Drink holder secures coffee on the fly

Air travelers on the move and wishing for an extra hand while juggling luggage, passport, boarding pass, and a coffee cup will welcome the new tugo drink holder from Fli LLC (Pearlington, MS). The ingenious, one-piece gadget attaches securely to the upright handles of virtually any rolling suitcase, pivots to keep the beverage level while moving, and folds for easy storage. The soft-feel elastomer is also durable enough to put through the dishwasher.

The tugo was commercialized via a team composed of inventor Karen Porte, prototype design firm OTB Designs & Engineering LLC (Fort Collins, CO), and molder WP Instruments Inc. (Longmont, CO). The team looked for a material that could provide an ideal balance of flexibility and stability, as well as a soft-touch feel, easy colorability, and an affordable price. Working with PolyOne’s GLS Thermoplastic Elastomers (McHenry, IL), the team selected Dynaflex G7970 TPE for its performance and cost advantages.
 
Porte noted, “My goal was a drink holder that was easy to attach, simple to use, strong and secure, and could be removed, compressed, and stored in a pocket of the suitcase. And there was one more thing: I wanted the product to be free of phthalates because, as a mother, I could envision handing it to a child to play with.” Colorability was also an important issue, according to Porte. “We anticipate selling the product as a promotional item featuring a company’s brand color and logo.”

Doug Collins and Ken House of OTB Designs recommended an elastomeric material for the tugo from the outset, and initially experimenting began with a polyester elastomer. When mold development began at WP Instruments, senior development engineer Bud Sponseller suggested that GLS TPEs would provide a much better combination of flexibility, strength, and colorability, based on his past experience. After testing a wide range of durometers in various grades, the group chose Dynaflex G7970, an easy-processing, general-purpose grade with a Shore A hardness of 70. According to Collins, this product also offered a cost advantage over the polyester elastomer. —[email protected]