Cup holder

Abstract

To ensure good holding of a beverage container in accordance with its type by reducing a falling angle as much as possible when the beverage container held in a storage falls due to vibrations or the like, and to improve appearance and usability by suppressing the falling angle small without increasing the depth of the storage.SOLUTION: A cup holder 1 in which a beverage container is held by a holder body 1 having a storage 1A for inserting / pulling out beverage containers 8-10 in a state where each beverage container is stored in the storage 1A and received by a storage bottom wall 23, 33. The storage 1A is formed into a cylindrical shape by an upper opening 24, 34 for receiving the beverage container, a bottom wall 23, 33 for receiving the bottom surface of the beverage container, and a side wall 22, 32 forming a part between the upper opening and the bottom wall. The cylindrical shape is formed with the inner diameters of the upper opening side and the bottom wall side roughly equal in size.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cup holder that is installed in the interior of a vehicle such as an automobile and holds a beverage container (including a plastic bottle, a cup, a can, etc.) in a storage portion. [Background technology]

[0002] Fig. 11 shows the cup holder disclosed in Patent Document 1, where (a) is a perspective view of the holder main body without the arms (holders) and biasing members, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the holder main body with a beverage container held in the storage section (receiving section) of the holder main body. The cup holder H shown in Fig. 11 has a holder main body 10 with a storage section (receiving section) 13 for inserting and removing a beverage container Y. The beverage container (hereinafter simply referred to as a container) Y is inserted through an upper opening of the storage section 13 and is held in a state where it is received by the flat bottom wall 11 of the storage section. The storage section 13 is generally cylindrical, with an upper opening for receiving the container Y, a bottom wall 11 for receiving the bottom surface of the container Y, and a side wall 12 separating the upper opening and the bottom wall 11. The side wall 12 is provided with openings 23 at multiple locations for arranging arms (holders) 14.

[0003] In each opening 23, the arm 14 is attached to the shaft 31 as shown in (b). Support The arm 14 is pivotally supported at a point on the container Y, and is biased toward the interior of the storage section 13 by a spring 40. Each opening 23 is provided with a restricting member 32 that protrudes between both side surfaces and restricts movement of the arm 14 at the maximum storage position. When a user pushes the arm 14 with their finger to release it from being caught in the narrowed portion of the container when lifting the container Y from the storage section 13, the restricting member 32 hits the arm 14 pushed into the opening 23, restricting movement in the pushing direction, thereby reducing the load on the shaft 31 and preventing damage to the shaft. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-89592 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventional structures such as those described in Patent Document 1 have the following problems. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the problem. The holder body 10A in this figure has a storage compartment 8 and a decorative panel 9 integrated into the upper part of the storage compartment 8. The storage compartment 8 has a side wall 8b that increases in diameter from the flat bottom wall 8a to the upper opening 8c. The decorative panel 9 has a side wall 9b that is continuous with the side wall 8b, and the upper opening 9c is bordered by a flange 9a. In this conventional structure, when the holder body is manufactured by resin injection molding, as can be seen in Figure 1(a), the side wall increases in diameter as it goes up due to the draft angle, i.e., it is tilted significantly outward. For this reason, it is necessary to consider the possibility that PET bottle A may tip over due to vibration or other factors, as shown by the dashed line, and to prevent the tipping angle from becoming too large. In other words, the bolt tipping angle decreases in proportion to the depth from the upper opening to the bottom wall. Therefore, although the depth L1 is set to correspond to the allowable tipping angle, it is difficult to design the depth L1 to be shallow. Therefore, when inserting or removing cup B as shown in (b), it is difficult for a person's fingers to grip the cup, making it difficult to insert or remove and also making it difficult to use.

