US3398919A - Nursing bottle holding device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 27, 1968 TOKAR 3,398,919

NURSING BOTTLE HOLDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 19, 1966 INVENTOR.

GE RALD TOKA R H/S A T TORNE V5 United States Patent 3,398,919 NURSING BO'I'ILE HOLDING DEVICE Gerald Tokar, 275 McMurray Road, Bridgeville, Pa. 15017 Filed Aug. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 573,520 9 Claims. (Cl. 248-103) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A nursing bottle holding device for a crib and the like is provided that has a telescopic vertical column having attachment means at its opposite ends for engaging vertically-spaced-apart upper and lower horizontal rails or bars of a side rail assembly of an infants crib. The column member is variable in length for adjustment in accordance with the distance between horizontal crib rails. A horizontal swingable support arm is adapted to extend laterally-horizontally-outwardly from the column and to be mounted thereon by a base which includes a setscrew carrying collar and a sleeve on the collar that is bifurcated or that has a pair of arms that, in combination with a clevis pin or thumbscrew, provide position-clamping horizontally-swingable means for attaching an inner end of the support arm to the base. The other end of the support arm carries a bottle clamping means in a downwardlyspaced and horizontally extending relation by means of a clamp mounting having a shaft portion for horizontallypivotally or swingably carrying the clamping means. The clamp mounting has an upper plate which is centrallypivoted on the outer end of the support arm and is slotted and adapted to receive a thumbscrew for securing or clamping it in adjusted, different vertical, angular positions with respect to and about the support arm.

This invention relates generally to supportive apparatus for use in feeding an infant and more specifically pertains to the type of adjustable device that attaches to an infants crib and serves to support a nursing bottle in a suspended relation so that a child may be placed safely in the crib to suckle from its bottle without requiring constant attention.

My invention has been developed in answer to a need I have recognized for a safer, more dependable, and more versatile bottle holding device. In the prior art of which I am aware, a number of nursing bottle holders have been introduced, each having as a primary objective the pro-.

vision of a means to feed a child in the security of its crib and obviating the need for holding the child during the feeding process. From my experience with such prior art devices I have concluded that while each generally serves to accomplish its primary objective, new problems are also introduced thereby.

It has been my observation that the typical nursing bottle holding device or babys bottle holder heretofore devised is generally undependable to the extent that it is not capable of performing its intended function repeatedly without frequent inspection and manipulation for the purpose of reattachment and adjustment, etc. Due to shortcomings inherent in the design and construction of the typical conventional nursing bottle holder, the person using such a device will quite often either become so concerned for the general safety of the child or become so disgusted because of the frequent manipulation and reorientation that the device necessitates, that consequently the device is abandoned altogether due to sheer frustration.

Therefore, it has been a primary objective of my invention to provide, as a new article of manufacture, an improved nursing bottle holding device specifically de- 3,398,919 Patented Aug. 27, 1968 signed to obviate the inherent shortcomings of conventional nursing bottle holders;

It has been a further object of my invention to provide a more rigid construction for a nursing bottle holder device that assures continual dependable performance;

It has also been an object of my invention to devise an improved more dependable means for attaching a nursing bottle holding device to a crib;

A still further object of my invention has been to devise a nursing bottle holding device capable of firmly gripping the nursing bottle so that random movements or investigative manipulation by the infant will not tend to dislodge the bottle from the device.

My invention resides in the unique construction, arrangement, and combination of various elemental parts whereby objectives and features contemplated are attained as hereafter fully described and as specifically set forth in the appended claims. Various advantages and other objectives of my invention will be apparent from the ensuing detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when read with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, shown with portions thereof in section to reveal internal structure thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmental horizontal section on the scale of and taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmental horizontal section on the scale of and taken along the line 3--3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view on the scale of and along line 44 of FIGURE 1; bottle clamping means has been removed for clarity; and

FIGURE 5 is an end elevation, partially in section, and on the scale of and taken along line 55 of FIGURE 1.

