U.S. patent application number 10/719757 was filed with the patent office on 2004-06-24 for holder for a beverage container.
Invention is credited to Kaupp, Klaus, Leopold, Gunter.
Application Number | 20040118860 10/719757 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32240634 |
Filed Date | 2004-06-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040118860 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Leopold, Gunter ; et
al. |
June 24, 2004 |
Holder for a beverage container
Abstract
A holder for a beverage container has a container receptacle; a
gripping device having holding jaws which are capable of being
pressed resiliently away and project into the container receptacle;
and sideways by means of which the holding jaws are mounted.
Inventors: |
Leopold, Gunter;
(Baiersbronn, DE) ; Kaupp, Klaus; (Waldachtal,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STRIKER, STRIKER & STENBY
103 East Neck Road
Huntington
NY
11743
US
|
Family ID: |
32240634 |
Appl. No.: |
10/719757 |
Filed: |
November 21, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/737 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 3/106 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/737 |
International
Class: |
B65D 025/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 18, 2002 |
DE |
202 19 606.2 |
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters
Patent is set forth in the appended claims:
1. A holder for a beverage container, comprising a container
receptacle; a gripping device having holding jaws which are capable
of being pressed resiliently away and project into said container
receptacle; and sideways by means of which said holding jaws are
mounted.
2. A holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said slideways for
mounting said holding jaws are curved.
3. A holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said sideways include
two non-parallel sideways for mounting each of said holding
jaws.
4. A holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said container
receptacle is formed as a removable tray.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a holder for beverage
containers.
[0002] Holders having a cup-shaped container receptacle for cups,
beakers, beverage cans, bottles or the like are known from the
prior art. The known holders have at least one or several holding
jaws or the like arranged distributed in part around the
circumference. These project into the interior of the cup-shaped
container receptacle and having sloping and/or rounded sliding
contact surfaces. Owing to a bearing system and spring system, the
holding jaws can be pressed away radially by the circumferential
surface of a drinks container and provide support for the drinks
container by gripping. Such a holder is described, for example, in
DE 296 06 583.8.
[0003] The corresponding gripping device has holding jaws, each of
which individually execute their adjusting movement via pivoting
bearings. As the spring element, a resilient circular ring or a
band is proposed, which engages around the container receptacle.
Such a gripping device has the drawback, however, that the holding
height of the holding jaws in relation to the base of the container
receptacle is small. This stems from the fact that because of the
pivoting bearing system, sizeable sliding-contact surfaces have to
be constructed on the upper side of the holding jaws so that
insertion of a drinks container cause the holding jaws to pivot.
The actual gripping point is located below the sliding-contact
surfaces and therefore lies distinctly below the upper edge of the
container receptacle. To guarantee a secure support, the container
receptacle therefore has to be of very deep construction, which
necessitates considerable installation space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a holder for a beverage container which is a further
improvement of the existing holders of this type.
[0005] More particularly, it is an object of the present invention
is to provide a holder for a beverage container, which ensures a
high gripping height of the holding jaws with minimal installation
space.
[0006] In keeping with these objects and with others which will
become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention
resides, briefly stated, in a holder for a beverage container which
has holding jaws that are mounted using slideways. For that
purpose, for example, in a housing of the holder, there are
arranged channels or other recesses, in which pegs or other
projections that are located on the holding jaws engage.
Conversely, the projections can alternatively be arranged in the
housing and the recesses on the holding jaws.
[0007] Mounting by means of slideways means that the geometry of
movement and the holding forces occurring as a function of the
particular position of the holding jaws can be controlled in a very
versatile manner. Thus, for example, by guiding the holding jaws in
an obliquely upward direction, it is possible to obtain gripping
points above the upper edge of the container receptacle. In this
way, narrow drinks containers, for example, cups, are gripped low
down. In addition, the bearing system using slideways allow the
latter to be matched to the shape of the holding jaws in such a way
that even wasted bottles can be removed without the holding jaws
locking up with the slideways.
Of the Invention
[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the slideways are curved. This
enables a combined translatory and rotary movement for the holding
jaws to be pre-set and at the same time an optimum match between
the movement path of the holding jaws, their shape and the shape of
the beverage containers to be achieved. If, in addition, each
holding jaw is mounted by means of at least two non-parallel
slideways, complex movements of the holding jaws can be
predefined.
[0009] The holder in accordance with the present invention
preferably has a removable tray as container receptacle. This
permits easy cleaning of the container receptacle. Here too, the
shape of the holding jaws and the configuration of the slideways
can be selected so that the tray can be removed and inserted with
no need for the holding jaws to be displaced separately using the
other hand.