[0006] Furthermore, in the conventional structure, the bottom wall of the storage unit that receives the container is formed horizontally, so when a strong inertia is applied to the container being held, such as by sudden braking, the container moves and is prone to making a banging noise. This issue also often occurs when the container is biased by multiple arms as in Reference 1, and it is desirable to prevent the container from moving inadvertently as much as possible.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, to prevent the container from tilting too much, to stably hold various containers, and to improve usability while maintaining an attractive appearance. Other objects will be made clear in the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1, when specified with reference to the drawings, is a cup holder in which a holder body 1 has a storage section 1A for inserting and removing beverage containers A to C, and the beverage container is placed in the storage section and held in a state in which it is received by bottom walls 23, 33 of the storage section, The holder body is divided into a first holder half 2 and a second holder half 3, The storage section 1A is made up of upper openings 24, 34 for receiving a beverage container, bottom walls 23, 33 for receiving the bottom surface of the beverage container, and side walls 22, 32 that define between the upper openings and the bottom walls. The inner diameter is defined in the axial direction of the side wall. Identical Cylinder It is characterized by being formed in a shape.

[0009] The present invention is more preferably embodied as follows. (a), The first holder half and the second holder half are rotatably connected by fitting their bottom walls together with a shaft and a fitting portion, and are integrated by bringing their side walls close together and engaging their hooks and engaging holes (see claim 2) .

[0010] (stomach) The holder body has a design panel to which it is attached on the upper side, and the first holder half and the second holder half are Concatenated In this state, a fastening member is inserted through a through hole provided in the claw piece and fastened together with the decorative panel side (claim 3) .

[0011] (cormorant) The bottom wall is formed in a substantially bowl shape (see claim 4) . (workman) The holder body has arms that press against the periphery of the beverage container placed in the container compartment to restrict radial movement of the beverage container (see claim 5 ). [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the invention of claim 1, the storage section is smaller than the conventional one. The inner diameter in the axial direction of the side wall Identical CylinderThe shape is such that the side walls are vertical, which means that the angle at which the containers fall can be suppressed, and as a result, the angle at which the containers fall can be suppressed and various containers can be stably held, which in turn improves usability while maintaining good appearance.

[0013] Also, this In the present invention, the first holder half and the second holder half are divided into left and right halves, The inner diameter of the receiving portion is in the axial direction of the side wall. Identical Cylinder It can be reliably formed into a shape.

[0014] Claim 2 In the invention, the first holder half and the second holder half are rotatably connected by fitting their bottom wall sides together with the shaft portion and the fitting portion, and their side wall sides are brought close together and integrated by engaging the claw pieces and engagement holes, so that the invention can be easily produced without increasing the number of parts.

[0015] Claim of 3 In the invention, in the case of claim 3, there is a risk that the divided parts may become loose due to changes over time after production, or that the engagement may come loose due to a large load, but by fastening them together with fastening members such as screws, it is possible to reliably prevent loosening or inadvertent coming loose.

[0016] Claim of 4 In the present invention, the container tilts in a depressed state according to the cone shape due to vibration or the like as shown in Figure 9, so it is possible to suppress the angle at which the container hits and falls while suppressing the height dimension L.

[0017] Claim of 5 In the invention, the holder body has arms that press against the periphery of the container inserted into the storage section, restraining the radial movement of the beverage container, so that the held container is less likely to fall over even if it is subjected to large loads or vibrations due to sudden braking, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1A is a perspective view of a cup holder according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing an arm and a biasing member. [Figure 2]1(a) and 1(b) are a top view and a front view of the cup holder, and 1(c) is a bottom view in a state where the arm and the biasing member are omitted. [Figure 3] (a) and (b) are cross-sectional views taken along the lines AA and BB in FIG. 2, and (c) is an enlarged view of part C in (b). [Figure 4] 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views of the first holder half and the second holder half in a separated state and a connected state. [Figure 5] FIG. 4B is a schematic view seen from the X direction in FIG. [Figure 6] 6(a) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6(b) is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing the second holder half rotated from the state shown in FIG. 6(a) toward the first holder half and integrated. [Figure 7] 6A is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing the second holder half rotated toward the first holder half from the state shown in FIG. 6A and integrated together. [Figure 8] (a) is a cross-sectional view showing the arm when it is not under load and when it is under load, (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the arm when it is under load and has retreated into the opening, and (c) is a cross-sectional view showing the arm when it is under upward stress and the upper part has rotated in the retreating direction. [Figure 9] 1(a) and 1(b) are schematic diagrams showing the operation of the cone-shaped bottom wall of the present invention. [Figure 10] (a) and (b) are schematic diagrams showing the operation of a conventional horizontal bottom wall. [Figure 11] (a) and (b) show FIG. 2 and FIG. 5(a) of Patent Document 1. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the cup holder of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this description, the structure of the cup holder will be clarified, and then the main operation will be described.

[0020] 1 to 9, the cup holder of the example embodiment is a type in which a holder body 1 has two cylindrical storage sections 1A for inserting and removing beverage containers, and the beverage container is placed in the storage section 1A and held in place by the storage section bottom walls 23, 33. The main features are that the holder body 1 is divided into left and right halves by a first holder half 2 and a second holder half 3, that each storage section 1A is cylindrical with an upper opening 24, 34 for receiving the beverage container, a bottom wall 23, 33 for receiving the bottom of the beverage container, and side walls 22, 32 forming between the upper opening 24, 34 and the bottom wall 23, 33, that the holder body 1 has a design panel 4 attached to its upper side, and that the first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3 are fastened together to the design panel by a fastening member 7 in an integrated state with the engagement of the latter, and that the bottom walls 23, 33 of the holder body 1 are formed in a roughly cone shape. These detailed configurations will be explained below.

[0021] The cup holder in question is, like that in Patent Document 1, embedded in various consoles such as a center console installed in the passenger compartment of an automobile, but there are no particular restrictions on the installation location or arrangement.

[0022] 1 to 7, the first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3 are made of injection-molded resin, and are rotatably connected at their bottom walls 23, 33 by fitting shafts 25, 26 with fitting portions 35, 36, and are integrated by bringing front and rear end portions 20, 30 of the side walls 22, 23 close together and engaging claws 37a at the tips of claw pieces 37 with engaging holes 20d. The first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3 are shaped to be able to partition two storage sections 1A with partitions 21, 31 sandwiched between them, and each has upper openings 24, 34 for receiving a container, bottom walls 23, 33 for receiving the bottom surface of the container, and side walls 22, 32 that form the spaces between the upper openings 24, 34 and the bottom walls 23, 33, corresponding to the storage section 1A. Furthermore, the partitions 21, 31 have step portions 21a, 31a formed on the inside so as to connect the two storage portions 1A when the two holder halves 2, 3 are integrated together.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 3, the front and rear end portions 20, 30 have recesses 20a, 30a formed on the upper side, bottom surfaces 20b, 30b of the recesses 20a, 30a, and cavities 20c, 30c formed below the bottom surfaces 20b, 30b. The bottom surface 20b has an engagement hole 20d that engages with a claw 37a and an insertion hole 20e through which the fastening member 7 is inserted, as shown in FIG. 3(c). The front and rear end portions 20 have rectangular windows 20f that extend downward from the bottom surface 20b. Meanwhile, the front and rear end portions 30 have claw pieces 37 protruding from positions corresponding to the windows 20f. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the claw piece 37 has a claw 37a protruding from the top end, elastic legs 37b provided on both sides, and a through-hole 37c provided in front of the claw 37a.

[0024] Two openings 22a, 32a are provided in each side wall 22, 32 between the front and rear end portions 20, 30 and the partition portion 21, 31. Each opening 22a, 32a is a location where the arm 5 is arranged to be swingable, and has a pair of shafts 28, 38 provided on the opposing inner surfaces, as shown in FIG. 4(a), and a locking portion 29a (the locking portion 39a on the opening 32a side is omitted) that locks the other end 6b of the biasing member 6, as shown in FIG. 8. Reference numerals 29, 39 denote vertical plates protruding oppositely from both sides of the openings 22a, 32a. The shafts 28, 38 protrude from the vertical plates 29, 39. Note that the side surfaces of both sides of the partition portion 21, 31 are used as vertical plates (see FIG. 4).