The construction of most cribs, at least those recently commercially available, includes the provision of a pair of fencelike vertically-'slidable side rail assemblies which are mounted to form the long sides of the crib. Each side rail assembly comprises equidistantly spaced-apart vertical rods or bars extended between a pair of horizontal upper and lower rails. A salient feature of my invention is the provision of a two-point attachment for fastening my nursing bottle holding device to one of the side rail assemblies heretofore described. Inasmuch as it is quite common, in the use of the aforementioned type of crib, that one of the side rail assemblies is usually maintained in the raised position while the other is raised or lowered as desired, my invention is intended for semi-permanent mounting on the infrequently used side rail assembly of the crib.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 illustrates a tubular post or elongated column 2 having integrally attached at the lower end thereof an attachment means or clamp 3 for semi-permanently fastening the lower end of the column 2 to a lower or bottom rail 30! of the two horizontal rails of the crib side rail assembly. The attachment means 3 preferably comprises two rigid angle portions 3a and 3b positioned in an opposed relation with angle 3b rigidly integrally attached to the extreme lower end of the column 2, and with angle 3a disposed to be movable with respect to angle 3b.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, each of the angles 3a and 3b is provided with a slot-like opening, such as 3c, to permit the transverse installation of either a carriage bolt or cap screw 4 having suitable jam nuts 5 provided thereon.

The column 2 is provided, at its upper end, with extensible means so that the device may be adjustablyadapted to fit various sizes of cribs having respectively different distances between lower and upper horizontal rails 3d and 7a of the side rail assembly. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the column 2 may be in the form of a tube, or ot least has one end portion thereof longitudinally bored. The extensible means included in combination with the column 2 comprises a rod-like member or elongated cylindrical stud 6 that is inserted into position through the upper open end of the column 2. The rod 6 has a U-shaped upwardly facing attachment means or bracket 7 integrally connected thereto. The stud 6 is provided with a threaded portion along its length that is immediately subjacent to the U-shaped bracket 7.

The device shown in FIGURE 1 is designed to be mounted on a crib side rail assembly by first temporarily removing the screw 4 so the angles 3a and 3b of the attachment means or bracket 3 may be positioned around the lower horizontal raid 3d of the assembly at a point between two spaced-apart vertical bars of the crib side rail assembly. The lower of two jam nuts 9 can be turned downwardly along the threaded portion of the stud 6 (which may be threaded the entire length thereof) to cause the stud 6 to move upwardly within the column 2 to the extent required, whereupon the U-shaped bracket 7 will move upwardly and engage the upper horizontal rail 7a of the crib side rail assembly. With the lower jam nut 9 turned firmly downward against the upper lip of the column 2, thus urging the brackets 3 and 7 firmly against the respective horizontal rails of the crib assembly, an upper jam nut 9 on the threaded portion of stud 6 may be turned downwardly to seat firmly against the lower jam nut 9. The pair of jam nuts 9 act cooperatively to lock the stud 6 against inadvertent movement with respect to the column 2, thus providing a very rigid and dependable means of fastening the device 1 to the crib.

The bolt or screw 4 may then be replaced to extend through the slot-like openings 30 in the angles 3a and 3b of the bracket 3. The bolt 4 is slid upwardly through the slots to a near relation to the rail within the bracket 3 and then, in an obvious manner, the nuts 5 are tightened on the bolt 4 to firmly anchor the lower end of the column 2 to crib rail. It should be noted that either of the brackets 3 and 7 may be provided with a glued-implace resilient material (such as designated by reference character 8 in bracket 7) to prevent marring of the finish on the respective horizontal rails of the crib.

A support arm 15, preferably in the form of an elongated tubular member, is shown (FIGURES 1 and 2) extending laterally outwardly from the column 2 in a plane substantially normal thereto. The support arm is shown connected, at one end thereof, to a support arm base 12 that is slidably mounted on the upper end of column 2.

