JP2006069356A - Cup holder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide good visibility in a holding part and improve the usability while keeping appearance property. <P>SOLUTION: A holder body 1 of a cup holder comprises: recessed holding parts 11A, 11b from which a container is removed or in which the container is inserted; a flap 2 projected from the inside of the holding part for restraining around the container by being elastically brought into contact with a circumference of the container which is held in the holding part; and a photo-conductive member 5 guiding the light from a light source 6 disposed outside. The holding parts 11A, 11B are made of material not transmitting the light and the flap 2 is made of material transmitting the light. The photo-conductive member 5 is disposed for irradiating the light from the light source to the flap from below. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cup holder in which a holder body has a concave holding portion, and a container such as a beverage can is taken in and out of the holding portion.

  The cup holder of FIG. 7 is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this structure, the holder main body 50 includes a concave holding portion 51 for taking in and out the container, a container surrounding restraint flap (pressing member) 52 provided corresponding to the holding portion 51, and a light source provided outside. A light guide member (light guide) 54 that guides light from the (LED) 53 into the holding unit 51 is provided. The light guide member 51 is arranged along the bottom surface of the holding unit 51 from the lower side of the holding unit 51, and irradiates light from the light source 53 upward in the holding unit through the opening 55 at the center of the bottom surface of the holding unit 51. The flap 52 is pivotally supported via a shaft 56 and is moved into the holding portion 51 from a non-use position where it is substantially horizontal as shown in the figure by the biasing force of a spring (not shown). It is switched to a use position in which it is inclined downward when hitting the container to be accommodated and the tip is elastically contacted around the container. Reference numeral 57 denotes a restricting portion that restricts the swing range of the flap 52.

JP 2002-144965 A

  In the structure described above, since the light from the light source 53 is irradiated through the light guide member 54, the light source 53 can be installed at a place where it does not get in the way and is difficult to hit. Easy to irradiate from the spot. However, when light is irradiated in the holding portion 51, the flap 52 is a material (resin material) that does not transmit light, so that the shadow can be formed by the flap 52 and the visibility in the holding portion 51 is easily deteriorated. It often happens. This point is the same even if it irradiates from the upper side of the vertical wall which divides the inside of holding part 51, for example. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems with a simple configuration, improve the visibility in the holding portion, maintain the appearance characteristics, and improve the usability.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a holder holding body having a concave holding portion for taking out and putting in a container, and a container surrounding restraining flap projecting into the holding portion and elastically contacting the periphery of the container accommodated in the holding portion. And a light guide member that guides light from a light source provided outside to the holding portion, wherein the holding portion is a material that does not transmit light, and the flap is a material that transmits light, respectively. The light guide member is formed so as to be able to irradiate light from a light source toward the flap from the lower side.

  In the present invention described above, compared to the conventional structure, the flap is formed of a light transmissive material, and light from the light source is irradiated from the lower side toward the light transmissive flap through the light guide member. Therefore, the shadow due to the flap cannot be formed as in the conventional case, and the entire inside of the holding portion can be rationally illuminated with the flap as a center. In this structure, the flap is formed in a transparent or translucent flat plate shape (Claim 2), the flap is subjected to a texture processing (Claim 3), and the flap defines the holding portion. Attached to the upper surface of the partitioning section, and covered with a cover material that does not transmit light except for a portion protruding into the holding section (Claim 4), and the holder main body includes the holding section. It has front and rear or left and right through a partitioning section, and the flap forms a flap portion corresponding to each holding section, and the light guide member emits light from the same light source It is preferable that irradiation is possible toward the flap portion (Claim 5).

The present invention described above has the following effects.
-In invention of Claim 1, when the light of a light source is irradiated toward a flap from the lower side through a light guide member, the shadow resulting from a flap will not arise like the past because light passes through a flap. . As a result, in the present invention, the flap and the inside of the holding portion can be illuminated, thereby improving the visibility and improving the usability in the passenger compartment.
-In invention of Claim 2, it enables it to carry out by suppressing expense by simple flap structure.
In the invention of claim 3, when the flap is textured, part of the light is irregularly reflected or scattered to make the entire flap lightly light, thereby improving visibility and giving a high-class feeling. .
The invention according to claim 4 makes it possible to maintain appearance characteristics by preventing light from leaking from the flap attachment portion in addition to the attachment property and visibility of the flap.
The invention of claim 5 can realize simplification by irradiating with a single light source, for example, even when a plurality of holding portions are configured.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the holder body of the cup holder, FIG. 2 is a top view of the holder body, FIG. 3 is a side view of the holder body, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the holder body, and FIG. It is the figure which cut the principal part of a holder main part typically. 5A and 5B show a light guide member, where FIG. 5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a right side view, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view. In the following description, the device structure will be described in detail before referring to operation.

