The present invention relates to beverage containers. More particularly, it relates to beverage containers which are formed for example as a beaker, a cup or a beverage can.
The holding device is intended for installation in a folding arm rest in a motor vehicle, which arm rest is arranged between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat and can be pivoted back and forth between an approximately horizontal, use position and an upwardly oriented, non-use position. In the use position, the arm rest is located between the driver's seat and passenger's seat, and the driver and/or passenger can rest an arm on the arm rest. In the folded-up, non-use position, the arm rest is located between the backs of the driver's and passenger's seats.
Holding devices for beverage containers for installation, for example, in the dashboard of a motor vehicle are known. Such known holding devices have a carriage, which is so guided by a carriage guide means in the manner of a drawer as to be displaceable back and forth between a pushed-in position and a pulled-out position. The carriage is conventionally moved into the pulled-out position by spring force and is held in the pushed-in position against the force of a spring element using an unlockable locking device. It is possible to insert a beverage container into the holding device when the carriage is in the pulled-out position. For that purpose, the carriage or a holder attached thereto has an insertion opening, into which the beverage container can be inserted. The insertion opening supports the inserted beverage container laterally against tipping over. The beverage container stands on a support or supporting surface, which can be formed, for example, by the carriage.
The known holding devices are intended for installation in an unchanging, approximately horizontal position. When installed in a folding arm rest, the known holding devices-especially when they are moved into the pulled-out position by spring force-have the disadvantage that, when the arm rest has been folded up, they spring out in an upwards direction if they are (unintentionally) unlocked. That is, at the least undesirable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holding device for a beverage container, which can be pulled out only when in an approximately horizontal position.
The holding device according to the invention has a gravity locking device, which locks the carriage in the pushed-in position when the carriage is not in an approximately horizontal position. The gravity locking device ensures that the carriage can be pulled out only when the folding arm rest accommodating the holding device according to the invention is located in its approximately horizontal, use position. The invention prevents the carriage from springing out from the folded-up arm rest. The holding device according to the invention is not limited to installation in upwardly folding arm rests; it can in principle also be arranged in other components that can be folded, or pivoted, in an upward or downward direction.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gravity locking device has a locking member, which is movably guided and which moves back and forth between a locked position and an unlocked position as a result of gravity in dependence upon the position of the carriage of the holding device. When the carriage is in its approximately horizontal position, gravity moves the locking member into the unlocked position, wherein the carriage of the holding device is movable and can be pulled out. When the carriage is not in its approximately horizontal position, for example because the folding arm rest has been folded up, gravity moves the locking member into a locked position, wherein the locking member locks the carriage immovably in the pushed-in position.
The locking member can be, for example, a pivotal bar, which pivots into the locked position as a result of gravity when the arm rest is folded up and which pivots into the unlocked position as a result of gravity when the arm rest is approximately horizontal.
In an embodiment of the invention, the holding device has a holder, which has an insertion opening for the beverage container and is raisably guided on the carriage by a guide means. When the carriage is pulled out, the holder is raised and, when the carriage is pushed in, the holder is lowered back onto the carriage. As a result of the holder being raised in the pulled-out position of the carriage, the spacing between the holder and the carriage is sufficient for an inserted beverage container to be securely supported laterally against tipping. As a result of the holder being lowered when the carriage is pushed in, the holding device can be of flat construction and consequently can be accommodated in space-saving manner in a shallow installation space. In accordance with the invention, the path of raising of the holder is oriented upwards in relation to the carriage and contrary to the pull-out direction of the carriage. As a result, when the carriage is pulled out, the holder exhibits no travel or at least a shorter travel in the carriage pull-out direction than the carriage. That has the advantage that the pull-out distance of the carriage can be shortened; the carriage and the holder project out less far from their installation space. The shortened pull-out distance is in itself advantageous because the holding device projects out less far into the passenger space when the carriage is pulled out. A further advantage is that, for example in the event of unintentional leaning on the pulled-out carriage, the shorter pull-out distance means that the lever arm (by way of which the load acts on the carriage) is shortened. That reduces the risk of the carriage breaking.
In an embodiment of the invention, the guide means of the holder has a four-lever mechanism, the carriage forming one lever and the holder forming an opposite lever of the four-level mechanism. The four-lever mechanism can form, for example, a parallelogram guide means, which raises the holder parallel to the carriage and lowers it onto the carriage. When the carriage is intended for installation in a sloping plane, that is to say when the displacement direction of the carriage is oriented in a sloping plane, the geometry of the four-lever mechanism can differ from a parallelogram so that, on raising, the holder pivots relative to the carriage.
In an embodiment of the invention, the insertion opening for the beverage container is provided so that it is modifiable in terms of its size. For that purpose, the holder has a movable, for example displaceable or pivotal, adjusting element, by means of which the size of the insertion opening can be modified. Furthermore, the holding device has a securing device for the adjusting element, which securing device secures the adjusting element in its position.
The securing device can be, for example, in the form of an adjusting element that is movable against a clamping force. In an embodiment of the invention, a catch device is provided as the securing device for the adjusting element, which device reliably secures the adjusting element in its position even after having been adjusted many times.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The holding device 10 according to the invention shown in
The holding device 10 according to the invention has a flat, ribbed housing 12, which in plan view is rectangular. A carriage 14 is displaceably guided in the housing 12 in the manner of a drawer. The carriage 14 is of tray-like construction, forming a drip basin for the collection of liquid spilling out from a beverage container inserted in the holding device 10. The carriage 14 is displaceable from the pulled-out position shown in
Raising and lowering of the holder 16 is explained herein below with reference to
As can be readily seen in
The holder 16 is of two parts; it has a rear part 26 and a front part 28. The front part 28 is approximately T-shaped in plan view, the shank 30 of the “T” extending between the levers 22, 2n4 and through into an opening in the housing 12 of the holding device 10. The front part 28 of the holder 16 is pivotally and displaceably connected to the rear part 26 of the holder 16 and a front lever 22 of the levers 22, 24. Close to the rearward end, the shank 30 of the T-shaped, front part 28 of the holder 16 is pivotalloy connected to the carriage 14. Reference numeral 32 denotes the pivotal connection. At the rearward end, the shank 30 has laterally projecting pins 34, which are displaceably guided on a ramp 36. The ramp 36 (shown in the drawing by broken lines) projects inward from side walls of the housing 12. The ramp 36 runs, from the base of the housing 12, first at an upward slant to a middle level of the housing 12 and the horizontally backwards to the rearward region of the housing 12. When the carriage 14 is pushed into the housing 12 from the pulled-out position shown in
When the holder 16 is in the raised position, the levers 22, 24 guiding the holder 16 raisably on the carriage 16 stand up from the carriage 14 on a forward-pointing slant. On lowering of the holder 16 when the carriage 14 is being pushed into the housing 12, the levers 22, 24 pivot in a downward and also, in relation to the carriage 14, forward direction, that is to say in the pull-out direction of the carriage 14. As a result, when the holder 16 is being lowered, it is moved, relative to the carriage 12, in a forward direction contrary to the push-in direction of the latter, that is to say away from the housing 12 and the arm rest 20.
At its rearward end, the carriage 14 has a gravity locking device 40, which is shown in
The rear part 26 of the holder 16 has, on each side, a laterally projecting finger-like adjusting element 52. The adjusting element 52 is, as shown in
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a holding device for a beverage container, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100 37 058 | Jul 2000 | DE | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20020008415 A1 | Jan 2002 | US |