The support arm base 12 comprises a sleeve-like body portion 12a having a central vertical opening to accommodate the column 2 therethrough. A substantially large recess 12b is provided in the underface of the sleeve-like body portion 12a. The recess 12b is arranged in a cirumjacent relation to the column 2 and shaped to permit the body portion 12a to he slid downwardly, in a substantially snug fit, over a movable collar 11 carried on the column 2 in a vertically slidable relation therewith.

The collar 11 is a selectively-operable means for repositioning the support arm base 12 along the length of the column 2. A means of fixedly binding the collar 11 at a desired point along the length of the column 2 may comprise a laterally-inwardly extending set screw 10 that can be manipulated with a screw driver when the support arm base 12 is raised upwardly away from the collar 11 to expose the setscrew. The column 2 may be provided with longitudinally spaced-apart substantially small openings or holes 2a through the side wall thereof to accommodate the inner end of set screw 10 and present a more positive means of binding the collar 11 to the column 2. Thus, the collar 11 may be selectively repositioned in accordance with any of the column 2 side wall openings 2a. Although it is contemplated that the collar 11 could be suitably fixed at a desired location along the length of the column 2 simply by turning the set screw 10 inwardly so that the inner end thereof would contact and bind the outer surface of the column 2, it is believed that provision of the holes 2a provide a more dependable means of insuring that the collar 11 will not inadvertently slip downward along the column 2, inasmuch as the inner end of set screw 10 will then extend inwardly to bind against stud 6 to provide a more dependable binding means.

The support base 12 further comprises an outer bi furcated end that has a pair of horizontally extending spaced-apart arm portions 120, each of which is a rigid integral extension of the sleeve-like body portion 12a. The arm portions 126 cooperatively form a clevis designed to pivotally support the inner end of the support arm .15 therein.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the tubular support arm 15 may be provided with a solid insert end portion 15a integrally joined to the support arm 15 and having a transverse opening 15b therethrough that is alignable with clevis pin openings through the arm portions 120. A clevis pin in the form of a thumbscrew 13 is provided to extend downwardly through the clevis and through the insert end 15a. The pivot pin holes in the arm portions are preferably internally threaded therethrough so the thumbscrew 13 will threadably-engage therewith while being a clearance fit through the insert end 15a of the arm 15. Connected as shown in FIGURE 1, the arm 15 may be pivoted on the pivot pin or thumb screw 13 in a horizontal plane with respect to the column 2 through an arc of substantially (The are of pivotal movement of the arm 15 will be limited by the structure at its outer end coming in contact with the crib side rail assembly.)

At the outer end of support arm 15, as shown particularly in FIGURE 1, a longitudinally bored insert end 15C is provided. The insert end 156 is designed to be permanently contained within the bored end of the support arm 15. Also provided at the outer end of the support arm 15 is a back plate 17 (shown in elevation in FIGURE 4) that is fixedly attached to the support arm 15 so that the greater portion thereof extends upwardly from the end side wall of the support arm 15 and at 90 to the axis of the support arm 15. One flat face of the plate 17 faces outwardly in a direction away from column 2 in a plane normal to the axi of the support arm 15 to provide a slide surface against which a swivel plate 23 is supported.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the swivel plate 23 is a rigid planar plate having an upper arcuate-shaped edge and a lower portion that tapers gradually downwardly-inwardly. Spaced inwardly from the upper arcuate-shaped edge of the plate 23 is a tranversely elongated arcuate openings or slot 23a, and provided substantially centrally through the plate 23 is a circular pivot pin opening that accommodates a thumbscrew 18.

The swivel plate 23 is designed to be mounted so as to be rotatable on the thumbscrew 18 through a limited are to permit repositioning of the bottle clamping means carried therebeneath. Two means of movably-adjustably attaching the swivel plate 23 with respect to the support arm 15 are provided, and each may be manipulated to stationarily secure the swivel plate 23 with respect to the support arm 15. First, extending centrally through the plate 23 is the thumbscrew 18, and secondly, directly above and in parallel relation to the thumbscrew 18 is a thumbscrew 22 which extends through the arcuate slot 23a and thence through a substantially small circular opening near the upper end of the plate 17. Each of the thumbscrews 18 and 22 (see FIGURE 1) is provided with a semi-resilient temporarily deformable washer 19 placed contiguous to the plate 23, and with a rigid plane washer 20 placed contiguous to the outer face of the resilient washer 19. Both washers 19 and 20 are adapted to be urged inwardly by engagement with the substantially wide neck portion of the associated thumbscrew.

