Abstract:
A vehicular container holding structure includes a body with an opening at its top for holding containers, and a lid for opening and closing the opening. To hold containers of various sizes, the body has a partition member having a second bottom positioned upwardly of a first bottom defining a deepest bottom of the body.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a container holding structure for holding a beverage container such as a can or bottle in a passenger compartment.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Vehicles such as passenger automobiles are provided with a container holding device called a cup holder for holding beverage containers. This kind of cup holder with a lid is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-48474, for example. This cup holder will be described with reference to  FIG. 8  hereof.  
         [0003]     A cup holder  100  shown in  FIG. 8  consists of a holder body  101  in a hollow shape opening at the top and having a first bottom supporting portion  107 , a lid  102  provided at the holder body  101  in an openable and closable manner, and a second bottom supporting portion  103  provided at the lid  102  in such a manner as to be able to be turned up and down.  
         [0004]     For short containers  104  and  105 , the lid  102  is opened, and the second bottom supporting portion  103  is brought down from the lid  102  to a horizontal position. Then, the container  104  or  105  is placed on the second bottom supporting portion  103 .  
         [0005]     For a tall bottle  106 , the lid  102  is opened. However, the second bottom supporting portion  103  is kept stored in the lid  102  without being brought down. Then, the bottle  106  is placed on the first bottom supporting portion  107  which constitutes the bottom of the holder body  101 .  
         [0006]     To hold the container  104 ,  105  or  106 , it is always necessary to open the lid  102  regardless of the height of the containers  104 ,  105  and  106 . When the container  104 ,  105  or  106  is held, it is impossible to close the lid  102  to utilize the top surface of the lid  102  as a surface on which to rest an elbow, for example.  
         [0007]     When the second bottom supporting portion  103  is put in the horizontal position and the container  104  or  105  is placed thereon, touching the lid  102  will not only move the lid  102  but also move the second bottom supporting portion  103  in conjunction with it. This can shake the container  104  or  105  and spill the contents.  
         [0008]     As described above, whenever the cup holder  100  is used, the lid  102  must be kept open. When the second bottom supporting portion  103  is used, care must be taken not to inadvertently touch the lid  102 , which is not user-friendly.  
         [0009]     Thus, there is demand for a container holding structure which allows a lid to be closed even in use, depending on the kind of container, and eliminates the possibility that touching the lid in an open state will cause spillage of the contents from a container.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container holding structure for a vehicle, which comprises: a generally box-shaped body having at a top thereof an opening for allowing passage of a container into and out of the body; and a lid mounted to the body in such a manner as to be capable of opening and closing the opening, wherein the body includes a partition member having a second bottom positioned upwardly of a first bottom defining a deepest bottom of the body.  
         [0011]     By virtue of the partition member having the second bottom within the generally box-shaped body and in a position above the bottom of the body, the structure is capable of holding a short-, regular- or long-sized container. If it is a short container, the lid can be closed, so that the top surface of the lid in a closed state can be utilized as a surface on which to rest an elbow, for example. Also, provision of the partition member at the body eliminates the possibility that touching the lid will shake the second bottom and cause spillage of drinking water from the container.  
         [0012]     In a preferred form, the partition member is swingably mounted to the body to be able to be switched between an unused position along a wall of the body and a used position in which to be retained substantially parallel to the first bottom. A long-sized can or a plastic bottle is held with the partition member raised up.  
         [0013]     It is preferred that the partition member has a rear surface provided with a container supporting surface in a circular arc shape for supporting the beverage container when the partition member is unused. Accordingly, the container can be supported by the container supporting surface and can be prevented from horizontal shaking.  
         [0014]     A container upper portion supporting member for supporting an upper portion of the beverage container is mounted to the body or the lid in a storable and drawable manner. Supporting an upper portion of the beverage container by the container upper portion supporting member can effectively prevent horizontal shaking of the container.  
         [0015]     The body is preferably provided with a lock mechanism to engage a distal portion of the partition member to lock the partition member when the partition member is used. The lock mechanism can thus hold down the distal portion of the partition member to prevent vertical shaking of the partition member.  
