Collapsible baby bottle with integral gripping elements and liner

Abstract

A baby bottle for use with or without a liner in a first embodiment has a container with a bellows shaped top portion with an open end, a body portion having a pair of spaced tubular handle forming members, and a bottom portion having a closed end. The bellows is compressible for removing air from the container when used without a liner or a liner when used. The body portions spaced tubular members having a size suitable for grasping by a baby's hand form a centrally located bottle opening; the opening between the tubular members forms with the shape of the bottle bottom portion a guide for guiding a baby's hands to the handles for self-feeding. The handles are in vertical alignment with the top and bottom portions to facilitate bottle cleaning and liner insertion. A disposable, bifurcated, resilient liner is provided with an insert means for inserting the liner's bifurcated portions through the top portion to fit corresponding portions in the handles, and the bottom portion. In a second embodiment, the body portion tubular surface has opposing recesses for forming adjacent surfaces into handles sized to accommodate the hands of a baby for self-feeding. The handles together with the open space between the recesses form a single passage in open communication with the container's top and bottom portions for facilitating cleaning and sterilization and insertion of a liner when used.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.