Patent Application
20190084463
It is known to provide a beverage container holder for a vehicle. However, due to the increasing sizes of beverages, it is desirable to provide a new beverage container holding assembly for a vehicle. it is also desirable to provide a beverage container holding assembly that is telescopically adjustable to accommodate beverage containers of various heights. It is further desirable to adapt such a beverage container bolding assembly to be installed within a vehicle interior. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a beverage container holding assembly for a vehicle that meets these desires.
One general aspect includes a beverage container holding assembly including: a receptacle component including a first sidewall to define an open top and a closed bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a sleeve component, the sleeve component including a second sidewall to define an open top and an open bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a beverage container, and the first and second sidewalls including corresponding screw threads configured to cause the sleeve component to move telescopically from a first position to a second position when rotating within the receptacle component. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The assembly where a portion of the sleeve component includes a grip configured to provide traction to facilitate the telescopic movement of the sleeve component from the first position to the second position. The assembly where: the first sidewall includes a first snap-past feature and the second sidewall includes a second snap-past feature. The assembly may also include the first and second snap-past features are configured to work in conjunction to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The assembly where: the first snap-past feature is a substantially tapered shape notch indented into the internal side of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the second snap-past feature is a substantially tapered shape protrusion on the external side of the second sidewall. The assembly may also include where the first and second snap-past features face the opposite direction such that they correspond to create a brake to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The assembly where: the first snap-past feature is a tab internally extending from the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the second snap-past feature is an orifice through a portion of the second sidewall. The assembly may also include where the tab interlocks through the orifice so as to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The assembly where: the first sidewall includes one or more first detent features and the second sidewall includes one or more second detent features. The assembly may also include the first and second detent features are configured to work in conjunction to provide haptic feedback when the sleeve component telescopically moves from the first position to the second position while rotating in the receptacle component. The assembly where: the one or more first detent features are protrusions. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are indents. The assembly may also include where the one or more protrusions click into the one or more indentations to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where: the one or more first detent features are notches along portions of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are protrusions along the sides of the second sidewall screw thread. The assembly may also include where the one or more protrusions click into the one or more notches to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where: the one or more first detent features include a cavity, spring, and ball bearing, where the spring and ball bearing are inserted into the cavity such that the spring biases the ball bearing towards the internal side of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are indents along a portion of the external side of the second sidewall; and where the biased one or more ball bearings click into the one or more indents to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where the receptacle component and the sleeve component are manufactured from plastic, metal, rubber, fiberglass, wood, ceramic material, or some combination thereof.
One general aspect includes a beverage container holding assembly for installation in an interior of a vehicle, the assembly including: a receptacle component configured to be disposed in a vehicle interior surface, the receptacle component includes a first sidewall to define an open top and a closed bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a sleeve component. The beverage container holding assembly also includes the sleeve component includes a second sidewall to define an open top and an open bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a beverage container, the sleeve component further includes a lip with a grip; the first and second sidewalls include corresponding screw threads configured to cause the sleeve component to move telescopically from a first position to a second position while rotating within the receptacle component. The beverage container holding assembly also includes the first sidewall includes a first snap-past feature and the second sidewall includes a second snap-past feature, where the first and second snap-past features are configured to work in conjunction to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The beverage container holding assembly also includes the first sidewall including a first detent feature and the second sidewall including one or more second detent features, where the first and second detent features are configured to work in conjunction to provide haptic feedback when the sleeve component telescopically moves from the first position to the second position while rotating in the receptacle component; and the grip configured to facilitate the telescopic movement of the sleeve component from the first position to the second position. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The assembly where: the first snap-past feature is a substantially tapered shape notch indented into the internal side of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the second snap-past feature is a substantially tapered shape protrusion on the external side of the second sidewall. The assembly may also include where the first and second snap-past features face the opposite direction such that they correspond to create a brake to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The assembly where: the first snap-past feature is a tab internally extending from the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the second snap-past feature is an orifice through a portion of the second sidewall; and where the tab interlocks through the orifice so as to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle. The assembly where: the first detent feature is a protrusion. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are indents. The assembly may also include where the protrusion clicks into each of the one or more indentations to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where: the first detent feature is a notch along portions of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are protrusions along the sides of the second sidewall screw thread. The assembly may also include where each of the one or more protrusions click into the notch to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where: the first detent feature includes a cavity, spring, and ball bearing, where the spring and the ball bearing are inserted into the cavity such that the spring biases the ball bearing towards the internal side of the first sidewall. The assembly may also include the one or more second detent features are indents along a portion of the external side of the second sidewall; and where the biased ball bearing clicks into the one or more indents to provide haptic feedback. The assembly where the receptacle component and the sleeve component are manufactured from plastic, metal, rubber, fiberglass, wood, ceramic material, or some combination thereof.
One general aspect includes a method of installing a beverage container holding assembly into an interior of a vehicle, the method including: disposing a receptacle component in a vehicle interior surface, where the receptacle component includes a first sidewall to define an open top and a closed bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a sleeve component. The method also includes heat staking the receptacle component to the vehicle interior surface; installing the sleeve component within the receptacle component, where the sleeve component includes a second sidewall to define an open top and an open bottom of substantially the same size and to define a shape configured to receive a beverage container, and where the first and second sidewalls includes corresponding screw threads configured to cause the sleeve component to move telescopically from a first position to a second position when rotating within the receptacle component; and allowing the sleeve component to move telescopically from a first position to a second position upon being rotated within the receptacle component. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods.
Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The method further including: where the first sidewall includes a first snap-past feature and the second sidewall includes a second snap-past feature, and where the first and second snap-past features are configured to work in conjunction to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The method may also include allowing the first and second snap-past features to work in conjunction to prevent the sleeve component from being dislodged from the receptacle component after being received by the receptacle component. The method further including: where the first sidewall includes one or more first detent features and the second sidewall includes one or more second detent features, and where the first and second detent features are configured to work in conjunction to provide haptic feedback when the sleeve component telescopically moves from the first position to the second position upon being rotated within the receptacle component. The method may also include allowing the first and second detent features to provide haptic feedback when the sleeve component telescopically moves from the first position to the second position.
The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present teachings are readily apparent from the following detailed description for carrying out the teachings when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments can take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures can be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.
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The sleeve 24 is generally molded into a cylindrical shape having an open top 34 and open bottom 36 and a sidewall 38 with a uniform circular cross section. Sleeve 24 can also be inserted into receptacle 22. As a result, when a beverage container 16, 18 is placed into the holding assembly 12, a portion of the container 16, 18 will rest below the sleeve's open bottom 36 and within the confines of receptacle 22. Similar to receptacle 22, sleeve 24 may be manufactured by an injection molding process and may be made of plastic. However, it should be understood that receptacle 22 may be made of metal, rubber, fiberglass, wood, ceramic material and manufactured through known processes.
Screw threads 40, 42 on the internal facing side of the receptacle sidewall (40) as well as external side of the sleeve sidewall (42) correspond to allow the sleeve 24 to be rotated in one direction so as to screw down into receptacle 22 to a retracted first position (
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A method for installing holding assembly 12 is represented by the flow chart of
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms encompassed by the claims. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments can be combined to form further embodiments of the invention that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics can be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. These attributes can include, but are not limited to cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As such, embodiments described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the disclosure and can be desirable for particular applications.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
None of the elements recited in the claims are intended to be a means-plus-function element within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless an element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for,”
