U.S. patent number 3,627,244 [Application Number 05/004,008] was granted by the patent office on 1971-12-14 for bottle holder.
Invention is credited to Charles P. Nicholas.
United States Patent |
3,627,244 |
Nicholas |
December 14, 1971 |
BOTTLE HOLDER
Abstract
A holder for suspending an infant's bottle from the rail of an
enclosure containing an infant to enable unattended feeding of the
infant. The holder comprises a collar in which the bottle is
clamped, a yoke mounting the collar for restrained pivotal movement
on a horizontal axis and an adjustable arm assembly pendulously
mounting the yoke on one end. The arm assembly is mounted at its
other end into the rail by means of a bracket which permits pivotal
movement on a vertical axis so that the bottle and holder may be
displaced toward the side of the enclosure when the feeding is
finished.
Inventors: |
Nicholas; Charles P.
(Philadelphia, PA) |
Family
ID: |
21708682 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/004,008 |
Filed: |
January 19, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/103;
248/279.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J
9/0661 (20150501); A61J 9/0638 (20150501) |
Current International
Class: |
A47D
15/00 (20060101); A61J 9/00 (20060101); A61J
9/06 (20060101); A47d 015/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/103,102,104,279,278 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Harris; Chancellor E.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for securing an infant's bottle to an enclosure
containing the infant to enable manipulation of the bottle as the
infant feeds therefrom, comprising: a collar for slidably receiving
the bottle, means carried by the collar for clamping the bottle
therein, a yoke mounting said collar for pivotal movement on a
substantially horizontal axis, means engaging said yoke and said
collar to lock said collar in a preselected pivotal position with
respect to said yoke, an adjustable arm assembly having means
supporting said yoke at its free end, and a bracket connected to
the other end of said assembly to mount said assembly to the
enclosure for free pivotal movement on a substantially vertical
axis and for limited pivotal movement on a substantially horizontal
axis, said means supporting said yoke on the free end of said arm
assembly affording free pivotal movement of said yoke on
substantially horizontal and vertical axes and including a clevis
carried on said free end of the arm assembly, a tab projecting
upwardly into said clevis, a pin extending through said clevis and
said tab, said tab having a downwardly depending stud, said yoke
having a bore rotatably receiving said stud, and an internally
threaded member threadedly carried on said stud to mount said yoke
to said tab and arm assembly.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said collar locking means
includes a stub shaft on said collar engaging said yoke, and
internally threaded bore in said collar coaxial with and opposite
to said stud shaft, an externally threaded fastener threaded into
said bore and engageable against the outside of the yoke upon
rotation thereof in one direction, whereby a friction clamping
action is provided between the yoke and the collar upon rotation of
said threaded fastener.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said bottle-clamping
means includes an externally threaded operator threadedly engaged
by said collar and operable upon rotation in selected opposite
directions to clamp and unclamp the bottle in the collar.
4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least the collar is of
plastic construction having heat-insulating properties.
5. In an infant's bottle holder including a collar for receiving a
bottle, means carried by the collar for clamping the bottle
therein, an adjustable arm assembly for mounting the collar, and a
bracket for mounting the arm assembly to an infant's enclosure, the
improvement wherein: said adjustable arm assembly includes a pair
of arms each having a flat side with an elongated slot extending
lengthwise therein, a bolt extending through the slot in each arm,
and an internally threaded element threadedly carried by the bolt
to retain the flat sides in flush engagement and operable upon
rotation in selected opposite directions to unlock and lock said
arm; and said bracket includes a C-shaped clamp engageable against
a rail of the enclosure, said clamp having an upwardly projecting
pin, a bifurcated turret rotatably mounted on said pin, said turret
and arm assembly having aligned bores receiving a bolt and nut
assembly operable to displace the turret against the arm assembly
for effecting a clamping action, whereby the disposition of the arm
assembly may be adjusted.
Description
The present invention relates to apparatus for holding an infant's
bottle to enable the infant to feed from the bottle with a minimum
of parental assistance.
Apparatus is disclosed in the prior art for positioning an infant's
bottle in his crib or enclosure to enable the infant to feed
therefrom. Examples of apparatus of this type are found in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 1,826,810, 1,863,163, and 2,110,037. In the first two of
the aforementioned patents, a bottle is suspended from a bow arcing
between the sidewalls of an infant's enclosure. In each of these
structures, the bottle is secured in a semifixed position in the
enclosure, the position being determined by the parent when
initially disposing the bottle in the enclosure. Thus, should the
infant tend to turn or move away from the bottle before it is
emptied of its contents, the infant would be unable to capture the
bottle in his new position to resume feeding. Accordingly, periodic
inspection of the infant's enclosure must be made by the parent to
ensure that the infant has access to its bottle. In addition, the
inflexible holder disclosed in these two patents may pose a hazard
to the infant's safety. Moreover, in the aforementioned patents it
is impossible for the infant to grasp and manipulate the bottle
while feeding.
With foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present
invention to provide novel apparatus for positioning an infant's
bottle within the infant's enclosure to enable the infant to feed
therefrom with a minimum of parental assistance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
improved holder for an infant's bottle to enable displacement of
the bottle and holder into a storage location after feeding.
As a further object, the present invention provides a unique bottle
holder which enables an infant to grasp and manipulate its bottle
before the infant has matured enough to hold the bottle by
itself.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide
inexpensive bottle-holding apparatus which is simple in
construction and economical to manufacture.
As still another object, the present invention provides an
insulated infant's bottle holder fabricated of low-density material
to reduce conductive heat transfer from the bottle.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a
new infant's bottle holder made of basic geometric shapes of
various colors to enhance the educational experiences of the
infant.
More specifically, the present invention provides improved
apparatus for holding an infant's bottle within the infant's
enclosure to enable the infant to feed therefrom with a minimum of
parental supervision. The apparatus comprises a collar mounting a
bottle therein by means of a threaded clamping operator and a yoke
mounting the collar for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis.
Means is provided to engage the collar and the yoke for locking the
collar in selected angular positions therein. The yoke is connected
to one end of an arm assembly for free pivotal movement on
horizontal and vertical axes and the other end of the arm assembly
is clamped onto the side rail of the infant's enclosure by means of
a bracket. The arm assembly is slotted lengthwise and engaged by a
bolt and threaded element to enable its length and disposition in
the enclosure to be adjusted. Also, the bracket mounts the arm
assembly for free pivotal movement on a vertical axis and for
limited pivotal movement on a horizontal axis, the bracket having a
turret engaging the assembly to apply a clamping action
thereagainst for locking it in selected positions on its horizontal
pivotal axis.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention should become apparent from the following description
when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view in reduced scale illustrating bottle
holding apparatus embodying the present invention, the apparatus
being shown mounted on the side rail of an infant's crib with an
infant feeding from a bottle mounted therein;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus illustrated in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2 illustrating a
collar for mounting the infant's bottle; and
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating a modified form
of collar.
Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 an
enclosure 10 in which an infant 11 is confined. The enclosure 10,
in the present instance a conventional crib, has a rail 12
extending along the sides thereof a spaced distance above the
mattress or pad 13 of the crib. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a
bottle holder 14 having an arm assembly 15 connected to the
siderail 12 and extending inwardly from the side rail 12 toward the
center of the enclosure to dispose a bottle 16 adjacent to the
infant 11.
As noted heretofore, prior art bottle holders have not been
entirely satisfactory as the infant matures. One reason is because
each mounts the infant's bottle in a semifixed position in the
crib, thereby preventing the infant from manipulating the bottle in
a natural manner when feeding. Moreover, when he has finished
feeding, prior art holders have not permitted movement of the
bottle into a storage position in the crib.
The present invention obviates the foregoing disadvantages by
providing novel bottle holding apparatus which enables the infant
to manipulate its bottle while feeding. To this end, a collar 20 is
provided to mount the bottle 16 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The
collar 20 has a square aperture 21 therein which is shaped to
slidably receive the bottle 16 which, in the illustrated
embodiment, has a square transverse cross section. When hexagonally
shaped bottles are employed, however, it may be preferable for the
collar 20 to have a hexagonal aperture 121 as illustrated in the
modified embodiment of FIG. 5, although such aperture shape is not
absolutely required as long as the square aperture is sufficiently
large to accommodate a hexagonally shaped bottle.
The bottle 16 is releasably mounted in the collar 20. For this
purpose, means is provided to apply a clamping action against the
sides of the bottle 16 in the collar 20. As may be seen in FIG. 2,
the clamping action is effected by means of an externally threaded
operator 40 threadedly received in the top of the collar 20. The
operator has a knurled knob 41 to facilitate its rotation, and the
operator also has a resilient pad 42 which engages the outside of
the bottle. Thus, rotation of the knob 41 in the clockwise
direction (FIG. 3) causes its pad 42 to engage the bottle 16 and
clamp it into the collar 20, and rotation of the knob 41 in the
opposite or counterclockwise direction causes the pad 42 to
disengage the bottle 16 for unclamping it from the collar. In this
manner, the bottle may be expeditiously mounted and dismounted in
the apparatus.
The angle of inclination of the bottle 16 in the crib may be
adjusted to facilitate access thereto by the infant. For this
purpose, the collar 20 is mounted in a yoke 50 for limited pivotal
movement on a horizontal axis. As may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the
collars 20 and 120 each have a stub shaft 25 and 125 journaled in
their supporting yokes 50 and 150, respectively. Each collar also
has an internally threaded bore coaxial with the stub shaft on the
opposite side of the collar and threadedly receiving an externally
threaded fastener 26 and 126 having knurled portions 27 and 127
respectively. In addition, the collar 120 has a threaded operator
140 which operates like the operator 40 to clamp and unclamp a
bottle therein. With this structure, the angular relation of the
collar 20 or 120 to its mounting yoke 50 or 150 may be adjusted by
pivoting the collar on its axis and rotating the fastener 26 or 126
in selected opposite directions to effect the required locking and
unlocking actions.
In accordance with the present invention, the bottle 16 is mounted
in its holder in a manner which enables the infant to manipulate it
in a natural manner while feeding as he matures. To this end, means
is provided to mount the yoke 50 for free pivotal movement on both
horizontal and vertical axes in the infant's enclosure. In the
illustrated embodiment, the yoke mounting means comprises a clevis
60 formed on one end of the arm assembly 15 and a tab 65 projecting
upwardly into the clevis 60 and pivotally secured thereto by means
of a pin 66. The yoke 50 is rotatably secured to the tab 65 by
means of an externally threaded stud 67 depending downwardly from
an integral shoulder 68 on the tab. The stud 67 extends through a
bore in the top of the yoke 50 and is engaged by an internally
threaded acorn or lock-type nut 69. With this structure, the collar
20 and the bottle 16 mounted therein may pivot freely on horizontal
and vertical axes without altering the tilt of the bottle. As a
result, an infant may manipulate the bottle 16 while feeding even
before achieving the degree of physical maturation which would
normally be required to enable the infant to hold the bottle 16
without assistance.
The bottle holder of the present invention may be used in a variety
of infant's enclosures having a range of sizes. For this purpose,
the length and disposition of the arm assembly 15 is adjustable. As
may be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the arm assembly comprises a pair of
flat elongated arms 70 and 71, the arm 70 being connected at one
end to the yoke 50 through the clevis and tab assembly carried
thereon, and the arm 71 being connected at one end to a bracket 80
on the siderail 12. Each arm 70 and 71 has an elongated slot 72 and
73 respectively extending lengthwise therein. The arms 70 and 71
are disposed side-by-side and are interconnected by a bolt 74
having its head engaging the side of the arm 70 and threadedly
carrying an internally threaded and externally knurled element 75
engaging the side of the other arm 71. In the illustrated
embodiment, the bolt 74 has a boss 76 adjacent its head which
engages in the slot 72 in the arm 70 to prevent the bolt from
rotating when the knurled element 75 is rotated. With this
structure, rotation of the knurled element 75 in selected opposite
directions causes the arms to be locked or unlocked to enable the
arm assembly 15 to be adjusted so that the location of the bottle
16 in the crib may be varied.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, the
bottle-holding apparatus is portable and enables the bottle to be
displaced into a storage position by the infant when the infant is
finished feeding. To this end, means is provided to mount the arm
assembly 15 for free pivotal movement on a vertical axis. As may be
seen in FIG. 2, the bracket 80 has a C-shaped clamping element 81
threadedly mounting an externally threaded and knurled operator 82
projecting upwardly in the lower jaw of the element 81. The
operator 82 has a resilient pad 83 on its terminus for engaging the
underside of the rail 12, and the inside of the upper jaw of the
element 81 has a series of teeth 84, 84 which engage and grip the
top side of the rail 12. The arm assembly is mounted to the
clamping element 81 by means of a bifurcated turret 90 which
rotates on an upstanding pin 91 and is secured against vertical
displacement to the pin 91 by a snap ring 92. The arm assembly 15
is clamped in selected positions in the turret 90 by means of a
bolt 93 and knurled nut 94 which pass through the arm 71 and the
turret 90 to engage opposite sides thereof for effecting a clamping
action when the nut 94 is rotated. The confronting inner surfaces
of the turret are also knurled to provide increased friction and
improve the locking action effected. Thus, with this structure,
disposition of the arm assembly 15 in the enclosure may be readily
adjusted, and it may be freely pivoted on the vertical axis of the
bracket 80 into the storage position (illustrated in broken lines
in FIG. 1) which is away from the infant's sleep or play area of
the crib.
The materials from which the apparatus of the present invention are
fabricated are preferably low-density molded plastic to reduce both
the cost of the apparatus and the conductive transfer of heat from
the bottle 16. Moreover, the all plastic construction is resistant
to damage caused by possible harsh treatment of the apparatus by
the infant. Also, the collar 20, the yoke 50, the arm assembly 15,
and the bracket 80 are preferably multicolored to enhance the
appearance of the apparatus and to increase the educational
experiences of the infant.
In use, the bracket 80 is clamped onto the side rail of the
infant's crib 10. The bottle 16, filled with liquid food, is
clamped onto the collar 20 upon rotation of the operator 40 in the
proper direction. The length and disposition of the arm assembly 15
is also adjusted and set by rotation of the knurled element 75 and
nut 94. The bottle 16 may then be disposed adjacent the infant 11
when the arm assembly 15 is pivoted outwardly on the bracket 80.
When the infant is finished feeding from the bottle 16, the entire
bottle holder assembly may be displaced into its storage position
adjacent the side of the enclosure by the infant or by its
parent.
In view of the foregoing, it should be apparent that an improved
bottle holder has now been provided to enable an infant to feed
from its bottle with a minimum of parental assistance and
supervision. The freedom for movement enables the bottle to be
displaced as the infant moves or if the infant determines to reject
the bottle, avoiding the necessity for the parent or babysitter
making readjustments, since the tilt of the bottle is maintained at
the proper angle for proper feeding.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been
described in detail, various modifications, alterations or changes
may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
present invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *