US3620491A

US3620491A - Nursing bottle holder

Info

Publication number: US3620491A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul S Baclit
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-04-09
Filing date: 1970-04-09
Publication date: 1971-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 1988-11-16

Abstract

A nursing bottle holder in which a bottle is carried in a pivot mount which is releasably secured on a support member, the support member being formed to straddle a baby whereby to enable the baby to feed from the bottle and allowing ready removal of the pivot mount from the support member.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Paul S. Bnclit 2167 College View Drive, Monterey Park, Los Angeles, Calif. 91754 App]. No. 27,084 Filed Apr. 9, 1970 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 248/106, 224/5 W, 248/104, 248/137 Int. Cl A47d 15/00 Field 01 Search 248/103, 102, 105, 106, 107; 224/5 W, 5 (.23); 128/132, 134

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Craig Rea Smith... Lande Johnson l-lurtzig..... Kimball....

Williams Primary ExaminerChancellor E. Harris Attorney-Robbins, Wills & Berliner Nilsson ABSTRACT: A nursing bottle holder in which a bottle is carried in a pivot mount which is releasably secured on a support member, the support member being formed to straddle a baby whereby to enable the baby to feed from the bottle and allowing ready removal of the pivot mount from the support member.

PATENTEnunv 16 197i 3,620, 19 1 INVENTOR.

BY PQUL 5. 5/ /64.-

NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER FIELD OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The bottle nursing of a baby is often a tedious chore requiring extensive periods of time during which the mother cannot accomplish other household tasks. To alleviate this situation, it is common practice to wrap the nursing bottle in a blanket or toweling so as to prop the bottle in position whereby the baby can feed itself. A bottle holder constructed for that purpose is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,485,461 wherein the bottle is retained on a cushion.

Such methods are not adequate since the bottle can be easily moved away when released from the baby's mouth. Other bottle holders have been suggested in which the bottle is automatically tilted rearwardly when released. One such device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,544 wherein a nursing bottle is pivotally supported by coil springed clamping means between opposite sides of a framework. However, such devices are also readily pushed away by the baby. Still another type of device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,426 in which a nursing bottle is pivotally secured between opposite sides of a holder, which sides are disposed to rest upon a supporting surface at opposite sides of the infant. Such devices while solving some of the foregoing problems are not entirely satisfactory in that movement of the baby can upset the device. Furthermore, such devices are quite bulky and inconvenient to load.

The present invention provides a nursing bottle holder which overcomes the foregoing drawbacks. A pivot mount for the bottle is provided which is releasably secured to a support formed to straddle a baby. The pivot mount includes a base, a pair of members upright from the base, a bottle gripper, and means for pivotally securing the bottle gripper to and between the upper portions of the upright members. By such means a nursing bottle can be pivotally disposed between the upright members whereby to enable the baby to feed from the bottle. By releasably securing the pivot mount on the support it can be readily removed from the support member for purposes of cleaning or for ready loading of the bottle.

The support member is formed as a shield for the baby, the sides thereof defining arm accommodating recesses so that the support member can straddle the baby. In a particular embodiment, the support member defines a plurality of peripheral strap openings whereby the support member may be strapped to the baby.

In other embodiments, the bottle gripper is formed with suction cups and means for flexibly disposing the suction cups so as to secure the nursing bottle. A weight can be disposed on the rear end of the bottle gripper so that the bottle gripper pivots into a rearwardly tilted position when the baby releases the bottle. The base of the pivot mount can be formed with a flat bottom so as to be self-standing and so as to provide a tray portion which can be utilized to hold a variety of implements which may be useful following the feeding of the baby. In accordance with further aspects of the invention, the upright members of the pivot mount are formed in representation of the head ofa creature, such as a dog, or the like.