(Apparatus structure) The cup holder of the embodiment is incorporated in, for example, a center console of an automobile, and as shown in FIGS. The front and rear portions 1a and 1b are formed with two cylindrical holding portions 11A and 11B and two rectangular cylindrical holding portions 12A and 12B. The front and rear cylindrical holding portions 11A are attached to the upper surface of the partitioning portion 10. , 11B, the container 2 restraining flap 2 that elastically contacts the periphery of the container, the cover member 3 that covers the attachment portion of the flap 2, and the frame member 4 on the arrangement portion 17 provided on the back side of the partition portion 10. And a light source (LED) 6 provided to face the base end 5a side of the light guide member 5.

  The holder body 1 is a resin molded body that does not transmit light, and has relatively high front and rear wall portions 19a and 19b protruding from the upper surface and relatively low side walls 19c and 19c protruding from the left and right. Yes. In detail, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the lid halves 6A and 6B are assembled so as to be turnable to the left and right via an opening / closing mechanism (for example, the mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-141616). When the container is accommodated in the holding portions 11A and 11B, or when an article such as a container or a mobile phone is accommodated or held in the holding portions 12A and 12B, the opening operation is performed. The front holding unit 11A and the holding unit 12A, and the rear holding unit 11B and the holding unit 12B are arranged in the width direction and communicated with each other through the opening 13 that is missing in the vertical direction.

  The upper side of the partition part 10 is formed on the step surface 14 that is one step lower than the left and right parts and a part in the width direction. The stepped surface 14 is provided with four engagement holes 15 for attaching the cover material 3, two cylindrical bosses 16 for positioning the flap 2, and two small windows 14 a for exposing the light guide member 5. . The engagement holes 15 are provided in the left and right and substantially intermediate portions of the step surface 14. The bosses 16 protrude from the left and right sides of the step surface 14. The small windows 14 a are provided on the left and right sides of the step surface 14 and in a state of being located at the center of the holding portions 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B in the edge portion of the step surface 14. On the other hand, the lower side or the back side of the partition part 10 is an inverted concave arrangement part 17 partitioned by the vertical walls 18 on both sides and the protrusions forming the holding parts. The vertical wall 18 is provided with an engagement hole 18a.

  The flap 2 is attached to the stepped surface 14 while being pressed by the cover material 3. Here, the flap 2 is made of transparent or translucent silicon rubber, and includes a flap portion 20A protruding into the holding portion 12A and a flap portion 20B protruding into the holding portion 12B on both sides of the thinned intermediate portion 21. Forming. The material of the flap 2 may be any material that can be elastically displaced and transmits light. Each flap part 20A, 20B is provided with a hole 23 through which the boss 16 on the stepped surface 14 is inserted, and at least a part protruding from the holding part 11A, 11B is subjected to a graining process. Moreover, the front-end | tip 22 of flap part 20A, 20B is formed in circular arc shape. On the other hand, the cover material 3 is a resin molded product that has a shape corresponding to the stepped surface 14 and does not transmit light. On the lower surface, a locking claw 3a that elastically engages with the engagement hole 15 and a shaft portion 3b that is inserted into the cylinder of the boss 16 are provided below.

  In the mounting operation, after the flap 2 is disposed on the step surface 14 with the engagement of the boss 16 and the hole 23 as shown in FIG. 1, the cover member 3 inserts the shaft portion 3 b into the cylinder of the boss 16. And the position is fixed by locking each locking claw 3a in the corresponding engagement hole 15. In the attached state, the flap 2 is sandwiched between the stepped surface 14 and the cover member 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, and the leading ends of the flap portions 20A and 20B are projected to the inside of the holding portions 11A and 11B. The

  On the other hand, the light guide member 5 is attached to the arrangement portion 17 via the frame member 4 and the like, and the light source 6 is attached via the holder 8 and the holder mounting plate 7. The frame member 4 has a substantially U-shaped space portion at the center, and has locking claws 4a provided on both sides, and the two light guide members 5 are accommodated in the space portion. The engaging claw 4a is attached by engaging with the engaging hole 18a of the corresponding vertical wall 18. The light guide member 5 is made of, for example, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and has a substantially L shape as shown in FIG. The upper end 5b of the L-shaped vertical part protrudes from the side surface. Further, the upper end 5b is formed in a claw shape, and the upper end surface 5c is processed to be a mirror surface by the vicinity of the tip of the inclined upper end surface 5c, the corner 5d of the upper end surface 5c and the lower surface 5g facing the upper end surface 5c. The tip 5e and the end face 5f facing downward from the tip 5e are processed into rough surfaces (see the enlarged view of FIG. 5B). Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the two light guide members 5 are attached to the placement portion 17 via the frame member 4 from a state where they are respectively accommodated in the frame member 4 and held by a pressing member or the like. . In the mounted state, the upper end 5 of the light guide member 5 is disposed in the small window 14a of the partition unit 10 described above. Thereafter, the attachment plate 7 is attached to the lower side of the frame member 4. Then, the light source 6 is disposed so as to face the base end 5 a of each light guide member 5 while being mounted on the holder 8. The light source 6 is turned on / off by a power source and a switch (not shown) as in the prior art.