         [0016]     The height from the second bottom to a bottom surface of the lid is preferably at least 103 mm. The height of short-sized containers currently commercially available is 103 mm or less. With such a container placed on the second bottom, the lid can be closed to utilize a top surface of the lid as a surface on which to rest an elbow, for example. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a container holding structure according to the present invention, with a lid closed;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the container holding structure according to the present invention, with the lid open;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line  4   1  in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0022]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are perspective views of a partition member shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view corresponding to  FIG. 3 , with the lid open;  
         [0024]      FIGS. 7A  to  7 D are diagrams showing holding states for containers of different sizes; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a cup holder in the related art. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]     A container holding structure  10  shown in  FIG. 1  is a cup holder including a body  11  which can receive two beverage containers, and a lid  12  attached to the body  11  in an openable and closable manner.  
         [0027]     The body  11  is provided with hooks  14 ,  14 ,  15 ,  15  at a top collar  13  thereof so that it can be hooked onto a center console box (not shown) on the vehicle body side. The body  11  is mostly inserted into the center console box, so that the body  11  does not protrude into the passenger compartment in a used state.  
         [0028]     A main arm  16  and a sub-arm  17  are extended downward from the lid  12 . The main arm  16  is secured to the body  11  by a hinge pin  18 . The sub-arm  17  is provided with a first stopper  19  at its distal end. Reference numeral  21  denotes a lid rotary damper. The rotary damper  21  is a damping component including a disc housed in a case, a shaft protruded from the center of the disc and protruded from the case, and a viscous fluid introduced into the case. The disc thus rotates gently when torque acts on the shaft.  
         [0029]      FIG. 2  shows the container holding structure  10  with the lid  12  open.  
         [0030]     The lid  12  rotates on the hinge pin  18  to a fully open position. The opening and closing movement of the lid  12  is damped by the lid rotary damper  21 , so that the movement is gentle. In the fully open position, the first stopper  19  abuts on the bottom surface of the top collar  13 .  
         [0031]     A rotary damper  22  for a partition member to be discussed below is provided in the vicinity of the lid rotary damper  21 . An arm  24  is mounted on a partition-member shaft  23 . A fan gear  25  is provided on the arm  24 . The fan gear  25  is meshed with a pinion  26  attached to a shaft of the rotary damper  22 . As a result, the partition-member shaft  23  rotates gently.  
         [0032]     The lid  12  is further provided with a first container upper portion supporting member  27 . The first container upper portion supporting member  27  can be stored in a pocket  28  and drawn out from the pocket  28  to be in a horizontal position by hand. The first container upper portion supporting member  27  is a generally cruciform plate member, and includes curved guide surfaces  29 ,  29  for retaining a can or bottle.  
         [0033]     Reference numeral  31  denotes an unlocking button, whose function will be described below. The unlocking button  31  can be operated only when the lid  12  is opened.  
         [0034]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the partition member  32  is configured to have an upper half body  33  and a lower half body  34  produced separately and integrated to facilitate its resin molding. Reference numeral  35  denotes a lid pocket for receiving the lid  12 .  
         [0035]     A lock mechanism  40  for locking a distal portion  36  of the partition member  32  includes, for example, the unlocking button  31 , a transmission member  41  for transmitting the movement of the button  31 , a return spring  42  for returning the transmission member  41 , an inclined portion  43  for causing a locking portion  44  to horizontally move by the vertical movement of the transmission member  41 , the locking portion  44  integrally formed with the inclined portion  43 , and a spring  45  for biasing the locking portion  44  to a locking position.  
         [0036]     Next, the operation of the lock mechanism  40  will be described.  
         [0037]     When the partition member  32  is turned counterclockwise in the figure about the partition member shaft  23 , the distal portion  36  pushes the locking portion  44 , which is movable to the right and left in the figure, to the left in the figure. When the distal portion  36  is placed on a support surface  46  on the body side, the locking portion  44  is pushed out by the action of the spring  45 , moving to the right in the figure. As a result, the distal portion  36  is pressed from above by the locking portion  44  to the support surface  46  on the body side. This eliminates the possibility that the partition member  32  will swing up and down.  
         [0038]     Pressing the unlocking button  31  downward against the return spring  42  causes the locking portion  44  to move to the left in the figure by the action of the taper of the inclined portion  42 . With this, the lock can be released. The partition member  32  rotates clockwise in the figure to an upstanding position by the action of a torsion spring  47 .  
