U.S. patent application number 15/705573 was filed with the patent office on 2019-03-21 for cup holder with integrated, deployable purse and parcel hook.
The applicant listed for this patent is FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. Invention is credited to James Hadley Muiter.
Application Number | 20190084493 15/705573 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 64279425 |
Filed Date | 2019-03-21 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190084493 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Muiter; James Hadley |
March 21, 2019 |
CUP HOLDER WITH INTEGRATED, DEPLOYABLE PURSE AND PARCEL HOOK
Abstract
An apparatus is provided capable of holding one or more drink
cups and a purse, pocketbook or like parcel. The apparatus includes
a body having a first cup well and a second cup well. A hook is
carried on the body. The hook is displaceable between a home
position, wherein the hook is aesthetically integrated into the
body, and a deployed position wherein the hook is available for
holding the purse, parcel or pocketbook.
Inventors: |
Muiter; James Hadley;
(Plymouth, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
64279425 |
Appl. No.: |
15/705573 |
Filed: |
September 15, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 2011/0085 20130101;
B60R 2011/0007 20130101; B60N 3/101 20130101; B60R 7/04 20130101;
B60R 11/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60R 11/00 20060101
B60R011/00; B60N 3/10 20060101 B60N003/10 |
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising: a body including a first cup well, a
second cup well and a partition wherein said partition is
positioned between said first cup well and said second cup well; a
hook carried on said body, said hook being (a) displaceable between
a home position and a deployed position and (b) an integral part of
said partition; a hinge connecting said hook to said body, said
hinge being carried on a post held in said body and displaceable
between a stowed position and a raised position; and a push-push
latch releasably securing said hook in said home position, wherein
said push-push latch includes a striker carried on said hook and a
striker receiver carried on said partition, and wherein said
striker receiver is a spring loaded piston.
2.-10. (canceled)
11. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a biasing element
biasing said post toward said stowed position.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, further including a rail adjacent
said body, said rail rising above said partition.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said hook extends across
said rail when in said deployed position.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, further including a guard feature
adjacent said striker receiver to protect said striker
receiver.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said hinge is a locking leaf
hinge.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This document relates generally to the motor vehicle
equipment field and, more particularly, to an apparatus comprising
a cup holder with an integral, deployable hook for holding a purse
or parcel.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Most motor vehicles today do not include a purse, pocket
book or parcel hook to hold purses, pocketbooks and parcels. This
is due to a number of different factors. Significantly, there is
limited space for such a hook within easy reach of the driver of a
motor vehicle on the instrument panel, center console, center stack
and surrounding trim panels. Further, interior styling features
make it difficult to incorporate such a hook while maintaining
aesthetic appeal. More specifically, any extraneous cutlines for a
hook could be perceived as creating degraded craftsmanship.
[0003] This document relates to an apparatus comprising a combined
cup holder and deployable hook allowing one to quickly and easily
store a purse, handbag or other like parcel within easy reach of
the driver while providing minimal disruption to other vehicle
occupants and placing minimal or no limitation on existing vehicle
styling. Advantageously, the hook creates minimal or no extraneous
cutlines that would otherwise degrade the aesthetic appearance of
the motor vehicle. As such, the combined cup holder and hook
apparatus represents a significant advance in the art.
SUMMARY
[0004] In accordance with the purposes and benefits described
herein, an apparatus is provided comprising a body including a
first cup well and a hook carried on the body. The hook is
displaceable between a home position where it is fully integrated
into the apparatus in an aesthetically pleasing manner and a
deployed position where the hook is available to receive and hold a
purse, pocketbook or like parcel such as a grocery sack or shopping
bag. The body may include a second cup well. Further, the body may
include a partition between the first cup well and the second cup
well. The hook may be carried on that partition.
[0005] The apparatus may further include a hinge connecting the
hook to the body. In addition, the apparatus may further include a
latch feature releasably securing the hook in the home position. In
one of many possible embodiments, that latch feature may comprise a
push-push latch. Such a latch feature may include a striker carried
on the hook and a striker receiver carried on the partition. That
striker receiver may include a spring loaded piston to aid in
deploying the hook when the latch feature is released.
[0006] Further describing the invention, the hinge may be carried
on a post held in the body. That post may be displaceable between a
stowed position and a raised position. In addition the apparatus
may further include a biasing element for biasing the post toward
the stowed position.
[0007] The apparatus may further include a rail adjacent the body.
The rail may rise above the partition. The hook may extend across
the rail when in the deployed position
[0008] The apparatus may further include a guard feature adjacent
the striker receiver. The guard feature protects the striker
receiver from impact damage when the hook is deployed.
[0009] In one of the many possible embodiments, the hinge may be a
locking leaf hinge.
