JP6947058B2 - Cup holder - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cup holder, particularly a cup holder installed in an automobile interior or the like.

Conventionally, as a cup holder that is conveniently installed on the entire surface of the console box or instrument panel in the passenger compartment of an automobile and is convenient for temporarily storing beverage containers such as PET bottles and beverage cans, the visibility of the cup housing at night is improved. Those provided with a light source for improving decorativeness are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The cup holders described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 include a cup accommodating portion for accommodating a cup, a light guide body attached to the bottom of the cup accommodating portion, and a light source that supplies light to the light guide body to emit light. , Equipped with.

Further, the cup holder described in Patent Document 2 has a channel and a drain port for draining the liquid spilled into the cup accommodating portion under the cup accommodating portion. By draining the liquid in the cup accommodating portion 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 body, and damage to the light source due to the infiltration of the liquid can be suppressed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-229455 U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0046233

However, according to the cup holder described in Patent Document 2, when a large amount of liquid is contained in the cup accommodating portion and a large amount of liquid flows into the channel, the liquid may reach the light source beyond the channel. There is also a problem that the size of the cup holder becomes large in order to install the channel and the drain port.

One of an object of the present invention is to provide a cup holder having a structure capable of effectively extracting a liquid in a cup accommodating portion and suppressing the arrival of the liquid at a 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 accommodating portion for accommodating a cup, a light source installed under the cup accommodating portion on the back surface of the main body, and a light source installed on the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion of the main body. The main body has a first hole and a second hole in the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion, and the second hole is emitted from the light source. A cup holder that is a hole for guiding the light to the light source lens, and the first hole functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup accommodating portion.

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

[3] A mat installed on the light guide lens in the cup accommodating 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. The mat has a hole for fixing the mat to the light guide lens, and the main body has a third hole in the bottom surface of the cup accommodating 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 formed from the cup accommodating 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 accommodating portion.

[4] The cup holder according to the above [3], wherein the portion of the contour of the hole of the light guide lens on the light source side is arcuate.

[5] The item according to any one of [1] to [4] above, 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] above, 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] above, wherein the main body has a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions arranged so as to surround the second hole on the back surface. ..

[8] The cup holder according to any one of [1] to [7] above, 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 capture unit that captures light emitted from the light source, and is transmitted from the light capture portion at the edge of the light guide lens. The cup holder according to the above [3] or [4], which has a groove for changing the course to a region that is in the shadow of the hole.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cup holder having a structure capable of effectively extracting the liquid in the cup accommodating portion and suppressing the arrival of the liquid at the light source without increasing the size.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the 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 cross-sectional view of the cup holder at the cutting lines AA shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cup holder at the cutting lines BB shown 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. 7 (a) and 7 (b) 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, FIG. 2, and FIG. 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 at the cutting lines AA shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cup holder 1 at the cutting line BB shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 2, the positions of the holes 23 of the light guide lens 20, the holes 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) of the main body 30, the holes 33, and the holes 34, which will be described later, are shown by dotted lines. Further, in FIG. 3, the illustration of the light source 40, which will be described later, is omitted, and the position thereof is shown by a dotted line.

The cup holder 1 has a main body 30 having a concave cup accommodating portion 31 for accommodating a cup, a light source 40 installed under the cup accommodating portion 31 on the back surface 37 of the main body 30, and a bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion 31. A plate-shaped light guide lens 20 installed in the cup housing portion 31 and a mat 10 installed on the light guide lens 20 in the cup accommodating portion 31 are provided.

The mat 10 is made of an opaque material such as TPO (olefin 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 PET 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 accommodating portions 31, but the number of cup accommodating portions 31 may be one or three or more.

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

The mat 10 has a protrusion 13 on the surface of the cup mounting portion 11 facing the light guide lens 20 on the back side. Further, the light guide lens 20 has a hole 23 in the region 21 directly below the cup mounting 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 accommodating portion 31 for avoiding interference with the protrusion 13 of the mat 10. The protrusion 13 has, for example, a claw as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 to 5.

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

The height of the edge 22 of the light guide lens 20 is higher than the height of the region inside the edge 22. The mat 10 is installed on the light guide lens 20 so as to be fitted inside the edge 22. Therefore, the edge 22 of the light guide lens 20 is not covered with the mat 10 and is exposed in the cup accommodating portion 31.

(Structure and action related to 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, so that the cup housing portion has night visibility and decorativeness. To improve.

The main body 30 has a hole 34 in the bottom surface of the cup accommodating 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 holes 34, the light emitted from the light source 40 enters the light guide lens 20 without being hindered 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 the light is a substantially columnar protrusion provided on the surface of the light guide lens 20 facing the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion 31. The intake unit 26 faces the light extraction unit 41. The light emitted from the light extraction unit 41 of the light source 40 and entering the light guide lens 20 from the light capture unit 26 is a substantially conical recess provided directly above the light intake unit 26 of the light guide lens 20. It is reflected by the slopes of 24 and propagates in the light guide lens 20 in the in-plane direction.

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

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, but 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 is, the better.

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

Therefore, it is preferable that at least the portion of the contour of the hole 23 on the recess 24 side (light source 40 side) is arcuate. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hole 23 is preferably elliptical.

(Structure and action of light source protection from liquid)
7 (a) and 7 (b) are bottom views of the cup holder 1 in which the periphery of the holes 32 and 33 of the main body 30 is enlarged, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the holes 32 (32a, 32b, 32c) of the main body 30 accommodate the cups of the main body 30 in a state where the protrusions 25 (25a, 25b, 25c) of the light guide lens 20 are fitted. It has a continuous gap 38 from the portion 31 to the back surface 37, and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup accommodating 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 the main body 30 in a state where the protrusion 13 of the mat 10 is fitted into the hole 23 of the light guide lens 20. It has a continuous gap 39 from the cup accommodating portion 31 to the back surface 37, and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup accommodating portion 31.

