a) and 4(b) are plan views of the essential parts showing the relationships of each auxiliary plate to the holding member in
a) and 5(b) show the holding member, wherein
a) and 6(b) are schematic views showing an operation of the invention, wherein
a) and 7(b) are drawings for explaining the problem of the conventional cup holder, wherein
Examples of the present invention are explained while referring to the drawings. In this explanation, the device structure is explained in detail, and then the explanation is made to assembly and operation, and an example of use.
The cup holder of the example, just as in Patent Document 1, comprises a box-like part 1 having the top side opened and a holding tool 2 disposed in the opening of the box-like part 1, and as shown in
Here, the box-like part 1 extends from the front to back, and it is provided with a partition a small cavity 10 for putting small things in the front and a large cavity 11 for holding beverage containers in the back. The small cavity 10 also may be omitted. The large cavity 11 has a size for two comparatively large-diameter containers, among commercially sold beverage containers, to be inserted and removed. In this example, of the inner wall surfaces that partition the large cavity 11, the arc-shaped inner wall surfaces 12 and 13 positioned in the front and back create spaces to sandwich the beverage containers between them and the sides of the holding tool 2. Also, on the upper edge of both left and right sides from front to back, there are provided guide grooves 14 and 14, facing each other. Each guide groove 14 extends from the front side end of the box-like part 1 to a point which is slightly behind from the middle point of the large cavity 11, and it is designed that the holding member 20 of the holding tool 2 can be built in to slide freely in a fitted-together state.
In the holding tool 2, the holding member 20, as shown in
Also, the underside of the holding member 20, as shown in
The auxiliary plate 3 is roughly tongue shaped, and it has: a ring-shaped fitting part 30, which is fitted with play onto the cylindrical part 29a; an arc groove 31, which is cut out as an arc around the fitting part 30; a concave arc-shaped holding surface 32, which is formed on the outer perimeter on the side opposite the fitting part 30; an elastic coupling part 33, which is provided inside the groove of the arc groove 31; an attachment part 34, which is respectively placed to project on the top surface and fixes the other end of the reversing spring 6; a projection 35, which contacts with said catching part 26a and locks the auxiliary plate 3 in the stored state; and a projection 36, which contacts with said catching part 27a and locks the auxiliary plate 3 in the in-use state; and the like.
The auxiliary plate 4 has a shape integrating two auxiliary plates 3, and it has: a fitting part 40, which is provided in the middle and corresponds to the fitting part 30; an arc groove 41, which is cut out as an arc centered on the fitting part 40; concave arc-shaped holding surfaces 42 and 42, which are formed on the outer perimeter on both ends centered on the fitting part 40; an elastic coupling part 43, which is provided inside the groove of the arc groove 41; an attachment part 44, which is respectively placed projecting on the top surface and fixes the other end of the reversing spring 7; and a projection 45, which contacts with said catching part 26b and locks the auxiliary plate 4 in the stored state, and contacts with said catching part 27b and locks the auxiliary plate 4 in the in-use state; and the like.
The knob 5 is placed to project on a circular part 15 and has a shape continuing with the handles 26, and it has: a pivot part 16, which is placed to project in the middle on the underside of the circular part 15 and is inserted through said shaft hole 24 and cylindrical part 29a; and a boss 17 (corresponds to the first boss of the present invention), which is placed to project on the outside on the underside of the circular part 15 and is inserted through the restricting groove 25 and the arc groove 31 on the side of the auxiliary plate. The circular part 15 has a size to be placed between said handles 26. The pivot part 16 is non-cylindrical, and it has a female screw formed on the inner diameter of the tip.
Also, the knob 5 has a collar 8, which is connected to the tip of the pivot part 16. This collar 8 has a cylindrical part 18 and a boss 19 (corresponds to the second boss of the present invention) formed on the top surface of a small plate. The cylindrical part 18 includes a center hole 18a, in which the screw 9 is inserted, and a coupling hole 18b, which expands the tip side of the center hole 18a and is coupled with the pivot part 16. The boss 19 is inserted through the arc groove 41 on the side of the auxiliary plate 4.
Next an example of the operation of assembly of each member is explained. First, the auxiliary plate 3 and the reversing spring 6 are attached to the holding member 20 along with the knob 5. In this operation, as shown in
In the above state, the auxiliary plate 3 is switched between the in-use state and the stored state by forward and backward rotational operation (rotational operation in one direction of the present invention) of the knob 5. Because the auxiliary plate 3 is subject to the force of the reversing spring 6 in the in-use state and the stored state, it does not rotate unexpectedly or rattle. Also, when the knob 5 is rotationally operated in the reverse direction (rotational operation in the other direction of the present invention) in opposition to the force of the reversing spring 6 from the stored state of the auxiliary plate 3, the boss 17 is decoupled from the coupling part 33 and is let to slip following the arc groove 31 and it is rotated idly against the auxiliary plate 3.
Next, the auxiliary plate 4 and the reversing spring 7 are attached to the holding member 20 along with the collar 8. In this operation, as shown in
In the above state, the auxiliary plate 4 is switched between the in-use state and the stored state by forward and backward rotational operation (rotational operation in the other direction of the present invention) of the knob 5. Because the auxiliary plate 4 is subject to the force of the reversing spring 7 in the in-use state and the stored state, it does not rotate unexpectedly or rattle. Also, when the knob 5 is rotationally operated in the reverse direction (rotational operation in the one direction of the present invention) in opposition to the force of the reversing spring 7 from the stored state of the auxiliary plate 4, the boss 19 is decoupled from the coupling part 43 and is let to slip following the arc groove 41, whereby it is rotated idly against the auxiliary plate 4. When the knob 5 is rotationally operated in the reverse direction (rotational operation in the one direction of the present invention), although the auxiliary plate 4 is kept in the stored state, the auxiliary plate 3 comes to be switched from the stored state to the in-use state.
The solid lines in
The imaginary lines in
a) and 7(b) show the auxiliary plate 4 in the in-use state and the auxiliary plate 3 in the stored state being stored underneath the holding member 20. At this time, two small-diameter containers can be held in a stable state in the space between the holding surface 42 of the auxiliary plate 4 and the inner wall surface 13 and in the space between the holding surface 42 of the auxiliary plate 4 and the inner wall surface 14. In this mode also, because the auxiliary plate 3 is kept in the stored state by being subject to the force of the reversing spring 7 and the auxiliary plate 4 is kept in the in-use state by being subject to the force of the reversing spring 7, it does not rattle or be rotated unexpectedly when being subject to vibration. Of course, in this state also, it becomes possible to change the space between the holding surface 42 and the inner wall surface 13 and the space between the holding surface 42 and the inner wall surface 14 by sliding the holding tool 2 (holding member 20) forward and backward following the guide groove 14 against the boxlike body 1.
The above modes do not restrict the present invention in any way. The present invention can be modified variously based on these mode examples except for the essential conditions specified in the first aspect of the invention. As one example of that, as a configuration of the auxiliary plate 3 (or auxiliary plate 4), the part including the holding surface 32 (holding surface 42) is divided from the auxiliary plate 3 (or auxiliary plate 4). Also, the divided part, for example, referring to the holding member, and the like, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-237451, is connected to be capable of tilting downward from a horizontal state by means of a hinge on a corresponding part of the auxiliary plate after division, and it is forced to become on a plane with the auxiliary plate by a forcing means. Also, in the in-use state of the auxiliary plate, it is made such that the divided part is tilted according to the outer diameter of the container.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60849465 | Oct 2006 | US |