Patent Application
20110315832
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for a baby bottle that supports the bottle in a hands-free manner to assist in feeding a baby.
2. Description of Related Art
A baby bottle is a small bottle used to feed a baby or an infant that includes a nipple that encloses the top thereof and provides a means for the baby to obtain the liquid inside the bottle. The baby bottle is used as a substitute for breastfeeding and normally contains an infant formula or expressed breast milk. Baby bottles vary in size where larger bottles typically hold 270 milliliters or smaller bottles that hold approximately 150 milliliters. An infant usually is unable to hold a bottle and therefore while feeding an adult or guardian needs to hold the bottle while the baby sucks on the nipple to drink the formula. As a baby gets older and grows in size the baby may be able to hold the bottle but many times the infant will drop the bottle during the feeding process.
On certain occasions, a guardian needs to take care of various tasks while a baby is being fed. Consequently this requires that the guardian either stop feeding the baby or have some type of device to hold the bottle as the baby is being fed. Some infant bottle-holding devices have been developed in prior art to address this need. U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,549 discloses a bottle holder that is removable, adjustable and attaches to an infant seat or infant car seat. The device includes a plurality of bars being pivotally attached to each other to form a generally inverted U-shape. The holder is especially useful on an infant seat or infant car seat. Another example of a baby bottle holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,567 which discloses a nursing bottle holder for attachment to a support. The bottle holder includes a pivotally affixed pair of bifurcated elevation arms. The adjustable bottle retainer is held and pivotally affixed to the distal ends of the elevation arms where the nursing bottle is retained by a bottle retainer.
The baby bottle holders of the prior art have limitations with respect to the positions of use. As noted many holders attach to a baby seat or may be integrated with the infant's seat. Other holders although more flexible are still geared toward attachment near the seat of the infant and may not have the flexibility to use other circumstances.
The present invention relates to a bottle holder assembly for holding a baby bottle comprising: a base; a tubing extending upwardly from the base; a bottle sleeve at the opposite end from the base connected to the tubing; and a means to attach the holder assembly to an object. In one particular embodiment, the means to attach includes a clamp incorporated in the base and the tubing includes a curved portion. The bottle sleeve may include a cylindrical shape and an opening for the insertion of a bottle. Further, the tubing may be flexible and allow for slight rotation of the bottle.
The present invention relates to a baby bottle holder that provides a hands-free feeding apparatus that is easily clamped onto a stationary device. The flexibility of the bottle holder according to the present invention provides a means to secure the bottle in a stationary holder that might be engaged onto a variety of stationary devices due to the clamping feature of the base of the bottle holder. Further, the arm tubing for the bottle holder is flexible and helps in providing versatility in the mounting or attachment to stationary devices.
A Bottle Holder Assembly 100 is depicted in
The Holder Assembly 100 may be clamped to a stationary device by movement of Clamps 25a, 25b, which make up the Base 26. The Clamps 25a, 25b open in the direction of the arrows as depicted and tightly seal upon a stationary device to hold the Bottle Holder Assembly 100 in a stationary position. The Tubing 24 may be of a flexible nature so that the Bottle 30 may be positioned in a suitable position for feeding an infant. The Clamps 25a, 25b may be clamped onto an infant's car seat or any other stationary device near the infant who may be feeding on the bottle. This feature allows a caregiver to release the bottle into the holder and therefore frees up the hands of the caregiver to conduct other tasks. The Tubing 24 is flexible enough to allow for slight rotation of the bottle and horizontal or vertical movement to adjust the bottle in a suitable position.
The Sleeve 22 is of adequate size so that the bottle resiliently fits into the opening and remains secure during the feeding process. Although not shown rubber grips may be attached to the Clamps 25a, 25b to provide a protective and resilient means for clamping onto a stationary device. The clamp attachment means provides versatility in using the Holder Assembly 100 and therefore is not restricted to attachment to a baby seat. It may be attached to a stationary device near the baby's seat, a playpen or a baby bed. The holder assists the guardian in feeding the baby and allowing them to conduct other tasks instead of being completely involved in the feeding process. The instant invention has been shown and described in what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/357,593 filed on Jun. 23, 2010.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61357593 | Jun 2010 | US |
