Patent Application
20120312935
1. Field
This application generally relates to supports and, more particularly, supports for baby bottles.
2. Background
Baby bottle supports are generally used to allow a baby who lacks the capability or dexterity to hold a baby bottle and feed themselves to nevertheless feed while unattended. However, each type has certain drawbacks. For example, the support of U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,791 is free-swinging, so it can allow an infant to be hit by a swinging bottle and, in use, it blocks a substantial portion of the infant from view. The baby bottle support of U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,803 and U.S. Published Pat. Application No. 2010/0224739 allow the bottle to freely twist about the horizontal such that, if the nipple of the bottle comes out of the baby's mouth, the nipple end of bottle will inevitably pivot up or down impeding or eliminating the ability of the baby to resume feeding without adult intervention.
In one aspect of this disclosure, a baby bottle holder is disclosed, for use with an infant carrier having a body portion having first and second sides between which an infant may be placed. The baby bottle holder includes a sleeve, configured to constrain the outer periphery of a baby bottle inserted therewithin, a support strap having a width of less than an infant pupillary distance, a first end secured to the sleeve, and a second end configured to releasably secure the sleeve to the infant carrier above the sleeve, and a pair of constraining straps each having a first end secured to opposite sides of the sleeve and a second end configured to secure the respective constraining strap near the respective sides of the infant carrier. The support strap and pair of constraining straps are attached to the sleeve at their first ends such that, when linearly extended outwards from the sleeve, they will substantially form one of an inverted letter “T”-shape configuration or inverted letter “Y”-shape configuration, with the stem of the letter being formed by the support strap and the arms of the letter being formed by the constraining straps.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves at least two attachment points on the sleeve to which the support strap can be adjustably secured to alter orientation of a bottle within the sleeve relative to an infant to be fed.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves securing devices on ends of the support strap and pair of constraining straps.
A further aspect of this disclosure involves one or more of the securing devices including at least one of: a hook and loop fastener, a clasp buckle, a slide buckle, a side release buckle, a cam-type buckle, a ladder lock buckle, a snap fastener, a clasp or a clip.
Still another aspect of this disclosure involves the width of the support strap being less than about 45 mm.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the width of the support strap being between about 45 mm and about 30 mm.
Yet another aspect of this disclosure involves the width of the support strap is less than about 30 mm.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the support strap including a woven material.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the woven material including cloth.
An additional aspect of this disclosure involves the support strap including a polymer.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the constraining straps each having a maximum width substantially equal to the width of the support strap.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the constraining straps being substantially, dimensionally identical to each other.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the constraining straps being substantially mirror images of each other.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves a pattern of graphics on a side of the support strap that will face a feeding infant when the baby bottle holder is in use.
Another aspect of this disclosure involves the support strap including a clear material.
The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technical advantages of one or more embodiments of this disclosure in order that the following detailed description may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of this disclosure will be described hereinafter, which may form the subject of the claims of this application.
This disclosure is further described in the detailed description that follows, with reference to the drawings, in which:
This application discloses a baby bottle holder having numerous advantages over the prior art. The disclosed baby bottle holder uses three straps to secure it to an infant carrier. Note that, as used herein, the term “infant carrier” means, and is generically intended to refer to and encompass, stand alone infant carrier seats that generally include a swivel-able handle for carrying, similar seats that also double as car seats, as well as infant bouncy seats, carriages and strollers that include a sun shade or other overhead appendage to which one of the straps is to be attached and structures on either side of where the infant will be located to which the other two straps can be attached, or any other type of infant carrier that has similarly placed components to which the various straps can be connected in the manner and configuration described herein.
The first support strap attaches to the overhead handle or sun shade of the infant carrier and is narrower than the pupillary width of most infants to ensure that the caregiver's and infant's fields of vision of each other are not impeded. The narrow strap also insures that the caregiver's ability to access the infant is minimally impacted. The remaining two straps are constraining straps and attach to the side struts or handle of the infant carrier or the body of the infant carrier at or below the level of the baby bottle itself. Any or all of the three straps may be length-adjustable. As a result, depending on the configuration, the baby bottle holder may be adjusted vertically, horizontally and (to some limited extent) towards or away from the infant. The configuration of the straps also stabilizes the baby bottle holder, preventing it from undue swinging and hitting the infant's face.
