Supports – Brackets – Article holding means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-22
2004-02-03
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Article holding means
C312S312000, C224S926000, C297S188010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06685152
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
This invention relates to a container holder provided in an automobile or the like for holding a container.
A container holder for holding a beverage container or the like is provided in a dashboard in front of a front seat in an automobile. As shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11
, a container holder
100
includes a case
102
disposed on a back surface side of a dashboard
104
so that the case
102
is not seen from a compartment of the automobile.
A frame-like tray
106
is housed in the case
102
so that the tray
106
can be drawn out of the case
102
as needed. A pin
108
is provided at a forward end portion of the tray
106
, and a holder
110
is rotatably supported so that the holder
110
covers an outer wall of the tray
106
.
The holder
110
includes an opening portion
110
A where a container, not shown, can be received. Also, on a free end side of the holder
110
, a holding arm
112
having a substantially U-shape is rotatably supported inside the tray
106
. A portion
112
B extending between leg portions
112
A of the holding arm
112
supports a container inserted into the holder
110
.
With the above described structure, when the tray
106
is housed in the case
102
, the holder
110
is rotated around the forward end portion of the tray
106
, and the holding arm
112
is rotated around the free end side of the holder
110
, so that they are housed in a folded state, respectively.
Incidentally, a shift knob and so on are disposed around a dashboard
104
. If the tray
106
projects from the dashboard
104
in a large extent, the projected portion may cause a hindrance. Therefore, the case
102
is positioned to be inclined diagonally upward with respect to a horizontal direction of a body of the automobile, so that the tray
106
projects diagonally upward. Thus, a distance between the forward end surface of the tray
106
and the surface of the dashboard
104
can be made small, so that the tray
106
does not project forward too much.
However, since the holder
110
is rotated around the pin
108
disposed on the forward end of the tray
106
, it is required to have a clearance t
1
for a moving path of the holder
110
. Also, since the holder
110
and the holding arm
112
rotate with the tray
106
therebetween, the holder
110
and the holding arm
112
may interfere with each other. Therefore, the tray
106
, the holder
110
and the holding arm
112
have to be manufactured with high precision not to interfere with each other, resulting in a higher cost.
In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a container holder, wherein the clearance between the dashboard and the holder can be made as small as possible at a lower cost.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the first aspect of the invention, a tray is housed in a case to be drawn out. The tray is provided with an opening portion for allowing a container to be inserted therein, and a holder member for holding the container is provided in the opening portion. The holder member is raised and fallen down by a stand-up-fall-down device, while a portion of the holding member facing the opening of the case slides in a direction away from the opening relative to the tray.
In other words, when the container holder is used, the tray is drawn out of the case by sliding the same. Therefore, the holder member provided in the tray is ready to stand up, and the holder member stands up while the portion facing the opening of the case slides in the direction away from the opening by the stand-up-fall-down device. Thus, the container holder is in a state where a container can be placed.
On the other hand, when the tray is housed in the case, the holder member is fallen down while sliding the portion facing the opening of the case in a direction away from the opening, to thereby house the tray in the case.
As described above, when the tray is drawn out of the case or is housed in the case, the clearance between the opening of the case and the holder can be made smaller by allowing the holder member to stand up or fall down while sliding the portion facing the entrance of the case in the direction parting from the entrance, as opposed to a case where the holder member is simply rotated to stand up or fall down.
Therefore, the clearance between the surface of a dashboard for fixing the case thereto and the holder member can be made smaller. Thus, the tray does not project too much to become a hindrance.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the tray supports a link with one end rotatably connected to the holder member. A guiding device is provided to the case, and abuts against the other end of the link so that the sliding movement of the tray is converted to a rotating movement of the link to allow the holder member to stand up or fall down while sliding the holder member by the stand-up-fall-down device.
As described above, since the guiding device is provided, the holder member is allowed to stand up or fall down through the link only by sliding the tray. Thus, using the container holder is very handy.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the holder member includes a holding portion for holding the side surface of the container and a receiving portion extending from the holding portion for receiving a bottom surface of the container. As described above, since the receiving portion for holding the container is integrally provided to the holder member, the number of parts of the container holder can be reduced, which leads to a lower cost.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the receiving portion is positioned to be substantially horizontal in a state that the holder member stands up. Thus, the container can be held vertically with respect to the receiving portion.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the link is urged in a direction allowing the holder member to stand up. Thus, in a state that the tray is drawn out of the case, the holder member is held in the stand-up state through the link.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the stand-up-fall-down device is formed of a slot and a pin, wherein the pin provided to the holder member is engaged with the slot provided to the case. Thus, the holder member is allowed to stand up or fall down while sliding the portion facing the opening of the case in the direction away from the opening.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the guide device is a groove, and a pin provided on the other end of the link and moving along a circular arc hole formed on the tray can abut against an edge of the groove. With the guide device, the holder member is allowed to stand up or fall down while sliding the holder member by the stand-up-fall-down device.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4792174 (1988-12-01), Shioda
patent: 5232262 (1993-08-01), Tseng
patent: 5379978 (1995-01-01), Patel et al.
patent: 5673891 (1997-10-01), Fujihara et al.
patent: 5692718 (1997-12-01), Bieck
patent: 5845888 (1998-12-01), Anderson
patent: 5944240 (1999-08-01), Honma
patent: 6019334 (2000-02-01), Shinomiya
patent: 6036152 (2000-03-01), Hiscox et al.
patent: 6065729 (2000-05-01), Anderson
patent: 6105917 (2000-08-01), Yabuya et al.
patent: 6464187 (2002-10-01), Bieck et al.
patent: 1 099 596 (2001-05-01), None
patent: 2 241 872 (1991-09-01), None
Kiyohara Kunio
Nakaguro Takanobu
Shirase Yuichi
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Nifco Inc.
Ramirez Ramon O.
Sterling Amy J.
LandOfFree
Container holder does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Container holder, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Container holder will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3334124