US2359452A - Infant feeding bottle holder - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 3, 1944. E. F. SUMMERS, SR 2,359,452

INFANT FEEDING BOTTLE HOLDER 7 Filed Sept. 21, 1942 Ear? Z. 3&772772811252,

Patented Oct. 3, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INFANT FEEDING BOTTLE HOLDER Earl F. Summers, Sr., Wheeling, W. Va. Application September 21, 1942', Serial No, 459,202

1 Claim. (01. 248-'-104) .The invention relates to devices for supporting feeding bottles of infants, and particularly to needs for supporting a bottle in a baby carriage, crib, bed, and the like.

It is well known that there is great difficulty on the part of parents and nurses in carrying out the proper feeding of an infant by the bottle unless constant attention is given thereto, because the infant will lose hold of the nipple and the bottle will roll under pillows or beneath the covers, causing the child to fret and requiring an attendant to give attention thereto in order to locate the bottle and replace the nipple in the mouth of the infant. It is therefore an important aim of the present invention to provide a means for supporting a bottle in such manner that in case the infant releases the nipple at any time, the" bottlev will be held in a position where the infant can. quickly again locate the nipple and resume feeding without requiring assistance of an attendant.

It is also an important aim of the invention to provide means which will hold the bottle in such manner as to insure that the liquid contents of the bottle will feed properly through the nipple, so that the infant will not suck air, ingestation of air being a common cause of discomfort to infants, and especially in connection with the taking of liquid foods from a bottle, when the liquid fails to reach the nipple, and the infant draws in a substantial quantity of air therethrough.

It is a common practice of mothers and nurses to stack pillows around an infant in order to support the bottle in a desired position, with the result that there is considerable risk of the child smothering, especially when very young, and it is an aim of my invention to provide a means for supporting the bottle which will be free of all such risks.

An additional important aim is to provide a support of this kind which is readily adjustable to take bottles of various sizes and shapes without modification of the manufacture of the article, and which is also adaptable to beds, cribs, baby carriages, and other bed devices for infants of widely varying sizes, so that it will operate alike in the various sizes of devices, without requiring modification in manufacture.

Another important aim of the invention is to provide a bottle support which will be effective in supporting the bottle while at the same time accommodating itself to various possible movements of the infant, either longitudinally or laterally, up or down. Another important aim is to provide such a bottle support which will so hold the bottle that the support or the bottle cannot be easily displaced from its proper position, and cannot become engaged under pillows, covers, or other bed equipment, but will retain its proper position and the proper position of the bottle even though it is momentarily displaced or not desired by the infant or others.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention reside'in the construction, arrangement. and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention, as will be understood from the following description and accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bottle holder without a bottle therein and unattached to bed elements or other foundation support.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a crib with a baby therein, and showing my invention in use, with a bottle in position as it would normally be held by my device while the infant is feeding;

Figure 3 is a cross section of a crib showing my device mounted thereon, in one position.

There is illustrated a portion of a crib lo, a portion of a mattress ll, upon which an infant l2 reclines, with a simple pillow l3. There is also shown a portion of the side fence l4 of the crib with the usual vertical bars l5 arranged in vertical position spaced longitudinally of the crib. Between the side fences of the crib there is suspended my bottle holder, in which a bottle 16 is engaged and supported properly for use by the infant in partaking of liquid nourishment. The bottle holder comprises a metal wire frame ll, or yoke, substantially U-shaped, including a bight portion I8, which in the present instance is of rectilinear form and has arms 19 extended at right angles thereto at respective ends of the bight. These arms are formed with intermediate eyes 20, in which there are engaged removably respective hooks 2|, each carried upon one end of an elastic strap or bend 22, the outer end of which is provided with a large ring 23 in which a piece of cord, ribbon, or other band or support may be engaged, as at 24, in Figure 3, this support strand being extended from the ring a suitable distance and tied to a vertical bar or other part of the crib or its frame at a respective side of the crib. The arms H! at the bottle yoke are extended outwardly beyond the eyes 20 substantially in the same direction as the inner portion of the arms 19, and at a suitable distance are turned inwardly toward each other and formed with recurved hooks 25 between which there is coengaged a helical contractile spring 26 serving as a bottle clamping or retaining piece, while at the same time being extensible and deflectible to receive the bottle thereunder, whereby bottles of various sizes may be readily accommodated and held in the device, but at all times removable manually, without the manipulation of fastenings. For this purpose the spacing between the bight l8 and hooks 25 is less than the diameter of the smallest bottle to be used.

In practice, the elastic straps 22 are preferably made of comparatively short length in all sizes of the device, and the accommodation of the device to various widths of beds and the like is efiected by using a proper length of string at 24. In this way, excessive sagging of the support elements is obviated while the bottle is supported with the necessary resilience of the sup-. port element 22 for the purpose described.

In the use of the device, it will be sold as indicated, in a standard size for all bottles, and the user will attach the cord or ribbon at 24 to the rings 23, and tie the support element 24 around opposite bars I at the sides of the bed, or other suitable elements for supporting the device, substantially as shown in Figure 3 with the device adjusted at such height as will properly accommodate the bottle to be used, and the size of the baby, and the height of the mattress. Cords 24 are attached so that the straps or bands 22 are held stretched with suflicient tension to support a bottle filled with milk when engaged within the yoke, Without the device sagging down objectionably. The bottle with the food therein may be inserted in the yoke I! while the device is suspended, or if desired, the yoke may be removed by disengaging the hooks 2| from the eye 20 and carrying the yoke to a suitable place Where it may be pressed downwardly around the bottle to a position substantially as shown in Figure 2. Preferably, the device is so adjusted that it is located nearer the bottom end of the bottle than to the end upon which the nipple 21 is attached, as shown in Figure 2. While one type of bottle is shown, various other styles of bottles, either large or small-mouthed, may be employed, as will be appreciated. The device is preferably adjusted upon the bed so that it will support the bottle l6 above the body of the baby, spaced longitudinally from the head of the child, and with the nipple end of the bottle disposed toward the head of the infant. When the infant has emptied the bottle, the latter may be removed at any time by disengaging the books 2! from the eyes 20 and removing the bottle with the yoke attached thereto to a convenient place for cleaning, or the bottle may be withdrawn from the yoke slidingly, although it is believed preferable to remove the yoke I! with the bottle, and to svn'ng the support straps and hooks upwardly and outwardly over the, side rails of the crib, so that they will be out of the way of the infant, this being one advantage of my invention, while at the same time retaining the support members in convenient location without liability of loss.

While the specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly described, it will, nevertheless, be understood that various changes in the size, arrangement and substitution .of equivalents in the device may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as more particularly set forth in the claims, wherein,

I claim:

A support for feeding bottles for infants comprising a substantially U-shaped wire frame yoke having a hook member at the extremities of the yoke and having eye portions 'intermediately of the length of each side of the yoke, a helical contractile spring engaged under tension between respective hook members, and longitudinally elastic suspendable support members detachably engaged with the eyes and having anchora e means at their outer ends.

EARL F. SUMMERS, SR.

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