GB2223931A

GB2223931A - Gimballed drink holder

Info

Publication number: GB2223931A
Application number: GB8824307A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Vries Edo De; Margaret Versluysen
Original assignee: VRIES EDO DE
Current assignee: VRIES EDO DE
Priority date: 1988-10-18
Filing date: 1988-10-18
Publication date: 1990-04-25
Also published as: GB8824307D0

Abstract

A gimballed drink holder consists of four parts: a base 1 which has an indentation so that relatively wide drinking vessels will rest on the outer part and relatively narrow ones on the indented part. The base fits into a brass ring which forms part of a basket 2 mounted in a free swinging position from the arms 3. The basket is open at the front so as to accommodate the handle of a cup or mug. The arms pivot around pin 4 by means of a bearing inserted in housing 5. The pin is releasably inserted into attachment 6, which is fastened to any vertical or near-vertical surface. <IMAGE>

Description

PATENT SPECIFICATION Detachable gimbal led drink holder The invention relates to a detachable gimballed drink holder.

A gimbal is a well-known means of holding an object in a horizontal position irrespective of any movement of the surface to which the object, in its gimbal, is attached. This is usually achieved by attaching a ring, of part thereof, to the moving surface (such as a bulkhead of a ship) in a manner which allows the ring (or part) to pivot around its point or line of attachment, and attaching to that ring or part another one in a similar manner, so, however, that the libne of attachment is at right angles tio the one of the first mentioned ring or part thereof. The object is then held firmly to the second ring.

If the object is a glass or other container, it, and any liquid in it, will at all times stay horizontal and the liquid will not spill. The glass or similar object should, however, be easily removable if it is to be of use to the consumer of the liquid, and that can only be achieved if the diameter of the glass (etcetera) is within relatively narrow limits relative to the ring in which it is to rest; in addition, unless the glass is to some extent conical in shape it will fall through the ring, and if a cup or mug is used it will not be possible to place it in the ring at all, because of the handle.

A basket replacing the second ring will accommodate straight glasses but not mugs or cups unless the shape of the basket allows for the handles. However, if such a basket is suitable for most glasses there are a wide variety of cups and mugs for which it will be too small, and if the basket is wide enough for most sizes of cups and mugs, most glasses will have so much space in it that they will tend to slide out of centre and upset the balance of the arrangement, thereby making it either useless or being instrumental in tipping the glass over rather than keeping it in its upright position.

According to the present invention there is provided a detachable gimballed drink holder comprising of one-half of an outer ring which is free to pivot around a centre attached to (but removable from) a wall block, and a basket hanging from the open end of the outer ring in such a manner that it can hinge or pivot around its points of suspension, the shape of the basket being such as to accommodate handles on cups and mugs and its bottom being of such shape as to keep two or three different sizes of diameters of glass or other container at or sufficiently near the centre of the basket to allow effective gimbal action at all times.

Claims

1. A detachable gimballed drink holder comprising a bulkhead or wall mounting, an outer support in the shape of onehalf of an ellipse and free to pivot without limitation relative to the bulkhead or wall mounting, and a basket suspended from the arms of the outer support in such a manner as to allow the basket to swing freely in a longitudinal direction in relation to the outer support.

2. A detachable gimballed drink holder as claimed in claim 1 which can be removed from its bulkhead or wall mounting without resort to any tools.

3. A detachable gimballed drink holder as claimed in claims 1 or 2 the basket of which is shaped so as to allow accommodation of glasses and vessels with not more than one handle each, such as mugs or cups.

4. A detachable gimballed drink holder as claimed in any one or more or all of the foregoing claims of which the surface on which a glass or other vessel or container stands as such indentations as to cause any such vessel to be held in a position which is reasonably near the centre of the supporting surface and prevent the vessel from sliding away from that position.

5. A detachable gimballed drink holder substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.