Vent valve assemblies for baby bottles

A vent valve assembly for connection to the bottom open end of a liquid dispensing container, which comprises:

• a bottom cap having a bottom wall with a central portion, a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion, and a side wall extending upwardly from the peripheral portion, the central portion having at least one hole therethrough, the side wall having an interior surface with structure to attach the bottom cap to the bottom open end of the container,
• a sealing member for sealing the bottom cap with the bottom end of the dispensing container when they are connected together,
• a vent valve that is flexible, and has a top portion and an upstanding wall that extends upward to and merges with the top portion, the top portion having a thin flexible radially inwardly extending flap, the upstanding wall having an inside surface, the inside surface having a radially outwardly extending groove formed therein for removably mounting a vent disc therein, and
• a substantially rigid vent disc having at least one small hole therethrough and a first peripheral portion that is removably mounted in the groove, the at least one hole being positioned so that the flap covers the at least one hole in the vent disc and the weight of the liquid in the container above the flap presses the flap down over and closes the at least one vent hole to prevent direct contact of the overlying liquid with and leakage through the at least one hole when the liquid dispensing container is in an upright position, and negative pressure during feeding or dispensing will cause the flexible flap to flex away from the hole and provide a pathway for vent air to flow into the container and alleviate the vacuum created in the container during feeding or dispensing when the container is in a tipped feeding or dispensing position.

A vent valve for use in a bottom cap that has at least one hole therein and is attachable to the bottom open end of a liquid dispensing container, which comprises:

• a vent valve that is flexible, and has a top portion and an upstanding wall that extends upward to and merges with the top portion, the top portion having a thin flexible radially inwardly extending flap, the upstanding wall having an inside surface, and the inside surface having a radially outwardly extending groove formed therein for removably mounting a vent disc therein, and
• a substantially rigid vent disc having at least one small hole therethrough and a first peripheral portion that is removably mounted in the groove, the at least one hole being positioned so that the flap covers the at least one hole in the vent disc, and so that the weight of the liquid in the container above the flap presses the flap down over and closes the at least one hole to prevent direct contact of the overlying liquid with and leakage through the at least one hole when the liquid dispensing container is in an upright position, and negative pressure during feeding or dispensing will cause the flexible flap to flex away from the hole and provide a pathway for vent air to flow into the container and alleviate the vacuum created in the container during feeding or dispensing when the container is in a tipped feeding or dispensing position.