Vehicle Cup Holder Phone Mount with Interchangeable Tapered Shells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle cup holders vary in size and shape, making it difficult to create a universal cell phone mount that fits different cup holders while being inexpensive and easy to deploy, and also accommodating phones of varying widths with adjustable screen angles without loosening during vehicle vibrations.
Innovation Solution
A cell phone mount with a base and interchangeable shells of varying sizes, featuring tapered surfaces for a secure fit into cup holders, and adjustable jaws to fit different phone widths, ensuring stability and easy installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a universal cell phone mount design is used to fit various cup holder sizes, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to size variations
Solution Approach 1:
The mount is divided into a base unit and multiple interchangeable shells of different sizes. Each shell is precisely manufactured for a specific cup holder size range, while the base remains standardized. This segmentation allows the system to adapt to various cup holder dimensions without compromising the precision of individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple shells of decreasing sizes are nested within each other, with each shell designed to fit specific cup holder dimensions. The shells can be selectively assembled onto the base like Russian dolls, allowing the user to choose the appropriate shell size for each cup holder while maintaining manufacturing precision for each shell type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable components are added to accommodate different phone widths and angles, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mount incorporates dynamic adjustment mechanisms including a rotatable bracket for screen angle adjustment and movable jaws for width adjustment. These mechanisms allow the mount to adapt to different phone dimensions and viewing preferences while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure through straightforward mechanical movements.
3Reliability
If a secure fit mechanism is implemented to resist vibrations and vehicle movements, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to installation difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered outer surfaces of the base and shells are designed to create preliminary frictional engagement with the cup holder walls before final insertion. This taper geometry ensures that as the mount is pressed into the cup holder, the contact surfaces generate increasing friction that automatically secures the mount against vibrations and vehicle movements while still allowing straightforward installation through a simple pressing motion.
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
The mount securely fits various cup holders and phone sizes, resisting vibrations and providing adjustable screen angles, ensuring a stable and versatile solution for cell phone mounting in vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
The degree of taper of the base outer surface and each of the shell outer surfaces is chosen to be greater than the range of taper or pitch encountered in the given range of vehicle cup holders. This dimensioning and specification of taper insure a tight and enduring frictional or interference fit between the employed base/shell outer surface and the vehicle cup holder inner side wall.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle cup holder cell phone mount has a base with a downwardly and inwardly tapering surface of rotation around a vertical axis. A pier stands up from a top of the base and a cell phone mounting bracket is pivotally mounted to the pier. The cell phone mounting bracket has adjustable jaws to fit cell phones of varying widths. The jaws always define an opening for a cell phone power/communications cable. One or more of a plurality of shells may be selectively assembled to the base. Each shell has a tapering surface of rotation around the axis. The shells are of different sizes. The user assembles from zero to (n) shells to the base, Russian-doll fashion, so as to optimally fit a particular vehicle cup holder. The user then wedges the assembly into the vehicle cup holder such that compressive force between the outermost tapering surface and the cup holder side wall securely holds the cell phone mount in place in the vehicle cup holder.