US2388915A - Nursing nipple - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 13; 1945. H, HEL RN 2,388,915

NURSING NIPPLE Filed March 20, 1945 INVENTOR Herman flezlbom;

- BYWW ATTORNEY surface 9, corresponding id for receiving the bead Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I were... Herman Heilborn, Brooklyn, N. Y. "Appucmo: (rifle. fol. iea zsz) o.

The object of the invention is an improvement in nursing nipples.

All the many known different nursing nipples are defective in one or more important respects. They do not come sufflciently close to the perfection to the human nursing organs, they do not permit adjustment of the admission of air into the nursing bottle in proportion to the suction capacity, increasing with the age of the infant, and they are too much exposed to contamination after sterilisation.

The new nipple shown by way of example in the accompanying drawing avoids all these disadvantages.

l'n this drawing is:

Figure 1 an elevation of the new nipple in undeformed condition;

Figure 2 a vertical central section through the new nipple attached to the upper part, shown in outside view, of a nursing bottle;

Figure 3 a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 an elevation of the nipple in slightly deformed condition;

Figure 5 an elevation of formed condition.

The new nipple consists of the nursing tip 6, the breast part I, and the attachment sleeve 8.

The wall of the tip 6 is preferably somewhat thicker than in theusual nipples and has a warty to the surface of the the nipple in more dehuman nipple.

The breast part 1 consists of the wall "land the base or back plate H. The front wall I0 is thinner than the wall of the tip 6 and is arched in form of a calotte. The back plate H is thicker than the front wall III of the breast part and has a greater radius than the attachment sleeve 8 so that the breast part 1 has an annular part or zone l2 projecting beyond the sleeve 8 and, therefore, not buttressed by the latter. In this annular zone the back plate I l is provided with at least two but preferably more dome-shaped or calotte-shaped recesses or sockets IS. The attachment sleeve 8 has beneath the base plate ll an annular groove 45 of a nursing bottle l6 and has at its lower end a bead IT. The bore or opening l8 of the sleeve 8 is of greater radii than the corresponding parts of the bottleneck, i. e., the parts overlapped by said sleeve. Preferably said bore flares away as shown. The greatest diameter of the bore 18 is greater than the diameter of the bead ill.

The operation and advantages of the new nipple are as follows:

The warty surface 9 of the tip 6 prevents upfrom said bottleneck desirable slipping of such tip within or out of the infants mouth and gives the infant the natural feeling of gripping the nipple with little effort. Thereby it is avoided that the infant in changing from natural nutrition to the bottle refuse the latter.

The connectio of the tip 6 with the front wall III of the breast part I, which wall is thinner than the wall of the tip 8 and has a greater horizontal radius and flatter curvature, gives the tip a very desirable high degree of flexibility. Thereby the dreaded angular elbow-like deformation of the tip under the influence of lateral force is avoided, by which deformation sometimes the passage of milk is shut off causing the danger of coli and the like to the infant.

Figure 4 shows the nipple 6 deflected to the inclined position 6' by deformation of the front wall It! to the form It under the influence of a moderate lateral force.

By a stronger lateral force the front plate I0 is further deflected to the form I0" (Figure 5), and the projecting or overhanging and, therefore, also flexible annular part I! of the thicker base plate H is deflected too as indicated at I! in Figure 5, thereby further counteracting'the danger of elbow-deformation of the nipple.

The very soft front wall l0 forms an airtight seal with the lips of the sucking infant thereby serving also the Motion of the soft annular brown zone encircling the nipple of the human breast. Thereby the greatest possible approximation to natural conditions is attained.

In the bottom of the overhanging part 12 of the base H calotte-shaped, hemispheric, or domeshaped recesses or sockets iii are provided, four such sockets being show in Figur 3. The layer of rubber at the apex of these sockets is very thin.

To prepare the new nipple for nursing an infant in the very early part of life such apex'is punctured by a cold needle. The hole produced is so fine as to be kept sealed airtight normally by the rubber snapping back upon removal of the needle. By the vacuum, the bottle by the sucking infant the hole is opened sufficiently to admit into the bottle air in proportion to the liquid sucked out. Thereby the dreaded collapsing of the nipple by the vacuum is prevented. The size of the hole determines in desirable manner the volume of milk to be sucked by the infant in the unit of time.

When with progress of time the suction capacity of the infant increases sufficiently a second socket is punctured, and so on.

however, produced in e Thus said sockets are a very simple and eflective means for allotting to the infant the right volume of milk per unit of time.

Puncturing several sockets will even allow to use the nipple for feeding the infant with strained foods which are not actually liquids. Because the sockets are located i the bottom of the overhanging part of the breast member they cannot be sealed by the lips of the infant. Hence the danger, existing with many other nipples, of collapsing the nipple by the vacuum in the bottle is avoided.

The new nipple also considerably diminishes the possibility of contamination after sterilisation. This possibility exists with most of the known nipples because they have to be attached to the bottle by pushing from the front side so that the fingers of the nursing person may touch parts reachable by the lips of the infant.

Attempts have been made to avoid this by providing the nipple with an attachment sleeve having a bore of a diameter greater than that of the bead of the bottle and having a finger-hold-projection on one side of its lower end. Thereby, however, the problem is not solved because it is very diilicult, if not impossible, to telescope the nipple over the bead and neck of the bottle by onesided pressure only. In most cases the nipple will have to be grasped by both hands thereby causing the danger of contamination and of toppling over the bottle and spilling the milk.

The new nipple eliminates these disadvantages. For attaching it to the bottle one puts the index finger or one hand onto the bead i7 and the middle finger of the same hand onto the diametrically opposite side of said bead. The nipple, thus firmly clamped between these two fingers, is now put onto the bottle, held by the other hand, and is telescoped down over the bead and neck of the bottle by downward pressure of these two fingers. Because such pressure acts simultaneously on diametrically opposite sides of the nipple there is no tilting tendency and the nipple slides down easily.

Of course, the bead i! may be replaced by separate smaller projections o opposite sides of the sleeve 8.

A further advantage of the bead I7 i that it provides the nipple with an extended heavy base which prevents toppling over and contamination of the nipple when left standing upright after sterilisation.

In spite of its many advantages the new nipple, having no complicated parts, can be produced at no higher cost than any other good standard nipple.

What I claim is:

1. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, and an attachment member, said breast member consisting of a thin arched front wall and a thickened bottom, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member and having on said projecting part of its thickened bottom provisions for admitting air into said nipple through the free part of said bottom only.

2. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip, a breast member of greater radius than said tip and anattachment member, said breast member consisting of a thin arched front wall and a thickened bottom, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member and being provided on said projecting part of its thickened bottom with a socket having a thin top wall.

3. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the wall of said tip, and a thicker base, and a relatively stiff attachment member, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member, said projecting part being provided on its bottom with at least two sockets having a thin top wall.

4. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the -wall of said tip, and a thicker base, and a relatively stiff attachment member, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member, said projecting part being provided on its bottom with at least two dome-shaped sockets.

5. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination. a nursing tip having a warted surface, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the wall of said tip, and a thicker base, and a relatively stiff attachment member, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member, said projecting part being provided on its bottom with at least two sockets having a thin top wall.

6. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip having a warted surface, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the wall of said tip, and a thicker base, and a relatively stiff attachment member, part of said breast member projecting radially beyond said attachment member, said projecting part being provided on its bottom with at least two dome-shaped sockets.

7. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip. having a warted surface, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the wall of said tip, and a thicker base, a relatively stiil attachment member whose upper end is of smaller radius thansaid breast member whereby part of said base projects radially beyond said upper end, at least two sockets with a thin top wall being provided in said projecting part, and at least one finger-rest-projection on each of two opposite sides of said sleeve at a distance'from said breast member at least equal to the diameter of a finger.

8. A nursing nipple comprising, in combination, a nursing tip having a warted surface, a breast member of greater radius than said tip, consisting of a thin arched front wall, thinner than the wall of said tip, and a thicker base, a relatively stiff attachment member whose upper end is oi smaller radius than said breast member whereby part of said base projects radially beyond said upper end, at least two sockets with a thin top wall being provided in said projecting part, and an annular finger-rest-bead on the lower end of said attachment member at a distance from said breast member at least equal to the diameter of a finger.

HERMAN HEILBORN.

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