         [0039]     A plate spring  48  provides resistance by its pressing force to a proximal portion of the first container upper portion supporting member  27  provided at the lid  12 . This results in gentle movement of the first container upper portion supporting member  27 . In addition, the provision of resistance to the first container upper portion supporting member  27  stabilizes the mounting position of the first container upper portion supporting member  27  with respect to the lid  12 . There is no possibility of drooping of the first container upper portion supporting member  27  in the figure even when subjected to vibration from the vehicle body, for example.  
         [0040]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the partition member  32  has a relatively thinner portion. The reason will be described below. Reference numeral  51  denotes a first bottom, which allows, with a second bottom  52  formed at the top surface of the partition member  32 , containers of various sizes to be placed thereon.  
         [0041]     When unused, the partition member  32  is put upright along a wall  11   a  of the body  11  (see  FIG. 6 ).  
         [0042]     Next, the partition member  32  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 5A and 5B .  
         [0043]     As shown in  FIG. 5A , the partition member  32  includes the upper half body  33  and the lower half body  34 . The lower half body  34  (the rear surface of the partition member  32 ) is formed with container supporting surfaces  53 ,  53  of circular-arc-shaped recesses. The partition member  32  rotates about the partition member shafts  23 ,  23 .  
         [0044]     The partition member  32  is thick at the middle of the whole body, and is thin at middle portions of the container supporting surfaces  53 , as is clear from the figure.  
         [0045]     Referring to  FIG. 5B , the upper half body  33  has the second bottom  52 . Containers can also be placed on the second bottom  52 .  
         [0046]     The lid  12  is opened as shown by arrow A in  FIG. 6 , and mostly received in the lid pocket  35 . Subsequently, the first container upper portion supporting member  27  is drawn out from the lid  12  in the open state as shown by arrow B to a usable state. Pressing the unlocking button  31  downward causes the partition member  32  to rise as shown by arrow C to be in the unused state.  
         [0047]      FIGS. 7A  to  7 D are explanatory diagrams of operations for containers of different sizes.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 7A , the height H from the second bottom  52  of the partition member  32  in the used state to the bottom surface of the lid  12  is at least 103 mm, and about 105 mm at the maximum. Therefore, with a short-sized can  56  placed on the second bottom  52 , the lid  12  can be closed. The top surface of the lid  12  can be utilized as a surface on which to rest an elbow, for example.  
         [0049]     Desirably, a second container upper portion supporting member  55  shown in imaginary lines is swingably mounted to the body  11  so as to be put in a horizontal position for preventing horizontal shaking of the can  56 . Adoption of the second container upper portion supporting member  55  can omit the first container upper portion supporting member  27  attached to the lid  12 . It is only necessary to provide either the first or second container upper portion supporting member  27  or  55  to the lid  12  or the body  11 .  
         [0050]     Referring to  FIG. 7B , for a regular-sized or long-sized can  57 , the lid  12  is opened; the first container upper portion supporting member  27  is put in the usable state; the partition member  32  is put in the used state; and the can  57  is placed on the second bottom  52 .  
         [0051]     Referring to  FIG. 7C , the partition member  32  is put upright; a regular-sized can  58  is placed on the first bottom  51 ; and the lid  12  is closed. The top surface of the lid  12  can be utilized as a surface on which to rest an elbow, for example.  
         [0052]     Referring to  FIG. 7D , the partition member  32  is put upright; a long-sized bottle  59  is placed on the first bottom  51  with the lid  12  opened; and the first container upper portion supporting member  27  is put in the used state.  
         [0053]     As shown in  FIGS. 7A  to  7 D above, the opening or closing of the lid  12  and the turning up or down of the partition member  32  can be combined to desirably hold beverage containers of various sizes.  
         [0054]     The partition member  32  in the present invention is not limited in mounting form to a rotatable one, and may be mounted to the body  11  in a rotatable, liftable, or drawable manner.  
         [0055]     The present invention is suitable for use as a container holding structure to be placed in a vehicle center console box.  
         [0056]     Obviously, various minor changes and modifications of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teaching. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.