Adjustable Cup Holder Insert for Vehicle Console Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle console cup holders are typically fixed and limited in their functionality, failing to adapt to varying sizes and types of items and beverages, limiting user customization and storage flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A cup holder assembly with an adjustable insert that can be positioned at different depths and orientations within a housing, featuring a track member that allows the insert to switch between upright and inverted positions, providing multiple storage configurations based on user needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed cup holders are used in vehicle consoles, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the adaptability to various beverage sizes and storage configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder assembly employs a movable insert that can be adjusted to different positions and orientations within the housing. The insert is designed to be removable and reconfigurable, allowing users to adapt the cup holder configuration to accommodate various beverage sizes and storage needs. This dynamic reconfigurability directly addresses the adaptability requirement while maintaining reasonable structural complexity through a modular design approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple purposes: it can be positioned to create cup holders of different depths, orientations (upright or inverted), and configurations. The same insert component can accommodate various beverage container sizes and shapes, as well as provide alternative storage configurations, thereby achieving universality without requiring multiple separate components.
2Ease of operation
If adjustable inserts with multiple orientations are implemented, then storage flexibility and user customization are improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder assembly is segmented into distinct components: a stationary housing and a movable insert. This segmentation allows the complex functionality to be achieved through a single movable component rather than multiple interconnected moving parts. The insert itself is designed as a unified piece that can be manufactured using standard molding techniques, keeping manufacturing complexity manageable while providing adjustment capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert is designed to be invertible, allowing it to be positioned in upright or inverted orientations within the housing. This inversion capability enables the same physical component to create different cup holder configurations and storage options, thereby improving ease of operation and user customization without requiring additional components or complex mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A cup holder assembly includes a housing having a track member, wherein an insert, having first and second sides, is adjustably received on the track member in a vertical manner. The insert is adapted to be positioned within the housing in either an upright or inverted position. The insert thereby provides first and second storage configurations relative to the upright and inverted configuration of the insert within the housing.