The use of accessories such as cupholders, notepads, radar detectors, cellular telephone holders, pager holders, and other article holders in vehicles, as well as elsewhere in the home and office, has become increasingly popular. For example, the use of such structures in automobiles or boats, in particular has become more popular both due to the greater time people spend in their vehicles, as well as due to the increasing number of different accessories that have become indispensable. Today's vehicles, however, are increasingly limited with respect to their ability to properly hold these accessories. Indeed, many smaller cars lack the space and or the storage areas for retaining these accessories properly.
As such, a vast number of aftermarket structures have been developed to add storage space or mountings onto an existing vehicle. One such development has been the attachment of a holding device, such as a cupholder, to a vehicle permanently. One drawback of such a mounting is that the cupholder has become a permanent fixture in the vehicle. As such, should the user now require a notepad holder instead of a cupholder, the notepad holder must be positioned around the cupholder. With each additional accessory, placement around other existing vehicle accessories becomes difficult.
Further developments have led to removable attachment structures that permit temporary attachment of a vehicle structure. In such situations, the accessory may be attached through fasteners, clips or hook and loop type fasteners, among others, which permit selective disengagement and removal of the accessories as desired. Certain limitations exist with these attachment structures as well. Often times the attachment structure is only compatible with a single accessory and as such, the user must nevertheless maintain a multitude of attachment structures. Additionally, these accessories are often limited inasmuch as they lack adjustability features which can facilitate the positioning or the orientation of the accessory in an optimal position for a given vehicle.
Certain other attachment structures are available which can be used for any given number of accessories. These attachment structures, while versatile, are often difficult to utilize and require special tools to fully effectuate. Still others do not provide a strong and dependable connection between the vehicle structure and the vehicle accessory.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds