JP7470664B2 - Container holding structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container holding structure.

Conventionally, a container holding structure for a vehicle has been known which comprises a frame-shaped holder body having an insertion opening for a beverage bottle, a flap which is journalled at one end to the holder body and rotates to hold the beverage bottle at the other end, and a biasing means consisting of a spring or the like which biases the flap to maintain the rotation angle at its initial state (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
According to this container holding structure, a beverage bottle inserted from above into the insertion opening of the holder body rotates downward while pushing down the flap against the biasing force of the biasing means. The rotating end of the flap comes into sliding contact with the body of the beverage bottle as the beverage bottle moves downward toward a predetermined placement position. Then, with the beverage bottle in the predetermined placement position, the rotating end of the flap abuts against the body of the beverage bottle due to the biasing force of the biasing means and presses the body toward the inner peripheral edge of the insertion opening of the holder body. As a result, the container holding structure holds the beverage bottle by clamping it between the rotating end of the flap and the inner peripheral edge of the insertion opening.
When the beverage bottle is removed from the holder body, the rotating end of the flap presses the body of the beverage bottle moving in the direction of being removed from the insertion opening of the holder body against the inner peripheral edge of the insertion opening and makes sliding contact with the body, thereby preventing the beverage bottle from rattling when being removed from the insertion opening of the holder body.

JP 2020-131749 A

Incidentally, in recent beverage bottles, there has been an increase in the number of narrowed containers having a narrowed body for ease of gripping and design reasons.
When such a constricted container is applied to a conventional container holding structure (see, for example, Patent Document 1), the constricted container may be held with the rotating end of the flap positioned within the constriction of the constricted container. Specifically, the rotating end of the flap, which is tilted downward by rotating downward, comes into contact with the lower shoulder of the upper and lower shoulders that are formed so as to sandwich the narrowest diameter portion of the constriction from above and below.
However, in conventional container holding structures, when attempting to remove a constricted container held in this manner from the holder body, the rotating end of the flap cannot slide against the body of the constricted container and becomes caught, resulting in a so-called deadlock phenomenon that makes it impossible to remove the constricted container.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a container holding structure that can avoid the deadlock phenomenon that occurs with narrowed containers.

The container holding structure of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problem, comprises a first abutment member and a second abutment member arranged to clamp the body of the container and abut against the body of the container to hold the container, the second abutment member is freely displaceable according to the position of the container, and for a constricted container having a constriction in the body, it abuts at at least two points on either side of the central portion of the container facing surface in the width direction of the second abutment member, and the second abutment member has, as an abutment portion for the constricted container, a bulge portion where the container facing surface of the second abutment member bulges partially convex toward the constricted container , and the container facing surface of the first abutment member is curved and displaced so as to gradually move away from the second abutment member as it moves from both ends of the container facing surface in the width direction toward the central portion, and is displaced and inclined so as to gradually move away from the central axis of the container as it moves upward .

The container holding structure of the present invention makes it possible to avoid the deadlock phenomenon that occurs with narrow containers.

1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an instrument panel having a container holding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of the container holding structure in a state in which a container is held. 3 is a plan view of the container storage unit as viewed from above in FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2. This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG.

Next, a mode (embodiment) for carrying out a container holding structure of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
The main feature of the container holding structure of this embodiment is that the flap member, which holds the container by abutting against the body of the container while displacing with the movement of the container, has a bulge on the container-facing surface corresponding to the abutment point so that, with a narrowed container, the flap member does not abut at the center of the container-facing surface of the flap member but abuts at at least two points on either side of the center of the container-facing surface.

The present invention will be specifically described below using a container holding structure applied to an automobile as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The container holding structure of the present invention can be provided on seats in other vehicles such as railroad cars, aircraft, ships, and other moving objects, as well as in commercial facilities such as theaters.
In the drawings referred to below, the front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions are based on the directions of the arrows shown in FIG. 1 which correspond to the front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions of an automobile.

Figure 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an instrument panel (also called instrument panel) 10 having a container holding structure 1 according to this embodiment. Specifically, Figure 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the instrument panel 10 on the passenger seat side (left side in the vehicle width direction) of a right-hand drive vehicle. Figure 2 is a front view of the container holding structure 1 in a state in which a container 20 is held. Figure 3 is a plan view of the container storage section 3 as viewed from above in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 2. Note that in Figure 3, the container 20 is drawn in virtual lines (two-dot chain lines) for convenience of drawing.

