Cup holder

Details Cup holder Cup holder

2002-08-28

2004-11-16

Chan, Korie (Department: 3632)

Supports

Brackets

Article holding means

C224S926000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06817584

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cup holder for holding things to be accommodated, for example, various vessels for beverages having different outside diameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a cup holder to be the cup holder of this kind has been disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 10-324188, for example.
As shown in
FIG. 14
, the cup holder described in the publication comprises a frame portion
101
provided with an almost circular holding hole
100
, a receiving portion
102
having a dogleg shaped side surface and supported to be relatively rotatable with respect to the frame portion
101
, and a housing portion
103
for accommodating the frame portion
101
and the receiving portion
102
.
The back face of the frame portion
101
is provided with an almost square concave portion
105
having one side portion opened to the holding hole
100
and an upper bottom
104
forming a part of the edge portion of the holding hole
100
. Moreover, a holding member
106
formed of a wire to have an almost U-shaped plane is accommodated in the concave portion
105
such that a bottom portion
107
is protruded by a predetermined amount toward the center of the holding hole
100
. In the holding member
106
, both tip portions
108
bent outward are engaged with an engagement hole
110
of an inside surface
109
provided continuously with the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
in the concave portion
105
. The holding member
106
is supported to be rotatable around the engagement hole
110
by the engagement of the tip portion
108
with the engagement hole
110
of the inside surface
109
. Moreover, both inside surfaces
109
of the concave portion
105
are provided with a guide projection
111
for guiding the holding member
106
into a reference position (a position parallel with an upper surface
101
a
of the frame portion
101
) when the bottom portion
107
side of the holding member
106
is displaced vertically.
According to the related-art vessel holder, in the case in which a vessel like a cup for a beverage having an outside diameter equal to or less than a distance between the opposed surfaces of the external surface of the bottom portion
107
of the holding member
106
and the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
is to be inserted in the holding hole
100
, the vessel is held by a part of the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
and the holding member
106
provided in the reference position. On the other hand, in the case in which the vessel having an outside diameter greater than the distance and equal to or less than the inside diameter of the holding hole
100
is to be inserted in the holding hole
100
, the vessel is held by a part of the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
and the holding member
106
having the bottom portion
107
rotated toward the receiving portion
102
side. Moreover, in the case in which the vessel having an outside diameter almost equal to the inside diameter of the holding hole
100
is to be inserted in the holding hole
100
, the vessel is held by the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
.
In the related-art vessel holder, however, when the outside diameter of the vessel to be inserted in the holding hole
100
is increased, the holding member
106
holds the vessel with the bottom portion
107
displaced downward. On the other hand, generally, when the outside diameter of the vessel for a beverage is increased, a height thereof becomes greater and a center of gravity also tends to be set in a high position. In the related-art vessel holder, therefore, except for the case in which a vessel for a beverage having a greater outside diameter is to be held and the case in which the vessel is to be held by the whole inner peripheral surface of the holding hole
100
, the vessel cannot be held in a stable state and might be apt to fall down by the vibration of a vehicle or an inertia during the rotation of the vehicle. This problem becomes more remarkable when the amount of protrusion of the holding member
106
into the holding hole
100
such that a vessel having a small outside diameter to a vessel having a great outside diameter can be held by the common holding hole
100
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been made in consideration of such a problem of the related-art and has an object to provide a cup holder capable of more reliably holding a thing to be accommodated in a stable state irrespective of the outside diameter or width of the thing to be accommodated.
In order to attain the object, a first aspect of the invention is directed to a cup holder comprising a frame portion having one or more insertion holes for inserting various things to be accommodated which have different outside diameters or widths, a receiving portion for receiving the things inserted in the insertion hole, and a holding member energized to be set in a predetermined reference position by an energizing member and serving to abut on external surfaces of the things inserted in the insertion hole, thereby holding the things, the holding member having a tip portion thereof protruded from an inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole toward an inside and a base end thereof supported pivotally to be rotatable around a rotating shaft in a direction of the insertion of the things with respect to the frame portion, wherein a plurality of holding members are provided for one insertion hole and are provided such that amounts of the protrusion from an inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole are different from each other.
According to the first aspect of the invention, various things to be accommodated which have different outside diameters or widths to be inserted can be held in a predetermined reference position or a position having a small amount of rotation of the holding members by means of the holding members. For this reason, it is possible to more reliably hold the thing to be accommodated in a stable state irrespective of the outside diameter or width of the thing to be accommodated.
Moreover, a second aspect of the invention is directed to the cup holder according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein at least two holding members are provided in a reference position set in an almost parallel state with at least the receiving portion and a bending position set in an almost rectangular state to the receiving position, and the holding member having a greater amount of protrusion from the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole is started to be rotated sequentially.
According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the functions of the first aspect of the invention, in the case in which the thing to be accommodated is to be inserted in the insertion hole, each holding member is rotated in order when the outside diameter or the width is increased. Accordingly, it is also possible to smoothly accommodate the thing to be accommodated which has a great outside diameter or width and to realize a suitable holding state corresponding to the outside diameter or width of the thing to be accommodated.
Furthermore, a third aspect of the invention is directed to the cup holder according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the holding member is provided such that a distance between a tip portion in the reference position and a mounting surface of the thing to be accommodated in the receiving portion is almost constant.
According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the functions of the first or second aspect of the invention, the thickness of the frame portion in the direction of the insertion of the thing to be accommodated can be reduced so that the size of the whole cup holder can be decreased.
Moreover, a fourth aspect of the invention is directed to the cup holder according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the holding member having a smaller amount of protrusion of the tip portion in the re

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