used to massage the gum, relief discomfort during teething, benefit the growth and development of gum and teeth of an infant or baby The protrusions 81 can also strengthen the gum and enhance chewing capability One can put an infant or baby's favorite food inside the food container 7 Infant or baby would like to eat the food and have the gum massaged while eating the food The feeding apparatus with protrusions 81 can therefore serve as a more effective teether compared to conventional tasteless teething apparatus

The feed apparatus of the present application may include one handle assembly or two handle assemblies As shown in FIGS 9 and 10, the handle assembly 1 of the feeding apparatus may include a handle core 13, a handle pad 14 and a handle sleeve 11 The handle core 13 can be attached to the second coupling member 3 The handle pad 14 can be fixed on the handle core 13 to provide anti-slip and appealing effects According to the illustrated embodiment, two handle pads 14 are attached to the front and the back of the handle core 13 respectively Alternatively, the two handle pads 14 may be attached to the left side and the right side of the handle core 13 respectively The handle sleeve 11 can be wrapped around the handle pad 14 The handle assembly 1 may further include a plurality of anti-slip strips 12 The strips 12 may be secured onto the handle pads 14 to further provide anti-slip and appealing effects It is understood that the number of strips 12 on a handle pad 14 may vary depending on the different designs The handle sleeve 11 and the strips 12 may be made of soft rubber or any other suitable material, which can facilitate the gripping of the handle assembly 1 and produce a comfort feeling to a person holding the handle assembly 1 The handle core 13 and the handle pad 14 may be made of hard plastic or any other suitable material

As shown in FIGS 9-11, the second coupling member 3 may include an outer ring 33 and a cover 31 covering the top of the outer ring 33 The outer ring 33 and the cover 31 may be coupled together by relative rotation of a projection and recess mechanism For example, the projection and recess mechanism may include an annular groove and an annular projection formed on the outer ring 33 and the cover 31 respectively The outer ring 33 and the cover 31 may also be coupled together by screw threads Alternatively, the outer ring 33 and the cover 31 may be integrally formed as one single piece Two handle cores 13 may be attached to the two sides of the cover 31 respectively Furthermore, the cap 9 can be coupled to the outer ring 33

As shown in the embodiment in FIGS 3 and 5, a radially outwardly extending annular flange 73 is provided at the open end 71 of the food container 7 In the sealed configuration, the annular flange 73 rests on a radially inwardly extending annular shoulder or platform 54 of the first coupling member 5, and can be clamped between the annular platform 54 and the second coupling member 3 In the open configuration, the annular flange 73 can be removed from the annular platform 54 of the first coupling member 5 This can make the assembling and cleaning of the feeding apparatus simple and easy Since the food container 7 is made of a soft resilient material, the soft resilient annular flange 73 can have a sealing function and can strengthen the sealing between the first and the second coupling members 5, 3 This can further prevent the spilling of food while a person, especially a baby, is playing with the feeding apparatus while eating As shown in FIG 12, the open end 71 of the food container 7 and the first coupling member 5 can be generally triangular in shape Each of the three acute angles can be rounded As shown in FIG 13, the open end 71 of the food container 7 and the first coupling member 5 can be generally rectangular in shape Each of the angles can be rounded These two feeding apparatus designs do not have unhygienic dead corners that would cause hygiene problem and are therefore easy to clean

As depicted in FIGS 14 and 15, the position of the annular flange 73 and the annular platform 54 can be fixed by position-fixing mechanism thereby allowing a person to hold the handle by a hand in a horizontal position while the food container 7 is in the mouth This allows the person to hold the handle comfortably while eating According to the illustrated embodiment, the position-fixing mechanism may include a notch 75 provided on the annular flange 73 and a corresponding projection 58 provided on the annular platform 54 Of course, it is appreciated that a notch can be formed on the annular platform 54 and a corresponding projection can be formed on the annular flange 73 instead

Although it has been shown and described that the annular protrusions 81 are formed around the apertures 8', it is understood by one skilled in the art that Hirther protrusions can be formed elsewhere on the outer surface of the food container 7

FIG 16 shows a food container 7 having a plurality of apertures 8 formed around the food container 7 and a plurality of protrusions 83 integrally formed at the closed end of the food container 7 The apertures 8 are used for dispensing food and the protrusions 83 are used for massaging the gum of a baby or infant According to the illustrated embodiment as shown in FIGS 17 and 18, the protrusions 83 are in the shape of a semi-circle It is understood that the shape, size, and arrangement of these protrusions 83 on the food container 7 may vary depending on different designs

Although it has been shown and described that the apertures 8 and 8' are circular in shape, it is understood that the apertures 8 and 8' may in any other appropriate shapes

While the feeding apparatus disclosed in the present application has been shown and described with particular references to a number of preferred embodiments thereof, it should be noted that various other changes or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appending claims