To facilitate securement and release of the pivot mount, the base of the pivot mount can be formed with one or more slots or projections and the support member can be formed with one or more projections or slots for slidable mating engagement with the base. In a further embodiment, an extension member is provided which is formed for removable securement between the pivot mount and the support member whereby to extend the distance of the bottle from the baby, so that the device can be utilized as the baby gets larger.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a nursing bottle holder of this invention shown in use by a baby;

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the nursing bottle holder of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectioned view of the bottle gripper taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an extension member which can be utilized with the device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As required, a detailed illustrative embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. However, it is'to be understood that this embodiment merely exemplifies the invention which may take many different forms that are radically different from the specific illustrative embodiment disclosed. Therefore, specific structural and functional details as disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims which define the scope of the invention.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a nursery bottle holder 10 of this invention being utilized by a nursing baby 12. Referring additionally to FIG. 2, the bottle holder 10 includes a pivot mount 14 which is releasably secured on a support member 16. The support member 16 is formed as a shield for the baby and can be constructed of polyethylene plastic or the like with sufficient rigidity to support the pivot mount 14. In this regard, the support member 16 constitutes a protective shell bib for the baby which prevents spillage on the baby. The support member 16 is formed so as to rest upon a surface such as bedding 18 on opposite sides of the baby and the

sides

20 and 22 of the support member define arm accommodating recesses such as 24 for this purpose. The rear portion 26 of the support member is formed open and the front portion 28 of the support member is formed so as to define a recess 30 for accommodating the neck of the baby. By such construction, the baby can be straddled by the support member 16'.

A securement member 32 is provided fixed to the top of the support member 16 and somewhat forwardly thereof as illustrated. The securement member 32 may be formed integral with the support member 16 by being cast therewith or may be fixed thereto by gluing or by other means. The securement member 32 is rectangularly formed to engage with the rectangular base 34 of the pivot mount 14. In particular, the pivot mount base 34 is provided with projections in the form of side flanges such as at 36 and a front flange 38 disposed for slidable mating engagement with corresponding side slots, such as at 40, and a front slot, shown in shadow at 42. By such means, the pivot mount 14 slidably engages the securement member 32 so as to secure it to the support member 16. By disposing the securement member 32 as described somewhat forwardly of the curved top surface of the support member 16, gravity alone retains the pivot mount 14 in place. To remove the pivot mount 14, one need merely push rearwardly thereon for slidable disengagement from the securement member 32.

Referring now in more detail to the pivot mount 14, there is included a base portion 34 as described which is defined by a flat rectangular tray 44. A pair of flat

upright members

46 and 48 are disposed on opposite sides of the tray 44 and are secured with front and rear struts 50 and 52 (the latter being shown in shadow).

The

upright members

46 and 48 are formed in representation of the head of a creature to thereby impart a decorative effect to the bottle holder. For example, the head of a dog can be utilized as shown, or one could depict a rabbit, cartoon character, etc. In the present illustration, the

upright members

46 and 48 are formed in representation of a dog's head, and are provided with car pieces such as at 54 which can be glued to the head or may pivot from

pivot points

56 and 57 which will be referred to hereinafter in more detail. The particular manner of construction of the present invention allows the utilization of such pictorial representations.

A bottle gripper 58 is'pivotally secured to and between the upper portions of the

upright members

46 and 48. The bottle gripper 58 comprises a cradle 60 formed in one piece of flexible plastic such as polyethylene and can define a plurality of openings 62 where material can be omitted. The bottle gripper 58 includes extended portions constituting fingers 64 and 66 rearwardly thereof and fingers 68 and 70 centrally thereof. The

fingers

64, 66, 68 and 70 are provided at their outer ends with

suction cups

72, 73, 74 and 75 respectively which serve to securely retain a nursing bottle 76 which is disposed therein.

The cradle 60 is pivotally secured by loose fitting grommets 78 and 79 at pivot points 81 and 83 thereon lined up with the pivot points 56 and 57 referred to above. The point of securement of the cradle 60 may be offset rearwardly of center line to offset the balance of the cradle 60. Referring to FIG. 3, a weight, such as a lead weight 80 is secured to the bottom rear end of the cradle 60 so as to counterbalance the cradle 60. The weight 80 is sufficiently heavy to counterbalance the cradle with the bottle 76 therein at all fluidlevels so that the cradle will rotate the bottle into a rearwardly tilted position when the baby releases its nipple.

In utilizing the nursery bottle holder l0,'thebaby's mother separates the pivot mountl4 from the support member 16 and loads the cradle 60 with the nursing bottle 76. She then merely has to slide the pivot mount 14 onto the securement member 32 and the device is ready to be used. The support member 16 may now beplaced over the baby so that the baby's arms extend through the recesses 24, and the bottle tilted downwardly so that the baby can feed therefrom. After the baby has finished feeding, the counterweight 80 causes the bottle to tilt rearwardly, removing it as an obstruction. The baby's mother can then slide the pivot mount 14 rearwardly to remove it from the securement member 32.

