JP2019055764A - Cup holder - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cup holder that is constructed so as to effectively drain liquid inside a cup housing portion to prevent the liquid from penetrating to a light source without being increased in size.SOLUTION: A cup holder includes a main body 30 that includes a cup housing portion 31, a light source 40 arranged on a back surface 37 of the main body 30, and a light guide lens 20 placed on a bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. The main body 30 includes a hole 32 and a hole 34. The hole 34 is a hole for guiding light emitted from the light source 40 to the light guide lens 20, and the hole 32 functions as a drain hole for draining liquid inside the cup housing portion 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cup holder, and more particularly to a cup holder installed in a vehicle interior of an automobile.

  Conventionally, as a cup holder convenient for temporary storage of beverage containers such as plastic bottles and beverage cans provided on the entire surface of console boxes and instrument panels in automobile cabins, What is provided with the light source for improving a decorating property is known (for example, refer patent document 1, 2).

  The cup holders described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 include a cup housing part for housing the cup, a light guide attached to the bottom of the cup housing part, and a light source that supplies light to the light guide to emit light. .

  Further, the cup holder described in Patent Document 2 has a channel and a drain port for draining the liquid that has spilled into the cup housing portion under the cup housing portion. By pulling out the liquid in the cup housing from the channel and the drain port, the liquid reaches the light source through the gap between the cup holder main body and the light guide, and damage to the light source due to the liquid intrusion can be suppressed.

JP-A-2015-229455 US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0046233

  However, according to the cup holder described in Patent Document 2, when the amount of liquid in the cup housing portion is large and a large amount of liquid flows into the channel, the liquid may reach the light source through the channel. In addition, there is a problem that the size of the cup holder increases due to the installation of the channel and the drain port.

  One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a cup holder having a structure capable of effectively extracting the liquid in the cup housing portion and suppressing the liquid from reaching the light source without increasing the size.

  One aspect of the present invention provides the following cup holders [1] to [9] in order to achieve the above object.

[1] A main body having a concave cup housing portion for housing a cup, a light source installed under the cup housing portion on the back surface of the main body, and a bottom surface of the cup housing portion of the main body. A plate-shaped light guide lens, the main body has a first hole and a second hole on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion, and the second hole is emitted from the light source. A cup holder, wherein the first hole functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing portion.

[2] The light guide lens has a protrusion on a surface facing the bottom surface of the cup housing portion, and the first hole fits the protrusion of the light guide lens so that the light guide lens is The cup holder according to [1], wherein the cup holder is a hole for fixing to the main body, and has a gap continuous from the cup housing portion to the back surface of the main body in a state where the protrusion of the light guide lens is fitted.

[3] A mat provided on the light guide lens in the cup housing portion is provided, the mat has a protrusion on a surface facing the light guide lens, and the light guide lens is the protrusion of the mat. A third hole for avoiding interference with the protrusion of the mat on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion. The hole of the light guide lens and the third hole of the main body from the cup housing portion of the main body in a state where the protrusion of the mat is fitted into the hole of the light guide lens. The cup holder according to the above [1] or [2], which has a continuous gap to the back surface and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing portion.

[4] The cup holder according to [3], wherein the light source side portion of the outline of the hole of the light guide lens has an arc shape.

[5] The light guide lens according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the light guide lens is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward one of the first holes. Cup holder.

[6] The cup holder according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the main body has an annular protrusion surrounding the first hole on the back surface.

[7] The cup holder according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the main body has a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions arranged on the back surface so as to surround the second hole. .

[8] The cup holder according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the light source is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward the connector side.

[9] The light guide lens reflects light that has entered the light guide lens from a light capturing unit that captures light emitted from the light source, and from the light capturing unit at the edge of the light guide lens. The cup holder according to the above [3] or [4], wherein the cup holder has a groove that changes a course to a region that becomes a shadow of the hole when viewed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the cup holder which has the structure which can extract effectively the liquid in a cup accommodating part, and can reach | attain the light source to a light source, without increasing a size can be provided.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cup holder according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the cup holder according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the cup holder according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the cup holder taken along the section line AA described in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the cup holder taken along the cutting line BB described in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing the relationship between the shape of the hole of the light guide lens and the size of the shadow formed by the hole. 7A and 7B are bottom views of the cup holder in which the periphery of the hole of the main body is enlarged. FIG. 8 is a top view of a modified example of the light guide lens.