The container holding structure 1 in this embodiment (see FIG. 1) is intended for a passenger in the passenger seat. However, the container holding structure 1 has a structure similar to that described below, and can also be applied to a container for a driver located on the right side (not shown) of the instrument panel 10 in the vehicle width direction.

The container holding structure 1 (see FIG. 1) of this embodiment is configured to enable a container having a cylindrical body, such as a beverage can or a plastic container, to be placed on an instrument panel 10 (see FIG. 1).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the container holding structure 1 is mainly composed of a container placement portion 2 and a container storage portion 3.

<Container placement section>
As shown in FIG. 2, the container placement section 2 is configured as a platform on which the bottom of a container 20 such as a plastic bottle is placed.
When the bottom of the container 20 comes into contact with the container mounting portion 2 , the container 20 is placed at a predetermined container holding position in the container holding structure 1 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the container placement portion 2 in this embodiment is formed by a peripheral edge 4a of an instrument panel tray 4 provided in a shelf-like shape on the upper portion of a glove box (not shown).
The rim 4a is formed wider than the rim of a general instrument panel tray so as to correspond to the bottom diameter of the container 20 (see FIG. 2). However, the container mounting portion 2 is not limited to this, and may be formed of a tray member (not shown) that is stored in the instrument panel 10 so as to be able to be pulled out.

<Container storage section>
2, the container storage unit 3 holds the container 20 stored in the container holding position. The container storage unit 3 in this embodiment is assumed to be an assembly of resin molded parts.
As shown in Fig. 3, the container storage section 3 has a rectangular outer shape in a plan view. That is, the container storage section 3 has a rear edge portion 9 extending in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction) and side edge portions 11 extending in the front-rear direction on both sides of the vehicle width direction (left-right direction).

As shown by the imaginary line (two-dot chain line) in FIG. 1, the container storage portion 3 in this embodiment can be stored inside the instrument panel 10 (on the front side in FIG. 1).
Specifically, as shown in Fig. 1, the container housing 3 is housed inside the instrument panel 10 through a housing opening 10b formed in the instrument panel 10 below the air outlet 10a. Although not shown, when the container housing 3 is housed, a rear edge 9 of the container housing 3 shown in Fig. 1 is flush with a surface 10c on the interior side of the instrument panel 10 shown in Fig. 1.

Although not shown, each side edge 11 of the container housing portion 3 when stored is supported slidably relative to a guide member provided on the inside of the instrument panel 10 (the front side in FIG. 1). Incidentally, the guide member (not shown) in this embodiment is assumed to be a rail member extending in the front-rear direction corresponding to the side edge 11 of the container housing portion 3 when stored. However, the guide member is not limited to this, and may be configured as a bracket that slidably supports the container housing portion 3.
When the user grasps the rear edge 9 of the container storage section 3 during storage and pulls it rearward, the container storage section 3 extends rearward from the storage opening 10b of the instrument panel 10 while being guided by the guide member (not shown) as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, such a container storage section 3 is configured to include a rectangular frame member 5 and a flap member 6 that rotates around a predetermined shaft portion 7 (see Fig. 4). As will be described in detail later, the frame member 5 and the flap member 6 are adapted to abut against a container 20 (see Fig. 4) stored in the container holding position. In other words, the frame member 5 corresponds to the "first abutment member" in the claims, and the flap member 6 corresponds to the "second abutment member" in the claims.

<Frame Member (First Contact Member)>
As shown in Fig. 3, the frame member 5 forms a general outline of the container housing portion 3. That is, the frame member 5 has a rear edge portion 9 and a side edge portion 11. In addition, a front edge portion 12 (see Fig. 4) of the frame member 5 is disposed inside the instrument panel 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the opening 13 of the frame member 5 has a substantially D-shape in plan view.
A flap member 6 in an initial state, which will be described later, is arranged in the front portion of the opening 13 of the frame member 5. Moreover, a body portion 22 of a container 20 is accommodated in the opening 13 behind the flap member 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inner periphery that partially defines the opening 13 on the rear side of the frame member 5 forms a surface 14 facing the accommodated container 20 (hereinafter referred to as the container facing surface 14).
When viewed in a plane as shown in Figure 3, this container facing surface 14 is curved in an arc shape so that it gradually moves away from the flap member 6 (second abutment member) side as it moves from both ends of the container facing surface 14 in the width direction toward the center.
Such an arc-shaped container-facing surface 14 is disposed so as to follow the circumferential direction of the body portion 22 of the container 20 positioned at the container holding position, as shown in Fig. 3. Specifically, as described below, the container-facing surface 14 is disposed so as to follow the circumferential direction of the body portion 22 within the constriction 21 (see Fig. 4) of the container 20. The container-facing surface 14 then abuts against the body portion 22 of the container 20 so as to follow the container 20, thereby holding the container 20.

4, the rear portion of the frame member 5 that forms the container-facing surface 14 forms a closed cross section having a hollow portion 9a. The container-facing surface 14 is inclined so as to gradually move away from the central axis Ax of the container 20 as it extends upward.
When the container 20 placed in the container holding position is a constricted container, the container-facing surface 14 of such a frame member 5 is positioned within the constriction 21 above the most constricted point P and abuts against the body 22 of the container.

<Flap Member (Second Contact Member)>
As shown in FIG. 3, the flap member 6 is formed of a generally plate-like body having a rear edge portion 15 that is recessed forward in an arc shape.
4, a front edge 16 of the flap member 6 is supported by a shaft 7 extending in the left-right direction (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing). Specifically, the front edge 16 of the flap member 6 is supported by the shaft 7 extending on the rear side (lower side) of the frame member 5, in front of the opening 13 of the frame member 5. This allows the rear edge 15 of the flap member 6 to rotate around the shaft 7.

Further, a torsion coil spring 8 is disposed on the shaft portion 7 as a biasing means for biasing the flap member 6 to its initial state.
Incidentally, the initial state of the flap member 6 is the state before the container 20 (see FIG. 2) is accommodated in the container accommodation portion 3, as shown in FIG.
Specifically, the flap member 6 in the initial state is positioned so as to overlap the frame member 5 when viewed from the side of the container storage section 3 shown in Figure 4, as shown by a virtual line (dotted line) in Figure 4, and blocks the front portion of the opening 13 of the frame member 5 from the back side (underside) of the frame member 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear edge 15 of the flap member 6 is curved so that it gradually displaces downward toward the center of curvature of the arc shape. As a result, the rear edge 15 of the flap member 6 forms a surface 17 facing the container 20 (hereinafter referred to as the container facing surface 17) as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in Figure 3, the container-facing surface 17 has bulge portions 18 at multiple locations (two locations in this embodiment) surrounding the central portion C in the width direction, which bulge partially toward the container 20.
Such a bulging portion 18 forms a protrusion that partially protrudes toward the center of curvature beyond the general surface 17a of the container-facing surface 17 that is curved at a predetermined curvature in the plan view shown in FIG.
Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, which is a longitudinal cross-section of the flap member 6 at the bulge portion 18 (V-V cross-section of Figure 3), the bulge portion 18 curves along the general surface 17a of the container-facing surface 17 shown by the hidden line (dotted line) in Figure 5, and forms a ridge extending in the vertical direction of the container-facing surface 17.
Incidentally, in this embodiment, the flap member 6 is assumed to have a pair of bulge portions 18 at both ends that sandwich the central portion C in the width direction of the container-facing surface 17, as shown in Figure 3, but it can also be configured to have three or more bulge portions 18 that sandwich the central portion C.

The flap member 6 having such a bulge 18 (see Figure 3) on the container facing surface 17 (see Figure 3) is displaced from the initial state shown by the virtual line (dotted line) to the container holding position shown by the solid line in response to the placement operation of the container 20, as shown in Figure 4.
That is, the rear edge portion 15 of the flap member 6 rotates downward in response to the placement operation of the container 20. The container-facing surface 17 of the rear edge portion 15 of the flap member 6 holds the body portion 22 of the container 20 between itself and the container-facing surface 14 of the frame member 5.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4, when the container 20 is a constricted container, the container-facing surface 14 of the frame member 5 is located within the constriction 21 of the container 20 and abuts against the body portion 22 thereof, as described above.
That is, the constricted container is shifted backward by a length (distance) corresponding to the depth of the constriction 21 when in the container holding position, compared to the container 20 without the constriction 21 .
In the case where the flap member 6 does not have the bulge 18, the rotation angle of the flap member 6 at the container holding position becomes smaller depending on the rearward shift length (distance) of the constricted container. As a result, there is a concern that the rear edge portion 15 (container-facing surface 17) of the flap member 6 without the bulge 18 may be positioned within the constriction 21 of the container 20.

