JPH09140541A - Coaster - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eat and drink under the enjoyment of the art of light by applying the constitution that a switch is turned on and a lamp lights when a cup with contents is put on a placement seat, and light emitted from the lamp irradiates the contents of the cup. SOLUTION: A battery 11, a sub-switch 14 and a lamp 7 are electrically connected to one another within a coaster body l made of a lower case 2, and an upper case 3 coupled thereto so as to be freely movable vertically and formed to have a placement plane 5 on top, thereby forming a light source device. Then, the upper case 3 in the coaster body 1 is energized toward an upper position relative to the lower case 2, thereby keeping the sub-switch 13 in an off-state. The upper case 3, when subjected to a downward pressing force, moves to a lower position, and the sub-switch 14 is turned on to light the lamp 7. Furthermore, the placement plane 5 of the upper case 3 is provided with a light emission window 27 for transmitting upward light emitted from the lamp 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coaster for mounting a cup (glass) containing whiskey, such as water and juice.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When drinking water such as whiskey water or juice is put in a cup together with ice and placed on a table, the outer peripheral surface of the cup is condensed, and this condensed water flows on the table to wet the table. There is a problem.

Therefore, the cup is placed on the coaster and the condensed water is received by the coaster. The coaster is generally made of paper, cloth, wood, earthenware or glass. It is designed to absorb dew condensation water, and most of the coasters made of wood, earthenware or glass are formed in a dish shape so as to receive dew condensation water.

[0004]

However, many of the conventional coasters are manufactured for the purpose of placing a cup and catching condensed water, and some of them have a pattern on the placing surface of the coaster. However, when the cup is placed, the design is also hidden.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The purpose of the invention is to achieve the original purpose of the coaster and to mount the coaster when a cup containing drinking water is placed. The goal is to provide a coaster that allows light to pass through the cup through the cup surface to the ice and drinking water inside, and to eat and drink while enjoying the art of light.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lower case, and an upper case which is vertically movably fitted to the lower case and has a mounting surface on the upper surface. And a light source device which is provided in the coaster body and electrically connected to a battery, a switch and a lamp, and an upper case which is provided in the coaster body and which is located above the lower case. Biased to the position to hold the switch in the off state,
When downward pressure is applied to the upper case, the upper case moves to a lower position and the switch is turned on to turn on the lamp, and an urging means provided on the mounting surface of the upper case from the lamp. And a light emitting window for transmitting the emitted light beam upward.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the switch is provided in the lower case, the upper case has a rod for operating the switch, and the rod turns on the switch by moving the lower case to a lower position. The coaster according to claim 1.

According to a third aspect, in the coaster main body,
A reflecting plate facing the light emitting window is provided, and light emitted from the lamp is condensed toward the light emitting window. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the light emitting window is configured by a lens that diffuses a light beam emitted from the lamp and transmits the light beam upward.

According to the above construction, when the cup containing the drinking water is placed on the placing surface of the coaster body, the weight of the cup moves the upper case downward, the switch is turned on, and the lamp is turned on. The emitted light emitted by the lamp being lit passes through the light emitting window, passes through the cup placed on the placing surface, and illuminates the ice and drinking water inside. The illuminated light is refracted by ice and drinking water, and you can enjoy a fantastic atmosphere.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a longitudinal side view of the coaster in a disassembled state, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lower case, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lower case with a reflector removed, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a part of the coaster body in section. FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are perspective views of the usage state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coaster body 1 is
For example, it is composed of a lower case 2 and an upper case 3 formed of a synthetic resin material. The lower case 2 has a bottom portion 4 and is composed of a shallow cylindrical body having an upper surface opening, the upper case 3 is composed of a shallow cylindrical body having a lower surface opening having a mounting surface 5 on the upper surface, and the upper case 3 is arranged outside the lower case 2. It has an inner diameter that allows fitting.

First, the lower case 2 will be described.
A boss 6 projecting upward is integrally provided at the center of the bottom portion 4, and a tiny lamp 7 is mounted upward on the boss 6. A pair of through holes 8 formed of cylindrical bosses are provided symmetrically on both side edges of the bottom portion 4 with the boss 6 interposed therebetween.

