1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to vehicle cup holders, and more particularly to vehicle cup holders illuminated with distributed light.
2. Related Art
Vehicle cup holders are typically located near the driver and passenger seats in a location convenient to reach. During daylight, the cup holders are easy to locate visually, and thus, there is generally no problem finding and placing a cup in the holder. However, when the interior of the vehicle is dark, cup holders can prove difficult to see, and thus, placing a cup in the cup holder can prove to be difficult.
In an effort to remedy the problem of locating a cup holder within a dark vehicle, lights have bee disposed in the cup holder to illuminate the cup holder, thereby making it easier to see. The lights have been provided as light pipes, sometimes referred to as wave guides, to allow light to be distributed to the cup holder from a remote light source. Typically, the light pipe is a separate component disposed in the cup holder, and thus, the component cost, handling costs and associated manufacturing cost are increased. In addition, problems exist with efforts to illuminate a cup holder uniformly, and further problems exist with trying to maintain the light source from being directly visible, particularly if the cup holder has cup adjusters. Cup adjusters are commonly employed as hinged, solid pieces of opaque material that extend radially inwardly toward the center of the cup holder to engage and steady the cup placed therein while at the same time allowing the cup to be readily removed from the cup holder. Although useful, the cup adjusters pose the aforementioned problem of preventing the cup holder from being uniformly illuminated without having the source of illumination being in direct sight, which is considered aesthetically undesirable.