Nursing bottle with an air venting structure

A container which vents an interior thereof to the atmosphere to resist the formation of a vacuum when the container is inverted to dispense a liquid therefrom, the container comprising:

• a receptacle adapted to hold liquid, a liquid outlet for dispensing the liquid when the container is inverted, a vent unit adapted to fit within the receptacle, said vent unit comprising a reservoir tube having upper and lower portions, the reservoir tube having a proximal first end adjacent the top of the receptacle and an open second end projecting sufficiently downwardly into the receptacle so that when the container is inverted, the open second end is above the level of the liquid in the receptacle, an airway in the vent unit extending between the outside of the receptacle and a point in the reservoir tube above the level of liquid trapped in the reservoir tube when the container is inverted, and a vent unit forming a portion of said airway adapted to fit within the reservoir tube, having a distal end, the vent tube projecting into the reservoir tube sufficiently so the distal end of the vent tube is above the level of liquid trapped in the reservoir tube when the bottle is inverted.

An improved baby bottle of the type having a nipple, the improvement comprising:

• a reservoir tube having a proximal first end and an open second end, the second end of the reservoir tube projecting sufficiently downwardly in the bottle so that when the bottle is inverted the second end of the reservoir tube is above the level of the liquid trapped in the inverted bottle;
• and
• an air passage between the outside of the bottle and a point in the reservoir tube above the level of the liquid trapped inside the reservoir tube when the bottle is inverted, the air passage and reservoir tube allowing atmospheric air to flow into the bottle to prevent the formation of a vacuum within the bottle when liquid is withdrawn.

A vent unit adapted to install in the open top of a container to vent the container to the atmosphere to resist the formation of a vacuum when the container is inverted to dispense liquid, the vent unit comprising:

• a reservoir tube having a proximal first end and an open second end, wherein the first end is adjacent the open top of the container, the second end of the reservoir tube projecting sufficiently downwardly in the container so that when the container is inverted the second end is above the liquid in the inverted container, the vent unit having an airway extending from the exterior of the container to a point in the reservoir tube above the level of the liquid trapped inside the reservoir tube when the container is inverted, and a vent tube forming a portion of said airway said vent tube adapted to fit within the reservoir tube, having a distal end, the vent tube projecting into the reservoir tube sufficiently so the distal end of the vent tube is above the level of the liquid trapped in the reservoir tube when the container is inverted.