Two jam nuts 22a are carried on the threaded shank of the thumbscrew 22 adjacent the back surface of the plate 17. The plate 17 may be provided with a hexagonal indent in its back surface circumjacent the hole through which the threaded end of the thumbscrew 22 extends so the inner jam nut 22a will be engaged against the plate 17 and prevented from turning when the thumbscrew 22 in turned inwardly or outwardly. It is preferred that the outer jam nut 22a be permanently fastened to the tip of the thumbscrew 22 in a position that will enable the thumbscrew 22 to be turned only a short distance to tighten or loosen it with respect to the plate 23, thus also acting to prevent the inner jam nut 22a from becoming dislodged from the hexagonal indent in the surface plate 17. It should be noted with respect to the plate 17 that the need for the inner jam nut 22:: and the associated hexagonal indent in which it is carried could be obviated by cooperatively tapping threads within the hole in the plate 17 through which the threaded end of the thumbscrew 22 extends.

The thumbscrew 18 is arranged with its threaded shank extending through the central pivot pin opening in the plate 23 and is thence threadably-engaged through the longitudinally tapped bore of the insert 150. A nut 21 is preferably provided to be carried on the tip of the thumbscrew 18 and is welded or otherwise permanently joined thereto so that the thumbscrew 18 cannot be removed entirely from the assembly.

The thumbscrew 18 is placed in position with respect to the swivel plate 23 and the insert end 150 prior to the installation of the insert into the end of the support arm 15. The threaded shank of the thumbscrew 18, with the washers 19 and 20 carried thereon, is projected through the central opening of swivel plate 23 and then through the insert end 150 whereupon the nut 18a is permanently fastened at the tip of the thumbscrew 18. Then the insert 150 is positioned and fixedly fastened within the bore at the outer end of the support arm 15. It is preferred that the insert 15c either be spot welded in place, or, alternatively, be provided with threads to permit it to be screwed into a threaded bore at the outer end of the arm 15.

While the thumbscrews 18 and 22 are preferably provided with means to prevent their removal from the assembly as heretofore described, the thumbscrew 13 is removable so that the device 1 may be dismantled. This allows column 2 to remain in attached position on the crib while permitting the portion of the device 1 that extends inwardly therefrom to be removed entirely, if required. Thus, the thumbscrew 13 may be provided with a wire or string (not shown) connected through a small perforation in its head to tie it to a larger part of the device 1 and thereby assure that it will be immediately available for later use.

Extending vertically-downwardly from the lower end of the swivel plate 23 and as a permanent attachment thereto is a pivot arm 24 having an upper bifurcated end 24a that fits snugly over the lower end of the plate 23. The portion 24a may be permanently fastened to the lower end of the swivel plate 23 by means of rivets 25, or other alternative means such as spot welds or dowel pins may be used to make a strong dependable connection.

Extending below the upper bifurcated portion 24a of the pivot arm 24 is an elongated cylindrical rod-like portion or shaft 24b. A pair of sleeves or bushings 29 are slidably carried on the rod-like portion 24b. The sleeves 29 act as movable supports or carriers for a bottle clamping means which broadly comprises oppositely disposed spring biased arms 26 and 27. The extreme lower end of the shaft 24a is adapted to receive thereon a special dual purpose nut-like element or stop block 34 which is welded onto the shaft 24a to retain it in its mounted position thereon.

The bottle holding arms 26 and 27 are complementarily formed, so descriptive reference will be confined primarily to the arm 27. It will be noted with reference to FIGURES 1, 3, and 5 that the arm 27 comprises a flat planar handle portion 27a. The handle portion 27a is rounded at its outer end and has an intermediate hole or opening therealong to support a spring biasing means that will hereafter be described.

