Illuminated cup holder and motor vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to an illuminated cup holder (1), comprising a cup receptacle (2) with a cup wall (3) designed to receive a cup, a light source (4), and at least two compensating elements (5) designed to prevent the cup from unintentionally moving within the cup receptacle (2). Each of the compensating elements (5) has a translucent section (6) that is in light-conducting communication with the light source (4), so that light from the light source (4) can be emitted through the translucent section (6) into the cup receptacle (2). A key aspect of the invention is that the at least two compensating elements (5) are adjustable between a first position (7) received in the cup wall (3) and a second position (8) projecting into the cup receptacle (2) and pre-tensioned by means of an associated spring (9).

Description

The present invention relates to an illuminated cup holder with a cup receptacle having a cup wall which is designed to receive a cup, according to the preamble of claim 1.From DE 10 2009 017 296 A1, DE 10 2014 109 582 A1 and DE 20 2017 107 369 U1, a generic illuminated cup holder with a cup receptacle with a cup wall is known, which is designed to receive a cup. A light source and at least two compensating elements are also provided, which are designed to prevent the cup from unintentionally moving in the cup receptacle.DE 10 2009 008 479 A1 discloses a holder for a beverage container, having a container receptacle for setting the beverage container, having a holding jaw which is mounted movably a certain distance into the container receptacle, and having a spring element which acts on the holding jaw into the container receptacle. The spring element with the holding jaw is designed as an assembly unit.WO 2011 / 094 728 A1 discloses an illuminated cup holder having a cup receptacle with an annular cup wall which is designed to hold a cup. Also provided are a light source and at least two balancing elements which extend inwardly from the annular cup wall and are designed to prevent the cup from unintentionally moving in the cup receptacle. The compensating elements each have a light-transmissive section which is connected to the light source, so that light from the light source can be emitted through the light-transmissive section into the cup receptacle. This is intended to facilitate finding the cup receptacle in poor visibility conditions, in particular at night, and to thereby increase driving safety.WO 2014 / 165 597 A2 discloses a further cup holder for a vehicle interior, having a base, a wall which extends from the base and forms an opening for receiving a cup. Furthermore, a light guide for transmitting light along the base and along the wall is provided, wherein the light is provided below the base by a light source and is transmitted via the light guide into the cup receptacle.WO 2011 / 100 490 A1 discloses an illuminated cup holder with an annular outer wall for receiving a cup. The annular outer wall is transparent at least in regions and is illuminated by a light source arranged behind it, as a result of which the cup receptacle is illuminated.In order to be able to maintain a high driving safety under limited visibility conditions, in particular at night, it is necessary to illuminate corresponding devices arranged in a motor vehicle, such as switches or a cup holder. However, it is precisely in the case of an illuminated cup holder that, on the one hand, the finding of the same for placing a beverage container by the illumination should be facilitated, but illumination should not be so strong that disruptive light is emitted by the latter. Likewise, such cup holders should be able to reliably accommodate different cups or beverage containers and to be able to hold them during the travel of the motor vehicle.However, it is disadvantageous in the case of cup holders known from the prior art that they often either have an unnecessarily large light emission and thus an impairment of a user (m / w / d) during driving at night or do not necessarily hold cups of different sizes reliably.The present invention is therefore concerned with the problem of specifying an improved or at least one alternative embodiment for an illuminated cup holder of the generic type, by means of which embodiment the disadvantages known from the prior art can be overcome in particular.This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.The present invention is based on the general idea of offering an illuminated cup holder, in particular in a motor vehicle, which on the one hand has adjustable compensating elements and on the other hand is illuminatable, by means of which the cup holder of the illuminated cup holder is adaptable not only illuminatable but also with respect to an inner diameter and thus with respect to an outer diameter of cups or beverage containers to be accommodated therein. The illuminated cup holder according to the invention has the aforementioned cup receptacle with an annular cup wall which is designed to receive a cup or generally a beverage container. Furthermore, a light source and at least two compensating elements are provided which extend inward from the annular cup wall and are designed to prevent the cup from unintentionally moving in the cup receptacle, in particular during the travel of the motor vehicle, wherein the compensating elements each have a light-transmissive section which is connected to the light source in a light-conducting manner, such that light from the light source can be emitted into the cup receptacle through the light-transmissive section of the compensating elements. According to the invention, the at least two compensating elements, preferably three or even four compensating elements, can now be adjusted / pivoted between a first position accommodated in the cup