JP2000166739A - Cup holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cup holder enabling a stack of cups to be surely and precisely separated from one another and pulled out. SOLUTION: This cup holder has first and second claw pieces 22, 23 and the first claw piece 22 normally supports the flange C1 of a lowermost cup C on the basis of an elastic force produced by a spring 40. When the lowermost cup C is pulled downward, the first claw piece 22 is rotated downward and tilted, this tilting action forcing the second claw piece 23 to move horizontally to support the flange C1 of a second cup C located above the lowermost cup C. After the flange C1 of the lowermost cup C is separated from the first claw piece 22, the first claw piece 22 is rotated upward by the elastic force and the second claw piece 23 is moved horizontally and separated from the flange C1 of the second cup C. The flange C1 of the second cup C is then supported by the upwardly rotating first claw piece 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cup holder for providing a user with a plurality of superposed paper or plastic cups which can be pulled out and supported one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cup holder is installed near a beverage supply device such as a tea machine so that a user of the beverage supply device can take out one cup at a time from the cup holder and use it for receiving a beverage. It has become.

[0003] A cup holder of this type is composed of a case and a cup locking device provided at a lower portion of the case. A cup laminate formed by stacking a plurality of cups is housed in the case. The lowermost cup of the stack is supported by a cup locking device.

A conventional cup locking device is made of an elastic thin plate made of urethane rubber or the like having an opening through which a cup can pass, and a plurality of tongue-like projections are uniformly provided on the periphery of the opening. The lowermost cup of the cup laminate housed in the case projects downward from the opening, and a flange formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the lowermost cup is supported by each of the projections.

When the lowermost cup protruding below the opening is pulled down with a certain force or more, the projection is elastically deformed, and the flange on the outer periphery of the upper end of the cup is detached from the projection. By the elastic restoration of the projections after the detachment, the flange at the upper edge of the second cup arranged on the upper layer side of the lowermost cup is supported, and by such an operation, the cups can be sequentially pulled out one by one. I can do it.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional structure, if the cup is strongly grasped and pulled out, the second cup may come off together with the first cup, Further, if the elasticity of the protrusions of the cup locking device deteriorates due to aging due to long-term use and the elasticity thereof becomes insufficient, there is also a problem that a plurality of cups come off together.

On the other hand, there are various sizes of cups,
In the conventional cup holder, when the size of the cup to be handled is changed, each time the cup locking device has to be replaced with one corresponding to the size, there is an inconvenience.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is an object of the present invention to be able to reliably and accurately separate and pull out cups of a laminated body and to change the size of the cups. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cup holder which can easily cope with the situation.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a cup locking device is provided at a lower portion of a case, and a plurality of cups having a flange on an outer periphery at an upper end are overlapped in the case. The cup laminated body is stored, in a cup holder that supports the lowermost cup of the cup laminated body so that it can be pulled out by the cup locking device,
The cup locking device has an opening through which the cup can pass, and a plurality of cup locking units are uniformly provided on a peripheral portion of the opening, and the cup locking units are vertically arranged. A rotatable first claw piece, and a second claw piece disposed on the first claw piece and horizontally moving in conjunction with the rotation of the first claw piece. The first claw piece of each of the cup locking units keeps a substantially horizontal state based on the elastic force of a spring, and the lower end of the cup laminated body of the cup laminated body arranged in the opening at the leading edge thereof. When the lowermost cup is pulled down against the elastic force, the first claw pieces are respectively turned downward and tilted, and each cup is locked by this tilting operation. The second claw pieces of the unit move horizontally to the inside of the opening, respectively. The edge of the tip supports the flange of the second cup disposed on the upper layer side of the lowermost cup, and after the flange of the lowermost cup separates from each of the first claw pieces, the elastic force Each of the first claws rotates upward, and each of the second claws
The claw piece moves horizontally to the outside of the opening and separates from the flange of the second cup, and the tip edge of each of the first claw pieces pivots upward on the flange of the cup. It is intended to be supported by.