[First Embodiment]
(Basic configuration of cup holder)
1, 2, and 3 are an exploded perspective view, a top view, and a bottom view of the cup holder 1 according to the first embodiment, respectively. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cup holder 1 taken along the section line AA described in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the cup holder 1 taken along a cutting line BB described in FIGS. 2 and 3.

  In FIG. 2, the positions of holes 23 of the light guide lens 20, holes 32 (32 a, 32 b, 32 c), holes 33, and holes 34 of the main body 30 to be described later are indicated by dotted lines. In FIG. 3, the light source 40 to be described later is not shown and its position is indicated by a dotted line.

  The cup holder 1 includes a main body 30 having a concave cup housing portion 31 for housing a cup, a light source 40 installed under the cup housing portion 31 on the back surface 37 of the main body 30, and a bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. And a mat 10 installed on the light guide lens 20 in the cup housing portion 31.

  The mat 10 is made of an opaque material such as TPO (olefinic elastomer). The main body 30 is made of an opaque material such as PP (polypropylene) or ABS (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene) resin. The color of the mat 10 and the main body 30 is, for example, black. The light guide lens 20 is made of a transparent material such as PC (polycarbonate) or PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate resin).

  Beverage containers such as plastic bottles, beverage cans, and cups can be accommodated in the cup accommodating portion 31 of the main body 30. In the present embodiment, the main body 30 has two cup housing portions 31, but there may be one cup housing portion 31 or three or more cup housing portions 31.

  The mat 10 is installed in the main body 30 so that the cup mounting portion 11 on which the beverage container is placed fits in the cup housing portion 31. In the mat 10, the height of the cup placing portion 11 is lower than the height of the edge 12.

  The mat 10 has a protrusion 13 on the surface facing the light guide lens 20 on the back side of the cup mounting portion 11. In addition, the light guide lens 20 has a hole 23 in a region 21 immediately below the cup placement portion 11. The mat 10 can be fixed to the light guide lens 20 by fitting the protrusion 13 of the mat 10 into the hole 23 of the light guide lens 20. Further, the main body 30 has a hole 33 on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31 for avoiding interference with the protrusion 13 of the mat 10. The protrusion 13 has a claw as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5, for example.

  The light guide lens 20 has a protrusion 25 (25a, 25b, 25c) in a region 21 directly below the cup mounting portion 11 on the surface facing the bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. The main body 30 has holes 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. The light guide lens 20 can be fixed to the main body 30 by fitting the protrusions 25 of the light guide lens 20 into the holes 32 of the main body 30. The protrusion 25 has a claw as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5, for example.

  The height of the edge 22 of the light guide lens 20 is higher than the height of the area inside the edge 22. The mat 10 is installed on the light guide lens 20 so as to be fitted inside the edge 22. For this reason, the edge 22 of the light guide lens 20 is not covered with the mat 10 and is exposed in the cup housing 31.

(Configuration and operation of light emission of cup housing)
In the cup holder 1, the light emitted from the light source 40 is transmitted through the light guide lens 20, and is emitted from the exposed portion of the light guide lens 20 into the cup housing portion 31. To improve.

  The main body 30 has a hole 34 on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. The hole 34 is a hole for guiding the light emitted from the light source 40 to the light guide lens 20. Due to the presence of the hole 34, the light emitted from the light source 40 enters the light guide lens 20 without being blocked by the main body 30.

  In the present embodiment, the light extraction portion 41 of the light source 40 is fitted in the hole 34, and light that is a substantially cylindrical protrusion provided on the surface of the light guide lens 20 that faces the bottom surface of the cup housing portion 31. The take-in part 26 faces the light take-out part 41. The light emitted from the light extraction portion 41 of the light source 40 and entering the light guide lens 20 from the light acquisition portion 26 is a substantially conical depression provided directly above the light acquisition portion 26 of the light guide lens 20. The light is reflected by the slopes 24 and propagates in the light guide lens 20 in the in-plane direction.

  The light propagating through the light guide lens 20 is emitted from the edge 22 that is an exposed portion of the light guide lens 20 that is not covered by the mat 10 into the cup housing portion 31.

  FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing the relationship between the shape of the hole 23 of the light guide lens 20 and the size of the shadow formed by the hole 23. As described above, the light that has entered the light guide lens 20 is reflected by the slope of the recess 24 and propagates in the light guide lens 20 in the in-plane direction. At this time, a shadow is formed by the hole 23. In order to improve the uniformity of the intensity distribution of the light emitted from the edge 22, the smaller the range in which the shadow is formed by the hole 23, the better.

In FIG. 6, θ ₁ is an angle indicating a range where a shadow is formed when the corner of the hole 23 is curved, and θ ₂ is a shadow when the corner of the hole 23 is not curved. An angle indicating a range. As shown in FIG. 6, θ ₁ is smaller than θ ₂ , and the area where the shadow is formed is smaller when the corner of the hole 23 is curved than when it is not curved.

  For this reason, it is preferable that at least the recess 24 side (light source 40 side) portion of the outline of the hole 23 has an arc shape. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hole 23 is preferably elliptical.

(Configuration and action of protection of light source from liquid)
7A and 7B are bottom views of the cup holder 1 in which the periphery of the hole 32 and the hole 33 of the main body 30 is enlarged.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the holes 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) of the main body 30 accommodate the cup of the main body 30 in a state in which the projections 25 (25a, 25b, 25c) of the light guide lens 20 are fitted. A gap 38 continues from the portion 31 to the back surface 37 and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing portion 31.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the hole 23 of the light guide lens 20 and the hole 33 of the main body 30 are formed in the state in which the protrusion 13 of the mat 10 is fitted in the hole 23 of the light guide lens 20. It has a gap 39 continuous from the cup housing part 31 to the back surface 37 and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing part 31.

  Of the liquid that has spilled into the cup housing portion 31, the portion that has entered the gap between the mat 10 and the light guide lens 20 can be extracted outside the cup holder 1 through the gap 39. Further, the portion of the liquid spilled in the cup housing 31 that has entered the gap between the light guide lens 20 and the main body 30 can be extracted outside the cup holder 1 through the gap 38 and the gap 39.

  Thus, by extracting the liquid in the cup housing part 31 from the hole 23, the hole 32, and the hole 33, it is possible to suppress the liquid from reaching the light source 40 through the hole 34 of the main body 30. As a result, damage to the light source 40 due to liquid intrusion can be avoided.

  Moreover, in the cup holder 1, since the liquid in the cup accommodating part 31 can be extracted using the hole 23, the hole 32, and the hole 33 used for fixing each member, it is compared with the case where a dedicated drain hole is provided. Thus, an increase in size can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the liquid extracted from the cup housing part 31 through the hole 23, the hole 32, and the hole 33 easily falls along the protrusion 13 and the protrusion 25, the liquid can effectively reach the light source 40. Can be suppressed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the light guide lens 20 is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward the hole 32 a which is one of the holes 32 of the main body 30. For this reason, it becomes easy for the liquid in the cup accommodating part 31 to flow into the hole 32, and it can extract efficiently.

  Further, the main body 30 has a guard 35 (35a, 35b, 35c) which is an annular protrusion surrounding the hole 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) on the back surface 37. By providing the guard 35, the liquid extracted from the cup housing portion 31 through the hole 32 is likely to fall through the guard 35, and the liquid can be more effectively suppressed from reaching the light source 40. . The guard 35 is preferably a continuous ring, but may be a discontinuous ring.

  Further, the main body 30 has a guard 36 (36a, 36b, 36c) which is a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions disposed on the back surface 37 so as to surround the hole 34. The guard 36 is provided at a position closer to the light source 40 than the holes 23, 32, 33 (position close to the hole 34), and the holes 23, 32, 33 are regions surrounded by the guard 36 (36a, 36b, 36c). Located outside of. By providing the guard 36, the liquid extracted from the cup housing portion 31 through the hole 23, the hole 32, and the hole 33 is prevented from reaching the light source 40 through the back surface 37.

  Further, the light source 40 is installed with an inclination so as to be lowered toward the connector 42 so that the connector 42 side is lower than the light extraction portion. Thereby, it can suppress that the liquid which propagates the surface of the light source 40 permeates the inside of the light source 40 from the connector 42.

(Modification)
FIG. 8 is a top view of a light guide lens 20 a that is a modification of the light guide lens 20. The light guide lens 20 a has a groove 27 for improving the brightness of the region 22 a of the edge 22. The region 22 a of the edge 22 is a region located on the side opposite to the light capturing portion 26 when viewed from the hole 23, and is a shadow of the hole 23 when viewed from the light capturing portion 26. This is a region where the brightness is smaller than that.

  The groove 27 can enter the light guide lens 20a from the light take-in portion 26 and reflect the light incident on the groove 27 to change the path to the region 22a. For this reason, the brightness of the region 22a can be improved, and the difference in brightness from the other regions of the edge 22 can be substantially eliminated or reduced.

  The groove 27 is, for example, a groove having a linear planar shape extending in a direction close to the direction of the straight line connecting the light capturing portion 26 and the hole 23, and orthogonal to the straight line connecting the light capturing portion 26 and the hole 23. It is provided at a position aligned with the hole 23 in the direction of the direction. The planar shape of the groove 27 is preferably slightly curved toward the hole 23 as shown in FIG. 8 in order to efficiently direct the reflected light toward the region 22a. Further, in order to efficiently improve the brightness of the region 22a, it is preferable to be provided on both sides of the hole 23 in a direction orthogonal to the straight line connecting the light capturing portion 26 and the hole 23, as shown in FIG. .

  The groove 27 is a non-penetrating groove that does not penetrate the light guide lens 20a in the thickness direction. For this reason, the light passing under the groove 27 of the light guide lens 20 a is not reflected by the groove 27, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in brightness of a region that is a shadow of the groove 27 when viewed from the light capturing portion 26. The depth of the groove 27 is appropriately determined according to the brightness of the desired region 22 a and the brightness of the region that is a shadow of the groove 27 when viewed from the light capturing unit 26. The groove 27 is typically opened on the front surface of the light guide lens 20a, but may be opened on the back surface.

(Effect of embodiment)
According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to provide a cup holder having a structure that can effectively extract the liquid in the cup housing portion and suppress the liquid from reaching the light source without increasing the size.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  Moreover, said embodiment does not limit the invention which concerns on a claim. In addition, it should be noted that not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cup holder 10 Mat 13 Protrusion 20 Light guide lens 23 Hole 25 Protrusion 26 Light taking-in part 30 Main body 31 Cup accommodating part 32, 33, 34 Hole 35, 36 Guard 37 Back surface 38, 39 Gap 40 Light source 41 Light taking-out part 42 Connector

Claims (9)

A main body having a concave cup housing portion for housing the cup;
A light source installed under the cup housing on the back of the main body;
A plate-shaped light guide lens installed on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion of the main body;
With
The main body has a first hole and a second hole on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion;
The second hole is a hole for guiding light emitted from the light source to the light guide lens;
The first hole functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing;
Cup holder. The light guide lens has a protrusion on a surface facing the bottom surface of the cup housing portion;
The first hole is a hole for fitting the projection of the light guide lens to fix the light guide lens to the main body, and the projection of the light guide lens is fitted to the main body. Having a continuous gap from the cup housing part to the back surface,
The cup holder according to claim 1. A mat installed on the light guide lens in the cup housing;
The mat has a protrusion on a surface facing the light guide lens,
The light guide lens has a hole for fitting the protrusion of the mat to fix the mat to the light guide lens;
The main body has a third hole on the bottom surface of the cup housing portion for avoiding interference with the protrusion of the mat;
The hole of the light guide lens and the third hole of the main body are continuous from the cup housing portion of the main body to the back surface in a state where the protrusion of the mat is fitted into the hole of the light guide lens. It has a gap and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup housing part.
The cup holder according to claim 1 or 2. The light source side portion of the hole contour of the light guide lens is arcuate,
The cup holder according to claim 3. The light guide lens is installed with an inclination to descend toward one of the first holes;
The cup holder of any one of Claims 1-4. The main body has an annular protrusion on the back surface surrounding the first hole.
The cup holder of any one of Claims 1-5. The main body has a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions disposed on the back surface so as to surround the second hole.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The light source is installed with an inclination that goes down toward the connector side,
The cup holder of any one of Claims 1-7. The light guide lens reflects light that has entered the light guide lens from a light capturing unit that captures light emitted from the light source, and the edge of the light guide lens is viewed from the light capturing unit. Has a groove that changes the path to the shadow area of the hole,
The cup holder according to claim 3 or 4.

Images