Further, between the pair of through holes 8 and the boss 6, a pair of battery boxes 10 each having an opening 9 on the lower surface of the bottom 4 are symmetrically and integrally provided. The battery box 10 can store, for example, one AAA battery 11 from the opening 9 one by one, and the opening 9 is provided with a lid 12 that is detachably attached in a sliding manner.

A main switch 13 and a sub switch 1 are provided on the bottom 4 located between the pair of battery boxes 10.
4 are provided. The main switch 13 has an operation knob 15 exposed on the lower surface side of the bottom portion 4 so that the main switch 13 can be turned on / off. The sub-switch 14 is a normally open contact consisting of a fixed contact plate 18 fixed by a screw 17 to a mounting boss 16 protruding from the bottom 4 and a movable contact plate 19 made of a leaf spring.
When 9 is pushed down from above, it comes into contact with the fixed contact plate 18 and turns on.

Then, one terminal of the battery 11, the main switch 13, the fixed contact plate 18 of the sub switch 14, the movable contact plate 19, the lamp 7, and the other terminal of the battery 11 are connected in this order via the lead wire 20, The light source device 21 is configured.

Further, arc-shaped notches 22 are provided on the side walls of the pair of battery boxes 10 facing each other, and a reflection plate 23 is placed on these notches 22.
The reflecting plate 23 is a circular plate having an arcuate cross section, and a through hole 24 for fitting with the lamp 7 is provided at the center thereof. Further, a pair of support tubes 25 projecting downward are provided on the peripheral edge of the reflection plate 23, and these support tubes 25 are fitted and supported by support bosses 26 protruding from the bottom portion 4.

Next, the upper case 3 will be described.
A disc-shaped light emitting window 27 is provided at the center of the mounting surface 5,
A translucent plate 29 having a lens 28 formed on the back surface is attached to the light emitting window 27.

The back surface 30 of the mounting surface 5 of the upper case 3
The pair of support shafts 3 corresponding to the through holes 8 of the lower case 2.
1 is projectingly provided, and a screw hole 32 is provided on an end surface of the support shaft 31. Further, a coil spring 33 as an urging means is fitted on the support shaft 31. Furthermore, the back side 3
At 0, a rod 34 facing the movable contact plate 19 of the lower case 2 is provided so as to project, and the movable contact plate 19 can be pushed down to come into contact with the fixed contact plate 18.

Then, the upper case 3 is fitted into the lower case 2, and the support shaft 31 is inserted into the through hole 8. In this state,
The lower case 2 and the upper case 3 are coupled by inserting a screw 35 into the through hole 8 from the back surface side of the lower case 2 and screwing the screw 35 into the screw hole 32 of the support shaft 31. Since the spring 33 is fitted, one end of the coil spring 33 abuts on the bottom portion 4 of the lower case 2 and the other end abuts on the end surface of the peripheral edge portion of the through hole 8 to push up the upper case 3 with respect to the lower case 2. It is elastically supported in the direction. That is, when the mounting surface 5 of the upper case 3 is pushed down, the coil spring 33 compresses, the support shaft 31 descends with the through hole 8 as a guide, and when the pushing down force is released, the restoring force of the coil spring 33 causes the upper case 3 to move. Is rising.

Next, the operation of the coaster constructed as described above will be described. First, while the operation knob 15 is operated to turn on the main switch 13, the coaster body 1 is placed on a table or the like, and a cup 36 made of transparent glass containing whiskey water is placed on the placing surface 5 of the coaster body 1. When is mounted, the coil spring 33 is compressed by its weight and the upper case 3 is pushed down. Therefore, the rod 34 provided in the upper case 3 pushes down the movable contact plate 19 of the sub switch 14, contacts the fixed contact plate 18, and the sub switch 14 is turned on.