In the invention according to claim 2,
It is characterized in that a size adjusting mechanism is provided for moving a plurality of cup locking units evenly provided on the periphery of the opening of the cup locking device in a substantially radial direction of the opening.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire structure of the cup holder, wherein 1 is a case. The case 1 has a rear member 4 attached to a mounting wall 2 via screws 3 and a front portion of the rear member 4. Front member 5 attached
And are formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape.

The case 1 has an equipment room 6 in the lower part, and a cup locking device 7 is inserted into the equipment room 6 through an opening at the back.
Is incorporated.

An upper end of the case 1 is opened as a supply port 10, and a cover 11 for opening and closing the supply port 10 is provided in the supply port 10. And the front member 5 of the case 1 is formed of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin,
The cup laminate housed in the case 1 can be seen through from the outside.

The structure of the cup locking device 7 is shown in FIG. 2. The cup locking device 7 has a frame 13 having an opening having an inner diameter slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the cup. A part 14 is formed. Frame 1
An adjusting ring 15 which is disposed concentrically with the opening 14 and has an inner diameter equal to or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the opening 14 as a cup size adjusting mechanism is rotatably attached to the lower surface of 3. An operation lever 15a for the rotation operation is provided on the adjustment ring 15 so as to stand up.

The operating lever 15a of the adjusting ring 15 projects from the lower surface of the frame 13 to the upper surface through an arc-shaped guide hole 13a formed in the frame 13, and the operating lever 15a is pinched to rotate the adjusting ring 15. You can do it. And cup locking device 7
As shown in FIG. 1, the operation lever 15 a is housed in the equipment room 6 of the case 1 so that the operation lever 15 a is arranged on the back side of the case 1.

A plurality of cutouts 16 are uniformly formed on the periphery of the opening 14 of the frame 13.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a number of cam holes 17 corresponding to the notches 16 are uniformly formed. These cam holes 17 extend in a direction inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the adjustment ring 15 and have a shape that is bent stepwise in the middle.

A cup locking unit 20 is provided in each notch 16 of the frame 13, and these cup locking units 20 are formed in a box shape having open front and lower surfaces as shown in FIGS. It has a unit case 21 formed, and a first and a second pair of claw pieces 22 and 23 housed in the unit case 21, and the second claw piece 23 is placed on the first claw piece 22. They are arranged to overlap.

From the lower ends of both sides of the unit case 21, extending pieces 25 and 26 extending horizontally to the sides thereof are integrally formed, and these extending pieces 25 and 26 are attached to the adjusting ring 1 respectively.
5 and the frame 13.

In the unit case 21, one extension piece 25 is integrally formed with a support pin 27 projecting upward, and the other extension piece 26 is integrally formed with a cam pin 28 projecting downward therefrom. 27 is rotatably fitted in a pin hole 29 formed in the frame 13, and the cam pin 28 is movably fitted in a cam hole 17 formed in the adjustment ring 15.

On both side walls of the unit case 21, a guide groove 31 having a U-shaped cross section is formed on the inner surface thereof, and a cut 32 is formed on an upper side of the guide groove 31, and a lower side of the guide groove 31 is further formed. , A support hole 33 is formed.

A support shaft 35 is integrally formed on both sides of the first claw piece 22, and a protrusion 36 is integrally formed on an upper surface of a rear end portion. Then, the support shafts 35 on both sides are fitted into the support holes 33 of the unit case 21, and the first claw pieces 22 are supported via these support shafts 35 so as to be vertically rotatable with respect to the unit case 21. I have.

A pin 37 protrudes from the upper surface of the second claw piece 23, and a notch 38 is formed at the rear edge. The second claw piece 23 is disposed so as to overlap the first claw piece 22, and both side edges are slidably fitted in the guide grooves 31 of the unit case 21.