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

By extracting the liquid in the cup accommodating portion 31 from the holes 23, 32, and 33 in this way, it is possible to prevent the liquid from reaching the light source 40 through the holes 34 of the main body 30. This makes it possible to avoid damage to the light source 40 due to the ingress of liquid.

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

Further, since the liquid extracted from the cup accommodating portion 31 through the holes 23, 32, and 33 easily falls along the protrusions 13 and 25, it is effective to prevent the liquid from reaching the light source 40. It 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 32a, which is one of the holes 32 of the main body 30. Therefore, the liquid in the cup accommodating portion 31 easily flows into the hole 32 and can be efficiently extracted.

Further, the main body 30 has a guard 35 (35a, 35b, 35c) on the back surface 37, which is an annular protrusion surrounding the holes 32 (32a, 32b, 32c). By providing the guard 35, the liquid extracted from the cup accommodating portion 31 through the hole 32 can be easily dropped along 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 arranged so as to surround the hole 34 on the back surface 37. The guard 36 is provided at a position closer to the light source 40 (a position closer to the hole 34) than the holes 23, 32, 33, and the holes 23, 32, 33 are regions surrounded by the guard 36 (36a, 36b, 36c). It is located outside. By providing the guard 36, the liquid extracted from the cup accommodating portion 31 through the holes 23, 32, and 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 descend toward the connector 42 side so that the connector 42 side is lower than the light extraction portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent the liquid traveling on the surface of the light source 40 from entering the inside of the light source 40 from the connector 42.

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

The groove 27 can enter the light guide lens 20a from the light capturing portion 26, reflect the light incident on the groove 27, and change the course to the region 22a. Therefore, 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 a straight line connecting the light capturing portion 26 and the hole 23, and is 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 light. The planar shape of the groove 27 is preferably slightly curved into 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, as shown in FIG. 8, it is preferable that the region 22a is provided on both sides of the hole 23 in the direction orthogonal to the straight line connecting the light intake portion 26 and the hole 23. ..

Further, the groove 27 is a non-penetrating groove that does not penetrate the light guide lens 20a in the thickness direction. Therefore, the light passing below the groove 27 of the light guide lens 20a is not reflected by the groove 27, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in the brightness of the region shadowed by 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 22a and the brightness of the region that is the shadow of the groove 27 when viewed from the light capturing portion 26. The groove 27 typically opens 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 embodiment, it is possible to provide a cup holder having a structure capable of effectively extracting the liquid in the cup accommodating portion and suppressing the arrival of the liquid at 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 carried out within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the invention.

Moreover, the above-described embodiment does not limit the invention according to the claims. It should also be noted that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

1 Cup holder 10 Matt 13 Protrusion 20 Light guide lens 23 Hole 25 Protrusion 26 Light intake part 30 Main body 31 Cup storage part 32, 33, 34 Hole 35, 36 Guard 37 Back side 38, 39 Gap 40 Light source 41 Light extraction part 42 Connector

Claims (13)

A body with a concave cup compartment for accommodating the cup,
A light source installed under the cup accommodating portion on the back surface of the main body, and
A plate-shaped light guide lens installed on the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion of the main body, and
With
The main body has a first hole and a second hole in the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion.
The light guide lens has a protrusion on a surface of the cup accommodating portion facing the bottom surface.
The second hole is a hole for guiding the light emitted from the light source to the light guide lens.
The first hole is a hole for fitting the protrusion of the light guide lens to fix the light guide lens to the main body, and the main body is in a state where the protrusion of the light guide lens is fitted. It has a continuous gap from the cup accommodating portion to the back surface , and functions as a drain hole for draining the liquid in the cup accommodating portion.
Cup holder. The light guide lens is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward one of the first holes.
The cup holder according to claim 1. The main body has an annular protrusion on the back surface that surrounds the first hole.
The cup holder according to claim 1 or 2. The main body has a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions arranged so as to surround the second hole on the back surface.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The light source is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward the connector side.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A body with a concave cup compartment for accommodating the cup,
A light source installed under the cup accommodating portion on the back surface of the main body, and
A plate-shaped light guide lens installed on the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion of the main body, and
A mat installed on the light guide lens in the cup accommodating portion and
With
The main body has a first hole, a second hole, and a third hole on the bottom surface of the cup accommodating portion.
The mat has protrusions on the surface facing the light guide lens.
The light guide lens has a hole for fitting the protrusion of the mat and fixing the mat to the light guide lens.
The second hole is a hole for guiding the 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 accommodating portion.
The third hole is a hole 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 accommodating 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 accommodating portion.
Cup holder. The light guide lens has a protrusion on a surface of the cup accommodating portion facing the bottom surface.
The first hole is a hole for fitting the protrusion of the light guide lens to fix the light guide lens to the main body, and the main body is in a state where the protrusion of the light guide lens is fitted. It has a continuous gap from the cup accommodating portion to the back surface.
The cup holder according to claim 6. The portion of the contour of the hole of the light guide lens on the light source side is arcuate.
The cup holder according to claim 6 or 7. The light guide lens is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward one of the first holes.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 6 to 8. The main body has an annular protrusion on the back surface that surrounds the first hole.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 6 to 9. The main body has a plurality of wall-shaped protrusions arranged so as to surround the second hole on the back surface.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 6 to 10. The light source is installed with an inclination so as to descend toward the connector side.
The cup holder according to any one of claims 6 to 11. The light guide lens reflects light that has entered the light guide lens from a light capture unit that captures light emitted from the light source, and is viewed from the light capture portion at the edge of the light guide lens. Has a groove that diverts to the area behind the hole,
The cup holder according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

Images