A support strap 115 and two constraining straps 130 are attached to the sleeve 125 either permanently or removably, for example, by stitching, gluing, plastic welding, or other suitable permanent affixation approaches, or using rings, clips, buckles, or other removable connectors, or any other suitable known approach for joining or connecting the two components. The support strap 115 and the constraining straps 130 may be made of any combination of a cloth, a woven or a sheet material, such as (but not limited to) cotton, plastic or polymer cloth or other flexible material. Advantageously, the use of cloth or other flexible sheet material allows the baby bottle holders described herein to be collapsed into a small space, making them light and easily transportable.
The support strap 115 couples the baby bottle sleeve 125 to an upper supporting structure, such as, for example, the handle, canopy, canopy frame, sun shade or sun shade frame of an infant carrier, thereby supporting the weight of the baby bottle 120. The support strap 115 may be coupled to the infant carrier by, for example, a loop 105 and fastener mechanism 110. Variations on the fastener mechanism 110 may include a snap fastener, clasp buckle, slide buckle, side release buckle, cam-type buckle, ladder lock buckle, clip, clamp, hook and loop fastener (for example, as sold under the trademark Velcro®), or any other fastener appropriate for creating the securing the loop 105. Alternatively, the loop can be replaced, in some implementations, by a hook, clip or clamp. The support strap 115 is preferably length adjustable. In one embodiment, the overall length of the support strap 115 is controlled by the fastener mechanism 110. Drawing more length of the support strap 115 through the fastener mechanism 110 shortens an overall length of the support strap 115, thereby raising the baby bottle holder 100 relative to the infant, doing the opposite lowers the baby bottle holder 100. Other height adjusting mechanisms may be utilized as appropriate.
The support strap 115 preferably has a width less than a general infant pupillary distance, which is generally less than about 45 mm, typically between about 45 mm and about 30 mm. Thus, the width will preferably be less than about 45 mm, typically within the range of about 30 mm to about 45 mm wide. Optionally, the support strap 115 can include graphics on the side that faces the infant to provide the infant with something to attract/hold their attention. In addition, the support strap 115 can be clear/transparent over a portion as described in greater detail below, to provide a still less obstructed view.
The constraining straps 130 can likewise be formed of any of the materials suitable for use as the support strap 115. The width of the constraining straps 130 is less important, but will typically have a width within the acceptable range for the support strap 115, but could alternatively be wider or narrower. In some implementations, the constraining straps 130 may be substantially identical from a dimensional point of view or may be substantially mirror images of each other, however, neither is a requirement. The constraining straps 130 are used to secure the baby bottle holder 100 to other locations on the infant carrier. For example, the constraining straps 130 may have a similar loop and fastener mechanism as the support strap 115, enabling them to couple to the vertical portions of an infant carrier handle or frame, thereby forming an inverted, predominantly letter “T”-shaped configuration (such as depicted in
Depending upon the particular implementation, attachment of the support strap 115 and constraining straps 130 to the sleeve 125 is such that, when linearly extended normal to their respective connection points on the sleeve 125, they will lie in a common plane. Alternatively, they can be configured, as described below, such that, when linearly extended normal to their respective connection points on the sleeve 125, the constraining straps 130 will lie in a different plane than the support strap 115, and those planes may, or may not, be parallel to each other.
Advantageously, to accommodate one or both of these types of baby bottle holders, the infant carrier may be equipped with their own attachment mechanisms at locations 605 on the infant carrier body (handle, support structure and/or base) to correspondingly mate with an attachment mechanisms 110, 405, 410 on the baby bottle holder to thereby make it easier to secure the constraining straps 130 and/or the support strap 115 to the infant carrier and potentially affect the orientation of the baby bottle 120 alone or, in the case of an embodiment like that shown in
Having described and illustrated the principles of this application by reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it should be apparent that the preferred embodiment(s) may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the principles disclosed herein and that it is intended that the application be construed as including all such modifications and variations insofar as they come within the spirit and scope of the subject matter disclosed.
