US2826386A

US2826386A - Nursing bottle holder

Info

Publication number: US2826386A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul W Conrad
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-09-10
Filing date: 1952-09-10
Publication date: 1958-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 1975-03-11

Description

- March 11, 1958 P. w. CONRAD 2,826,386

NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Sept. 10. 1952 -INVENTOR. Paul M Conrad United States Patent NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER Paul W. Conrad, Leetonia, Ohio Application September 10, 1952, Serial No. 308,733

Claims. (Cl. 248-104) This invention relates, in general, to a nursing bottle suspension means having a flexible support with a clamp at one end for attachment with a crib member and to preposition a nursing bottle holding unit in a given rela tion with respect to a feeding infant. More specifically the invention relates to the bottle holding unit for this and similar types of bottle suspension means or devices.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a bottle holder having a substantial minimum number of separable cooperable parts to secure a bottle to a supporting unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bottle holder that is relatively inexpensive by reason of the inherent simplicity of its construction.

Another object of this invention resides in the ultimate utility and simplicity of its required assembly in securing a bottle in place for the feeding support and positioning thereof.

A further object of the present invention is the element of sanitation as evidenced by the facility of separation of the bottle holding members and their individual adaptability to sterilization.

A still further object of this invention is the manner in which the bottle holder may be disassembled together with the disassembly of the supporting unit whereby all parts can be conveniently carried about in a small bag or container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a flexible resilient harness for a bottle holding base cup, and wherein the bottle is seated within such cup socket to be releasably held in place by means of the flexible resilient harness. One of the advantages of the flexible harness is the self-centering construction thereof whereby the bottle will be well centered in nested position within the base cup.

Other objects and advantages relating to the bottle holder of the present invention shall hereinafter appear in the following detailed description having reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a general side elevational view of the bottle supporting device incorporating the bottle holder of the present invention, with portions of the latter broken away and illustrated in section;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the bottle holder substantially as viewed along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a general perspective view of the flexible resilient harness utilized for releasably securing the bottle to the supporting device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on a radial plane through a portion of the nursing bottle and the adjacent part of the harness holding the bottle;

Fig. 5 is a face view of the bottle holding cup of the bottle holder illustrating an auxiliary spring ring for use within the cup in aiding to hold the bottle in place;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the 2,826,386 Patented Mar. 11, 1958 modified arrangement shown and as viewed substantially along the line 66 in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the bottle holding device with the same employed to retain a toy such as a colored ball, or some other article, for the childs amusement.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, a bottle supporting device is shown in its entirety and comprises a hand set clamp 1, a flexible cable 2 and a bottle holder 3 to securely hold a nursing bottle 4 in a suspended relation within a crib by means of the clamp 1 that is releasably secured to a crib bar 5 or to some other crib part.

The cable 2 consists of a flexible construction of sulficient stiffness to normally hold its form when bent into a desired contour. In general, cable 2 may be made from a length of flexible cable or conduit 6, capped at each end with screw machine ferrule parts '7 and 8. Each part '7 and 8 comprises a sleeve 9 having a threaded stud 10 projecting outwardly therefrom. The part 7 screws into a threaded opening 11 in clamp 1 while the part 3 threads into a threaded bore 12 in a boss 13 forming an integral portion of the base cup 14 of the bottle holder 3.

The base cup 14 can, therefore, be readily connected with one end of the flexible cable 2 by connection with the threaded stud 10 of the ferrule part 3. A flexible resilient harness 15 as seen generally in Fig. 3 coacts directly with the base cup 14 of the bottle holder to retain a bottle such as 4 in infant nursing relationship.

The harness 15 comprises a base cup connector 16 and a bottle seating ring 17, both connected by a plurality of resilient bottle contour straps such as 18, 19 and 20. The connector 16 as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3 has radial legs or

arms

21, 22 and 23 flanking the base cup bottom for contiguous connection with

straps

18, 19 and 29 respectively. The connector includes fillet portions or

areas

24, 25 and 26 formed web-like between adjacent connector arms to aid in maintaining the straps in proper radially spaced positions about the connector 16 and to reinforce the connector between adjacent straps. The reinforced connector tends to equalize the radial pull on the legs over the base cup bottom. The connector is further provided with a central opening 28 preferably reinforced by means of a ring ferrule or grommet 29. The opening 28 in the ring 29 is large enough to slip over the boss 13 on the base cup 14- as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The

straps

18, 19 and 20 all terminate in an appropriate union with the seating ring 17 and may be connected with the ring 17 through molding, cementing or in any other feasible manner. It is preferable to have the straps secured at or into the outer peripheral face of the annulus or ring 17 as shown in Pig. 4. This insures a continuous circular seat by the ring 17 upon the adjacent neck portion Qtl of the bottle 4 as shown in Fig. 4 to eliminate strap interference or irregular spot contacts at spaced peripheral points about the bottle neck 38.

