Crotch Located Cup Holder

[rgsparber]

Sure I have cup holders in my car, but none are in the right location. After years of putting up with this hassle, I came up with a solution.

If you are interested, please see

https://rick.sparber.org/CrotchLocatedCupHolder.pdf

Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.


Thanks,

Rick

[mklotz]

Just remember what happened to that old lady with the McD's coffee cup held that way.

Perhaps leaving the cup in the car's cup holder and rigging a length of flexible aquarium tubing; one end immersed in liquid and other end clipped to your shirt collar. Just turn your head and suck. :-)

[rgsparber]

Just remember what happened to that old lady with the McD's coffee cup held that way.

Perhaps leaving the cup in the car's cup holder and rigging a length of flexible aquarium tubing; one end immersed in liquid and other end clipped to your shirt collar. Just turn your head and suck. :-)

That lady that burned her legs was doing exactly what I am avoiding with my device. The goal is to hold the cup without applying side pressure to it.

Have you ever used a straw in hot coffee? Not good.

For cold liquids, it does work very well. I own a Camelbak which is great for hiking. It would also work well for driving.

Rick

[DIYer]

Thanks ! We've added your Cup Holder to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: rgsparber's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Cup Holder by rgsparber

tags: cupholder

[Al8236]

I can see that being as it would be top heavy to start with, going right sideways the first time I used the clutch!

[Jon]

The McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit debacle is fascinating. For years it was played as a tale of frivolous litigation for the simple act of spilling coffee in one's lap; I fell for that one for a while. It's important to point out that they were selling their coffee at unusually high temperatures - this masks the flavor of cheap coffee, and lowers the third-degree burn time from over 10 seconds to under 3 seconds, so that the burn victim does not have enough time to brush away the coffee from their skin before it burns them severely. Evidence came out indicating that McDonald's had already researched this, and their coffee temps were significantly higher than their competitors', and they had a history of litigating these burns. More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebec...7s_Restaurants

Anyway, I like this concept. Safety-wise, I guess I would consider changing out the 2x4 block for a softer material in the next iteration, but one still rigid enough to do its job; maybe some sort of stiff foam? Unlike a cool steering wheel desk that was recently submitted, I believe by diyfixman, this item is intended to be used while driving. I don't know enough to understand what would happen in a vehicle accident with, yes, a cup of hot liquid, but also with a small 2x4 segment placed between one's legs.

[tonyfoale]

Should you be drinking and driving?

[Jon]

Should you be drinking and driving?

Why I have never thought about this, I can't say. What are the restrictions on cupholders or drinking a cup of coffee or whatever if you're driving professionally or militarily? I guess I've never seen a cupholder for a pilot in an airplane; what about military vehicles? Or commercial vehicles. Heavy equipment. If those vehicles are intentionally designed without cupholders, or if it's common in military situations to forbid drinking a beverage while driving (is it?) maybe that can tell us something.

I agree there is that weird moment when you're trying to balance the cup up to your mouth while also driving the car, and it is indeed distracting.

mklotz's joke (?) about the tube now doesn't seem so absurd, although of course the setup has to be correct for hot liquids.

What do racers do? Don't some of them use the straw method, with a steering wheel button? AFAIK, they dispose of the liquid from their body using such a system.

Now, if we want to go in the other direction, and do something more dangerous, here's an option:

[rgsparber]

I can see that being as it would be top heavy to start with, going right sideways the first time I used the clutch!

You may be right. It depends on how high you must raise your leg to clutch. I have not found it top heavy but if a problem, a shorter cup could be used.

I did test the cup holder in heavy traffic. It was easy to remove and return the cup without distraction. No tipping seen.

Rick

[rgsparber]

Should you be drinking and driving?

Mostly I do it when stopped but will sneak a sip if traffic is light. They key is to have both eyes on the road at all times.

Rick