Infrared thermometer   

Abstract: A hygienic device for use with a container opening is provided. The hygienic device includes a base and at least two guard elements which are integrally formed as a unitary structure. The guard elements, which are made of a soft resilient material and positioned on the base, are readily bendable downward to change shape and thus facilitate the opening/closing thereof, and can get closer together to form a protective layer for enclosing the container opening. The hygienic device requires lesser constituent elements and dispenses with the need to remove a hygienic lid from the container before using the container. The guard elements are capable of rebounding and adjusting shape and thickness, effective in balancing a resilient force and a binding force generated as a result of the bending and opening of the guard elements, and effective in attaching to the container; hence, the guard elements open without increasing occupied space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hygienic devices, and more particularly, to a hygienic device installed at a container opening.

2. Description of the Related Art

At present, hygienic devices of commercially-available feeding bottles, water bottles, or other containers fall within the following categories: 1. Separation-type hygienic lids: as shown in FIG. 1, a hygienic lid 01 and a container 10 are independent of each other. Before starting to use the container 10, a user has to remove the hygienic lid 01 from the container 10. However, it is not uncommon to find the hygienic lid 01 missing after its removal from the container 10. Alternatively, it is feasible to provide a simple connection (such as a chain, a cord, or a plastic strip) between the hygienic lid 01 and the container 10 as shown in FIG. 2; however, in doing so, use of the container 10 is inevitably hindered by the hygienic lid 01 to the detriment of ease of use. 2. Rotation-type hygienic elements: a hygienic element 02 is pivotally connected to the container 10 through a pivotal axle and comes in two forms, namely single and twin. As shown in FIG. 3, the single rotatable hygienic element 02 protects a container opening. The single rotatable hygienic element 02 keeps a rotational space, and thus less than 50% of the space is accessible to the container opening. As a result, it is impossible for a device, such as a teat, to be centrally positioned in the container opening. As shown in FIG. 4, the twin rotatable hygienic element 02 protects the container opening, thereby increasing the space accessible to the container opening; however, to enable the container 10 to be available for use, the two hygienic elements 02 have to be opened outward and thus occupy much space to the detriment of ease of use. Furthermore, the pivotal axle of the hygienic element 02 is structurally complicated and thus difficult to clean; as a result, the ease of use of the hygienic element 02 is compromised. Referring to FIG. 5, another twin hygienic element (disclosed in WO 2006/010935 A1) comprises a soft elastomer instead of a pivotal axle structure, but still has the same drawback as the hygienic element shown in FIG. 4 does, that is, being too space-consuming to be user-friendly. 3. Hinge-type protective lids: as shown in FIG. 6, a protective lid 03 and the container 10 are connected by a hinge; however, the protective lid 03 is quite close to the container opening when opened, thereby compromising ease of use of the container to a certain extent; also, another drawback of the hinge-type protective lid 03 is that it is as difficult to clean as its aforesaid counterparts.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the present invention to improve on the prior art by providing a hygienic device adapted for use with a container opening and advantageously characterized by ease of use, space saving, and being easy to clean.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a hygienic device for use with a container opening. The hygienic device for use with a container opening comprises a base and guard elements. The guard elements are made of a soft resilient material. The base is fixed to the container opening rim. At least two said guard elements bendable downward are positioned at an upper end of the base, such that the guard elements can get closer together to form a protective layer for enclosing the container opening.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base and the guard elements are integrally formed as a unitary structure and made of a soft resilient material.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, transit holes for preventing stress concentration are formed at the roots portions at two sides of the guard elements.

The present invention has the following advantages: the soft resilient material is readily bendable to cause a change in the shape of the guard elements and thus effectuate the opening/closing function; the present invention reduces the required constituent elements, cuts costs, and dispenses with the need to remove a hygienic lid from a container before using the container and thus prevents the hygienic lid from getting lost; due to its resilience, the soft resilient material is capable of rebounding and thus easy to operate; adjustment of shape and thickness is effective in balancing a resilient force and a binding force which are generated by the material as soon as the guard elements bend and open, and is effective in attaching the guard elements to the surface of the container, as a result, the guard elements can open without increasing the occupied space, thereby enhancing ease of use; finally, the base and the guard elements of the hygienic device of the present invention are integrally formed as a unitary structure, and thus the hygienic device is easy to clean and cost-saving.

