Cup holder cum stand for thin portable terminal

Abstract

To provide a cup holder used for preventing a not-too-heavy glass, cup, etc. to be placed on a horizontal surface such as a table from falling down due to wind, etc., the cup holder also used as a stand for thin portable terminals that allows a tablet terminal, a tablet type computer such as an iPad (a trade name: a registered trademark), and a thin portable terminal such as a smart phone to stand by itself on a horizontal surface without being supported by a hand and allows a user to view a display screen such as a liquid crystal display screen of the thin portable terminal.SOLUTION: A cup holder cum stand for thin portable terminals comprises: a flat placement surface placed on a horizontal surface from above; and a cylindrical wall extending in a direction orthogonal to the placement surface and forming a cylindrical hollow portion for storing a cylindrical cup, where the cup holder cum stand for thin portable terminals has prescribed weight. The cylindrical wall includes a first recessed groove and a second recessed groove that are disposed in a positional relation of linearly crossing the hollow portion and each have a prescribed groove width in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention relates to a cup holder used to prevent not very heavy glasses, cups, etc. placed on a table etc. from falling over due to wind, etc., and in particular to a cup holder that can also be used as a stand for thin mobile terminals, such as tablet terminals, which are tablet computers such as the iPad (product name: registered trademark), and thin mobile terminals such as smartphones. [Background technology]

[0002] Cups that are not very heavy, such as paper cups or thin synthetic resin cups, may be prone to tipping over due to wind when placed on a horizontal surface such as a table, especially when only a small amount of beverage is left inside.

[0003] In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, various cup holders have been proposed. For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0004] Also, stands for thin mobile terminals have been proposed that allow a tablet terminal, which is a tablet-type computer such as an iPad (product name: registered trademark), or a thin mobile terminal such as a smartphone to stand on a horizontal surface such as a table without being supported by hand, and that enable a display screen such as a liquid crystal display screen of the thin mobile terminal to be viewed. For example, Patent Document 3 proposes a smartphone stand that allows a smartphone, as an example of a thin mobile terminal, to stand on a horizontal surface such as a table without being supported by hand, and that enables a display screen such as a liquid crystal display screen of the smartphone to be viewed.

[0005] Regarding smartphone stands, proposals have been made on smartphone stands that can be used for other purposes as well as for use as a smartphone stand. For example, Patent Document 4 proposes a book stand / smartphone stand that can be used as a book stand to hold a book and read it open, and can also be used as a smartphone stand. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-36362 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-245194 A [Patent Document 3] Utility Model Registration No. 3232939 [Patent Document 4] Patent Publication No. 2021-115850 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The object of this invention is to propose a cup holder that is used to prevent not very heavy glasses, cups, etc. that are placed on a horizontal surface such as a table from falling over due to wind, etc., and that can also be used as a stand for thin mobile devices, which allows a tablet device, which is a tablet computer such as an iPad (product name: registered trademark), or a thin mobile device such as a smartphone to stand on the horizontal surface without having to be supported by hand, and allows the display screen, such as the LCD screen, of the thin mobile device to be viewed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention can be exemplified as follows. [1] The present invention comprises a flat mounting surface that is placed on a horizontal surface from above, and a cylindrical wall that forms a cylindrical hollow portion that extends in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface and that accommodates a cylindrical cup, having a predetermined weight, The cylindrical wall includes a first recessed groove and a second recessed groove that are disposed in a positional relationship so as to linearly cross the hollow portion and each of which has a predetermined groove width in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall. A cup holder that also doubles as a stand for thin mobile devices.

[0009] [2] The groove width of the first groove and the second groove corresponds to the thickness of the thin mobile terminal supported by the cup holder / stand for a thin mobile terminal in a self-supporting state on the horizontal surface [1].

[0010] [3] The cup holder / stand for a thin mobile device according to [1] or [2], wherein the weight is 80g to 500g.

[0011] [4] The thin mobile device is a smartphone or a tablet device [2]. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to this invention, there is provided a cup holder that is used to prevent not very heavy glasses, cups, etc. that are placed on a horizontal surface such as a table from falling over due to wind, etc., and that can also be used as a stand for thin mobile terminals, allowing a tablet terminal, which is a tablet computer such as an iPad (product name: registered trademark), or a thin mobile terminal such as a smartphone to stand on the horizontal surface without having to be supported by hand, and allowing the display screen, such as the LCD screen, of the thin mobile terminal to be viewed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a cup holder and stand for a thin mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the cup holder combined with a stand for a thin portable terminal shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a bottom view. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the cup holder combined with a stand for a thin portable terminal shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a left side view and (b) is a right side view. [Figure 4] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the cup holder combined with a stand for a thin portable terminal shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a rear view. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the state in which the thin portable terminal stand / cup holder shown in FIG. 1 is used as a cup holder. [Figure 6] 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the state in which the cup holder combined with a stand for a thin mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1 is used as a smartphone stand. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a left side view of the state shown in FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] The cup holder 1 combined with a stand for a thin mobile terminal shown in Fig. 1 has a flat mounting surface 2b (Fig. 2(b)) and a cylindrical wall 3 (Fig. 1), and has a predetermined weight. Hereinafter, in this specification, the "cup holder combined with a stand for a thin mobile terminal 1" will be referred to simply as "holder 1".

[0016] When the holder 1 is placed on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table, the flat placement surface 2b (FIG. 2(b)) is placed on the horizontal surface from above.

[0017] The cylindrical wall 3 (FIG. 1) forms a cylindrical hollow portion 8 (FIG. 1) extending in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 2b. A cylindrical cup 10 is accommodated in the cylindrical hollow portion 8 formed by the cylindrical wall 3, as shown in FIG.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, a structure is adopted in which a cylindrical wall 3 rises from the circumferential edge of a bottom plate portion 2 that is circular in a plan view and has a flat support surface 2b and a bottom surface 2a that faces the flat support surface 2b and forms the bottom surface of a cylindrical hollow portion 8 (Figure 1).

[0019] The cylindrical wall 3 includes a first groove 4a and a second groove 4b as shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2(a), Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 3(b). The first groove 4a and the second groove 4b are arranged in the cylindrical wall 3 in a positional relationship in which they linearly cross the cylindrical hollow portion 8 as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2(a).

[0020] Moreover, the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b each have a predetermined groove width in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall 3, as shown in Figs.

[0021] The predetermined groove width that the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b each have in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall 3 is a groove width that corresponds to the thickness of a thin mobile terminal supported by the holder 1 in a self-supporting state on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

[0022] Examples of thin mobile terminals that can be supported by holder 1 in a self-supporting state on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table include smartphones and tablet terminals, which are tablet computers such as the iPad (product name: registered trademark).

[0023] 6 and 7 show an embodiment in which a smartphone 12 is supported by a holder 1 in a state in which the smartphone 12 stands on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table, as an example of a thin mobile terminal. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the predetermined groove widths of the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall 3 correspond to the thickness of the smartphone 12, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

[0024] Since the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b are arranged in the cylindrical wall 3 in a positional relationship in which they linearly cross the cylindrical hollow portion 8 as shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), the smartphone 12 can be attached to the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b of the holder 1 placed on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table as shown in Figures 6 and 7. This allows the smartphone 12 to stand on its own on the horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table on which the holder 1 is placed without being supported by hand, and makes it possible to view the display screen 13 such as the liquid crystal display screen of the smartphone 12.

[0025] The first groove 4a and the second groove 4b are arranged in the cylindrical wall 3 in a positional relationship in which they linearly cross the cylindrical hollow portion 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b are arranged at positions corresponding to the diameter of the cylindrical wall 3 that forms the cylindrical hollow portion 8 (FIG. 1) (FIGS. 2(a), 3(a) and (b)).

[0026] By attaching a smartphone 12 to the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a thin mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal which is a tablet computer such as an iPad (product name: registered trademark) is supported by the holder 1 in a state in which it can stand on its own on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table. Therefore, it is advantageous that the positional relationship between the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b arranged in the cylindrical wall 3 is in a position corresponding to the diameter of the cylindrical wall 3 which forms the cylindrical hollow portion 8 (Figure 1), as in the illustrated embodiment.

[0027] The holder 1 of this embodiment is used, for example, as follows. <Use as a cup holder> The holder 1 of this embodiment is placed on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table, etc., so that the flat support surface 2b (Figure 2(b)) of the holder 1 of this embodiment is placed on the horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table from above.

[0028] In this state, the cylindrical cup 10 containing the beverage 11 is inserted into the cylindrical hollow portion 8 formed by the cylindrical wall 3 for use (FIG. 5).

[0029] If the cylindrical cup 10 is placed on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table without using the holder 1, when the beverage 11 contained in the cylindrical cup 10 becomes small or the contents of the cylindrical cup 10 become empty, the cylindrical cup 10 may tip over due to wind or the like if it is made of paper or synthetic resin with a thin wall and is not very heavy. This type of situation is likely to occur when the above-mentioned table is placed outdoors, such as by a pool.

[0030] In contrast, by using the holder 1 as described above, there is no risk of the cylindrical cup 10 falling over even if a slight breeze blows.

[0031] Since the holder 1 of this embodiment is used in this manner, it is desirable that the diameter of the cylindrical hollow portion 8 formed by the cylindrical wall 3 (i.e., the inner diameter of the cylindrical wall 3) be sized to correspond to the outer diameter of the cylindrical cup 10 to be accommodated in the hollow portion 8.

[0032] For example, it is desirable to set the diameter of the upper edge of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical wall 3 (i.e., the inner diameter of the upper edge of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical wall 3) so that the upper edge of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical wall 3 abuts against the outer wall of the cylindrical cup 10 inserted into the hollow portion 8 at a location corresponding to the upper edge of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical wall 3, as shown in Figure 5.

[0033] Furthermore, since the holder 1 of this embodiment is used as a cup holder in this manner and also as a stand for a thin mobile terminal as described below, it is desirable that the height of the cylindrical hollow portion 8, i.e., the length or size from the bottom surface 2a of the bottom plate portion 2 to the upper edge of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical wall 3, be at least 10 mm, and preferably 15 mm or more.

[0034] Since the holder 1 of this embodiment is used as a cup holder in this way, and is also used as a stand for a thin portable terminal as described later, it is desirable for the holder 1 to have a predetermined weight, and it is desirable for the holder 1 to weigh at least 80 g. On the other hand, since it is sufficient if it can handle the above-mentioned usage forms and use as a stand for a thin portable terminal as described later, it does not need to be heavier than necessary, and a weight of 500 g or less is sufficient, and can be, for example, in the range of 80 g to 500 g.

[0035] The holder 1 having the above-mentioned shape, structure and weight can be made of various materials, such as synthetic rubber, synthetic resin, etc. <Use as a stand for thin mobile devices> The case where the holder 1 of this embodiment is used as a stand for a thin mobile terminal will be described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7, taking a smartphone 12 as an example of the thin mobile terminal.

[0036] The holder 1 of this embodiment is placed on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table, etc., so that the flat support surface 2b (Figure 2(b)) of the holder 1 of this embodiment is placed on the horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table from above.

[0037] In this state, the smartphone 12 is used by being attached to the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b as shown in FIGS.

[0038] As described above, the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b each have a groove width in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall 3 that corresponds to the thickness of the smartphone 12.

[0039] This allows the smartphone 12 to be stably attached, as shown in Figure 6, to the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b which are arranged in the cylindrical wall 3 in a positional relationship that linearly crosses the cylindrical hollow portion 8 as shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), and the smartphone 12 can stand upright on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table on which the holder 1 is placed, without having to be supported by hand.

[0040] In this case, it is preferable for the user to view the display screen 13, such as the liquid crystal display screen, of the smartphone 12 so that the smartphone 12 is supported by the holder 1 in a slightly inclined state, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

[0041] In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3(a) and (b), the shape of the first groove 4a and the shape of the second groove 4b are symmetrical. The first groove 4a has a groove bottom surface 6a, a groove wall surface 5a extending from the groove bottom surface 6a toward the upper flat surface of the rear cylindrical wall portion 3b of the cylindrical wall 3, and a groove wall surface 7a extending from the groove bottom surface 6a toward the upper flat surface of the front cylindrical wall portion 3a of the cylindrical wall 3 (Fig. 3(a)). Correspondingly, the second groove 4b has a groove bottom surface 6b, a groove wall surface 5b extending from the groove bottom surface 6b toward the upper flat surface of the rear cylindrical wall portion 3b of the cylindrical wall 3, and a groove wall surface 7b extending from the groove bottom surface 6b toward the upper flat surface of the front cylindrical wall portion 3a of the cylindrical wall 3 (Fig. 3(b)).

[0042] The inclination angle of groove wall surface 5a extending from groove bottom surface 6a toward the upper flat surface of rear cylindrical wall portion 3b is identical to the inclination angle of groove wall surface 5b extending from groove bottom surface 6b toward the upper flat surface of rear cylindrical wall portion 3b (Figures 3(a) and (b)), and the inclination angle of groove wall surface 7a extending from groove bottom surface 6a toward the upper flat surface of front cylindrical wall portion 3a is identical to the inclination angle of groove wall surface 7b extending from groove bottom surface 6b toward the upper flat surface of front cylindrical wall portion 3a (Figures 3(a) and (b)).

[0043] Furthermore, the inclination angles of groove wall surfaces 7a and 7b are shown as steep angles extending almost in the up-down direction (vertical direction) in Figures 3(a) and (b), whereas the inclination angles of groove wall surfaces 5a and 5b are shown as gentle diagonal angles extending in a direction intersecting the up-down direction (vertical direction) in Figures 3(a) and (b).

[0044] Therefore, when the smartphone 12 is attached to the first groove 4a and the second groove 4b as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the back surface of the lower end of the smartphone 12 is supported by abutting against the groove wall surface 5a of the first groove 4a and the groove wall surface 5b of the second groove 4b as shown in Figures 6 and 7, while the lower end of the front side of the smartphone 12 on which the display screen 13 is arranged is supported by abutting against the groove wall surface 7a of the first groove 4a and the groove wall surface 7b of the second groove 4b as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

[0045] This allows the smartphone 12 to be supported by the holder 1 in a slightly inclined state as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, allowing the user to view the display screen 13, such as a liquid crystal display screen, of the smartphone 12.

[0046] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope understood from the description of the claims.

[0047] For example, in the above, with reference to Figures 6 and 7, a case has been described in which a smartphone is supported by the holder 1 as an example of a thin portable terminal in a state in which it stands on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table. However, this is not limited to this, and the same can be said for a thin portable terminal such as a tablet terminal, which is a tablet computer such as an iPad (product name: registered trademark), being supported by the holder 1 in a state in which it stands on a horizontal surface (not shown) such as a table.

Claims

1. The present invention comprises a flat mounting surface that is placed on a horizontal surface from above, and a cylindrical wall that forms a cylindrical hollow portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface and that accommodates a cylindrical cup, having a predetermined weight, The cylindrical wall includes a first recessed groove and a second recessed groove that are disposed in a positional relationship so as to linearly cross the hollow portion and each of which has a predetermined groove width in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical wall. A cup holder that also doubles as a stand for thin mobile devices.

2. 2. The cup holder / stand for a thin mobile terminal as described in claim 1, wherein the groove width of the first groove and the second groove corresponds to the thickness of the thin mobile terminal supported by the cup holder / stand for a thin mobile terminal in a self-supporting state on the horizontal surface.

3. 3. The cup holder and stand for a thin portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the weight is 80 g to 500 g.

4. 3. The cup holder and stand for a thin portable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the thin portable terminal is a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

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