[0010] The novel features which are considered as characteristic
for the present invention are set forth in particular in the
appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its
construction and its method of operation, together with additional
objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the
following description of specific embodiments when read in
connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The holder 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided for
installation in a motor vehicle and can be used for holding a
bottle 2 or other drinks containers, for example, cups, beakers,
drinks cans or the like. It has a cup-shaped container receptacle
3. Adjacent an open top side of the container receptacle 3 the
holder 1 has a cover 4. Alternatively, the container receptacle
could merge integrally into a flange-like surround provided for
closure of an installation opening for the holder 1 in the motor
vehicle.
[0012] Four holding jaws 7 distributed around the circumference are
arranged in openings 5 in the inner circumferential wall 6 of the
container receptacle 3. The holding jaws 7 reduce the inside width
of the container receptacle 3 and grip the bottle 2 to provide
support. They are mounted in channel-like slideways 8 made in side
walls 17 of the openings 5 and for that purpose have projections 9
that engage in the slideways 8. The slideways 8 are directed
obliquely upwards, so that in the case of narrow drinks containers,
such as the bottl3 2 illustrated, the holding jaws 7 are guided up
above the upper edge of the cover 4, thereby giving rise to a high
gripping point. In contrast, in the case of wide drinks containers,
the holding jaws 7 are pressed obliquely downwards, so that, for
example, cups, can be gripped by a low gripping point. A spring 10
causes the holding jaws 7 to be pressed along the slideway 8
towards the centre line of the container receptacle 3.
[0013] FIG. 2 shows a holder 1a with a removable tray 11 as
container receptacle. The holding jaws 7a are guided in slidways
8a. When the bottle 2 is placed in the container receptacle, the
holding jaws 7a are pressed obliquely downwards against the action
of the spring 10a. Because the bottle is wasted, the holding jaws
7a describe an alternating up and down movement until they reach
their final gripping point K. The inclination of the lower edges 12
of the holding jaws 7a and the inclination of the slideway 8a are
in this case co-coordinated so that the force vectors acting on the
point of contact between holding jaw 7a and bottle 2 always have a
compact acting downwardly in the direction of the slideway 8a. This
prevents the holding jaws 7a from locking up as drinks container is
inserted and removed.
[0014] Furthermore, the inclination of the lower edges 12 of the
holding jaws 7a enables the tray 11 to be removed simply by being
taken hold of at its upper flange 13. In this operation, the lower
edges 12 of the holding jaws 7a slide off the lower opening edges
14 of the openings 5. When the tray 11 is replaced, the holding
jaws 7a are pressed downwards and outwards sufficiently far for
them to slide along the outer wall of the tray 11 and finally
through the openings 5. Neither during insertion nor during removal
of the tray do the holding jaws 7a have to be manipulated
separately.
[0015] The holder 1b illustrated in FIG. 3 likewise has holding
jaws 7b, which are mounted in slideways 8b. Here, two non-parallel
slideways 8b form a pair, in which two peg-form projection s9b of
the holding jaws 7b engage. The springs 10b press the holding jaws
7b by means of their sliding-contact edge 15 upwards and thus
ensure the required gripping forces. The partial curvature of the
slideways 8b and the fact that they are non-parallel cause the
holding jaws 7b to perform a combined translatory and rotary
movement as they are displaced. The line A indicates approximately
the path of movement of the point of contact between notional wide
and narrowing beverage containers respectively. A possibly arising
non-cylindrical form of the beverage container can cause the actual
point of contact to depart somewhat from this line.
[0016] Whereas the left half of the holder 1b is illustrated with a
wide cup 16 as beverage container, the right half shows the bottle
2 again. It becomes clear that in the case of narrow beverage
containers a high gripping height is reached, whereas with wide
drinks containers, which are often rather shallow, gripping is
effected directly beneath the cover. In this way, tall, narrow
beverage containers are very well protected against falling over
and tilting, and in the case of wide, shall beverage containers the
upper edge thereof remains free so that one can take hold of it
there. Nevertheless, the overall installation height of the holder
1b compared with known comparable holders is small.
[0017] It will be understood that each of the elements described
above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application
in other types of constructions differing from the types described
above.
[0018] While the invention has been illustrated and described as
embodied in holder for a beverage container, it is not intended to
be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and
structural changes may be made without departing in any way from
the spirit of the present invention.
[0019] Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal
the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying
current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications
without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art,
fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or
specific aspects of this invention.
* * * * *