FIG. 1 shows a separation-type hygienic lid in an embodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows a simple connection of a hygienic lid and a container in an embodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 shows a single rotation-type hygienic element in an embodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 4 shows a twin rotation-type hygienic element in an embodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 5 shows another twin hygienic element in an embodiment according to the prior art (WO 2006/010935 A1);

FIG. 6 shows a hinge-type protective lid in an embodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view about how to operate a hygienic device (in a closed state) according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view about how to operate the hygienic device (in an opened state) according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view about how to operate the hygienic device (in a half-opened state) according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a hygienic device for use with a container opening according to the present invention comprises a protective layer 20 and a base 30. The protective layer 20 and the base 30 are integrally formed as a unitary structure. The protective layer 20 is made of a soft resilient material (such as silicone or thermoplastic rubber). The base 30 is firmly fixed to the rim of the opening of the container 10 (that is, a feeding bottle in this embodiment) (that is, a teat fixing lid 11 in this embodiment.) A groove 22 is disposed on the protective layer 20 for dividing the protective layer 20 into two guard elements 21. The root portion of each of the guard elements 21 is connected to the base 20 such that, in a free state, the two guard elements 21 get closer together and thereby close to form the protective layer 20 at the container opening. Given the protective layer 20, the container opening or a device disposed (a teat 12 in this embodiment) at the container opening is shut out from the outside to effectuate a hygienic function. Due to the resilience of the soft resilient material, the guard elements 21 can bend downward freely to open the protective layer 20, thereby allowing the teat to be available for use. A round transit hole 221 is disposed at each of the two ends of the groove 22 for preventing the root portions of the guard elements 21 from a rupture which might otherwise occur when the guard elements 21 bend and thus cause stress concentration to the root portions. When bent, the guard elements 21 made of the soft resilient material are adjustable in shape and thickness to thereby control the interaction between a binding force and a resilient force generated by the resilient guard elements 21 and thus attach the resilient guard elements 21 to the surface of the container 10. Hence, the guard elements 21 thus opened do not extend outward, thereby solving an existing problem facing a conventional rigid hygienic device—an open state that is space-consuming. Furthermore, according to the present invention, in an open state, bends 211 of the guard elements 21 enclose the top surface and corners of the teat fixing lid 31, and thus the soft guard element bends 211 enhance the comfort perceived by a baby while the baby\'s mouth is in contact with the teat fixing lid 31. Upon completion of the use of the hygienic device of the present invention, all the user needs to do is to move the guard elements 21 to destroy the equilibrium of the binding force and the resilient force, such that the guard elements 21 rebound independently to return to the free state and get closer together to form the protective layer 20 at the opening of the feeding bottle again.

Referring to FIG. 9, since the two guard elements 21 which get closer together and shut at the container opening in the free state are likely to generate an inadequate closing force whereby the integrity of the protective layer 20 would be endangered in the presence of an external force exerted in a direction parallel with the groove 22; hence, coupling devices 212 (that is, magnetic bodies in this embodiment) are disposed at the mutually attaching position of the two guard elements 21, such that the two guard elements 21 which get closer together and shut at the container opening in the free state can generate a sufficient closing force.

If the container opening is provided with a fixing device (such as a screw thread), it will be feasible for the base 30 to be provided with a fixing device (such as a corresponding screw thread) corresponding in position to the container 10, such that the base 30 can be tightly fixed to the rim of the opening of the container 10 easily.

The present invention is disclosed above by preferred embodiments. However, persons skilled in the art should understand that the preferred embodiments are illustrative of the present invention only, but should not be interpreted as restrictive of the scope of the present invention. Hence, all equivalent changes and modifications made to the aforesaid embodiments should fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.