At the inner end of the handle portion 27a is a comparatively narrow and smoothly curved intermediate portion 27b that forms part of a clamp hinge arrangement. The intermediate portion 27b is designed to wrap around one of the sleeves 29 and is permanently welded thereto.

The forward end of the arm 27 acts as a clamping finger 27c and is bent to conform to the outer surface of a nursing bottle. With specific reference to FIGURE 3 it will be noted that the edge of the clamping finger 270, at its inner end, angles or slopes inwardly at its junction with the intermediate portion 27b to form upper and lower oblique shoulder portions 27d.

The nut-like element 34 has a geometric configuration in the form of a rectangular solid, thus presenting four laterally-outwardly facing surfaces, which merge to form corners thereon. The clamping means, comprised of the arms 26 and 27, is designed to be movable vertically on the shaft 24b, and when it is in the downward position, resting against the nut-like element 34, the lower shoulder port ions 26d and 27d of the arms 26 and 27 will tend to engage against the vertical corners formed by the merging laterally-outwardly facing surfaces of the nut-like element 34, thus preventing the clamping means from rotating on the shaft 24b. However, by raising the clamping means upwardly of the shaft 24b the arms will then clear the corners of the nut-like element 34 and allow the arms 26 and 27 to be rotated on the shaft 24b. Since the clamping means may thus be rotated on the shaft 24b, a child may be fed by the use of the device 1 irregardless of which end of the crib the childs head is placed.

While it is believed that the clamping means, with a nursing bottle held thereby, has sufficient weight to hold the arms 26 and 27 in engagement against the element 34, a spiral spring (240 see FIGURES 1 and 4) may be provided on the upper end of the shaft 24b to bias the clamping means in a downward direction thereon.

Interconnecting the handle portions 26a and 27a, by transversely extending through the aligned openings provided therethrough, is a rod or shaft 33 having at each end thereof respective button-like heads or stops 32. A compression spring 30 is carried between the handle portions 26a and 27a and on the shaft 33 to provide a means of biasing the handle portions 26a and 27a away from each other so the clamping fingers 26c and 270 will be urged toward each other in a clamping relation on the nursing bottle. A sleeve-like spring insert 31 may be carried around the intermediate portion of the shaft 33 and within the spring 30 to maintain the spring 30 in a substantially concentric relation to the shaft 33. The insert 31 may be flanged at one end permanently joined to the inner surface of handle portions 27a, with the opening through the insert 31 being a close slip fit on the rod 33. Then, the adjacent stop 32 may be permitted to seat within an enlarged slot or opening in handle portion 270.

It is preferred that the inside surface of each of the clamping fingers 26c and 27c be provided with glued-inplace resilient material 28 which will act to increase the coeflicient of friction between the clamping fingers and the nursing bottle to be contained therein.

I have heretofore described a preferred embodimnt of my invention for the purpose of illustration and without intention of limitation thereto. The device described is considered functionally superior to conventional nursing bottle holders essentially because of its rigid construction, its two-point means of attachment to a crib, and its more versatile adjustability. It is believed that various structural modifications of the invention are possible without departing either from the inventive concept of the invention or from the quality inherent in its construction.

One possible modification relates to the construction of the collar 11 on which the support arm base 12 is carried. The collar 11 may be formed with a. hexagonal or square outer configuration, with the recess 12b adaptably constructed to conform thereto. This modification would prevent the support arm base 12 from pivoting on the col- 121' 11 and confine control of the movement of the support arm 15 to the pivotal relation between the support arm 15 and the clevis formed by the arms 120. Thus, pivotal movement of the support arm 15 through a horizontal plane would only be possible by manipulation of thumbscrew 13.

It is also alternatively contemplated that the clevis and the thumbscrew 13 could be eliminated altogether in favor of a unitary jointure between the end of the support arm 15 and the support base 12. In this embodiment, the outer surface of the collar 11 could be provided with vertically extending surface grooves to interfit with complementary vertical projections provided around the inner surface of the'recess 12b. Thus, the support arm base 12 would be incapable of rotation on the collar 11 and it would be necessary to raise the support base 12 away from the collar 11 to permit the support arm 15 to be repositioned.

