Tab structure for controlling cups in vehicles
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsChristian Kearney, Tadashi Yoda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cup holder with a securing mechanism for use in a vehicular cup holder for receiving and securing different sized cups. The cup holder includes a cylindrical opening defined by a cylindrical wall and bottom wall, tab openings formed in the cylindrical wall, tabs projecting through the openings, and a biasing device for biasing the tabs. The tabs are attached to the cup holder so as to be movable in a horizontal direction and to be rotatable in a vertical direction about a central pivot point. The tabs are biased so as to project fully into the cylindrical opening and to be in a non-pivoted position.
Claims7
A cup holder for a vehicle, the cup holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom wall that cooperate to define a cylindrical opening, the cup holder comprising:
- a plurality of tab openings formed in the cylindrical wall;
- a plurality of tabs, each of said tabs being associated with and adapted to extend through one of said tab openings;
- a plurality of pivot portions secured to said cylindrical wall, each of said pivot portions being associated with one of said openings and having one of said tabs mounted thereon;
- and
- a spring operably connecting each of said tabs to said associated pivot portion, wherein the tabs are mounted to the associated pivot portion so as to move horizontally relative to the associated pivot portion and rotate in a vertical direction about the associated pivot portion,
- wherein the spring biases the tab to a neutral tab position, the neutral tab position being a position in which the tab extends to a maximum extent from the associated opening and a top end of the tab and a bottom end of the tab extend from said associated opening an equal amount.
A cup holder for a vehicle, the cup holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom wall that cooperate to define a cylindrical opening, the cup holder comprising:
- a plurality of tab openings formed in the cylindrical wall;
- a plurality of tabs, each of said tabs being associated with, and adapted to extend through, one of said tab openings;
- a plurality of horizontal guides, each of said horizontal guides being secured to a side of the cylindrical wall opposite the cylindrical opening and being associated with one of said tab openings and guiding one of said tabs;
- a plurality of pivot portions, each pivot portion being secured to an associated horizontal guide and pivotably engaging an associated tab;
- and
- a plurality of biasing members, each of said biasing members being associated with one tab, operably connecting each of said tabs to said associated horizontal guide and pivot portion, each biasing member biasing each tab to a neutral tab position, wherein the neutral tab position is a position where the tab extends a maximum amount from the associated tab opening and a top end of the tab and a bottom end of the tab equally extend from said tab opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.