[0025] Each bottom wall 23, 33 is set to have a cone-like shape when the holder halves 2, 3 are integrated together, as shown in Fig. 3(a). In other words, the bottom walls 23, 33 of the storage section 1A are the parts that receive the bottom of the container, and when the holder halves 2, 3 are integrated together, the container is held at the target position of the cone-like shape. Fig. 9 shows an example, with the part that receives a bottle A as shown in (a) and the part that receives a cup B or a can C as shown in (b). In other words, the smaller the diameter of the bottom side of the container, the more it is received at the bottom of the cone-like shape.

[0026] The first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3 are rotatably connected by fitting the shafts 25, 26 and the fittings 35, 36 together at their bottom walls, and then, as described above, the side walls 22, 32 are brought closer together and integrated by engaging the claws 37a with the engagement holes 20d. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the shafts 25, 26 are formed by providing recesses 20c at three locations below the bottom 23 of the first holder body 2, and each recess 20c includes a long intermediate shaft 25 and short shafts 26 on either side of it. Gaps 20c are provided directly above the shafts 25, 26. The piece-shaped fittings 35, 36 are inserted into the gaps 20c.

[0027] That is, the second holder half 3 is rotatably connected to the first holder half 2 with the intermediate piece-shaped fitting portion 35 facing the gap 20c as shown in Fig. 7(a) and the piece-shaped fitting portions 36 on both sides fitting into the corresponding gaps 20c. Thereafter, when the second holder half 3 is rotated approximately 90 degrees toward the first holder half 2 with the shafts 25, 26 as fulcrums as shown in Fig. 7(b), the piece-shaped fitting portion 35 fits into the gap 20c, and the piece-shaped fitting portion 36 fits into the back side of the shaft 26 through the gap 20c. At the same time, when the claw pieces 37 of both holder halves 2, 3 enter the window 20f and the elastic legs 37b on both sides enter the window 20f with elastic displacement, they return to their original state upon completion of insertion and are restricted from inadvertently coming out of the window 20f, and as described above, the claws 37a engage with the engagement holes 20d to form one unit, forming the holder main body 1.

[0028] The decorative panel 4 is attached to the upper part of the holder body 1, and the arms 5 and the biasing members 6 are attached to the openings 22a and 32a. The decorative panel 4 is a resin molded product, and as shown in FIG. 1, it has a plate portion 40, end faces 41 on both sides, front and rear end faces 42, two openings 43 provided in the plate portion 40, and communicating portions corresponding to the stepped portions 21a and 31a that communicate with each opening 43. 43a 2(a) and 3(b) and (c), the back surface has at least cylindrical portions 44 and bosses 45 protruding on the left and right, and left and right cylindrical portions 44 protruding from the middle portion. In other words, more cylindrical portions 44 and bosses 45 may be provided as needed.

[0029] The decorative panel 4 is positioned on the holder body 1, and then, as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), the fastening members 7 are threaded from the through holes 37c of the claws through the insertion holes 20e on the bottom surface 20b of the recesses 20a into the tubular portions 44, thereby fastening the holder halves 2 and 3 together to the decorative panel 4. Additionally, the fastening members 7 are threaded from the through holes 21c and 31c on the bottom surfaces 21b and 31b of the recesses 21a and 31a of the partitions 21 and 31 into the corresponding tubular portions 44, thereby firmly securing the holder halves 2 and 3 to the decorative panel 4. The bosses 45 abut against the bottom surface 30b of the recesses 30a to prevent rattle. Note that tapping screws are preferred as the fastening members 7.

[0030] 1(b) and 8, arm 5 has a size corresponding to openings 22a and 32a, and is roughly shaped like an isosceles triangle in side view, with an apex 53 where upper side 51 and lower side 52 intersect, and an extension 50 extending substantially horizontally from the end of upper side 51. This extension 50 has a roughly U-shaped cross section, with long grooves 54a formed in opposing walls 54 of the U-shape. Arm 5 also has locking portions 56 provided below the upper side 51 sides of both walls 54, for locking one end 6a of biasing member 6.

