| 主权项 |
1. A nursing bottle for preventing an infant from swallowing air having an air-venting system, the nursing bottle comprising:
a container having an opening; a nipple having a top aperture tip portion, a generally bowl-shaped base portion adapted to couple to the housing of the container and an annular flange connected to a bottom of the bowl-shaped base portion for engaging with a neck of the nursing bottle; a collar, the collar configured to couple the base portion and the annular flange to the neck of the nursing bottle; an air-venting tube extending from the bowl-shaped base portion into the interior area of the container, the tube having an open end coupled to and in air communication with an air inlet recessed at the bottom of the bowl-shaped base portion of the nipple and adjacent to the annular flange without being covered by the collar, and an opposite closed end disposed near a bottom of the container without being inserted into liquid of the container when the container is in an inverted and tilted nursing position; at least one longitudinally extending slit formed on a sidewall of the air-venting tube adjacent to the closed end thereof; wherein the closed end comprises sufficient length to position the at least one longitudinally extending slit proximally to the bottom of the container so as to avoid engagement between the at least one longitudinally extending slit and the liquid when the container is in the inverted and tilted nursing position; wherein the slit comprises a length sufficient to permit air to force slit open and enter the container and yet prevent liquid from leaking out of the container through the slit, the slit prevents a leakage of liquid from the container through the air-venting tube to the air inlet, and the slit serves as a valve that permits air flow in only one direction from an outside area of the container to the interior area of the container; when the liquid flows out from the container, the slit opens, when the liquid stops flowing out from the container, the slit closes up and keeps the container leak-proof; and wherein suction on the aperture tip portion of the nipple of the container held in an inverted and tilted nursing position causes a drop of pressure of the air at the bottom of the container, and during the suction, an air pressure in the interior area of the container is lower than the air pressure outside the container, and a difference in air pressure between the outside and interior area of the container forces the slit to open, thereby drawing air from the outside of the container into the air inlet along the air venting tube through the slit and to the bottom of the container without through the liquid of the container; when the air enters the interior area of the container, the air pressure in the interior area and outside the container become balanced, and the slit closes up. |
