Storage containers

Abstract

To provide a storage container that is less likely to move around inside the drink holder and can stably hold beverage containers of different sizes. [Solution] The storage container comprises a cylindrical main body having an open upper end and an engaging portion on the opening edge, an annular lid having an engaging portion positioned opposite to the engaging portion and attached to the upper end of the main body, and a plurality of stretchable elastic members fixed at one end to the main body and the other end to the lid, stretched over the circumferential direction of the main body and the lid.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a storage container.

Background Art

[0002] It is known that vehicles are provided with drink holders (cup holders) for storing beverage containers. The drink holder is provided, for example, in a center console box between the driver's seat and the passenger seat (for example, Patent Document 1). Various beverage containers such as plastic bottles, beverage cans, and cups are stored in the drink holder.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, since the drink holder is designed to be larger than the size of a normal beverage container in order to accommodate beverage containers of various sizes, when the beverage container is smaller than the drink holder, there is a risk that the beverage container will move inside the drink holder when stored, and the beverage container cannot be stored in a stable state.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a storage container that is difficult to move inside a drink holder and can stably hold beverage containers of different sizes.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] This disclosure has been made to solve at least a part of the above - mentioned problems and can be realized as the following aspects or application examples.

[0007] The storage container according to this application example is characterized by comprising: a cylindrical main body having an open upper end and an engaging portion on the edge of the opening; an annular lid having an engaged portion positioned opposite to the engaging portion and attached to the upper end of the main body; and a plurality of stretchable elastic members, one end of which is fixed to the main body and the other end of which is fixed to the lid, and which are stretched over the circumferential direction of the main body and the lid.

[0008] In this application example, by rotating the lid in the circumferential direction of the main body, multiple elastic members protrude inward from the main body. In other words, by inserting a beverage container from the opening above the main body and rotating the lid, the beverage container is tightened by the multiple elastic members and can be held in place by the main body. Furthermore, by adjusting the amount of rotation of the lid depending on the beverage container being inserted, beverage containers of different sizes can be held. This makes it difficult for beverage containers of different sizes to move around inside the drink holder and allows for stable holding. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the storage container according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an exploded perspective view of the main body and lid of the storage container according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the storage container when it is in use according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to what is described below, and can be modified and implemented as such without altering its essence. Hereinafter, "vertical direction" refers to the height direction when the storage container 1 is installed.

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the storage container 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the storage container 1. As shown in Figure 1, the storage container 1 comprises a cylindrical main body 2, a lid 3 attached to the main body 2, and a plurality of expandable elastic members 4.

[0012] The main body 2 is cylindrical in shape with a plate-shaped bottom plate 20, and its upper end is open. As shown in the enlarged view of part A in Figure 2, the open edge 21 of the main body 2 has an engaging portion 21a formed around its entire circumference, which has an uneven surface (triangular wave shape in this embodiment) with alternating peaks and valleys. On the lid side of the bottom plate 20, multiple recesses 22 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis R, recessed downward from the surface. The recesses 22 are for fixing one end of the expandable elastic member 4, which will be described later. In this embodiment, eight recesses 22 are formed, but this is not limited to this; it is sufficient if the recesses 22 are formed intermittently around the axis R.

[0013] The lid portion 3 has an upper surface portion 30 made of a plate material formed in an annular shape, and a cylindrical side wall portion 31 formed integrally with the upper surface portion 30 and extending downward at approximately a right angle from the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface portion 30. The lid portion 3 is formed to be larger than the opening diameter of the main body portion 2, and is attached to the main body portion 2 by surface contact between the inner circumferential surface of the side wall portion 31 and the outer circumferential surface of the main body portion 2.

[0014] On the upper surface 30, near the inner peripheral edge of the surface facing the main body 2, a recessed portion 33 is formed that is recessed upward from the surface. Multiple recesses 33 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis R and are recesses for fixing the other end of the expandable elastic member 4, which will be described later. It is preferable that the recesses 33 are formed in a position that faces the recess 22 of the main body 2 in the vertical direction when the lid 3 is attached to the main body 2. The outer peripheral surface of the side wall 31 has grip grooves formed over its entire surface to prevent slipping.

[0015] As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view at line II-II in Figure 2, on the main body 2 side of the corner formed by the upper surface 30 and the side wall 31, an engaged portion 32 is formed along the entire circumference of the corner, having an uneven surface similar to the engaging portion 21a. The engaged portion 32 is positioned opposite the engaging portion 21a of the main body 2 so as to engage with it.

[0016] Here, by fitting the engaging portion 21a of the main body 2 with the engaged portion 32 of the lid 3, the rotation of the lid 3 in the circumferential direction around the axis R is restricted, and the lid 3 can be locked in the rotated position. Furthermore, since the engaging portion 21a and the engaged portion 32 are formed in an uneven shape, the lid 3 can be locked in any rotational position in either direction around the axis R.

[0017] The stretchable elastic member 4 is a string-shaped rubber member that can stretch and contract in the longitudinal direction. One end of the stretchable elastic member 4 is fixed to the recess 22 of the main body 2, and the other end is fixed to the recess 33 of the lid 3 with adhesive or the like. As shown in Figure 1, multiple stretchable elastic members 4 are stretched at equal intervals along the circumferential direction around the axis R of the main body 2 and the lid 3. In the initial state described later, when the lid 3 is attached to the main body 2 and the engaging portion 21a and the engaged portion 32 are engaged, the stretchable elastic member 4 is fixed in a state that is taut without slack, or in a state that generates a slight tensile stress. The stretchable elastic member 4 may also be a strip-shaped rubber member.