The harness 15 is made with an overall height or length between connector 16 and ring 17 that is shorter than the distance between the bottle bottom and the level of the neck portion 30 that receives the seating ring 17 of the harness 15. With this proportional arrangement of the above cooperative parts,

straps

18, 19 and 20 are all tensioned when applied and used to hold a nursing bottle seated within the base cup 14 of the bottle holder 3. Portions of the

radial legs

21, 22 and 23 are also tensioned during the bottle holding act of the harness.

The bottle 4 is connected with the flexible cable 2 of the supporting device by a few simple and quick operations. The bottle 4, when filled and ready for use, is hand inserted nipple end first through the seating ring 17 from the strap side to bring the shoulder 30 of the bottle against the ring. A push by hand on the bottle against ring 17 will tension the straps, and when the bottom of the bottle is in a position to clear the rim edge of the base cup 14, the bottle can he slipped or edged between adjacent tensioned straps to guide the bottle bottom into seated position within the cup. This course of procedure will prevent possible contamination of the nipple and establishes a simple and quick way to bring the bottle into supported relation on the cable 2 as made possible through the use of the described bottle holding apparatus. Removal of the bottle merely involves a reversal of the process just explained. This is the preferable procedure of use and further disassembly of the holder parts such as the cup from the cable and the strap harness from the cup is ordinarily only periodically necessary for complete sterilization of the bottle holding unit.

If desired, the entire bottle carrier may be regularly unscrewed from the cable ferrule at feeding time to attach the bottle. With the holder parts all separated and the bottle filled and ready for nursing, the bottle and carrier parts may be assembled by first placing ring 17 upon the neck 3% of bottle 4, then placing base cup 14 upon the bottle bottom 31 and then stretching the straps 18, i9 and 2% to snap connect the ferrule 29 over the boss 13 of cup 14 and adjusting the radial spacing of the straps about the bottle circumference to equalize the tensional hold of the harness for centering the bottle within the cup and to hold the bottle well nested and against accidental displacement.

After the bottle is seated in the base cup and harnessed, the base cup may be screwed into one of the cable ferrules such as 8 to support the bottle from a crib part or the like so that the entire assembly appears as shown in Fig. 1. Removal of the bottle holder is carried out by unscrewing the base cup from the cable means and the bottle can be taken out of the harness assembly by the removal of the connector ferrule 29 from boss 13, or through the removal of ring 17 from about the neck 3% of bottle Either act releases the bottle forremoval from the cup base 14 and from between

straps

18, 19 and 2h. The bottle and nipple may then be sterilized. The base cup and harness may also be steri lized at the same time or whenever deemed necessary or desirable.

The entire bottle holder comprises a simple two piece cooperative unit that is easily applied and readily sterilized. The harness can be replaced at small cost. In this connection the harness may be a molded product in its entirety or the connector and straps may be die cut from rubber sheet for subsequently securing the straps ends to the ring 17. Cup 14 may be of metal, plastic, rubber or of any compositional material having the necessary structural stability to receive and sustain the bottle and harness in the cooperative manner explained and described.

In the modified arrangement shown in Figs. and 6,

the base cup 33 may be proportioned to receive a generally annular spring insert 34 of corrugated peripheral contour.

Insert 34 may be made of extruded plastic, metal or g of rubber composition of sufiicient stability to hold its form and to present a resilient annular bottle grip within the cup 33. By providing the high points 35 of the insert 34 in a cylindrical surface somewhat larger than the internal cylindrical contour circle 36 of the base cup 33, the spring insert 34 is normally frictionally held within the cup. By further providing the radially innermost points 37 of the spring insert 34 in a given minimum cylindrical circular area somewhat smaller than the maximum cylindrical external contour of a nursing bottle, the bottom of the bottle will depress the radially inner high points of the spring ring to provide a frictional grip on the bottle simultaneously causing the outer points 35 to compress thus better gripping the outer cylindrical contour portion of the wall 36 of the base cup 33.

The spring means 34 and cup 33 are used as in Fig. l with the resilient harness such as 15 connected therewith. in all other respects the holder functions like the device shown in Fig. l.

The bottle holder may also be used to hold a ball, block or other irregular shaped toy or device for the amusement of the child. Fig. 7 shows one such use with a ball 38 confined between the base cup 14 and ring 17 and surrounded by the flexible contour straps 18, U and 20.

With the completely stretchable harness straps that are capable of conforming to the external shape of a bottle, toy or other obiect together with a ring such as 17 that can be made of a material having limited resiliency, it is possible to firmly support many things within an infants reach when the infant is in the crib, bed or perambnlator.

Although the foregoing description is directed to the preferred constructions illustrated in the drawings, changes in the exact shapes and styles of the individual parts, or in the exact combinations thereof, are contemplated without departure from the fundamental concept of the present invention. All such modifications shall, however, be governed by the breadth and scope of the language in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A bottle holder comprising a base member for the bottle bottom and a harness connected with said member for connection with the bottle to hold the same against said member, said base member comprising an annular socket on one side thereof to receive the bottle bottom therein, and a boss on the opposite side of said member, and said harness comprising a flexible and resil ient unit, a connector on said unit for positioning against said base member, said connector having an aperture therein receiving the boss of said base member therethrough, straps on said connector, and a ring connecting the free ends of said straps, said straps providing means to flank the bottle sides to hold the bottle centered with respect to said base member, and said ring providing means on said straps for engagement about the neck of the bottle to hold said bottle against the base member and securely nested in the socket of said base member.

