Ford Patent Previews Cup Holder that Corrects for Corner-Carvers
Ford’s proposed self-leveling cup holder is poised to help keep your coffee in the cup.
Mark Twain once said, “There is no such thing as a new idea.” Ford seems to be challenging that philosophy with every new patent it submits. We’ve recently seen the company working on heat-sensitive graphics, LED-illuminated body panels, and interesting bike rack integrations. No matter how you feel about any of these specific innovations, it proves that Ford is still working toward improving their iconic sporty muscle car. Ford is back at it with a wacky new patent showing off a gimbal-controlled cup holder that prevents the liquids inside from sloshing out of your cup. We tend not to drive with cups that have no lids, and prefer to have bottles with screw caps on them, but what do we know?
ALSO SEE: What the Forum Has to Say About this Innovation
This tumble-proof cup holder could be used across the Ford lineup, but might be most useful in the Mustang as you tend to be the rowdiest on the brakes and throttle, right? With this innovation, you can threshold brake, corner, and accelerate out without fear of dumping your sticky soda all over the interior, but still, have an icy beverage to help you cool down at the end of a canyon run. Doesn’t that sound fantastic? For decades we’ve just been satisfied with a regular cup holder and dealt with the spills and leaks as they happened. If this idea comes to fruition, then that could be a thing of the past.
Ford’s patent shows a pivoting cup holder with a weight attached to the bottom of it to assist the gimbal action shown in the photo. Additionally, the patent describes a guard around the lip of the device that keeps dirt and debris from getting trapped down inside this motion machine. We say this with the most respect possible for Mr. Twain, but maybe he really had no idea what he was talking about in this instance. This certainly seems like a brand new idea to us.
