Resilient container holder
AssigneePrince Corporation
InventorDavid J. Spykerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A container holder for a vehicle includes a flat panel section defining a marginal flange for engaging a mating structure on a vehicle component, such as an armrest or a floor console, and one or more cup-shaped members. The cup-shaped members include a floor and a resilient sidewall which can be resiliently flexed to move the floor between a lowered position and a raised position. In the lowered position, the cup-shaped member forms a shallow depression shaped to receive and stably support a first container. In the raised position, an aperture in the floor of the cup-shaped member receives a smaller diameter container such that the marginal material forming the aperture supports the sides of the container.
Claims23
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a cup-shaped member including a section of resilient material shaped to flex over-center between a first position forming a first container holder and a second position forming a second container holder, the section of resilient material being configured to hold the cup-shaped member in the first position when moved to the first position and also being configured to hold the cup-shaped member in the second position when moved to the second position, so that the first and second container holders can be selectively formed as desired.
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a cup-shaped member including a section of resilient material shaped to flex over-center between a first position forming a first container holder and a second position forming a second container holder, said cup-shaped member including a floor for supporting the bottom of a container, said floor including an aperture formed therein.
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a support member defining a marginal region and an interior region;
- and
- a cup-shaped container holder connected to said support member and located in said interior region of said container holder including a sidewall made of a resilient material configured to resiliently flex and snap over-center between a raised position and a lowered position to define two different sized container supports.
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a support including a sidewall and a floor defining a first container holder recess;
- a resilient ring-shaped member positioned in said recess, said resilient member being flexibly movable over-center between a lowered position for supporting a first container and a raised position for supporting a second container;
- and
- a second recess located in said floor, said second recess including a secondary wall defining a smaller diameter than a diameter of said first recess, said first recess being configured to receive a bottom of said first container and said second recess being configured to receive a bottom of said second container, said first and second containers defining different diameters.
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a support including first marginal material defining a first aperture;
- a panel including second marginal material defining a second aperture;
- and
- a sidewall member movably supporting said panel on said support for movement between a lowered position and a raised position, whereby, in the lowered position, a container can be stably supported on the panel within said first marginal material, and whereby, in the raised position, a second container can be stably supported in said second aperture within said second marginal material.
A container holder for a vehicle comprising:
- a support including a sidewall and a floor defining a first container holder recess;
- and
- a resilient ring-shaped member positioned in said recess, said resilient member being flexibly movable over-center between a lowered position for supporting a first container and a raised position for supporting a second container, said resilient ring-shaped member including a resilient sidewall configured to support a bottom of said first container when in said lowered position and being configured to support a side of said second container when in said raised position.
A method of supporting containers of different sizes in a vehicle comprising steps of:
- providing a container holder made of a resilient material having a cup-shaped member;
- the resilient material being configured to flex over-center between a first position for holding a first container and a second position for holding a second container and being configured to hold the cup-shaped member in the first position or in the second position;
- selectively flexing the cup-shaped member to the first position for holding the first container;
- and
- selectively flexing the cup-shaped member to the second position for holding the second container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.