A spring 40 is mounted on the support pin 27 projecting from the upper surface of the frame 13.
Reference numeral 0 denotes one end locked to the frame 13, the other linear portion 40 a is inserted into the cut 32 of the unit case 21, and the linear portion 40 a is inserted into the pin 37 of the second claw piece 23.
The second claw 23 is elastically urged toward the rear side of the unit case 21 by this contact, and the urging force prevents the second claw 23 from sliding forward.

The first and second claw pieces 22 and 23 of each cup locking unit 20 are normally kept substantially horizontal at the normal time, and the leading edge of the first claw piece 22 is The second claw 23 protrudes to the area inside the opening 14, and the tip edge of the second claw piece 23 is located behind the tip edge of the first claw piece 22.

When the cup laminate is accommodated in the case 1, as shown in FIG. 6A, the lowermost cup C of the laminate projects through the opening 14 of the frame 13 downward. The flange C1 at the upper edge of the cup C is uniformly supported on the upper surface of the tip edge of the first claw piece 22 in each of the cup locking units 20, which are uniformly arranged on the peripheral edge of the opening 14. This support state is maintained by the elastic force of the spring 40.

In this state, when the first cup C disposed at the lowermost layer of the cup laminated body is pulled down with a certain force or more, as shown in FIG. The first claw piece 22 turns downward and tilts about the support shaft 35 as a fulcrum against the elastic force of the spring 40.

With this tilting operation, the projection 3 of the first claw piece 22 is formed.
6, the second claw piece 23 is horizontally pushed along the guide groove 31 so as to slide against the front side thereof against the elastic force of the spring 40, and its leading edge is formed in the opening 14.
Projecting into the area inside. The flange C1 of the second cup C disposed on the upper layer side of the lowermost first cup C is supported by the tip edge of each second claw piece 23 projecting into the area inside the opening 14. You.

When each of the first claw pieces 22 is inclined to a predetermined angle, the first claw pieces 22 disengage from the flange C1 of the first cup C, and the first cup C is disengaged. Pulled down.

At this time, the second cup C is locked at a fixed position at the distal end edge of the second claw piece 23. Therefore, the first cup C is securely and securely separated from the second cup C. It is properly separated and pulled out in a single state.

After the engagement between the first claw piece 22 and the first cup C is released, the second force is applied by the elastic force of the spring 40.
Of the first claw 22 is pushed rearward by the retreating operation of the second claw 22, and the first claw 22 is pressed rearward by the retreat operation of the second claw 22. The claw piece 22 rotates upward with the support shaft 35 as a fulcrum.

When the second claw piece 23 retreats, the tip edge of the second claw piece 23 becomes the flange C1 of the second cup C.
And the collar C of the second cup C
1 is supported by the leading edge of the first claw piece 22 that has turned upward and returned to the horizontal state, and this support state is maintained by the elastic force of the spring 40, and the second cup C is withdrawn. State.

By repeating such an operation, the cups C of the cup laminate housed in the case 1 are reliably cut off one by one from the lowermost one and pulled out one by one.

On the other hand, when the size (outermost diameter) of the cup housed in the case 1 is changed, the case 1 is removed from the mounting wall 2 by removing the screw 3, and the cup size of the cup locking device 7 is adjusted. An adjustment ring 15 as a mechanism is rotated via an operation lever 15a.

The adjusting ring 15 is formed with a cam hole 17 inclined in the circumferential direction, into which the cam pin 28 of the unit case 21 of each cup locking unit 20 is inserted. Ring 1
When the cam 5 rotates, the cam pin 28 is displaced so as to move in the longitudinal direction of the cam hole 17, and the displacement of the cam pin 28 causes the unit case 21 to turn about the support pin 27 as a fulcrum. Each cup locking unit 20 moves in a substantially radial direction of the opening 14, that is, in a substantially diametric direction. With this movement, the positions of the tip edges of the first and second claw pieces 22 and 23 in each cup locking unit 20 are moved. The diameter of the inscribed circle connecting the tip edges of the claws 22 and 23 is adjusted.