However, in the present embodiment, when the flap member 6 rotates from the initial state to the container holding position, the bulge 18 abuts against the body 22 of the container 20. As a result, the flap member 6 has its rear edge 15 (container-facing surface 17) abut against the body 22 of the container 20 at a larger rotation angle than the assumed flap member 6 without the bulge 18.
In other words, the flap member 6 in this embodiment having the bulge 18 is inclined so that its rear edge 15 (container-facing surface 17) is positioned further downward than a flap member 6 without the bulge 18.

As a result, in the case of a narrowed container, the flap member 6 in this embodiment abuts against the body portion 22 of the container 20 below the narrowest point P of the container 20.
As shown in FIG. 3 , the flap member 6 abuts against the body 22 of the container 20 at multiple locations (two locations in this embodiment) sandwiching the central portion C in the width direction of the container-facing surface 17 via the bulging portions 18 .

6, which is a vertical cross section (cross section VI-VI in FIG. 2) of the container accommodation portion 3 at the central portion C, a gap G is formed between the body portion 22 of the container 20 and the container facing surface 17 at the central portion C (see FIG. 3) of the container facing surface 17 by a bulge portion 18 (see FIG. 3) that protrudes toward the container 20. In other words, at the central portion C of the container facing surface 17, the flap member 6 does not abut against the body portion 22 of the container 20.
In FIG. 6, the same components as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

<Action and effect>
Next, the effects of the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment will be described.
A conventional container holding structure (see, for example, Patent Document 1) is configured so that the flap abuts against the body of the container at the center in the width direction thereof to hold the container.
Therefore, in the conventional container holding structure, the load input from the center of the flap to the body of the container may cause the container to partially dent at the contact point.
When the container is dented at the contact point, the flap is temporarily released from contact with the container, and the contact position of the flap with respect to the container shifts upward due to the restoring force of the flap's biasing means.
Such denting of the container by the flap often occurs when a user attempts to remove the container from the container holding structure.

Furthermore, if the user continues to remove the container when the flap's contact position has shifted upward, the load input from the flap to the container may cause the dent in the container below the contact position to return to its original position.
When the depression in the container below the abutment position returns to its original position, the flap stops at the restored position of the depression, resulting in a deadlock phenomenon in which the container cannot be removed from the container holding structure.
In particular, this deadlock phenomenon is evident when, when a narrowed container is held in the container holding structure, a depression is formed in the container below the narrowed portion, causing the abutment position to shift into the narrowed portion.

In contrast, in the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment (see Figure 3), the flap member 6 (second abutment member) abuts against the container 20 at at least two points on either side of the central portion C, rather than at the central portion C, of the container-facing surface 17 of the flap member 6.
According to such a container holding structure 1, when a user tries to remove a container from the container holding structure, the load input from the flap member 6 to the container 20 can be distributed differently than in the past. As a result, the container holding structure 1 prevents the container 20 from being dented at the contact position while maintaining the container 20's holdability. As a result, the container holding structure 1 can effectively prevent the occurrence of a deadlock phenomenon when the container 20 is removed.

In addition, the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment is configured so that the flap member 6 (second abutment member) does not abut against the body 22 of the container 20 at the center C in the width direction. This increases the range of types of containers 20 that can be accommodated inside the arc-shaped container-facing surface 17 of the flap member 6. In other words, unlike conventional container holding structures (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that abut against the container at the center in the width direction of the flap, this container holding structure 1 can be flexibly applied to various containers 20 with different shapes and diameters of the body 22 without reducing the holding ability, such as containers 20 that do not have a constriction 21 or cup-shaped containers 20 that gradually expand in diameter toward the top.

In addition, in the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment, when the container 20 is a narrowed container, the flap member 6 (second abutment member) is configured to abut below the most narrowed point P of the rear edge portion 15, which is the rotating side end portion.
With this type of container holding structure 1, even if the container 20 moves in the direction of being removed from the container holding structure 1 and the flap member 6 is pressed in the rotational direction, the flap member 6 rotates so that the rear edge portion 15 moves relatively away from the constriction 21.
This allows the container holding structure 1 to more reliably prevent the occurrence of the deadlock phenomenon.