[0031] The arm 5 described above is held in a state in which the left and right shaft portions 28 protruding into the opening 22a or the left and right shaft portions 38 protruding into the opening 32a are slidably fitted into the corresponding long grooves 54a. At this time, the biasing member 6 is assembled in a state in which the intermediate winding portion is fitted into each shaft portion 28 or each shaft portion 38. One end 6a of the biasing member 6 is locked to the locking portion 56, and the other end 6a is locked against the biasing force to the locking portion 29a on the opening 22a side or the locking portion 39a (not shown) on the opening 32a side.

[0032] (Operation) Next, the main operation of the cup holder will be clarified with reference to Figures 8 to 10. Figure 8 shows the operation of the arm, Figure 9 shows a schematic representation of the storage section 1A of the embodiment, and Figure 10 shows a schematic representation of a conventional storage section 10A.

[0033] (1) In the cup holder of the above embodiment, as is clear from FIG. 9, the receiving portion 1A is cylindrical with the inner diameter of the upper opening side and the inner diameter of the bottom wall 23, 33 side being approximately the same size, i.e., the side wall 22 ,32 is a vertical plane. In the conventional storage section 10A shown in FIG. 10, the side wall 8b increases in diameter as it goes up, i.e., is tilted outward significantly due to the draft angle. Therefore, the depth L1 is set to prevent the angle of inclination of the PET bottle A from becoming too large, assuming that the bottle A will tip over due to vibration or other reasons, as shown by the dashed line. As a result, if the angle of inclination of the PET bottle A in the conventional storage section 10A is set to the same as in FIG. 9, the depth L1 of the storage section 10A is greater than the depth L of the storage section 1A shown in FIG. 9, i.e., L1 > L, resulting in poor appearance and usability. Furthermore, since L1 > L between the conventional storage section 10A and the storage section 1A of the embodiment, the length of the portion of the PET bottle A exposed outside the storage section is such that the exposed portion M1 of the storage section 10A is shorter than the exposed portion M of the storage section 1A shown in FIG. 9, i.e., M > M1, making the storage section 1A easier to lift by hand.

[0034] 9(b) and 10(b), when inserting or removing a cup B into or from the storage units 1A and 10A, the conventional storage unit 10A makes it difficult for a person's fingers to grip the cup B compared to the storage unit 1A of the embodiment, resulting in a lack of ease of insertion or removal and a lack of reliability. The storage unit 1A of the embodiment makes it easy to resolve such problems.

[0035] (2) In the cup holder of the embodiment, the storage section 1A is cylindrical and is divided into left and right halves by the first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3, so that the side walls 32 can be reliably formed cylindrically with approximately the same inner diameter at the top opening and the bottom wall. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first holder half 2 and the second holder half 3 are rotatably connected by fitting the bottom walls 23, 33 of each other with the shafts 25, 26 and the fittings 35, 36, and the side walls 22, 32 are brought close to each other and integrated by the engagement of the claws 37 and the engagement holes 20d. This allows for easy manufacture without increasing the number of components. Note that with a configuration where the components are integrated by an engagement structure, there is a risk that rattle will occur in the divided sections due to changes over time after manufacture, or that the engagement will come loose under a large load. Such concerns can be addressed by fastening each holder half 2, 3 together to the decorative panel 4 with fastening members 7 such as screws when each holder half is integrated as in the example embodiment, thereby reliably preventing rattling and inadvertent detachment and improving reliability.

[0036] (3) In the cup holder of the embodiment, the bottom walls 23, 33 of the storage section 1A are integrally formed into a mortar shape, so that the PET bottle A tilts at an angle corresponding to the mortar shape due to vibrations, etc., as shown in Figure 9(a), and therefore it is possible to suppress the angle of tipping of the PET bottle A while suppressing the height dimension L. Also, as can be inferred from a comparison of Figures 9(b) and 10(b), beverage containers such as cups B and cans C are less likely to move when held in a mortar-shaped target position as in the embodiment than when held on a horizontal surface as in 10(b), and the resistance to movement is greater, which also results in superior holding characteristics.

