Abstract:
A baby bottle holder includes a clamp unit that is used to support the unit on a stroller or the like, a support section that is flexible, and a bottle-engaging unit that has a liquid filled peripheral section and a flexible central section. A cross hair shaped slot unit is defined through the flexible central section and accommodates a baby bottle therein. Toys, mirrors and/or teething elements are supported on the bottle-engaging unit. The liquid in the peripheral section can be a glow-in-the-dark type liquid.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of supports, and to the particular field of baby bottle holders. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Nearly all parents and child care givers have experienced the problem of a child or multiple children that choose(s) to become fussy when the care giver is otherwise occupied. This situation often occurs when the care giver is driving and the child is in a car seat. However, the situation also occurs when the care giver is pushing the child in a cart or stroller. 
   The situation can often be ameliorated by giving the child a bottle or a toy. However, this is not always as easy as it sounds because the child may drop the bottle or become bored with the bottle or toy and resume their fussiness. In this case, the care giver must continually face backwards in a physically straining position for long periods of time to hold a bottle for a fully dependant infant or to adjust the bottle or retrieve the toy or the bottle if the child drops it. If the care giver is driving, this is not possible, or may be dangerous if the parent tries to replace the bottle or toy while driving. However, if the bottle or toy is not replaced, the child&#39;s fussiness may distract the driver, which, also is not a safe situation. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a baby bottle support. 
   While the art contains may examples of baby bottle supports, many of these supports are not convenient for either the baby or the care giver, or both. The bottle holders of the prior art may not be amendable to use on both a stroller and a cart and on a car baby seat. Still further, some of the prior art baby bottle supports may not be adaptable for various positions of the baby, or may not be amenable to change if the baby moves. Still further, some baby bottle supports of the prior art are useful for small infants but are not useful for larger babies. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a baby bottle support that can be located to be convenient to both a baby and a care taker. 
   Baby bottles come in a wide variety of bottles and bottle shapes. For example, a juice bottle may be different from a formula bottle, and the like. A baby prefers specific and varying bottles and nipples. Some baby bottle holders of the prior art may be amendable to formula bottles, but may not accommodate juice bottles, or may not be easily adapted to accommodate such juice bottles. Accordingly, a care giver may be required to have several different baby bottle holders. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a baby bottle support that can accommodate a wide variety of baby bottles. 
   A baby&#39;s attention span may be quite short. After a short time, a baby may become fussy simply from boredom rather than hunger and a baby bottle may be rejected. Many prior art baby bottle holders simply hold a baby bottle and thus will not approach this problem. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a baby bottle support that will be attractive to the baby. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a baby bottle support. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a baby bottle support that is portable and compact and simple for a caretaker to use and that can be located to be convenient to both a baby and a care taker. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a baby bottle support that can accommodate a wide variety of baby bottles. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a baby bottle support that will be attractive to the baby and stimulate the senses to thereby encourage early learning. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by a baby bottle holder that can be clamped to a stroller, a cart, a car seat, or the like and includes a flexible support element as well as a flexible bottle engaging portion. The flexible bottle engaging portion includes a liquid-filled peripheral section and a flexible central section having a cross hair shaped slot defined therein. The slot combines with the flexible material of the central section to accommodate a wide variety of baby bottles, and the liquid in the peripheral section can be a glow-in-the-dark type liquid. Various toys, mirrors, teething elements, and the like, are supported from the baby bottle holder of the present invention. 
   Using the baby bottle holder embodying the present invention will permit a baby bottle holder that can be located in a manner that is convenient to both the baby and to a care giver and will accommodate a wide variety of baby bottles in a manner that is attractive to the baby whereby the baby is less likely to lose interest in the bottle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a baby bottle holder embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows a portion of the baby bottle-engaging unit included in the baby bottle holder embodying the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a baby bottle holder  10  that achieves the above-stated objectives. 
