Vehicle Cup Holder Support Mechanism for Mixed Container Sizes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cup holders for vehicles often fail to securely hold beverage containers of varying shapes and sizes, leading to noise, vibration, and potential spills during vehicle use due to gaps between the holder and container.
Innovation Solution
A cup holder design featuring a main body with an insertion hole, a rotating and movable supporting portion mounted by a hinge pin, and compression springs that elastically protrude to securely hold containers of different sizes, allowing easy insertion and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed rigid cup holder is used, then the structure is simple and stable, but it cannot adapt to beverage containers of varying shapes and sizes, causing gaps that lead to noise and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder employs a movable supporting portion that can rotate and translate along a guide groove, transforming from a static structure to a dynamic one. This allows the supporting surface to adapt its position and orientation to accommodate different container shapes and sizes while maintaining secure contact, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holder is divided into distinct functional components: a main body, a movable supporting portion, compression springs, and a guide groove mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling the supporting portion to move and adjust while the main body remains stable, thus achieving adaptability without excessive overall complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If elastic or spring operated supporting members are used, then adaptability to different containers is improved, but the supporting mechanism becomes insufficient and unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting portion is designed to move along a predetermined path defined by the guide groove, providing controlled and reliable adaptation to different containers. The guide groove constrains the motion to a specific trajectory, ensuring that the supporting portion maintains proper contact with containers of various sizes while following a reliable mechanical path, thus improving both adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide groove acts as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between the compression springs (providing elastic force) and the supporting portion (providing contact with containers). It translates the elastic force into controlled linear motion, ensuring that the supporting portion moves reliably along a predetermined path while adapting to different container dimensions, thereby enhancing the overall reliability of the supporting mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If a movable supporting portion with guide groove is used, then ease of insertion and removal is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compression springs automatically push the supporting portion forward to engage with inserted containers, and the guide groove automatically guides the supporting portion's motion during insertion and removal. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual operation or complex control systems, allowing users to simply insert or remove containers while the mechanism handles the adaptation automatically, thus improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing complexity.
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 design provides stable and flexible support for beverage containers of various shapes and sizes, reducing noise and spillage by ensuring a secure fit and easy access, enhancing user comfort during vehicle use.
Implementation Method 1
a pair of compression springs supporting the supporting portion such that the supporting portion can elastically protrude to the insertion hole
Implementation Method 2
a supporting portion supporting the beverage container and mounted in an inner hole of the main body such that the supporting portion can rotate and move back and forth by a hinge pin guided along a guide groove
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cup holder for a vehicle includes a main body defining an insertion hole that can receive a beverage container, a supporting portion supporting the beverage container and mounted in an inner hole of the main body such that the supporting potion can rotate and move back and forth by a hinge pin guided along a guide groove formed in a lateral side of the inner hole, and a pair of compression springs supporting the supporting portion such that the supporting portion can elastically protrude to the insertion hole. As the hinge pin moves according to the shape and size of the beverage container, the beverage container can be strongly supported such that the beverage can not be spilt from the beverage container regardless of a shape and size thereof when the beverage container is inserted.