Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COMBINATION LUGGAGE AND DRINK HOLDER ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to luggage technology, and more particularly to
a combination
luggage and drink holder assembly that comprises a luggage, and a drink holder
mounted at one
side of the luggage and biasable relative to the luggage between an extended
position and a
received position.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
When traveling, people usually carry personal items in a luggage. When a
luggage user is carrying
a luggage or waiting in an airport or railway station, the user may
simultaneously hold a beverage
can or drink cup in the hand. Because the luggage provides no drink holder
means for holding the
beverage can or drink cup, the user must keep holding the beverage can or
drink cup in the hand.
Further, many drink holder designs for use in a car compartment or other fixed
objects are known.
Some of these drink holder designs are not collapsible. Some others are
collapsible. A known
collapsible drink holder is so designed that a tray is turned from the bottom
side to the top side to
cover on a cup hoop when the user collapses the drink holder. Similar designs
are seen in US
5014956, US 4828211, US 5191679, US 5072909, US 5191679, etc. However, when
collapsing
or extending out the drink holder, the user needs to bias the tray and the cup
hoop separately, i.e.,
the tray and the cup hoop are not linked for synchronous movement. There are
some other drink
holder designs that use link means to couple a tray and a holder for
synchronous movement
between the extended position and the received position. Exemplars are seed in
US 5342009, US
20130092808, US 6655563, etc. However, according to these prior art designs,
there are no support
means for holding the tray and the holder securely in the extended position
against vibration.
Further, when the drink holder is collapsed, it has no means to keep the base
frame or other pivot
connection parts from sight. When a drink holder of any of these prior art
designs is directly
mounted in a luggage, it can compromise the appearance of the luggage.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view.
It is one object of
the present invention to provide a combination luggage and drink holder
assembly, which
comprises a luggage and a drink holder mounted at one side of the luggage,
wherein the drink
holder comprises a base frame, a hoop and a tray respectively pivotally
coupled to opposing top
and bottom sides of the base frame, and two links coupled between the hoop and
the tray for
allowing the drink holder to be biased relative to the luggage between a
received position where
the drink holder is collapsed and closely attached to the luggage and an
extended position where
the drink holder extends out of the luggage for holding a beverage can or
drink cup.
In an embodiment of the combination luggage and drink holder assembly, the
hoop comprises a
peripheral wall that surrounds the base frame and the tray when the drink
holder is set in the
received position; the tray has the bottom wall thereof configured for
blocking up the locating hole
of the hoop when the drink holder is set in the received position.
In another embodiment of the combination luggage and drink holder assembly,
the base frame, the
hoop and the tray are configured to provide stop blocks, elastic members
and/or other supporting
structures so that when the drink holder is set in the received position, the
hoop and the tray can
be securely held in position against vibration.
In yet another embodiment of the combination luggage and drink holder
assembly, the drink holder
is so designed that the hoop and tray can be synchronously moved between the
received position
and the extended position, the rear side of the hoop can be stopped at elastic
members at the front
side of the base frame to keep the drink holder securely in the extended
position; when the drink
holder is set in the received position, the hoop surrounds the base frame and
the tray, and the
bottom wall of the tray blocks up the locating hole of the hoop from sight.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. I is an oblique top elevational view of a combination luggage and drink
holder assembly in
accordance with the present invention.
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FIG. 2 is an oblique top elevational view of the drink holder of the
combination luggage and drink
holder assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the drink holder of the combination luggage and
drink holder assembly
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the drink holder of the combination luggage
and drink holder
assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the drink holder of the combination luggage and
drink holder
assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 is another exploded view of the drink holder of the combination luggage
and drink holder
assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 6 when viewed from another angle.
FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the present invention, illustrating
the drink holder set in
the received position.
FIG. 9 a schematic sectional view of the present invention, illustrating the
drink holder set in the
extended position.
FIG. 10 is an oblique top elevational view of the present invention,
illustrating the drink holder set
in the extended position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, a combination luggage and drink holder assembly in
accordance with the
present invention is shown. The combination luggage and drink holder assembly
comprises a
luggage 10, and a drink holder 20 mounted at one side of the luggage 10. The
luggage 10 is a
container for storing things, comprising a retractable handle 101 located at a
back side thereof,
four roller 102 pivotally mounted at a bottom side thereof. As shown in FIG.
2, FIG. 3 and FIG.
4, the drink holder 20 comprises a base frame I, a hoop 2, a tray 3 and two
links 4. The drink holder
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20 is so constructed that the hoop 2 and the tray 3 can be synchronously moved
by the links 4
between an extended position and a received position.
Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the base frame 1 is a one-piece
rectangular plate member
made from a plastic material and affixed with a back wall thereof to the
luggage 10, comprising
two first pivot-connection lugs 11 bilaterally located at a top side thereof,
two second pivot-
connection lugs 12 bilaterally located at a bottom side thereof, and at least
one, for example, two
elastic members 13 located at a front side thereof and facing toward the hoop
2. Each first pivot-
connection lug 11 comprises a first pivot-connection portion 111. Each second
pivot-connection
lug 12 comprises a second pivot-connection portion 121. The first pivot-
connection portions 111
of the first pivot-connection lugs 11 are pivotally connected to the hoop 2.
