Flexible Bottle Holder

Abstract

A flexible bottle holder, such as for baby bottles, is made of child-safe plastic and attaches to support surfaces with a hand operated screw clamp. A flexible arm extends from the clamp and has a bottle support at the other end. The bottle support easily adjusts to various bottles and allows for quick and easy insertion and removal of bottles by an adult, but is resistant to easy removal by an infant and does not include any hardware that is dangerous to an infant. In one embodiment, the bottle support uses spring tabs to secure the bottle inside a plastic band. In another embodiment, an elastic fabric jacket secures the bottle to a bottle support cradle with a plurality of hook and loop fasteners.

1 . A bottle holder, comprising:
 means for clamping to a support surface;   a flexible support arm attached at a first end to the means for clamping; and   means for gripping a bottle attached to a second end of the flexible support arm,   
     wherein all rigid parts of the bottle holder are formed of child-safe plastic, and wherein the means for gripping a bottle comprises:
 a substantially rigid band dimensioned to accommodate a diameter of a bottle; and 
 at least one spring tab mounted on the band to supply a gripping force on the bottle. 
 
   
   
       2 . The bottle holder of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a second means for clamping to a support surface; and   a second flexible support arm attached at a first end to the second means for clamping and attached at a second end to the means for gripping a bottle.   
   
   
       3 . The bottle holder of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible arm support is made of food-grade plastic. 
   
   
       4 . The bottle holder of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible arm support comprises plastic accordion tubing. 
   
   
       5 . The bottle holder of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible arm support comprises a plurality of ball and socket units. 
   
   
       6 . A bottle holder, comprising:
 means for clamping to a support surface;   a flexible support arm attached at a first end to the means for clamping; and   means for gripping a bottle attached to a second end of the flexible support arm,   
     wherein all rigid parts of the bottle holder are formed of child-safe plastic, and wherein the means for gripping a bottle comprises:
 a substantially rigid cradle dimensioned to accommodate a diameter of a bottle; and 
 a flexible gripping means for securing the bottle to the cradle 
 
   
   
       7 . The bottle holder of  claim 6 , wherein the flexible arm support comprises a plurality of ball and socket units. 
   
   
       8 . The bottle holder of  claim 7 , wherein the flexible gripping means comprises an elastic fabric jacket. 
   
   
       9 . The bottle holder of  claim 8 , wherein the elastic fabric jacket further comprises a hook and loop closure. 
   
   
       10 . The bottle holder of  claim 7 , wherein the cradle is dimensioned to accommodate a diameter of a baby bottle and comprises a lip to engage a narrowed portion of the baby bottle. 
   
   
       11 . The bottle holder of  claim 6 , wherein the means for clamping to a support surface comprises:
 a substantially U-shaped member; and   a hand-operated screw member traversing an open end of the U-shaped member.   
   
   
       12 . A baby bottle holder, comprising:
 a plastic clamp comprising:
 a substantially U-shaped member; 
 a hand-operated screw member traversing an open end of the U-shaped member; and 
 a ball and socket member fixed to the U-shaped member; 
   a flexible support arm comprising a plurality of plastic ball and socket members attached to each other, wherein the flexible support arm is attached at a first end to the ball and socket member of the clamp; and   means for gripping the baby bottle attached to a second end of the flexible support arm.   
   
   
       13 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 12 , wherein the means for gripping the baby bottle comprises:
 a substantially rigid cradle dimensioned to accommodate a diameter of the baby bottle; and   a flexible gripping means for securing the baby bottle to the cradle.   
   
   
       14 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 13 , wherein the flexible gripping means comprises an elastic fabric jacket. 
   
   
       15 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 14 , wherein the elastic fabric jacket further comprises a hook and loop closure. 
   
   
       16 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 15 , wherein the cradle comprises a lip to engage a narrowed portion of the baby bottle. 
   
   
       17 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 16 , wherein the cradle comprises a ball and socket member for attachment to the flexible support arm. 
   
   
       18 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 17 , wherein the elastic fabric jacket further comprises a hole dimensioned to fit over the ball and socket member of the cradle. 
   
   
       19 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 18 , wherein the hook and loop closure comprises closures for upper and lower ends of the baby bottle. 
   
   
       20 . The baby bottle holder of  claim 12 , wherein the flexible support arm is formed of an acetyl copolymer.