[0010] In the following description, there are shown and described
several preferred embodiments of the apparatus. As it should be
realized, the apparatus is capable of other, different embodiments
and its several details are capable of modification in various,
obvious aspects all without departing from the apparatus as set
forth and described in the following claims. Accordingly, the
drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in
nature and not as restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0011] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated herein and
forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of
the apparatus and together with the description serve to explain
certain principles thereof. In the drawing figures:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a detailed perspective view of the interior of a
motor vehicle and, more particularly, the center console
incorporating a first embodiment of the current apparatus for
holding one or more cups and including a deployable hook for
holding a purse, pocketbook or like parcel. FIG. 1 illustrates the
hook in the home position.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating the hook
in the deployed position, holding a purse by the strap of the
purse.
[0014] FIG. 3a is a detailed schematic sectional view of a second
embodiment of the apparatus showing the hook in the home
position.
[0015] FIG. 3b is a detailed schematic sectional view of the second
embodiment showing the hook being displaced from the home position
to the deployed position.
[0016] FIG. 3c is a view similar to FIG. 3a showing the hook in the
fully deployed position holding a purse by the strap of the
purse.
[0017] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the apparatus, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 2 which illustrates a
center console C including the apparatus 10. The apparatus 10
includes a body 12 made from plastic, composite or other
appropriate material. In the illustrated embodiment, the body 12
includes a first cup well 14, a second cup well 16 and a partition
18 between the first cup well and the second cup well.
[0019] A hook 20 is carried on the body 12. In the illustrated
embodiment the hook 20 is carried on the partition 18.
[0020] As will become apparent from the following description, the
hook 20 is displaceable between a home position wherein the hook is
fully incorporated into the partition 18 (note particularly FIGS. 1
and 3a) and a deployed position wherein the hook projects from the
partition and is capable of receiving and holding a strap S of a
purse, pocketbook or parcel P (see FIGS. 2 and 3c).
[0021] As should be best illustrated from reviewing FIGS. 3a-3c,
the apparatus 10 further includes a hinge 22 for connecting the
hook 20 to the body 12. In one possible embodiment that hinge is a
locking leaf hinge.
[0022] More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment the hinge
22 is carried on post 24 held in the body 12 and displaceable
between a stowed position, retracted within the partition 18 (note
FIG. 3a and phantom line position in FIG. 3b) and a raised position
projecting from the partition (note full line position in FIG. 3b
and FIG. 3c). A biasing element 26, in the form of a compression
spring, biases the post 24 toward the stowed position. That
compression spring may be concentrically received around the post
24 and extend between the partition 18 and the base 27 of the post
as illustrated in the drawing FIGS. 3a-3c. The apparatus 10 also
includes a latch feature generally designated by reference numeral
30. In the illustrated embodiment, the latch feature 30 comprises a
push-push latch. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 3a, the latch feature
includes a striker 32 carried on the hook 20 and a striker receiver
34 carried on the partition 18. A spring loaded piston 36 is
provided in a bore 33 of the striker receiver 34.
[0023] When the hook 20 is in the home position, the striker 32 on
the hook is received and held in the striker receiver 34 and the
post 24 is in the stowed position (see FIG. 3a). When one wishes to
deploy the hook 20, one presses downwardly on the hook at the ribs
38 (note action arrow A). This downward movement about the hinge 22
serves to compress the spring 40 of the spring loaded piston 36.
Upon releasing pressure on the hook 20, the spring 40 pushes upward
on the piston 36 in the direction of action arrow B with sufficient
force to cause the striker 32 to be released from the resilient
striker receiver 34. One may then pivot the hook 20 about the hinge
22 in the direction of action arrow C. At the same time, the post
24 is displaced upward in the direction of action arrow D against
the biasing force of the biasing element 26 so that the hook 20,
when fully deployed, extends across or overlies the rail 42
adjacent the body 12 that rises above the partition 18. The strap S
of the purse P may then be positioned on the hook 20 and that purse
may then be held by the apparatus 10 at a convenient to reach
location adjacent the center console C.
[0024] The weight of the purse P on the hook 20 holds the hook in
the fully deployed position against the relatively weak force of
the biasing element 26. The guard feature 44 that extends
concentrically around at least a portion of the striker receiver 34
protects the striker receiver from inadvertent impact damage when
the hook 20 is in the deployed position. In one possible
embodiment, the guard feature 44 is an integrally molded part of
the partition 18.
[0025] One may easily and efficiently return the hook 20 to the
home position by first removing the strap S of the purse P. Next,
one engages the hook 20 and pivots the hook in the direction of
action arrow E about the hinge 22. (see FIG. 3c) The biasing
element 26 tends to return the post 24 to the stowed position,
fully retracted into the partition 18 as the operator presses the
hook downward in the direction of action arrow F (see FIG. 0.3b) so
that the striker 32 is once again fully engaged in the striker
receiver 34. In this way, the hook 20 is returned to the home
position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3a wherein the hook is seated
flush within the partition 18 so as to provide an aesthetically
pleasing appearance to the apparatus within the center console C of
the motor vehicle.
[0026] The foregoing has been presented for purposes of
illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Obvious
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teachings. All such modifications and variations are within the
scope of the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with
the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably
entitled.
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