wall and a second position projecting into the cup receptacle and prestressed by means of a spring. As a result, a cup receptacle can be created for the first time, which both enables reliable fixing of cups of different sizes in the cup receptacle, and also provides only decent illumination of the cup receptacle, which illumination is sufficient to locate the cup receptacle and is in no way perceived as annoying by a user of the motor vehicle.According to the invention, at least one compensating element has a light insert and a hard plastic component laterally enclosing this light insert. The compensating element can be designed in the manner of a pivot cam which is prestressed by means of an associated spring into its second position projecting into the cup receptacle. In this case, the light insert emits only a narrow strip in the illuminated state, which on the one hand enables the cup receptacle to be found in a problem-free, or even intuitive manner, in poor visibility conditions, in particular at night, but on the other hand does not develop any glare effect for a user of the motor vehicle. By laterally enclosing the light insert by a hard plastic component, a reliable and loadable compensating element can additionally be created, wherein a lateral undesired emission or emission of light is reliably avoided and a particular lighting effect is achieved in the cup receptacle via the hard plastic component at least partially enclosing the light insert.In a further advantageous embodiment of the illuminated cup holder, at least one compensating element has a plastic flexible component, wherein it is alternatively also conceivable that the light insert itself is designed as a plastic flexible component. The plastic soft component is located on an end face of the compensating element pointing inward into the cup receptacle, so that after a cup or generally a beverage container has been inserted into the cup receptacle of the cup holder according to the invention, the compensating elements are pressed / pivoted radially outward, wherein the set cup then comes into contact with the plastic soft component. Compared to the hard plastic component, such a plastic soft component offers the great advantage of significantly improved adhesion to the cup, whereby a reliable, in particular also non-slip, retention of the cup in the cup receptacle is made possible. Such a plastic soft component can replace the light insert at least partially, wherein it is also conceivable for the light insert to be designed as such a plastic soft component, so that a cup set into the cup receptacle or generally a beverage container is reliably held via the light insert.In a particularly preferred embodiment of the cup holder, a light plate is provided which covers the light insert on at least one end side thereof and via which light can be emitted at least into the cup receptacle. By means of such a light screen, it is also possible to achieve focusing of the emitted light, wherein different emitted light colors can also be realized by different colors of such a light screen. Such a light pane can be designed in the manner of a headlight cover and can have integrated light guide elements, by means of which special design light effects can be realized. In particular, such a light plate can scatter or bundle the emitted light, whereby-as stated-special lighting design effects can be achieved.In a further preferred embodiment of the cup holder according to the invention, the light plate is formed at an angle and covers two end faces of the light insert, wherein in this case light can be emitted both into the cup receptacle and to an upper end thereof via the light plate. This makes it possible not only to illuminate the cup receptacle itself, in particular also a bottom thereof, but also to provide a user looking into the cup receptacle from above with a type of illuminated reticle, similar to a reticle, by means of which the finding of the cup receptacle is significantly simplified, in particular at night. The upwardly pointing end face of the light insert, which is covered by means of the angled lens, forms a bar of such an illuminated reticle.According to the invention, an annular light guide is provided, which is connected in a light-conducting manner at one end to the light source and at the other end to a respective light insert of an associated compensating element. By means of such an annular light guide, introduction of light into the latter is possible without problems with a single light source, wherein the light introduced into the light guide is transmitted via the annular light guide to the different compensating elements. Such an annular light guide can be designed as a cost-effective plastic injection molded part.According to the invention, the at least two compensating elements are pivotable about a respective pivot axis between their first position accommodated at least partially in the cup wall and their second position projecting at least partially into the cup receptacle and prestressed by means of a spring. This makes it possible to pivot the individual compensating elements outwards by simply setting a beverage container in the cup receptacle and thereby to adjust them into the cup wall, while the compensating elements are pivoted inwards into the cup receptacle under spring tension when the cups are removed from the cup receptacle.According to the invention, the light guide and the light insert of the associated compensating element are connected to one another in a light-conducting manner via the respective pivot axis of the respective compensating element. The ring-shaped light guide has a branch in the region of the individual compensating elements, which branch leads via the pivot axis into the associated light insert. Such an arrangement or coupling of the light guide with the light insert via the respective pivot axis offers the great advantage that the light insert can be reliably illuminated regardless of the position of the respectively associated compensating element.In a particularly preferred embodiment, the light source is designed to emit light of different brightness and / or different color. This offers the great advantage that it is individually selectable for a user of the motor vehicle how brightly the illumination of the cup receptacle or in what color the illumination of the cup receptacle is to take place. This allows a considerable increase in comfort and a greater variety of variants for the user of the motor vehicle to be achieved.The present invention is further based on the general idea of equipping a motor vehicle with at least one illuminated cup receptacle described in the preceding paragraphs and thereby transferring the advantages described with respect to the illuminated cup receptacle to the motor vehicle. Specifically, these advantages lie in a reliable mounting of a cup set into the cup receptacle on the one hand and in a reliable illumination of the cup receptacle on the other hand, which on the one hand allows an intuitive setting of the cup into the cup receptacle, but on the other hand does not produce a glare effect which is perceived as annoying, for example.Further important features and advantages of the invention are evident from the dependent claims, from the drawings and from the associated description of the figures with reference to the drawings.It is understood that the features mentioned above and those still to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The above-mentioned components of a superordinate unit, such as a device, a device or an arrangement, which are designated separately, can form separate components or components of this unit or can be integral regions or sections of this unit, even if this is illustrated differently in the drawings.Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar or functionally the same components.In each case, diagrammatically show: FIG. 1 is a partially sectional view of an illuminated cup holder according to the invention, FIG. 2 shows a partially cut-away view of the illuminated cup holder according to the invention, analogous to FIG. 1, but in the region of a compensating element, FIG. 3 shows a sectional illustration through the cup holder according to the invention in a sectional plane which is substantially horizontal in the installed state, FIG. 4 shows a view of a compensating element according to the invention in the installed state with a light guide, FIG. 5 shows a view of a light insert according to the invention.According to FIGS. 1 and 2, an illuminated cup holder 1, in particular in a motor vehicle 10, has a cup receptacle 2 with an, in particular annular, cup wall 3, which is designed to receive a cup, not shown, or generally a beverage container. Also provided are a light source 4 (compare FIG. 3 ) and at least two, according to FIG. 3, a total of four, compensating elements 5 which extend inward from the cup wall 3 and, when a cup is set into the cup receptacle 2, prevent the cup receptacle 2 from unintentionally moving. The compensating elements 5 each have a light-transmissive section 6 which is connected to the light source 4 in a light-conducting manner, such that light from the light source 4 can be emitted through the light-transmissive section 6 into the cup receptacle 2. According to the invention, the at least two compensating elements 5 can now be adjusted between a first position 7 (compare FIG. 2 ) accommodated at least partially in the cup wall 3 and a second position 8 projecting at least partially into the cup receptacle 2 and prestressed by means of a spring 9. The spring 9 can be designed as a cost-effective bow spring. The great advantage of the illuminated cup holder 1 according to the invention is that cups of different sizes can be held and accommodated reliably therein and at the same time the cup holder 2 can be illuminated preferably without glare for a user of the motor vehicle 10.At least one of the compensating elements 5 shown can be constructed as follows: A light insert 11 is arranged in the middle (compare also FIG. 5 ), which is laterally enclosed by a hard plastic component 12. Furthermore, a plastic soft component 13 is provided, which for example allows an increased friction and thus an improved mounting of a beverage container placed in the cup holder 2. The plastic soft component 13 can in particular have a surface coating or have a grip-like surface, by means of which the adhesion and thus the fixing of a beverage container is facilitated. In this case, the respective compensating element 5 is thus designed as a 3-component plastic component, with the lens 14, the hard plastic component 12 and the plastic soft component 13. Alternatively, it is of course also conceivable for at least one compensating element 5 to be designed as a 2-component plastic component, wherein in this case the hard plastic component 12 and the light insert 11 are present and wherein the light insert 11 is designed, for example, as a plastic soft component.If FIG. 2 is further considered, it can be seen that a light pane 14 is provided, which covers the light insert 11 on at least one end face 15, here on two end faces 15, 16, and via which light can be emitted at least into the cup receptacle 2. A transparent light pane 14 is thereby sufficient for illuminating the cup holder 2, which covers the end face 15 of the light insert 11. In the light sheets 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, however, both end faces 15 and 16 of the light insert 11 are covered by the light sheet 14, so that when the compensating elements 5 project into the cup receptacle 2, in their second position, light is emitted upward via the end face 16 and the