   Baby bottle  10  comprises a clamp unit  12  which includes a first section  14  which has a pincer section  16 , a concave portion  18 , a pivot connection portion  20 , and a tail portion  22 . A first surface  24  is an outside surface when clamp unit  12  is in a use orientation as shown in  FIG. 1 , and a second surface  26  that is an inside surface when clamp unit  12  is in use. Corrugations  28  are located on the inside surface  26  for improving the gripping action of the clamp unit  12 . 
   Clamp unit  12  further includes a second section  30  which has a pincer section  32  which is located adjacent to pincer section  16  of first section  14  when clamp unit  12  is in use, a concave portion  34  which is located adjacent to concave portion  18  of first section  14  when clamp unit  12  is in use, a pivot connection portion  36  which is located adjacent to pivot connection  20  of first section  14  when clamp unit  12  is in use, and a tail portion  38  which is located adjacent to tail portion  22  of first section  14  when clamp unit  12  is in use. 
   Second section  30  further includes a first surface  40  that is an outside surface when clamp unit  12  is in use and a second surface  42  that is an inside surface when clamp unit  12  is in use. Corrugations, such as corrugation  44 , are located on the inside surface  42  of second section  30  and co-operate with corrugations  28  to firmly clasp onto a support element, such as a cart, a car seat, a carrier or the like. 
   A pivot pin  50  pivotally connects first section  14  to second section  30 , and a mounting element  52 , such as a pin or the like, has a first end  54 , fixedly mounted to outside surface  24  of first section  14  adjacent to concave portion  18  of first section  14 , and a second end  56 , spaced apart from first end  54 . A spring  58  is interposed between pivot pin  50  and the pincer sections  16 ,  32  to bias the pincer sections  16 ,  32  toward each other to hold the clamp unit  12  in position on a support surface. 
   Baby bottle holder  10  further includes a flexible support element  60 . Flexible support element  60  includes a first end  62  that is a bottom end when support element  60  is in a use orientation such as shown in  FIG. 1 . Second end  56  of mounting element  52  is fixedly secured to first end  62  of support element  60 . Support element  60  further includes a second end  66  which is a top end when support element  60  is in use. 
   The flexible support element  60  further includes an outer surface  68  which can be multicolored with colored sections, such as section  70 , to hold a baby&#39;s attention. 
   A swivel pivot connection  74  is located in second end  66  of support element  60 . 
   A bottle-engaging unit  80  is mounted on support element  60  and includes a pivot pin  82  having a swivel ball  84  on one end  85 . Swivel ball  84  is accommodated in swivel pivot connection  74  of support element  60 . Unit  80  further includes a body unit  86  mounted on pivot pin  82 . Body unit  86  includes a peripheral section  88  filled with liquid, such as a glow-in-the-dark liquid which may be a phosphorescent type material or the like as will be understood by those skilled in the art based on the teaching of the present disclosure. The selected liquid is a suitable child-safe substance. 
   Body unit  86  further includes a central section  90  which is located within peripheral section  88  to be surrounded thereby. Central section  90  is formed of flexible material, such as rubber, and includes a baby bottle-receiving slot  92  defined therein. If desired, the material may be textured to thereby enable a firmer grip; for example such texturing may be provided with designs such as star-shaped embossings. Slot  92  has a first slot section  94  and a second slot section  96  that intersects first slot section  94  and which is oriented perpendicular to first slot section  94  to define a cross hair configuration. The flexible nature of central section  90  permits slot  92  to deform to accommodate bottles of different shapes and sizes whereby baby bottle holder  10  is quite versatile. 
   Decorations, such as stars  100  and  102  can be placed on the various sections of bottle-engaging unit  80  to further attract and hold a child&#39;s attention, including toy beads that can travel along a flexible path. If desired, the various decorations may be designed to suit a particular theme. 
   Baby bottle holder  10  further includes a toy attachment element  110  mounted on bottle-engaging unit  80  whereby various toys, such as musical, action lighted, and noise-generating toys, can be releasably attached to the body unit  86  by a toy link. 
   A teething element  120  is mounted on the bottle-engaging unit and a mirror unit  124  is also mounted on the teething element  120 . The mirror unit  124  will hold a child&#39;s attention and may also permit an adult to monitor a child. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.