(Operation) The above cup holder has been devised to obtain the following advantages.
A) In this structure, when a cylindrical container having a relatively large outer diameter is inserted into the holding portions 11A and 11B, the distal ends of the flap portions 20A and 20B are elastically deformed downward by the container, and the container is It can hold | maintain without rattling between the deformed part and the opposing inner peripheral surface side in a holding | maintenance part. Further, when a container having a relatively small outer diameter is inserted into the holding portions 11A and 11B, the front ends 22 of the flap portions 20A and 20B are brought into elastic contact with the peripheral surface of the container, and the containers are opposed to the front end 22 in the holding portion. It can be held without rattling between the inner peripheral surface side. Of course, the holding portions 12A and 12B can accommodate and hold rectangular containers and small items such as mobile phones.
B) In this structure, for example, a plurality of holding portions, particularly cylindrical containers and rectangular containers having completely different shapes such as a cylindrical container and a rectangular container with respect to the center console of the automobile, are respectively used as the dedicated holding portions 11A, 11B and holding portions 12A, 12B, the holding unit 11A and the holding unit 12A, and the holding unit 11B and the holding unit 12B are connected to each other through the opening 13, so that small articles and documents can be accommodated in both holding units. It is also possible to improve the convenience.

C) In this structure, when the holder body 1 is used at night, the light source 6 is turned on. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the light from the light source 6 is guided to the upper end 5 b side from the base end 5 a through the light guide member 5, and the corners of the upper end surface 5 c processed into the mirror surface of the upper end 5 b are processed. Reflected by the portion 5d. Of the reflected light, the light reflected by the corner 5d is projected obliquely downward into the holding portion 12A (12B) from the roughened end surface 5f, and the light reflected by the upper end surface 5c is the lower surface 5g. Then, the light is projected obliquely upward from the tip 5e of the upper end surface 5c that is reflected and roughened again. This obliquely upward light enters the flap portion 20A (20B) of the flap 2. Since the flap 2 is transparent or translucent light-transmitting, no shadow is caused by the flap as in the prior art, and the overall visibility and usability can be greatly improved. In FIG. 6, the rays are simplified to avoid complexity.
D) In this structure, since the flap 2 is light-transmitted and the flap portion 20A (20B) is embossed, the protruding portion of the flap is lightly shined, thereby imparting visibility and novelty. Moreover, in this structure, the inside of holding | maintenance part 11A, 11B is simultaneously illuminated through the two light guide members 5 with the single light source 6, and it can be visually recognized through the flap part 20A (20B). Therefore, not only can the number of components be reduced, but also power consumption can be saved.

  The above embodiments do not limit the present invention. The present invention can be variously modified based on this embodiment except for the specific requirements of claim 1. As an example, the flap of the present invention may be of a pivotally supported type as shown in FIG.

It is an exploded view which shows typically the cup holder principal part of invention form. It is the figure which looked at the said cup holder principal part from the top. It is a side view of the said cup holder. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the light guide member of the said cup holder. It is a schematic diagram which shows typically the effect | action of this invention form. It is a figure explaining the problem of the conventional cup holder.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Holder body (1a is front side, 1b is rear side, 19a, 19b are front and rear wall parts)
2 ... Flap (20A and 20B are flap parts, 21 is an intermediate part)
3 ... Cover material (3a is a locking claw, 3b is a shaft part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Frame member 5 ... Light guide member 6 ... Light source 10 ... Partition part (14 is a level | step difference surface, 15 is an engagement hole, 16 is a boss | hub, 14a is a small window)
11A, 11B ... Holding part 12A, 12B ... Holding part 13 ... Opening

Claims (5)

The holder body has a concave holding part for taking in and out the container, a flap for container peripheral restraint that protrudes into the holding part and elastically contacts the container accommodated in the holding part, and a light source provided from the outside In a cup holder comprising a light guide member that guides light into the holding part,
The holding portion is made of a material that does not transmit light, and the flap is formed of a material that transmits light, and the light guide member is provided so as to be able to irradiate light from a light source toward the flap from below. A cup holder characterized by   The cup holder according to claim 1, wherein the flap is formed in a transparent or translucent flat plate shape.   The cup holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flap is subjected to a texture.   The said flap is attached to the upper surface of the division part which divides the said holding | maintenance part, and is covered with the cover material which does not permeate | transmit light except the part which protrudes in the said holding | maintenance part. A cup holder according to any one of the above. The holder body has front and rear or left and right through a partition section that partitions the holding section, the flap forms a flap portion corresponding to each holding section, and the light guide member The cup holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein light from the same light source can be irradiated toward each of the flap portions.

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