Baby Bottle Holder

Abstract

This baby bottle holder comprises a sleeve in which the bottle fits, and having handles at both sides adjacent the bottom of the holder to provide balance when a bottle is in the holder. The handles are open to provide grips but the openings are not so large that a baby can slip its hands therethrough.

Description

The present invention relates to holders for baby nursing bottles.

The hands of babies of nursing age are too small to grasp firmly a conventional nursing bottle. Moreover a baby cannot turn its wrists to properly hold and grip the bottle.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a baby's nursing bottle holder suitable for use by babies one to twelve months old, and which will enable a baby to firmly grasp and hold a nursing bottle while feeding from the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which is weight-balanced so that the baby is not required to exert any effort in holding and nursing from the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which will strength a baby's grip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which will stay where it is put, and will not roll.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which is therapeutic in its action in the sense that it keeps a baby happy and gives it a sense of control, and which, moreover, will cause a baby to exercise its arms and fingers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which will enable a baby to retrieve a bottle with one finger should the baby knock the bottle away.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a nursing bottle holder which may be of one-piece construction, is easy to clean, has no parts which can be lost, and which is designed for easy assembly to or removal from a bottle.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a baby bottle holder that can readily be manufactured in various shapes and sizes to fit any type of nursing bottle.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a nursing bottle holder made according to one embodiment of this invention, and showing a nursing bottle therein;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of holder made according to another embodiment of this invention.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 10 denotes a conventional nursing bottle having a cylindrical body portion, a removable screw on cap 11, and a nipple 12. My bottle holder comprises a plastic sleeve 14 of the same shape as the body portion of the bottle and adapted to fit snugly thereover. This sleeve is shorter than the bottle so that the bottle projects at top and bottom beyond the sleeve and its cap and nipple lie wholly beyond the top of the holder. Integral with the sleeve and projecting from opposite sides of the bottle holder are two handles 15 and 16 by which the baby can grasp the holder. These handles lie in a plane offset from a plane containing the axis of the holder so that the baby can grasp the handles without having to turn its wrists. The loops 15 and 16 which constitute the handles should not be so large that the baby's hands slip through them. They are made of a size so that the baby has to grip them with its fingers.

In the modification of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the holder 14' is again a sleeve shorter in length than the bottle which is to be mounted in the holder; and it is made with a conical portion 18 at its top to conform to the shape of the bottle 10 at its top. It has two elongate handles at either side below the central or axial plane of the holder and having side, gripping bars 19 spaced from the holder but not spaced therefrom so far that the baby can slip its hands through the spaces between the side bars and the holder. The holder 14', moreover, has an elongate slot 20 through it which constitutes a see-through gage to check the content of the bottle at any time.

The location of the handles in a plane offset from the axial plane of the holder permits a baby still so young, that it cannot turn its wrists, to grip and hold the bottle. This strengthens the baby's grip. Moreover, since the baby cannot put its hands through the handles, there is no danger of the baby injuring itself or of getting its hands caught in the holder. The location of the handles adjacent the bottle of the holder, moreover, insures balance when the bottle is in the holder.

The bottle holder can be made in all colors, and various materials, although a plastic is preferred because it is light and may easily be cleaned. Since it can be made of one-piece construction, there are no parts to lose, no metal to rust. It is resistant to oils and soap. The handles prevent the bottle holder from rolling away; and in any event, the bottle and its holder can readily be retrieved by the baby even with one finger. It is designed for a baby under twelve months.

The holder may be made of colored plastic and thus be decorative. Further it can even be used as a toy when not in use holding a bottle.

Because the holder is basically only a sleeve, it can easily be removed from or applied to a bottle. After the bottle is filled, it can be capped with the cap just touching the holder. The holder is a snug fit on the bottle and cannot slide off the bottle.

While the invention has been described in connection with two embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification; and this application is intended to cover any embodiments or modifications of the invention that come within the disclosure, or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A holder for a baby's nursing bottle comprising

a sleeve adapted to fit around the bottle and open at both ends to receive the bottle and having two handles rigid and integral with the sleeve and projecting from its opposite sides and lying in a common plane non-radial of and offset from the longitudinally central plane of the holder, and located adjacent the bottom of the sleeve to provide balance.

2. A holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bore of said sleeve has an internal conical shape at its top to conform to the external conical shape of the bottle at its top, the handles are of loop shape but the openings in the loops are smaller than a baby's hands so that the baby cannot put its hands through the handles.