[0018] Figure 3 shows the storage container 1 of this embodiment stored in a substantially rectangular drink holder A of a vehicle. The storage container 1 of this embodiment is fixed to the drink holder A by a suction cup (not shown). Although the drink holder A in Figure 3 is rectangular, it may be a drink holder of other shapes, such as cylindrical.

[0019] The storage container 1 stores a beverage container B. The beverage container B is inserted through the opening 34 of the lid portion 3 from above the storage container 1 and placed on the bottom plate 20 of the main body portion 2. In the present embodiment, the lid portion 3 is attached to the main body portion 2 such that the stretchable elastic member 4 is substantially parallel to the axis R. Note that the state in which the stretchable elastic member 4 is substantially parallel to the axis R (the state in which the rotation axis P1 and the reference axis P0 coincide) is taken as the initial state (the state shown in FIG. 1). For example, in FIG. 3, the rotation state in which the rotation axis P1 of the lid portion 3 is at the position of the reference axis P0 will be described as the initial state.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, with the main body portion 2 fixed, the lid portion 3 is rotated in the circumferential direction around the axis R. In FIG. 3, the lid portion 3 is in a state of being rotated counterclockwise in a plan view from the position of the rotation axis P1 with respect to the reference axis P0 (the fixed state of the beverage container B), and the fixing position on the lid portion 3 side of the stretchable elastic member 4 stretched in the recess 22a (22) has moved from the position facing the recess 22a to the position facing the recess 22b. Note that the main body portion 2 may be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the lid portion 3 (clockwise in FIG. 3).

[0021] Here, when the beverage container B is not stored in the storage container 1, if the main body portion 2 is fixed and the lid portion 3 is rotated in one direction, the stretchable elastic member 4 is in a state of being pulled substantially linearly from the recess 22 of the main body portion 2 to the depression 33 of the lid portion 3. At this time, the stretchable elastic member 4 projects in the central direction of the main body portion 2 (the inner diameter direction toward the axis R), and the inner diameter r1 formed by the plurality of stretchable elastic members 4 is narrower than the inner diameter r0 in the initial state (see FIG. 1). That is, when the lid portion 3 is rotated in one direction, the stretchable elastic member 4 can hold the beverage container B by tightening it.

[0022] Thus, in the storage container 1 of the present embodiment, by rotating the lid portion 3 in the circumferential direction around the axis R of the main body portion 2, the elastic elastic member 4 protrudes in the central direction of the main body portion 2, and the inner diameter formed by the plurality of elastic elastic members 4 becomes smaller than the initial state. That is, by inserting the beverage container B from above the opened main body portion 2 and rotating the lid portion 3, the beverage container B is tightened by the plurality of elastic elastic members 4 and can be held in the main body portion 2. Further, by adjusting the rotation amount of the lid portion 3 according to the beverage container B to be inserted, various beverage containers B with different sizes can be held. Further, by adjusting the rotation amount of the lid portion 3, the holding force of the beverage container B can also be adjusted. As a result, it is difficult to move in the drink holder, and beverage containers with different sizes can be stably held.

[0023] With the above, the description of the embodiment of the present invention is completed. However, the specific configuration shown in this embodiment is an example, and the aspect of the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in this embodiment.

[0024] Further, in this embodiment, the main body portion 2 has a bottom plate 20. However, for example, it may be an annular bottom plate provided with a concave portion in the circumferential direction around the axis R.

[0025] Further, in this embodiment, the engaging portion 21a of the main body portion 2 and the engaged portion 32 of the lid portion have an uneven shape. However, for example, the shapes of the engaging portion and the engaged portion may be in a ratchet shape (serrated shape). When in a ratchet shape, the lid portion can only rotate in one direction around the axis R, and can be returned to the initial state by separating the lid portion from the main body portion so as to be slightly lifted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid portion from unintentionally rotating with respect to the main body portion due to vibrations of the vehicle or the like, and the holding force for the beverage container B from weakening.

[0026] Further, in this embodiment, one end side of the elastic elastic member 4 is fixed to the concave portion 22 of the bottom plate 20 of the main body portion 2. However, for example, it may be fixed to the lower end side of the side peripheral surface of the main body portion 2.

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one end and the other end of the expandable elastic member 4 are fixed to the recess 22 of the main body 2 and the recess 33 of the lid 3 with adhesive or the like. However, for example, a through hole may be formed in the bottom surface of the main body, and one end of the expandable elastic member may be inserted through the through hole and fixed so as not to come out. Similarly, a through hole may be formed in the top surface of the lid, and the other end of the expandable elastic member may be inserted through the through hole and fixed so as not to come out.

[0028] In this embodiment, the drink holder A and the storage container 1 are attached by a suction cup, but they may also be fixed with double-sided tape, hook-and-loop fasteners, anti-tip adhesive mats, or they may be detachable. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 1. Storage container 2 Main body 3 Lid 4. Stretchable elastic member 20 Bottom plate 21 Opening edge 21a Engagement part 22 recess 30 Top part 31 Side wall section 32 Engaged portion 33 Recessed area 34 Opening A Drink holder B Beverage container P0 Reference axis P1 Rotation axis R axis

Claims

[Claim 1] A cylindrical main body having an open upper end and an engaging portion at the opening edge, An annular cover portion having an engaged portion positioned opposite to the engaging portion and attached to the upper end of the main body portion, A storage container characterized by comprising a plurality of stretchable elastic members, one end of which is fixed to the main body and the other end to the lid, and which are stretched over the circumferential direction of the main body and the lid.

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