BOTTLE HOLDER ASSEMBLY ATTACHABLE TO A TABLE TOP EDGE

Abstract

A bottle cage is attached to an adjustable clamp that attaches to the edge of the table top of a domestic ironing board. An upper jaw and a lower jaw mechanically engage each other so that they can be squeezed together and immovably lock on the table top edge of an ironing board. One of the jaws (the first jaw) has at least one rack with evenly spaced teeth. The other jaw (the second jaw) has locking teeth, affixed to a resilient upright, which ratchet against the at least one rack as the jaws are squeezed together. The second jaw also incorporates a button on a stalk that protrudes through a slot in the first jaw. A bottle cage incorporates an open-ended slot connector that slides over the button to lock the first jaw to the second jaw. A bottle fits within the bottle cage.

Claims

1. A bottle holder assembly comprising: a first jaw; a second jaw that mechanically engages the first jaw to form a slidable jaw assembly so that the two jaws can be squeezed together and immovably lock on a table top edge of an ironing board; a bottle cage pivotally connectable to the jaw assembly, said bottle cage preventing release of a locked configuration of the jaws so long as it is connected to the jaw assembly.

2. The bottle holder assembly of claim 1, wherein said first jaw is equipped with at least one rack having equally-spaced ramped teeth, the second jaw is equipped with at least one locking tooth that is resiliently biased toward the rack, said at least one locking tooth engaging teeth of the rack in a locking and ratcheting manner as the first and second jaws are squeezed together.

3. The bottle holder assembly of claim 2, wherein as the first and second jaws are squeezed together, each incremental ratcheting movement of the jaws results in the jaws being joined in a locked state, said locked state being releasable by disengaging the locking teeth from the teeth on said at least one rack.

4. The bottle holder assembly of claim 1, wherein the first jaw is equipped with a central, vertically-oriented slot, a rearward-facing rack with equally-spaced upwardly-ramped teeth on each side of said slot, and a channel with at least one overhanging edge adjacent each rack, wherein said second jaw is equipped with a pair of spaced-apart sliders and a resilient upright panel to which are attached a forward-facing central button on a stalk and at least one forward-facing, downwardly-ramped locking tooth, and wherein said first and second jaws are brought together so that the button and the stalk project through the slot, and each slider is aligned with a channel, and the jaws are subsequently squeezed together so that each slider enters a channel and said at least one locking tooth begins to ratchet against the racks until a desired gap between the jaws is achieved and the jaws are immovably locked together.

5. The bottle holder assembly of claim 4, wherein said bottle cage has a connector with an open-ended slot that slides over the stalk and prevents the button from being depressed in order to disengage said at least one locking teeth from the rack teeth, and thereby unlock the jaws.

6. The bottle holder assembly of claim 5, wherein: the second jaw has a horizontal front portion unitary with an upwardly projecting rear portion, said upwardly projecting rear portion providing clearance for a downwardly projecting perimetric rim found on the table tops of most ironing boards; and each jaw is equipped with a resilient pad that is adhesively bonded thereto, each resilient pad intended to be compressed against a surface of the ironing board table top when the jaws are squeezed together.

7. A bottle holder assembly comprising: an upper jaw; a lower jaw that vertically and slidably engages the upper jaw to form a jaw assembly, said engaged jaw assembly forming a mouth that fits over a table top edge of an ironing board, wherein by squeezing the jaws together, a pressure is exerted by the jaws against an upper and a lower surface of the table top, and the jaws lock together to maintain the pressure against said upper and lower surfaces until a lock release mechanism is activated; and a bottle cage that connects to the jaw assembly and prevents activation of the lock release mechanism until the bottle cage is disconnected.

8. The bottle holder assembly of claim 7, wherein said upper jaw is equipped with a central, vertically-oriented slot, a rearward-facing rack with equally-spaced upwardly-ramped teeth on each side of said slot, and a channel with at least one overhanging edge adjacent each rack, and wherein said lower jaw is equipped with a pair of spaced-apart sliders, and a resilient upright panel to which are attached a forward-facing central button on a stalk and at least one forward-facing, downwardly-ramped locking tooth, and wherein said upper and lower jaws are brought together so that the button and the stalk project through the slot, and each slider is aligned with a channel, and the jaws are subsequently squeezed together so that each slider enters a channel and said at least one locking tooth begins to ratchet against the racks until a desired gap between the jaws is achieved and the jaws are immovably locked together.

9. The bottle holder assembly of claim 8, wherein said bottle cage has a connector with an open-ended slot that slides over the stalk and prevents the button from being depressed in order to unlock the jaws.