light sheet 14 covering this end face 16, as a result of which a user viewing the cup receptacle 2 from above is indicated a type of reticle (reticle), which on the one hand does not blind but on the other hand permits intuitive finding of the cup receptacle 2 even in poor visibility conditions, in particular at night.In this case, the lens 14 is formed in an angled manner and is capable of emitting light both into the cup receptacle 2 and to an upper end of the cup receptacle 2. The light screen 14 can in this case contain light guide elements, similar to a headlight screen, which bring about a focusing or scattering of a light beam passing through the light screen 14 and can thereby generate an individual illumination design. It is also conceivable for the angled lens 14 to emit light via the end face 16 differently than light via the end face 15. in particular, the lens 14 can emit light via the end face 15 more brightly than via the end face 16. Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided to configure the lens 14 with different colors, whereby light emerging through it is colored accordingly.For illuminating the light insert 11 of the individual compensating elements 5, an annular light guide 17 (compare FIGS. 2 to 4 ) is provided, one end of which is connected to the light source 4 and the other end of which is connected to a respective light insert 11 of an associated compensating element 5 in a light-guiding manner (compare FIGS. 2 and 4, for example). For this purpose, the ring-shaped light guide 17 has a branch 18 in the region of the respective light insert 11 (compare FIGS. 2-4 ), via which light is coupled out of the ring-shaped light guide 17 and coupled into the associated light insert 11. The light guide 17 can likewise be designed as a cost-effective plastic injection molded part.If one looks at FIG. 2, it can be seen that the illustrated compensating element 5 can be pivoted about a respective pivot axis 19 between its first position accommodated in the cup wall 3 and its second position projecting into the cup receptacle 2 and prestressed by means of a spring 9 (compare also FIG. 4 ).If the light insert 11 according to FIG. 5 is viewed, it can be seen that it has a light guide channel 20 in the interior, which is connected to the ring-shaped light guide 17 or the branch 18 outgoing therefrom in a light-conducting manner.All in all, with the illuminated cup holder 1 according to the invention and a motor vehicle 10 having this cup holder 1, glare-free, intuitive and reliable finding of a cup receptacle 2 can take place even in impaired visibility conditions, for example at night, wherein at the same time reliable holding of a beverage container, in particular cup, placed in the cup receptacle 2 is possible without problems via the pivotably mounted and spring-biased compensating elements 5. By means of a plastic soft component 13, the adhesion between the cup to be held and the compensating elements 5 can additionally be improved.

Claims

Illuminated cup holder (1), - with a cup holder (2) having a cup wall (3) which is designed to hold a cup, - with a light source (4) and at least two compensating elements (5) which are designed to prevent the cup from unintentionally moving in the cup holder (2), wherein the compensating elements (5) each have a light-transmissive section (6) which is connected to the light source (4) in a light-conducting manner, such that light can be emitted from the light source (4) through the light-transmissive section (6) into the cup holder (2), - wherein the at least two compensating elements (5) can be adjusted between a first position (7) accommodated in the cup wall (3) and a second position (8) which projects into the cup holder (2) and is prestressed by means of an associated spring (9), characterized in that, at least one compensating element (5) has a light insert (11) and a hard plastic component (12) enclosing this light insert (11) at least in regions, an annular light guide (17) is provided, one end of which is connected to the light source (4) and the other end of which is connected to a respective light insert (11) of an associated compensating element (5) in a light-conducting manner, the at least two compensating elements (5) are connected to one another in a light-conducting manner about a respective pivot axis (19) between their first position (7) accommodated in the cup wall (3) and their second position (8) projecting into the cup receptacle (2) and prestressed by means of a spring (9), the annular light guide (17) and the light insert (11) of the associated compensating element (5) are connected to one another in a light-conducting manner via the respective pivot axis (19) of the respective compensating element (5).Illuminated cup holder (1) according to claim 1, characterised in - that at least one compensating element (5) has a plastic flexible component (13), or - that the light insert (11) is formed as a plastic flexible component (13).Illuminated cup holder (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a light screen (14) is provided, which covers the light insert (11) on at least one end face (15) thereof and via which light can be emitted at least into the cup receptacle (2).Illuminated cup holder (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the light screen (14) is formed at an angle and covers the light insert (11) on two end faces (15, 16) and via which light can be emitted into the cup receptacle (2) and to an upper end of the cup receptacle (2).Illuminated cup holder (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the light source (4) is designed to emit light of different brightness and / or different colour.Motor vehicle (10) having at least one illuminated cup holder (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

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