In the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment, the container-facing surface 14 of the frame member 5 (first abutment member) is displaced and curved so as to gradually move away from the flap member 6 (second abutment member) from both ends toward the center in the width direction of the container-facing surface 14. In addition, the container-facing surface 14 is displaced and inclined so as to gradually move away from the central axis Ax of the container 20 as it moves upward.
According to such a container holding structure 1, when the container-facing surface 14 of the frame member 5 is arranged to correspond to the constriction 21 of the container 20, it can abut against the body portion 22 of the container 20 over a wide contact area. This allows the container holding structure 1 to stably store the container 20 even if it is a constricted container.

Furthermore, the flap member 6 (second abutment member) of the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment has a plurality of bulges 18 on the container-facing surface 17 as abutment portions against the container 20, which can ensure a relatively large contact area with the container 20 regardless of the rotation angle of the flap member 6. This allows the container holding structure 1 to more reliably prevent dents at the abutment portions of the flap member 6 against the container 20. The container holding structure 1 can more reliably prevent the occurrence of the deadlock phenomenon.
Moreover, the bulge 18 forms a ridge extending in the up-down direction of the container-facing surface 17. The flap member 6 having such a bulge 18 can more reliably form a gap G between the body 22 of the container 20 and the container-facing surface 17 at the center C of the container-facing surface 17, regardless of the rotation angle of the flap member 6. The container holding structure 1 can more reliably prevent the occurrence of the deadlock phenomenon.

In addition, the flap member 6 (second abutment member) of the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment is configured to rotate in response to the placement operation of the container 20, thereby being displaced from its initial state and abutting below the narrowest point P of the container 20.
According to such a container holding structure 1, the flap member 6 having a plurality of contact portions can rotate without applying an excessive load to the container 20 to guide the container 20 to a predetermined container holding position, thereby more reliably preventing dents at the contact portions of the flap member 6 against the container 20. The container holding structure 1 can more reliably prevent the occurrence of the deadlock phenomenon.

Further, the frame member 5 (first abutment member) of the container holding structure 1 of this embodiment is positioned within the constriction 21 above the most constricted portion P of the container 20 and abuts against the container 20 .
The frame member 5 (first abutment member) of such a container holding structure 1 is disposed so that the container-facing surface 14 of the frame member 5 stops the container 20 attempting to slip out of the container holding structure 1. According to such a container holding structure 1, it is possible to improve the holding stability of the container 20 at the container holding position.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various forms.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Container holding structure 2 Container placement portion 3 Container storage portion 4 Instrument panel tray 4a Periphery of instrument panel tray 5 Frame member (first abutment member)
6 Flap member (second abutment member)
7 Shaft portion 8 Torsion coil spring (biasing means)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 instrument panel 14 container-facing surface of frame member 17 container-facing surface of flap member 18 bulging portion 20 container 21 container narrowing 22 container body Ax central axis of container C central portion in width direction of flap member P narrowest point of container

Claims (4)

a first abutment member and a second abutment member that are arranged to sandwich a body portion of a container and abut against the body portion of the container to hold the container;
the second contact member is displaceable according to the position of the container, and when the container has a constriction in the body portion, the second contact member does not contact the container-facing surface of the second contact member at a central portion in the width direction of the container, but contacts the container-facing surface of the second contact member at at least two points on either side of the central portion in the width direction of the container,
the second contact member has a bulging portion as an abutment portion against the narrowed container, the container-facing surface of the second contact member bulging partially convexly toward the narrowed container ,
A container holding structure characterized in that the container-facing surface of the first abutment member is curved and displaced gradually away from the second abutment member from both ends of the container-facing surface in the width direction toward the center, and is inclined and displaced gradually away from the central axis of the container as it moves upward . The container holding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the second abutment member abuts below the narrowest part of the narrowed container. The container holding structure according to claim 2, characterized in that the second abutment member is a flap member that can rotate around a predetermined axis, and is displaced from its initial state by rotating in response to the arrangement operation of the container, so as to abut below the most constricted part of the constricted container. 4. The container holding structure according to claim 3, wherein the first abutment member is positioned within the constriction above the narrowest point of the constricted container and abuts against the constricted container.

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