Conveniently, the struts 50 and 52 and

upright members

46 and 48 define raised edges for the tray 44 enabling the tray 44 to be used to contain accessories as desired, such as a pacifier, or diaper pins. The provision of ready removability of the pivot mount 14 enables that member to be readily cleaned and also enables ready cleaning of the support member by single use of a wet rag or the like.

It may be desired to use the bottle holder 10 while the baby is in an upright position. For this purpose, the bottle holder is provided with peripheral slots 82 through which straps (not shown) may be threaded to secure the support member 16 to the baby. For such purposes, it may be desirable to provide a latching mechanism to prevent the pivot mount 14 from sliding off the support 16. Such a mechanism is shown at 84 that comprises a dowel 86 spring loaded through an opening 88 in the rear top surface of the support member 16. The dowel 86 is provided rearwardly with a shaved face portion 90 which reacts against the forward surface of the securing member base 34 during insertion thereof to press downwardly against the force of the spring 92. After complete insertion of the securing member 14, the dowel 86 is released to extend up wardly against the rear strut 52 to prevent rearward movement of the pivot mount 14. To release the pivot mount 14, one need merely push the dowel 86 downwardly with his thumb and slide the pivot mount 14 rearwardly thereover.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a further refinement of the invention in which an extension member 94 is provided which can be removably secured between the pivot mount 14 and the securement member 32 so as to extend the distance of the bottle from the baby. The extension member 94 is useful to raise the level of the bottle as the baby grows older and it is contemplated thata series of such extension members may be provided to enable the bottle holder 10 to be used over an extended period of time. The extension member 94 is famed with a flat, rectangular base portion 96 secured between vertically extending sides 98 and 100 and vertically extending front portion 102. The sides 98 and 100 and front portion 102 are formed with slots 104 and 106 (the latter being shown in shadow) above the surface of the base member 96 for slidable mating engagement with the side and front flanges 36 and 3 of the pivot mount 14. Referring additionally back to FIG. 2, the securement member 32 is formed along its sides with external slots such as at 108. The extension member sides 98 and 100 are provided with internally directed flanges 110 and 112 below the surface of the'base portion 96 for slidable mating engagement with the external mount member slot 108. By such means, the extension member 94 may be slid onto the securement member 32 and the pivotmount 14 may be slid onto the extension member 94. If desired, the dowel 86 may be replaced with a larger dowel which extends sufi'rciently to secure both the extension member 94 and pivot mount 14.

By using the foregoing concepts, a nursing bottle holder is provided which is of simple construction yet which is durable and aesthetically pleasing and which provides convenience and utility not heretofore obtained.

I claim:

1. A nursing bottle holder, comprising:

a nursing bottle pivot mount comprising:

a base, a pair of members upright from said base, a bottle gripper, and meansfor pivotally securing said bottle gripper to and between upper portions of said upright member;

means for releasably securing said pivot mount to said support member whereby to enable said baby to feed from said bottle and allowing ready removal of said pivot mount from said support member.

2. The invention according to claim 1 including a weight on the rear end of said bottle gripper whereby to pivot said bottle gripper into a rearwardly tilted position.

3. The invention according to claim 1 including suction cups and means for flexibly disposing said suction cups on said bottle gripper whereby to grip said nursing bottle.

4. The invention according to claim 1 in which said base is formed with a flat bottom for self-standing thereof.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which said upright members are formed in representation of the head of a creature.

6. The invention according to claim 1 in which said pivot mount includes a base formed with one or more slots or projections and said support member is formed with one or more projections or slots for slidable mating engagement with said .base whereby said pivot mount may be slidably secured to said support member.

Claims

1. A nursing bottle holder, comprising: a nursing bottle pivot mount comprising: a base, a pair of members upright from said base, a bottle gripper, and means for pivotally securing said bottle gripper to and between upper portions of said upright member; means for releasably securing said pivot mount to said support member whereby to enable said baby to feed from said bottle and allowing ready removal of said pivot mount from said support member.

6. The invention according to claim 1 in which said pivot mount includes a base formed with one or more slots or projections and said support member is formed with one or more projections or slots for slidable mating engagement with said base whereby said pivot mount may be slidably secured to said support member.