In any of the possible modifications of the collar 11, it is considered important that the means of binding the collar 11 to the column 2, whether it be a set screw or other means such as a transverse pin that extends from the collar 11 and through the column 2, etc., be normally trapped within the recess 12b of the support arm base 12 so that the collar 11 cannot become inadvertently loosened with respect to the column 2 during long term use of the device.

In the foregoing description with reference to the preferred embodiment of my invention, specific reference to the type of material to be used in the construction of said device has been substantially avoided. It is believed that the described inter-relation of the various elements of the combination can be achieved through the use of metallic material, or synthetic resins having suitable qualities and characteristics, or a combination of metal and resin materials. For example, while it is believed that the attachment means or clamps 3 and 7 and the arms 26 and 27 of the clamping means will be most dependable if constructed of metal such as aluminum, it is envisioned that elements such as the support arm base 12 and the swivel plate 23 could be satisfactorily constructed from a resin material having properties similar to high density polyethylene.

A notable feature in the design of my invention is that when the nursing bottle is held as intended by the clamping means, the horizontal support arm is well out of a childs normal reach and is therefore not likely to be grasped by the child or be batted away. The device is also purposely designed so that the arms 26 and 27 and the associated elements therewith that form the clamping means are normally disposed in a position that is out of the childs line of sight so that the child is not distracted by the structure immediately adjacent the nursing bottle.

A definite advantage of the device 1 relates to the interaction between the arms 26 and 27 and the nut-like element 34. It will be noted that the arms 26 and 27 must be raised slightly to clear the corners of the element 34 before the handle portions 26a and 27a can be squeezed toward each other to permit installation of a bottle between the clamping fingers 26c and 27c. When the handle portions 26a and 27a are released, the spring 30 acts to apply a positive biasing force which is independent of the construction of the holding arms 26 and 27. With clamping fingers 26c and 27c urged toward each other to engage the bottle between them, element 34 functions to maintain the arms 26 and 27 in the desired position relative to the shaft 24a. The weight of the arms 26 and 27 and the nursing bottle held between the clamping fingers 26c and 27c will tend to maintain the clamping means in the downward position against the element 34 until such time as it is desired to remove the nursing bottle from the clamping means and the arms 26 and 27 are raised in unison away from the element 34.

Having described my invention and pointed out some of the salient features inherent in its construction, what I claim is:

1. A nursing bottle holding device for attachment to an infants crib of the type having fence-like vertical side rail assemblies, comprising: an elongated vertical column for mounting between and generally parallel to vertical crib bars of one of the side rail assemblies, attachment means at opposite ends of said column to removablyengage respective upper and lower horizontal rails of the one side rail assembly, said vertical column having extensible means for varying its length in accordance with the distance between the upper and lower horizontal crib rails, an elongated support arm extending horizontally from said vertical column, a support arm base joining an inner end of said support arm in a slidably-movable relation on said column, selectively-operable means for repositioning said support arm base along the vertical length of said column, position-clamping horizontallyswingable means joining the inner end of said support arm to said support arm base for swinging said support arm with respect to said column; horizontally-laterally extending clamping means adapted to hold a nursing bottle in a suspended relation above an infant in the crib, clamp mounting means attaching said clamping means in a downwardly-spaced and horizontally-extending relation from the outer end of said support arm, and said clamp mounting means having means for selectively-positioning said clamping means angularly about the horizontal axis of said support arm.

2. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 1 wherein said clamp mounting means has a downwardlyextending shaft portion, and said clamping means is horizontally-swingably mounted on said shaft portion.

3. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 2 wherein, said clamp mounting means has a plate, and said means for selectively positioning said clamping means pivotally mounts said plate on the outer end of said support arm and has means for securing said plate at different angular positions with respect to said support arm.

4. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 2 wherein, said clamping means is provided with stop means acting to normally prevent rotation of said clamping means about said shaft portion, and said stop means is releasable by movement of said clamping means towards said clamp mounting means.

5. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 1 wherein, said column is longitudinally bored through at least one end portion thereof, and said extensible means comprises: a rod-like member inserted into said bored portion with an end of said rod-like member extending outwardly beyond the end of said column and in axial alignment therewith, said rod-like member carrying one of said attachment means integral to the outer end thereof, said rod-like member being adjustably-movable inwardly-outwardly with respect to said bored portion of said column, releasable means for securing said rod-like member in an immovable relation with respect to said column when the device is operatively positioned on the crib, and said releasable means being adapted to secure said rod-like member at various points along the length thereof so as to permit variable length adjustment of said column.

6. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 5 wherein, said rod-like member is a substantially cylindrical stud provided with external threads on at least a substantial portion thereof adjacent said integral attachment means, and said releasable means comprises: a pair of complementary-threaded jam nuts carried in operative adjacency on said threaded portion between said integral attachment means and said bored portion of said column whereby said jam nuts may be selectively threadablymanipulated along the length of said threaded portion to adjust the length of said stud that extends outwardly beyond the end of said column.

7. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 1 wherein, said selectively-operable means for positioning said support arm base comprises: a collar adaptablycarried on said column for slid-able movement thereon with means integral to said collar for binding it at a desired point along said column; and said support arm base comprises: a sleeve-like mem ber slidably carried on said column between said collar and that end of said column to be positioned upwardly in relation to the crib, said sleeve-like member having a recess in the underface thereof and being adapted to removably fit, in a substantially tight relation, over said collar whereby inadvertent rotation of said support arm base in relation to said column is prevented said position-lamping horizontally-swingable means comprises; a pair of rigid spaced-apart arm portions extending laterally-outwardly from said sleeve-like member, said ar-m portions extending parallel to each other and cooperatively forming a clevis to pivotally carry the inner end of said support arm therein in a pivot pin engagement therewith, said clevis being positioned to permit said support arm to be selectively-pivoted in a plane normal to said column, and means to cause said clevis to bind against the inner end of said support arm carried therein whereby inadvertent pivotal movement of said support arm is substantially prevented.

8. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 1 wherein, said selectively-operable means for repositioning said support arm base along said column comprises: an annular collar carried on said column for slidable movement along said column, said collar being provided with a laterally-inwardly extending set screw for binding said collar to said column at a selected position therealong; and wherein, said support arm base is a rigid sleeve-like member slidably carried with respect to said column on said collar, with said support arm extending laterally therefrom and substantially normal to said column, said sleeve-like member has an annular recess in the underface thereof, and said annular recess is circumjacent said column and is shaped to cooperatively receive said collar therein in a substantially tight fitting relation.

9. A nursing bottle holding device as defined in claim 1 wherein, said column is provided with a plurality of longitudinally equidistantly-spaced apart holes through the side wall thereof, and said selectively-operable means for repositioning said support arm base along the length of Said-column comprises: a collar slidably carried on said said column for movement between said holes in said column, said collar having an internally threaded hole extending from the outer surface thereof and radially in- Wardly to the axial bore through said collar, a set screw fitted within said threaded hole and adapted to be screwed inwardly therethrough when said threaded hole is in alignment withone of said holes in said column so that the end of said set screw will extend through the side wall of said column and act to prevent movement of said collar along said column.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,688,765 10/1928 VeraS 248-103 1,911,901 6/1933 Keane 248103 2,110,037 3/1938 De Rosa 24s 104 2,739,320 3/1956 Kostka 248-102 x FOREIGN PATENTS 532,910 11/1956 Canada. 115,902 10/1925 Sweden.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

Patent No. 3,398,919

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION August 27, 1968 Gerald Tokar It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 15, "raid" should read rail Column 4, lines 52 and 53, "openings" should read opening Column 5, line 8, "in" should read is line 31, after "insert" "15" should read 15c Column 6 line 41 (24c see" should read 24c (see Column 9, line 17, "positionlamping" should read position-clamping Signed and sealed this 13th day of January 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

Images