The second pivot-
connection portions 121 of the second pivot-connection lugs 12 are pivotally
connected to the tray
3. Further, the elastic members 13 are adapted to stop against the hoop 2,
keeping the hoop 2 in a
horizontal position in the extended position.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the hoop 2 is a one-piece
rectangular rack made from
a plastic material, comprising a circular or rectangular locating hole 21
located in the center thereof
for holding a beverage can or drink cup, a first stop wall 22 vertically
located at a rear side thereof,
a first peripheral wall 23 vertically extending around the border thereof, two
third pivot-connection
portions 24 and two fourth pivot-connection portions 25 respectively
bilaterally located at the first
peripheral wall 23 and respectively disposed adjacent to the first stop wall
22. The third pivot-
connection portions 24 are respectively pivotally coupled to the first pivot-
connection portions 111
of the first pivot-connection lugs II of the base frame 1 (see FIG. 8). Thus,
the hoop 2 can be
biased upwards to the extended position and kept in a horizontal position in a
perpendicular manner
relative to the base frame 1 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) where the first stop wall 22
is abutted against the
elastic members 13, or biased downwards to the received position where the
hoop 2 is closely
attached to the base frame 1 in a parallel manner (see FIG. 8) and the base
frame 1 is hidden in the
hoop 2 and surrounded by the first peripheral wall 23 of the hoop 2 (see FIG.
2).
As illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the tray 3 is a one-piece
circular or rectangular dish-
like plastic member to be fitted into the locating hole 21 of the hoop 2,
comprising a second
peripheral wall 31, and two fifth pivot-connection portions 32 and two sixth
pivot-connection
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portions 33 respectively and bilaterally located at the second peripheral wall
31. The fifth pivot-
connection portions 32 are respectively pivotally connected to the second
pivot-connection
portions 121 of the second pivot-connection lugs 12 of the base frame 1. Thus,
the tray 3 can be
biased downwards to the extended position and kept in a horizontal position in
a perpendicular
manner relative to the base frame 1 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) for supporting the
bottom wall of the
beverage can or drink cup that is inserted into the locating hole 21 of the
hoop 2, or biased upwards
to the received position where the tray 3 is kept between the base frame 1 and
the hoop 2 (see FIG.
8) with a bottom wall 35 thereof blocking the locating hole 21 of the hoop 2
(see FIG. 2) and where
the base frame 1 and the tray 310 are hidden in the hoop 2 and surrounded by
the first peripheral
wall 23 of the hoop 2.
Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the two links 4 are plastic rod
members, respectively
pivotally connected between the fourth pivot-connection portions 25 of the
hoop 2 and the sixth
pivot-connection portions 33 of the tray 3. When the user biases the hoop 2
between the extended
position and the received position, the hoop 2 and the tray 3 are
synchronously moved by the links
4 to the extended position (see FIGS. 9 and 10) or the received position (see
FIG. 8).
As shown in FIG. 6, the base frame 1 further comprises at least one, for
example, two stop blocks
14 located at a front side thereof; the tray 3 further comprises a second stop
wall 34 located at a
rear side thereof. After the tray 3 is biased downwards to the extended
position, the second stop
wall 34 is stopped against the stop block 14 of the base frame I (see FIG. 9),
holding the tray 3 in
a horizontal position for supporting the bottom wall of the loaded beverage
can or drink cup.
In order to keep the hoop 2 and the tray 3 positively in the received
position, as shown in FIG. 5
and FIG. 6, the base frame 1 is configured to provide two first protruding
portions I 5 respectively
disposed at two opposite lateral sides thereof. Preferably, the first
protruding portions 15 are raised
bumps on the surface of the base frame 1. Further, the hoop 2 comprises two
second protruding
portions 26 bilaterally located at the inner surface of the first peripheral
wall 23. Preferably, the
second protruding portions 26 are protruding pins extended from the inner
surface of the first
peripheral wall 23. After the hoop 2 is set in the received position, the
second protruding portions
26 are respectively stopped at the first protruding portions 15 of the base
frame 1.
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The component parts ofthe drink holder ofthe prevent invention are preferably
made from a plastic
material using injection molding technique, and then directly assembled
together without using
any screws or other external fastening members, the combination luggage and
drink holder
assembly can be assembled rapidly and efficiently. Further, as illustrated in
FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the
first pivot-connection portion 111 at each first pivot-connection lug 11 of
the base frame I is a
pivot pin; each third pivot-connection portion 24 at the first peripheral wall
23 of the hoop 2 is a
pivot hole. By pivotally connecting the pivot pins of the first pivot-
connection portions 111 of the
base frame 1 to the respective pivot holes of the third pivot-connection
portions 24 of the hoop 2,
the hoop 2 is pivotally coupled to the base frame 1 and can be biased relative
to the base frame 1
between the extended position and the received position. Further, the second
pivot-connection
portion 121 at each second pivot-connection lug 12 of the base frame 1 is a
pivot hole; each fifth
pivot-connection portion 32 at the second peripheral wall 31 of the tray 3 is
a pivot pin. By
pivotally connecting the pivot pins of the fifth pivot-connection portions 32
of the tray 3 to the
respective pivot holes of the second pivot-connection portions 121 of the base
frame 1, the tray 3
is pivotally coupled to the base frame I and can be biased relative to the
base frame 1 between the
extended position and the received position. Further, the fourth pivot-
connection portions 25 of
the hoop 2 and the sixth pivot-connection portions 33 of the tray 3 each
comprise a base 251,331
and a pivot hole 252,332 located in the base 251,331; the links 4 each
comprise a split pivot bolt
41 located at each of two opposite ends thereof and respectively pivotally
coupled to the respective
pivot holes 252,332 to pivotally coupled the hoop 2 and the tray 3 together.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail
for purposes of
illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without
departing from the
scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except
as by the appended
claims.
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