10. The bottle holder assembly of claim 9, wherein the connector is equipped with speed bumps that act as detents to retain the connector in a fully-installed position.

11. The bottle holder assembly of claim 7, wherein each jaw is equipped with a resilient pad that is adhesively bonded thereto, each resilient pad intended to be compressed against a surface of the ironing board table top when the jaws are squeezed together.

12. The bottle holder assembly of claim 11, wherein the lower jaw has a horizontal front portion unitary with an upwardly projecting rear portion, said upwardly projecting rear portion providing clearance for a downwardly projecting perimetric rim found on the table tops of most ironing boards.

13. The bottle holder assembly of claim 7, wherein said upper jaw is equipped with at least one rack having equally-spaced ramped teeth, the lower jaw is equipped with at least one locking tooth that is resiliently biased toward the rack, said at least one locking tooth engaging teeth of the rack in a locking and ratcheting manner as the upper and lower jaws are squeezed together.

14. A bottle holder assembly comprising: a first jaw equipped with a central, vertically-oriented slot, a rearward-facing rack with equally-spaced ramped teeth on each side of said slot, and a channel with at least one overhanging edge adjacent each rack; a second jaw equipped with a pair of spaced-apart sliders, and a resilient upright panel to which are attached a forward-facing central button on a stalk and at least one forward-facing, locking tooth that is ramped in a direction opposite the direction in which the rack teeth are ramped, and ramped away from the first jaw, said first and second jaws being brought together so that the button and the stalk project through the slot, and each slider is aligned with a channel, and the jaws are subsequently squeezed together so that each slider enters a channel to form a jaw assembly having a mouth that fits over a table top edge of an ironing board, and wherein by further squeezing said first and second jaws together, said at least one locking tooth begins to ratchet against the racks until a desired gap between the jaws is achieved and the jaws are immovably locked together against upper and lower surfaces of the table top until the button is depresses to release said at least one locking tooth from the rack teeth; and a bottle cage having a connector with an open-ended slot that fits over the stalk and prevents the button from being depressed.

15. The bottle holder assembly of claim 14, wherein the connector is equipped with speed bumps that act as detents to retain the connector in a fully-installed position.

16. The bottle holder assembly of claim 14, wherein each jaw is equipped with a resilient pad that is adhesively bonded thereto, each resilient pad intended to be compressed against a surface of the ironing board table top when the jaws are squeezed together.

17. The bottle holder assembly of claim 14, wherein one of the jaws has a horizontal front portion unitary with an upwardly projecting rear portion, said upwardly projecting rear portion providing clearance for a downwardly projecting perimetric rim found on the table tops of most ironing boards.

18. The bottle holder assembly of claim 14, wherein said first jaw is an upper jaw, and said second jaw is a lower jaw.

19. The bottle holder assembly of claim 18, wherein by making the first jaw the upper jaw and the second jaw the lower jaw, appearance of the assembly is enhanced because the channels and entrances thereto are positioned below the table top of the ironing board and generally not visible to a user.

20. The bottle holder of claim 14, wherein the bottle cage has a flared upper opening to facilitate introduction of a bottle into the bottle cage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] While the present invention is described with particularity in the claims, which are annexed hereto and form a part of this specification, a better understanding of the invention can be had by reference to the following detailed thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0017] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the bottle holder, in which has been installed a generic spray bottle;

[0018] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the lower jaw;

[0019] FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view of the lower jaw;

[0020] FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the lower jaw;

[0021] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lower jaw, taken through vertical center section plane 5-5 of FIG. 4;

[0022] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the lower jaw;

[0023] FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the lower jaw and of a resilient pad which will be adhesively installed within the pad recess of the lower jaw, taken from a upper right front vantage point;

[0024] FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the upper jaw;

[0025] FIG. 9 is a right side elevational view of the upper jaw;

[0026] FIG. 10 is rear elevational view of the upper jaw;

[0027] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper jaw, taken through vertical center section plane 11-11 of FIG. 10;

[0028] FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the upper jaw;

[0029] FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the upper jaw and of a resilient pad which will be adhesively installed within the pad recess of the upper jaw, taken from a lower left rear vantage point;

[0030] FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the bottle cage, taken from a upper left rear vantage point;

[0031] FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the bottle cage;

[0032] FIG. 16 is a bottom plan view of the bottle cage;

[0033] FIG. 17 is a rear elevational view of the bottle cage;

[0034] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle cage, taken through the vertical center section plane 18-18 of FIG. 17;

[0035] FIG. 19 is a left side elevational view of the bottle cage;

[0036] FIG. 20 is an isometric view of the upper jaw and the lower jaw components, aligned for initial engagement, taken from an upper right front vantage point;