[0037] (4) In the above embodiment, the arms 5 press against the periphery of a beverage container inserted into the storage section 1A, restricting the radial movement of the beverage container. This makes the beverage container less likely to tip over even when subjected to a large load or vibration, such as during sudden braking. Specifically, in FIG. 8(a), the solid line in (a) indicates the state in which the arms 5 are not receiving a load from the container, and the dashed line in (a) indicates the state in which the arms 5 are receiving a load from the container. The solid line indicates the initial state in which no load is being applied from the beverage container. When a beverage container is inserted into the storage section from this state, the beverage container hits the upper inclined portion 51 of the arm 5, as indicated by the dashed line, and the load causes the arm 5 to rotate clockwise around the shafts 28 and 38 as a fulcrum. FIG. 8(b) shows the arm 5 rotated to its maximum due to the load from the container and retracted into the opening 22a. Figure 8(c) illustrates the operation when, for example, a PET bottle (not shown) is pulled out from a state in which the PET bottle is radially restrained by the arm 5, and the top 53 of the arm 5 fits into the narrowed portion of the PET bottle (the portion indicated by the symbol d in Figure 9(a)). In this case, the upper side of the arm 5 is pushed deep into the opening 22, and the shaft 28 moves to the end on the opposite side of the long groove 54a, making it possible to pull out the PET bottle.

[0038] The present invention may be modified in various ways as needed, provided that it has the configuration specified in the claims. For example, the arm and biasing member may be omitted, or the biasing member may be replaced with a leaf spring or the like. The cylindrical diameter of the holder 1A is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of relatively large beverage containers, such as PET bottles A, cups B, and cans C, which are commonly available. Of course, the holder 1A can also hold beverage containers with shapes other than cylindrical. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1...Holder body (1A is the housing part) 1A· ... 2. First holder half (22 is a side wall, 23 is a bottom wall, 24 is an upper opening) 3. Second holder half (32 is a side wall, 33 is a bottom wall, 34 is an upper opening) 4. Design panel (40 is a plate part, 43 is an opening, 43a indicates a connecting part) 5. Arm (51 and 52 are inclined portions, 54a is a long groove, 56 is a locking portion) 6. Urging member (6a is one end, 6b is the other end) 7. Fastening member 8 Conventional holder body 9. Conventional design panel 10A... Conventional housing 20d...Engagement hole 20,30... Front and rear ends 25 and 26...shaft 22a,32a...opening 35 and 36...Mating part 37: Claw piece (37a is a claw, 37b is an elastic leg, 37c is a through hole) A: Plastic bottles (drink containers) B········· Cup (drinking container) C...Can (beverage container)

Claims

1. A cup holder in which a holder body has a storage section for inserting and removing a beverage container, and the beverage container is placed in the storage section and held in a state where it is received by a bottom wall of the storage section, The holder main body is divided into a first holder half and a second holder half, The cup holder is characterized in that the storage section is defined by an upper opening that receives a beverage container, a bottom wall that receives the bottom surface of the beverage container, and a side wall that forms between the upper opening and the bottom wall, and the inner diameter is formed into a cylindrical shape that is the same in the axial direction of the side wall.

2. The cup holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the first holder half and the second holder half are rotatably connected by fitting their bottom wall sides together using an axis portion and a fitting portion, and are integrated by bringing their side wall sides closer together using engagement between claw pieces and engagement holes.

3. The cup holder according to claim 2, characterized in that the holder body has a decorative panel on the upper side, and when the first holder half and the second holder half are connected, a fastening member is inserted through a through hole provided in the claw piece to fasten them together to the decorative panel side.

4. 2. The cup holder according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall is formed in a substantially bowl shape.

5. 2. The cup holder according to claim 1, wherein the holder body has arms that press against the periphery of the beverage container placed in the container portion to restrict radial movement of the beverage container.

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