2. A bottle holder comprising a base member for the bottle bottom and a harness connected with said member for connection with the bottle to hold the same against said member, said base member comprising an annular socket on one side thereof to receive the bottle bottom therein, and a boss on the opposite side of said member, and said harness comprising a flexible and resilient unit, a connector on said unit for positioning against said base member, said connector having an aperture therein receiving the boss of said base member therethrough, straps on said connector, and a ring connecting the free ends of said straps, said straps providing means to flank the bottle sides to hold the bottle centered with respect to said base member, and said ring providing means on said straps for engagement about the neck of the bottle to hold said bottle against the base member and securely nested in the socket of said base member, and said boss on said base member including attachment mechanism to secure the bottle holder to a supporting unit to bodily suspend said bottle with said bottle holder.

3. A bottle holder comprising a base member for the bottle bottom and a harness connected with said memberfor connection with the bottle to hold the same against said member, said base member comprising an annular socket on one side thereof to receive the bottle bottom therein, and a boss on the opposite side of said member, and said harness comprising a flexible and resilient unit, a connector associated with said unit for positioning against said base member, said connector having an aperture therein receiving the boss of said 'base member therethrough, straps on said connector, and a ring connecting the free ends of said straps, said straps comprising flexible bottle orientation means arranged to flank the bottle sides and to conform with the contour thereof and to retain the bottle in centered position upon said base member, and said ring comprising a rim annulus for encircling the neck of the bottle and adapted to be urged to the base member by said straps to hold said bottle securely nested within the socket of said base member, and said strap ends each being connected at the radially outer peripheral edge of said ring to permit free annular and continuous peripheral contact of the ring upon and against the neck portion of the bottle.

4. In a bottle holder, a base having a socket for the reception of a bottle bottom, and an integrally formed harness to hold said bottle to said base in stable relation thereto comprising a connector to engage under said base, cooperative centering means to orient said connector in a given relation with respect to said base, straps on said connector, and a ring to encircle the neck of the bottle, said straps being connected to said ring and comprising resilient and stretchable members adapted to be maintained under tension when said ring engages a bottle neck and while said bottle bottom nests within the socket portion of said base, and an annular resilient member frictionally carried within said base socket and encircling the base wall to provide means to grasp said bottle bottom and to coact with said harness for stabilizing the bottle with respect to the base of the holder, said resilient member comprising a corrugated spring unit having radially outwardly disposed portions to frictionally engage the internal annular wall of the base socket, and having radially inwardly disposed portions to frictionally engage the outer peripheral wall of the bottle bottom to retain said bottle centrally nested and in seated relation within said base socket.

5. In a bottle holder, a base having a socket for the reception of a bottle bottom, and a harness to secure said bottle to said base comprising a connector to engage under said base, cooperative centering means to orient said connector in a given relation with respect to said base, and straps on said connector, 2. ring to encircle the neck of the bottle, said straps being connected to said ring and comprising resilient and stretchable members adapted to be maintained under tension when said ring engages a bottle neck and while said bottle bottom nests within the socket portion of said base, and a flat stock annular resilient member adapted to stand on edge in said base socket and functioning to grasp said bottle bottom comprising a corrugated spring unit having radially outwardly disposed portions to frictionally engage the internal annular wall of the base socket, and having radially inwardly disposed portions to frictionally engage the outer peripheral wall of the bottle, said outwardly disposed portions of said annular member being positioned to normally terminate in a circle slightly greater in diameter than the circular contour of the inner circular wall of the base socket to frictionally retain said member within said base socket, and said inwardly disposed portions of said member being positioned to normally terminate in a circle having a diameter slightly smaller than the circular exterior contour of the bottle to frictionally hold the bottle bottom in place in said base socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 579,295 Delzell Mar. 23, 1897 773,252 Frank Oct. 25, 1904 1,020,136 Feely et al. Mar. 12, 1912 1,559,740 Cardarella Nov. 3, 1925 1,619,099 Beck Mar. 1, 1927 1,630,167 Cardarella May 24, 1927 1,637,864 Kolster Aug. 2, 1927 1,786,459 Simons Dec. 30, 1930 1,820,406 Thompson Aug. 25, 1931 1,911,901 Keane et al May 30, 1933 2,215,411 Sebring Sept. 17, 1940 2,448,326 Roberts Aug. 31, 1948 2,594,545 Emens Apr. 29, 1952 2,647,712 Sandmoen Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,077 Great Britain of 1893 129,883 Australia Nov. 8, 1948 994,375 France Nov. 15, 1951