[0037] FIG. 21 is an isometric view of the upper jaw and the lower jaw components, in a configuration of initial engagement, taken from an upper right front vantage point;

[0038] FIG. 22 is a front elevational view of the bottle holder assembly;

[0039] FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle holder assembly, taken through vertical section plane 23-23 of FIG. 22;

[0040] FIG. 24 is a rear elevational view of the bottle holder assembly;

[0041] FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle holder assembly, taken through vertical center section plane 25-25 of FIG. 24;

[0042] FIG. 26 is an isometric view of the bottle holder assembly, taken from an upper right front vantage point;

[0043] FIG. 27 is an isometric view of the upper jaw and lower jaw components, in a configuration of locked engagement; and

[0044] FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle holder assembly and an installed transparent bottle incorporating a spray head and drop tube, taken through a vertical center section plane extending front to rear.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0045] The bottle holder assembly will now be described in detail, with reference to the attached drawing figures. Element numbers comprise three or four digits. The left-most digit of three-digit element numbers and the two left-most digits of four-digit elements numbers indicate the drawing figure number where the element is first most clearly visible.

[0046] Referring now to FIG. 1, a bottle holder assembly 100 is shown that is attachable about the perimeter of the table top of a domestic ironing board. Typically, the pressing board is formed from a planar expanse of sheet metal that is downwardly crimped on the edges to form a perimetric rim that stiffens the pressing board. The bottle holder assembly 100 comprises three components: a two component adjustable clamp and a bottle cage. The clamp that includes a lower jaw 101 and an upper jaw 102. The jaws 101 and 102 are designed such that they fit together so that the lower jaw 101 and the upper jaw 102 can be positioned around the table top edge of an ironing board, and squeezed together so that they press against the upper and lower surfaces of the table top, or pressing board. The bottle cage 103, in which has been inserted a bottle 104 having a spray head 105, has a connector with an open-ended slot that slides over a button on the lower jaw 101 that protrudes through a slot in the upper jaw 102. Not only does this connection of the bottle cage 103 to the lower jaw 101 enable the bottle cage 103 to pivot so that the bottle cage and a contained bottle can remain upright when the ironing board is folded and placed in a vertical or nearly orientation, such as leaning against a wall, it also locks the upper and lower jaws together so that they are immovably clamped against the upper and lower surfaces of the ironing board table top. These details will be subsequently shown and described in more detail. The bottle holder assembly 100 will be described with respect to a particular orientation. The bottle cage 103 will be considered the front of the bottle holder assembly 100, while the adjustable clamp, which comprises lower jaw 101 and upper jaw 102, will be considered the rear of the assembly.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 2 through 7, the lower jaw 101 of the adjustable clamp has a reclinate J-shaped body 205, a pair of spaced-apart pi-beam sliders 203-A and 203-B which are integral with the top of the reclinate J-shaped body 205, and a resilient upright panel 401 having a lower end integral with the top (front side of the lower jaw 101) of the reclinate J-shaped body 205. The upper end of the upright panel 401 is equipped with a front-protruding button 201 that is attached to the upright panel 401 via a stalk 202. On each side of the button 201 is a pair of locking teeth 204. An upper resilient 701 will be adhesively bonded to a recess 206 at the bottom end of reclinate J-shaped body 205.

[0048] Referring now to FIGS. 8 through 13, the upper jaw 102 has a generally inverted L-shaped side profile made up of a vertical portion 901 and a horizontal portion 902. The vertical portion 901 has a central slot 801 that is closed at both ends. The rear-facing side of the vertical portion 901 is equipped with is equipped with a pair of spaced-apart vertical channels 1002-A and 1002-B of block-C-shaped cross section, positioned on opposite sides of the central slot 801, and a gear rack with upwardly-ramped teeth positioned between the slot 801 and each vertical channel 1001-A and 1001-B. Because of its block-C-shaped cross section, each vertical channel 1002-A and 1002-B has two overhanging edges 1202 that trap the pi-beam sliders 201-A. A lower resilient pad 1301 will be adhesively bonded to a recess 1201 in the horizontal portion 902.

[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 14 through 19, the bottle cage 103 has a vertical spine 1401, a left semi-cylindrical cage 1406-A and a right semi-cylindrical cage 1406-B attached to the spine 1401, a foot 1405 attached to the base of the spine 1401, a left flared guide 1407-A integral with the left semi-cylindrical cage 1406-A, a right flared guide 1407-B integral with the right semi-cylindrical cage 1406-B, and a connector 1402 having a slot 1404 open at the bottom end there of attached to an upper-most portion of the spine 1401. Raised speed bumps 1403 near the top of an inner track 1408 on each side of the slot 1404 lock the button 201 in place when it is slid to the top of the slot 1404.

