Patent Application
20110070018
The disclosed invention relates generally to systems for attaching accessories to vehicle interiors. More particularly, the disclosed invention relates to a system for allowing the easy attachment and removal of a variety of vehicle accessories to surfaces on the vehicle interior.
In earlier days of motoring the driver and passengers carried very little with them in the vehicle. This was in part due to the fact that the majority of early vehicles were open touring cars which offered no security for articles left behind while the occupants were absent. Later hard top vehicles resolved part of this problem, but had inadequate security systems. This was also due in part to the fact that technology such as portable global positioning systems and cellular telephones and other personal communication devices had not yet developed so there was that much less to carry.
As vehicle occupants began to spend more and more time in the vehicle on the road and as more accessories of convenience became available, more and more such accessories were brought into the vehicle. In addition to cellular telephones, portable global positioning systems became available. Furthermore, the vehicle occupant was presented with a broader variety of entertainment systems and, coupled with improved vehicle quietness, began to bring into the vehicle such items as compact disks. Other more mundane items, such as tissue boxes, coins, sunglasses, and writing instruments became common in motor vehicles.
With all of these accessories now present in motor vehicles, occupants have become overwhelmed with the need for proper storage. Often cellular telephones, compact disks, and coins end up in arm rest storage bins or inadequately mounted on vehicle instrument panels or on vehicle seats. Once so placed, vehicle occupants have little hope of finding these items when needed quickly or conveniently.
Accordingly, as in so many areas of vehicle technology, there is room in the art of vehicle accessory storage systems for improved design and efficiencies, thus overcoming some of the limitations of known designs.
The disclosed invention provides a system for the quick connection of an accessory to a surface of the inside of a vehicle and for the quick disconnection of that accessory from the surface. The system includes a quick-release receptacle fitted to an interior surface such as a windshield visor. Accessories having a T-shaped quick-release connector may be quickly and easily attached and removed for mounting on various surfaces of the vehicle interior. Such accessories may include, without limitation, tissue cases, coin holders, compact disk holders, a holder for miscellaneous accessories such as pens and credit cards, a note pad holder, a holder for sunglasses, a holder for a cellular telephone, and a holder for a global positioning device.
The quick-release receptacle may be attached to any one of a broad variety of interior surfaces. The quick-release receptacle and the T-shaped quick-release connector may be made from a variety of materials, but are preferably formed from a thermomolded or molded polymerized material such as nylon. The bodies of the accessories or accessory holders may be formed from the same material.
The disclosed invention provides a practical, convenient and inexpensive method for holding a great variety of accessories within the vehicle interior in easy reach of the driver and other occupants. The system is inexpensive to produce and is flexible such that it may be adapted for a number of accessories beyond those considered and disclosed herein.
Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and the appended claims.
For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should now be made to the embodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings and described below by way of examples of the invention wherein:
In the following figures, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components. In the following description, various operating parameters and components are described for different constructed embodiments. These specific parameters and components are included as examples and are not meant to be limiting.
The attachment portion of the disclosed invention includes a connector and a receptacle. The selected accessory is attached to the connector.
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The accessory attachment portion 14 may be of any configuration and may in fact be a part of the accessory holder itself as is shown and discussed below.
The intermediate portion 16 is illustrated as being cylindrical but may be of any of a variety of geometries.
The upper surface 22 of the receptacle has a connector-receiving keyway 30 formed therein. As is understood by those skilled in the art, the connector-receiving keyway 30 is shaped so as to snugly and securely receive and hold the connector 10. The keyway 30 includes a pair of opposed slots 32 and 32′ which are configured to releasably receive the outwardly extending connecting arms 18 and 18′ of the connector 10. The body 21 is essentially hollow so as to fully accommodate the outwardly extending connecting arms 18 and 18′ of the connector 10 after the connector 10 has been attached to the receptacle 20.
The connector 10 and the receptacle 20 may be made from a variety of materials including, for example, any of a broad variety of polymerized materials.
The accessory system of the disclosed invention may be used in conjunction with any one of a variety of surfaces of the motor vehicle interior. By way of example,
A great number of accessories may be attached using the system of the disclosed invention. Such accessories are shown in
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In use, to attach the connector 10 and its fitted accessory to the vehicle surface, the operator grasps the assembly and positions the outwardly extending arms 18 and 18′ of the upper connecting portion 12 such that they are in line with the keyway 30 of the connector receptacle 20. The operator then inserts the upper connecting portion 12 into the keyway 30 and rotates the upper connecting portion 12 within the keyway 30 so as to lock the upper connecting portion 12 within the keyway 30. Ordinarily this locking maneuver may be accomplished by a ¼ turn. Removal of the connector 10 and its accompanying accessory is achieved in reverse order of the steps needed for attachment. Each accessory is fitted with its own connector 10 and, accordingly, interchanging one accessory for another is a simple task.
It is to be understood that the accessories illustrated and discussed herein are exemplary only and that a great many other accessories may be attached by the disclosed system, including, for example, cup and map holders.
The foregoing discussion discloses and describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the true spirit and fair scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
