Ambient-Light Cup Holder Illumination for Dark Seating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Seating arrangements in vehicles, aircraft, boats, and theaters often face difficulties in locating cup holders in dark or low-visibility conditions, leading to spills, distractions, and increased cleaning costs due to the inability to easily access these holders.
Innovation Solution
A lighted cup holder is integrated into the seating arrangement, featuring a light-producing source within the cup holder body that illuminates the receptacle, with a light-sensitive element controlling the light to activate only in reduced visibility conditions, and can include a master and slave configuration for multiple holders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cup holders are integrated into seating arrangements used in darkness or reduced visibility, then cup holders become inaccessible and cause spills, but adding lighting may distract occupants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses light emission from the cup holder to change the visual state of the receptacle area, making it visible in dark conditions without using bright or distracting lights. The light is contained within the cup holder structure, providing illumination only where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting is localized specifically to the cup holder receptacle area rather than illuminating the entire seating area. This localized illumination makes the cup holder visible and accessible in dark conditions without creating distracting light sources that would disturb occupants.
2Ease of operation
If cup holders are made visible in darkness, then accessibility improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light source operates periodically or on-demand rather than continuously. The system activates the light when darkness is detected and deactivates it when ambient light is sufficient, reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining visibility when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holder lighting system automatically detects ambient light conditions and activates or deactivates the light source without user intervention. The system serves itself by monitoring environmental conditions and adjusting its operation accordingly, minimizing energy waste.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If lighting is added to cup holders, then location in darkness improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting components are integrated into the cup holder structure itself, merging the illumination function with the existing cup holder design. This combination adds minimal complexity compared to separate lighting systems while improving detectability in dark conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The light-sensitive element automatically controls the light source based on ambient light conditions, eliminating the need for manual switches or complex control systems. This self-regulating mechanism simplifies the overall device complexity while maintaining effective operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy location and use of cup holders in dark conditions without distracting occupants, reducing spills and maintenance costs, and allowing seamless integration into existing seating arrangements.
Implementation Method 1
a light-sensitive element operatively connected to the light source for selectively controlling the light source, such that the light source does not produce light when the light-sensitive element detects ambient light of a selected intensity
Implementation Method 2
a light-producing light source being disposed within the cup receptacle for illuminating the receptacle
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus include attaching a lighted cup holder to a seating arrangement. The lighted cup holder includes a cup holder body and a light-producing light source, with the cup holder body being attached to the seating arrangement and having a cup receptacle therein, the light-producing source being disposed within the cup receptacle for illuminating the receptacle. A light-sensitive element operatively connected to the light source selectively controls production of light by the light source in such a manner that illumination of the cup holder is provided only under conditions where visibility is reduced to the point that it becomes difficult to locate the cup holder. The light-sensitive element is mounted on a master lighted cup holder and controls illumination of the master lighted cup holder and one or more slave lighted cup holders operatively connected to the master lighted cup holder.