[0050] Referring now to FIG. 20, the upper jaw 102 and the lower jaw 101 are aligned for initial engagement. A centerline 2001, which passes through the axis of the button 201 and stalk 202, as well as through the axis of the arc 2002 at the bottom of the slot 801, shows the alignment required for the upper jaw 102 and the lower jaw 101 to be assembled as a unit.

[0051] Referring now to FIG. 21, the lower jaw 101 has been moved toward the upper jaw 102 along the centerline 1001 (see FIG. 20) until the button 201 and stalk 202 protrude through the slot 801. As configured in this figure, the pi-beam sliders 203-A and 203-B and aligned for entry into the spaced-apart vertical channels 1002-A and 1002-B of the upper jaw 102. As the pi-beam sliders 203-A and 203-B slide up the spaced-apart vertical channels 1002-A and 1002-B, the locking teeth 204 on the resilient vertical panel 401 slide up the rear side of the vertical portion 901 of the upper jaw 102 and, with about 2 cm of upward travel, begin to make ratcheting engagement with the vertical racks 1001-A and 1001-B. As they are injection molded from structural thermoplastic resin, there is some resiliency in the upper and lower jaws, 102 and 101, respectively. Thus, when they are squeezed together against the upper and lower surfaces of a table top, they deform slightly to provide a force loading of the locking teeth 204 against the teeth of the vertical racks 1001-A and 1001-B.

[0052] Referring now to FIG. 22, the bottle holder assembly 100 is shown in a frontal view. The bottle cage 103 has been attached to the button 201 and stalk 202. The upper jaw 102 is visible in the background, as is the upper portion of the slot 801.

[0053] Referring now to FIG. 23, this off-center cross-section view of the bottle holder assembly 100 shows the engagement of the locking teeth 204, located on the resilient vertical panel 401, with teeth of the vertical rack 1001-A.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 24, the bottle holder assembly 100 is shown in a rear view. All three components of the bottle holder assembly 100 (the lower jaw 101, the upper jaw 102, and the bottle cage 103) are visible in this view. Upon attachment of the bottle cage 103 to the button 201 on the lower jaw 101, the upper jaw 102 and lower jaw 101 are immovably locked together.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 25, this center cross-sectional view shows how the open-ended slot 1404 of connector 1402 fits over the stalk 202 and the button 201 and the speed bumps 1403 (only one is visible in this view) secure the bottle cage 103 to the lower jaw 102. In order to unlock the upper jaw 101 and the lower jaw 102, the best procedure is to squeeze the upper jaw 101 and lower jaw 102 together again to overcome the force loading of the locking teeth 204 against the teeth of the vertical rack 1001-A and 1001-B, and depress the button 101. While depressing the button 101, the upper and lower jaws, 102 and 101, respectively, can then be released. Thus, the button 201 functions as a lock release mechanism.

[0056] Referring now to FIG. 26, the bottle holder assembly 100 is shown with the bottle 104 removed. With the exception of the missing bottle 104, this is the same drawing as shown in FIG. 1.

[0057] Referring now to FIG. 27, this view shows the upper jaw 102 and the lower jaw 101 immovably locked together. With the pi-beam sliders 203-A and 203-B positioned within the vertical channels 1002-A and 1002-B, respectively, the lower jaw has been raised with respect to the upper jaw 101 until the locking teeth 204 on the resilient vertical panel 401 have engaged the teeth on the vertical racks 1001-A and 1001-B. Once the connector 1402 has been installed on the button 201 and the stalk 202, the locking function cannot be released by pressing the button 201.

[0058] Referring now to FIG. 28, the table top of a conventional domestic ironing board 2801 is shown clamped between the upper and lower jaws 102 and 101, respectively, of the bottle holder assembly 100. Pressure is exerted by resilient pads 1301 and 701 against the upper and lower surfaces of the ironing board table top 2801. The lower jaw has a horizontal front portion 2802 that is unitary with an upwardly projecting rear portion 2803 that provides clearance for the downwardly projecting perimetric rim 2804 of the ironing board 2801. A pad 2805 covers the ironing board 2801, and the pad is covered by a heat-resistant cover 2806. A draw string 2807 enables the cover to be secured to the ironing board 2801. A bottle 104 has been inserted within the bottle cage 103 of the bottle holder assembly 100. Functional details of the spray head 105 are not shown.

[0059] Although only a single embodiment of the bottle holder assembly 100 attachable to an ironing board has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.