Therefore, the lamp 7 is turned on, and the lamp 7
The emitted light ray L emitted from is reflected by the reflection plate 23 and is condensed in the direction of the light emission window 27. Since the light transmitting window 29 is provided with the light transmitting plate 29 and the lens 28 is formed on the light transmitting plate 29, the emitted light beam L is diffused by the lens 28 and the whiskey of the whiskey mounted on the mounting surface 5 is spread. The cup 36 with water is irradiated.

When the emitted light ray L is irradiated from the bottom of the cup 36 toward the inside thereof, the ice and whiskey in the cup 36 are reflected and transmitted to be refracted to illuminate the cup 36 and the contents.

When the cup 36 is lifted, the upper case 3 is pushed up by the restoring force of the coil spring 33, the rod 34 is separated from the movable contact plate 19, and the movable contact plate 19 is restored, so that it is separated from the fixed contact plate 18. Then, the sub switch 14 is turned off and the lamp 7 is turned off.

In this way, the sub-switch 14 is simply put on the placing table 5 by placing the cup 36 containing whiskey in water.
Is turned on and the lamp 7 is turned on, and the light emitted from the lamp 7 can illuminate the contents of the cup 36, so that it is possible to eat and drink while enjoying the art of light. That is,
By using this coaster in a dimly lit restaurant, bar, or the like, it is possible to eat and drink in a fantastic atmosphere because only the cup 36 with whiskey water is brightly illuminated.

Of course, the content of the cup 36 is not limited to whiskey water, but may be drinking water such as cocktail or juice, and the translucent plate 29 may be colored in red, blue, green, etc. It is effective because it can color things.

Further, the shape of the coaster body 1 is not limited to the disk shape, but may be a quadrangle, a polygon or an ellipse, and the placing surface 5 has a saucer shape so as to receive the condensed water flowing from the cup 36. May be.

The battery 11 uses two AAA batteries, but the coaster body 1 can be made thinner and flat by using a flat button-type battery. The lamp 7 may use a light emitting diode.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cup containing the contents is placed on the placing table of the coaster, the switch is turned on and the lamp is turned on,
The light emitted from the lamp can illuminate the contents of the cup, so you can eat and drink while enjoying the art of light. For example, by using the coaster in a dimly lit restaurant, bar, or the like, it is possible to enjoy a fantastic atmosphere by shining brightly only a cup containing contents such as whiskey water.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the switch can be reliably turned on by providing the upper case with the rod for operating the switch. According to the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the luminous efficiency from the lamp can be improved by condensing the light emitted from the lamp by the reflector.

According to the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, by providing a lens in the light emitting window, it is possible to diffuse and transmit the light emitted from the lamp, so that the entire cup containing the contents can be transmitted. Can be illuminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of a coaster in an exploded state showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a lower case of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lower case with the reflector of the embodiment removed.

FIG. 4 is a side view in which a part of the coaster main body of the same embodiment is sectioned.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the use state of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coaster main body, 2 ... Lower case, 3 ... Upper case, 5 ... Mounting surface, 7 ... Lamp, 11 ... Battery, 14 ... Sub switch, 21 ... Light source device, 23 ... Reflector, 27 ... Emitting window.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A coaster main body comprising a lower case and an upper case which is vertically movably fitted to the lower case and has a mounting surface on an upper surface, and a battery, a switch and a lamp provided in the coaster main body. A light source device electrically connected to the lower case, which is provided in the coaster body, urges the upper case to an upper position with respect to the lower case, holds the switch in an off state, and moves downward to the upper case. When the pressing force is applied to the upper case, the upper case moves to the lower position and the switch is turned on to turn on the lamp, and the light emitted from the lamp is provided upward on the mounting surface of the upper case. A coaster comprising a light emitting window for transmitting light. 2. The switch is provided in a lower case,
The coaster according to claim 1, wherein the upper case has a rod for operating a switch, and the rod turns on the switch when the lower case moves to a lower position. 3. The coaster according to claim 1, wherein the coaster body has a reflection plate facing the light emitting window, and collects the light emitted from the lamp toward the light emitting window. . 4. The coaster according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting window is constituted by a lens that diffuses a light beam emitted from the lamp and transmits the light beam upward.