GB2236386A

GB2236386A - Bottle warmer

Info

Publication number: GB2236386A
Application number: GB8919875A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Barrington Alfred Hendy; Michael John Buffey
Original assignee: OPELLA HOLDINGS Ltd
Current assignee: OPELLA HOLDINGS Ltd
Priority date: 1989-09-02
Filing date: 1989-09-02
Publication date: 1991-04-03
Also published as: GB8919875D0

Abstract

A warmer for a baby's bottle has a body (10) with spaced outer and inner annular walls (13 and 14). The inner wall (14) defines the side wall of an open-topped chamber (16) which is partly filled with water. An electrical heating element (20) is provided in a recess (18) in the base of the chamber (16). A bottle to be warmed is placed on a support grid (19) resting on a step (17) of the inner wall (14) so as to be partly immersed in the water in the chamber (16). <IMAGE>

Description

BOTTLE WARMER This invention relates to a.bottle warmer and is particularly concerned with an electrically operated warmer for warming and maintaining the temperature of milk in a baby's bottle at the required temperature.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle warmer in a particularly convenient form.

According to the present invention, there is provided bottle warmer comprising a body having a bottlereceiving, open-topped chamber, and an electrical heating element in the base of said chamber, said chamber being adapted to be partly filled with water so that the electrical heating element and part of the bottle are immersed in water in use, said body having an outer wall which surrounds and is spaced from an inner wall in said body which defines a side wall of the chamber.

Preferably, a window is provided in the outer wall of the chamber. Such a window may be covered, in use, by a light transmitting cover and a lamp may be provided within the body to enable the bottle warmer to be seen in the dark and to provide a "night" or "comfort" light in the room in which the bottle warmer is used. As an alternative, the window may be provided with a blanking cover so that the bottle warmer can be sold with or without such a light. In the case where a blanking cover is provided, it may conveniently carry information such as a trade mark or the manufacturer's name.

The heater will be thermostatically controlled and it is particularly convenient to provide a manual control to set the temperature at which the thermostat operates, so that a temperature within a desired range can be selected and maintained.

The heating element is preferably contained within a separate recess in the bottom of the chamber and separated from the remainder of the chamber by a support plate upon which a bottle rests in use and which has openings therethrough to permit natural circulation of water. The heating element is preferably a heating coil which is totally enclosed within the recess by a heatconducting housing.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a bottle warmer according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-section through the bottle warmer of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a detail view showing a seal 21 used in the bottle warmer.

Referring to the drawings, the bottle warmer comprises an injection moulded plastics body 10 formed of a main body part 11 and a base part 12 which are fixedly secured together. The main body part 11 is formed with an outer annular wall 13 and an inner annular wall 14 integrally united at an upper rim 15 of the body 10. The inner wall 14 defines the side wall of a bottlereceiving, open-topped chamber 16 within the body 10.

Towards its lower end, the inner wall 14 is inwardly stepped at 17 so as to define a recess 18 in the base of the chamber 16. A support grid 19 rests on this step 17 and serves to support a bottle (not shown) in use when the latter is introduced into the chamber 16 through the open top defined by the upper rim 15.

The bottle warmer further comprises an electrical heating element 20 which is closed by a metal casing.

The heating element 20 is mounted in the recess 18 and sealed with the main body part 11 using an annular seal 21 which is trapped between the metal casing and a lower annular flange 22 formed integrally with the inner wall 14 of the main body part 11. The seal 21 is illustrated in more detail in Figure 3 and is provided with upper and lower annular convex sealing lips 21a to improve the sealing action. The The heating element has a pair of legs 23 supporting terminals 24. The legs 23 pass through a mounting bracket 25.A fixing screw 26 passes through a locking plate 39 which bears against the mounting bracket 25, the fixing screw 26 engaging an internally threaded recess in the heating element 20 so that tightening of the screw 26 serves to compress the seal 21 to seal the element 20 against the flange 22 and also serves to secure the mounting bracket 25 against the underside of the flange 22.

The mounting bracket 25 mounts a bimetallic striptype thermostat 27 whose opening temperature can be controlled by rotation of a manually-operable knob 28 rotatably mounted in the body 10 at the junction between the main body part 11 and the base part 12.

Diametrically opposite the knob 28, the body 10 is provided with a window 29 removably closed by a translucent cover 30. Light-emitting diodes (not shown) and associated electrical circuitry 31 for driving such diodes are mounted on a printed circuit board 32 opposite the window 29. An electrical supply lead 33 serves to supply power to the diodes and to the heating element 20, the latter via the thermostat 27. A neon light 34, supported by a holder 35 so as to be visible externally of the body 10 above the knob 28, is connected to the supply so that, when current is flowing through the thermostat, the neon light 34 is illuminated to indicate that the warmer is in a heating mode. Light from the diodes passes through the translucent cover 30 and provides sufficient illumination to serve as a "night" or "comfort" light.The diodes are connected to the electrical supply lead 33 so that they are always illuminated when there is an electrical supply through the lead 33. This is in contrast to the neon light 34 which is only illuminated during the heating mode of the element 20, ie, when the thermostat 27 is closed.

The lead 33 passes out of the body 10 via an annular recess 37 formed in the underside of the base part 12. The recess 37 accommodates any length of lead 33 which is excess to requirement, such excess being simply wound around a reel 38 secured within the recess 37.

In use, the water is poured into the chamber 16 so as to cover the heating element 20 completely and fill the chamber 16 sufficiently that, when a bottle to be warmed is introduced into the chamber 16 and is allowed to rest on the support grid 19, the water does not overflow from the chamber 16.

The bottle warmer is safe to use because of the totally enclosed heating element 20, it can conveniently be set to heat and maintain a bottle at any desired temperature within the limits set by operation of the knob 28, and it can be easily seen when entering the room because of the light transmitted through the cover 30 from the diodes.

Claims

1. A bottle warmer comprising a body having a bottlereceiving, open-topped chamber, and an electrical heating element in the base of said chamber, said chamber being adapted to be partly filled with water so that the electrical heating element and part of the bottle are immersed in water in use, said body having an outer wall which surrounds and is spaced from an inner wall in said body which defines a side wall of the chamber.

2. A bottle warmer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a window is provided in the outer wall of the chamber.

3. A bottle warmer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the window is covered, in use, by a light transmitting cover.

4. A bottle warmer as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein a lamp is provided within the body.

5. A bottle warmer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the heater is thermostatically controlled and a manual control is provided to set the temperature at which the thermostat operates, so that a temperature within a desired range can be selected and maintained.

6. A bottle warmer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the heating element is contained within a separate recess in the bottom of the chamber and separated from the remainder of the chamber by a support plate upon which a bottle rests in use and which has openings therethrough to permit natural circulation of water.

7. A bottle warmer as claimed in claim 6, wherein the heating element is a heating coil which is totally enclosed within the recess by a heat-conducting housing.

8. A bottle warmer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.