Therefore, each claw piece 2 is adjusted by such adjustment.
The size of the diameter of the inscribed circle connecting the leading edge portions of the cups 2 and 23 can be made to correspond to the changed cup by matching the size of the changed cup.

Here, each of the cam holes 17 formed in the adjusting ring 15 extends in a direction inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the adjusting ring 15 and has a shape which is bent stepwise in the middle thereof. In accordance with the turning operation of the adjustment ring 15, the positions of the distal end portions of the first and second claw pieces 22, 23 change stepwise, so that the respective claw pieces 22, 23 are changed.
It is possible to set the diameter dimension of the inscribed circle connecting the tip edges of the cups to conform to the standard size of the cup.

After the work of adjusting the cup size is completed, the case 1 is mounted again on the mounting wall 2 via the screws 3. In this mounting state, the operation lever 15a of the adjustment ring 15 is not exposed to the outside, so that the operation lever 15 is not operated or tampered with uselessly.

In the cup locking unit 20 of the above embodiment, the spring 40 is applied to the pin 37 of the second claw 23 so that the second claw 23 and the first claw 22 are operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG.
3, a pin 45 is formed in the second claw piece 23.
The pin 45 is attached to the long hole 44 of the lever 43.
And a spring 40 is attached to the first claw piece 22. When the first claw piece 22 rotates downward against the elastic force of the spring 40, the lever 43 and the pin 4
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the second claw piece 23 is moved in the horizontal direction by an engagement operation with the fifth claw piece 5.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the lowermost cup of the laminate is pulled out, the cup can be reliably separated from the second cup and pulled out one by one. In particular, in the invention described in claim 2, when the size of the cup housed in the case is changed, it is possible to easily cope with the change simply by operating the cup size adjusting mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a cup holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cup locking device in the cup holder.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an adjustment ring in the cup locking device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a cup locking unit in the cup locking device.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cup locking unit.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the cup locking unit.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Case 7 ... Cup locking device 13 ... Frame 14 ... Opening part 15 ... Adjustment ring 17 ... Cam hole 20 ... Cup locking unit 22 ... First claw piece 23 ... Second claw piece 27 ... Support pin 28 ... Cam pin 40 ... spring

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shuichi Sakaguchi 180 Furuichi-cho, Maebashi-shi, Gunma F-term in Toshiba Equipment Co., Ltd. (reference) 3B115 AA22 BA28 BC12

Claims (2)

[Claims] A cup locking device is provided at a lower portion of a case, and a cup laminated body in which a plurality of cups each having a flange on an outer periphery at an upper end are housed in the case, and a lowermost cup of the cup laminated body is stored. Wherein the cup locking device has an opening through which the cup can pass, and a plurality of cup locking members are provided on a peripheral portion of the opening. The cup locking units are provided equally, and these cup locking units are disposed on the first claw that can be turned in the vertical direction, and the first claw is rotated. A second claw that moves horizontally in conjunction with the first claw, and in a normal state, the first claw of each of the cup locking units maintains a substantially horizontal state based on the elastic force of a spring, and a leading edge portion thereof. The cap placed in the opening When the lowermost cup is pulled down against the elastic force, the first claw pieces are pivoted downward, respectively, when the lowermost cup is pulled down against the elastic force. The second claw of each cup locking unit is horizontally moved to the inner side of the opening by the operation of the inclination, and the second claw piece of the cup locking unit is disposed on the upper edge side of the lowermost cup at the leading edge thereof. After the flange of the second cup is supported and the flange of the lowermost layer is detached from the first claw piece, each first claw piece is rotated upward by the elastic force, and each second claw piece is rotated.
The claw piece moves horizontally to the outside of the opening and separates from the flange of the second cup, and the edge of each of the first claw pieces rotates upwardly. Cup holder characterized by being supported by. 2. A cup size adjusting mechanism for moving a plurality of cup locking units evenly provided in a peripheral portion of an opening of the cup locking device in a substantially radial direction of the opening. The cup holder according to claim 1, wherein: