Abstract:
A holder for a beverage container has a container receptacle having a bottom, a clamping device with holding jaws which are radially withdrawable from and engageable into the container receptacle, spring elements on which the holding jaws are arranged, and a carrier part, mounted on the bottom of the container receptacle, the spring elements being arranged on the carrier part of one piece with the latter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a holder for beverage containers.  
           [0002]    Many holders for beverage containers are known in the art. The known holders are provided with a cup-shaped container receptacle for cups, cartoons, beverage cans, bottles and the like. The known holders have one or several holding jaws or the like, which are a partially distributed over the periphery. They extend into the interior of the cup-shaped container receptacle and have inclined and/or rounded sliding surfaces. Since the holding jaws have springy properties, they can be moved away from the peripheral surface of a beverage container and hold the beverage container by clamping. Such a holder is disclosed for example in German patent document DE 296 06 583.8. The corresponding clamping device includes holding jaws which are mounted individually with a rotary and linear bearing on the beverage container. An elastic circular ring or a band is used as a spring element. It surrounds the container receptacle. Such a clamping device however involves considerable mounting expenses.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a beverage container of the above mentioned general type, which can be manufactured with low expenses, in particular with respect to the costs of the clamping device.  
           [0004]    In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a holder for a beverage container, which has a container receptacle having a bottom; a clamping device with holding jaws which are radially withdrawable from and engageable into said container receptacle; spring elements on which said holding jaws are arranged; and a carrier part, said carrier part being mounted on said bottom of said container receptacle, and said spring elements being arranged on said carrier part of one piece with the latter.  
           [0005]    In the inventive holder the clamping device is composed of the carrier part, on which the spring elements are arranged of one piece with the carrier part and carry the holding jaws. The carrier part is mounted on the bottom of the container receptacle.  
           [0006]    During mounting the carrier part is put from below over the container receptacle, and the holding jaws are spread apart in a springy fashion until they engage in the openings of the container receptacle. The mounting can be performed by a simple locking, for example by a snap connection with arresting projections or the like. Therefore, a very simple mounting is provided.  
           [0007]    In accordance with a preferable embodiment of the present invention, the carrier part, the spring elements and the holding jaws are formed of one piece with one another. The carrier part can be produced from a metal sheet or a synthetic plastic and forms the holding jaws by springy, multi-bent tongues which are arranged perpendicular on a base part. The base part can be formed for example plate-shaped. The holder as a whole therefore is composed of two simple components.  
           [0008]    For a simple mounting, it is proposed in accordance with a preferable embodiment of the invention to provide in the container receptacle, in particular on its bottom, an undercut pin such that the carrier part is mounted on it by means of a keyhole. During mounting the carrier part is put over the container receptacle so that the pin is guided through the keyhole by turning the carrier relative to the container receptacle and the pin engages behind the carrier part. Simultaneously the holding jaws engage in the openings of the container receptacle and thereby a back turning is prevented.  
           [0009]    In order to improve the optical attractiveness and/or the sliding and holding properties, the holding jaws can be provided with synthetic plastic caps or coatings.  
           [0010]    The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing a holder for a beverage container in accordance with the present invention in a perspective and in two different positions; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a view showing a perspective cross-section of a further carrier part.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]    A holder for a beverage container in accordance with the present invention is identified as a whole with reference numeral  1 . The holder  1  is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and used for mounting in a motor vehicle. It can hold not shown beverage containers, such as for example cups, cartoons, beverage cans, bottles and the like.  
         [0014]    The holder  1  has a cup-shaped container receptacle  2  with a bottom  3 . The container receptacle  2  has an upper open side. At this upper open side the holder  1  merges into a flange-shaped screen or cover  4  of one piece with it. This cover  4  is provided for closing a mounting opening provided in the vehicle for the holder  1 .  
         [0015]    Three holding jaws  7  are arranged in the openings  5  of the inner peripheral wall  6  of the container receptacle  2  and distributed over the periphery. A carrier part  8  composed of sheet metal or plastic surrounds the container receptacle  2  from the side of the bottom  3 . It is composed of a plate-shaped base which lies on the bottom  3  of the container receptacle  2 , and three tongues  9  which project perpendicularly from the base. The holding jaws  7  are formed by a two-fold bends  10  of the tongues. With minting of the tongues  9 , a springy connection of the holding jaws  7  with the carrier part  8  is provided.  
         [0016]    The carrier part  8  and the container receptacle  2  are connected by an undercut pin  11  on the bottom  3  of the container receptacle  2 , as by well as a keyhole in the carrier part  8 . During mounting the carrier part  8  is put over the container receptacle in an orientation which is turned by 90° relative to the shown position. Thereby the tongues  9  with the holding jaws  7  spread apart due to the inclined sliding surfaces  13  in a springy fashion, but without first engaging in the openings  5 . The carrier part  8  is displaced until the pin  11  extends through the keyhole  12 . Subsequently, the carrier part is turned to the shown position, and the pin  11  engages behind the carrier part  8 . Simultaneously the holding jaws  7  snap into the openings  5  so that a back turning is prevented.  
         [0017]    In deviation from the above described construction, it is within the spirit of the invention to provide the mounting of the carrier part  8  on the container receptacle  2  by a clip connection. For this purpose the container receptacle  2  can be provided with one or several not shown arresting projections which engage behind an edge of the carrier part  8 .  
         [0018]    When a not shown beverage container with a corresponding outer diameter is inserted into the container receptacle  2 , the holding jaws, due to their inclined sliding surfaces  13 , are pulled substantially radially onto the container receptacle  2  until they abut against the periphery of the container receptacle. The spring action is provided by an elastic bending of the tongues  9 . Thereby a beverage container is held in a clamping fashion.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 shows a synthetic plastic attachment  15  as an additional component of the carrier part  8   a . It forms the holding jaws  7   a  and has an improved optical appearance as well as improved sliding and clamping properties when compared with the holding jaws  7 . The synthetic plastic attachment is mounted, before joining of the carrier part  8   a , to the holding receptacle  2 . The connection between the tongues  9  and the synthetic plastic attachment  15  can be provided for example by a not shown clip connection. An arresting projection mounted on the synthetic plastic attachment  15  can engage for example in a recess of the tongues  9 .  
         [0020]    It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.  
         [0021]    While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in holder for a beverage container, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0022]    Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.