Beverage cup with beverage ingredient container and straw cup lid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plastic straws and beverage cups contribute to environmental pollution due to low recycling rates, contamination risks, and difficulty in consuming beverage ingredients without them, leading to bans in many countries.
Innovation Solution
A beverage cup design featuring a beverage ingredient container and a straw cup lid with an integrally formed straw cap that allows users to drink and suck up ingredients simultaneously, preventing contamination and facilitating recycling by eliminating the need for separate straws and plastic films.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional plastic straws are used for drinking beverages, then users can consume beverages, but the straws cannot protect the straw mouth and beverage from contamination by bacteria, viruses and dust
Solution Approach 1:
The straw is divided into two separate components: a reusable straw body and a disposable straw cap. The straw cap can be detached and replaced when contaminated, while the straw body remains intact. This segmentation allows the straw mouth to be protected by the cap without requiring a completely new straw structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The straw cap acts as an intermediary component between the external environment and the straw mouth. It provides a barrier that prevents contamination of the beverage and straw interior, while being easily replaceable when needed.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional plastic straws are used for drinking beverages, then users can drink beverages, but the straws have a very low recycling rate and create a heavy burden to garbage disposal and the environment
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the reusable straw body from the disposable cap, the design enables the straw body to be recycled multiple times, significantly improving the overall recycling rate. Only the small cap needs to be discarded after use, reducing the environmental burden compared to discarding entire straws.
Solution Approach 2:
The design implements a system where the straw body is recovered and reused multiple times, while only the contaminated cap is discarded. This selective discarding and recovering approach maximizes resource utilization and minimizes waste generation.
3Ease of operation
If conventional plastic straws with sharp slant tips are used to poke through plastic film sealed onto the beverage cup, then the straw can be inserted into the cup, but it may injury the users or consumers accidentally or hurt other creatures when discarded
Solution Approach 1:
The straw cap is designed with a preliminary piercing function that allows it to puncture the plastic film sealing the cup. This preliminary action is performed by the cap before the straw body is inserted, so the straw body itself does not need a sharp tip, eliminating the injury risk during normal use and disposal.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a beverage ingredient container is added into the beverage cup to contain beverage ingredients, then users can have both beverage and ingredients, but it becomes difficult for users to suck up the beverage ingredients without using a conventional straw
Solution Approach 1:
The straw cap serves multiple functions: it protects the straw mouth from contamination, enables piercing of the cup seal, and facilitates the consumption of beverage ingredients. By making the cap multi-functional, the design eliminates the need for separate straws while maintaining the ability to consume both beverages and ingredients.
Data Source
AI summary
A beverage cup for containing a beverage includes a beverage ingredient container installed in the beverage cup for placing beverage ingredients, and a cup lid fastened to the mouth of the beverage cup. The beverage ingredient container has an upper cup and a lower cup concavely and downwardly formed for placing the beverage ingredients, and a beverage through hole formed at the bottom of the upper cup. The cup lid includes a cover, a straw protruded from the cover, and a straw cap connected to an edge of cup lid by a strip for covering the straw, so that the straw cap can cover a straw mouth to prevent beverage leakage and keep the straw mouth clean. When drinking, the beverage enters into the beverage ingredient container through the beverage through hole and flows together with the beverage ingredient towards the straw to achieve the effect of drinking the beverage together with the beverage ingredients. Since the beverage cup reduces the use of straws, plastic films, and waste that is uneasy to recycle, this invention will make the environment healthier and cleaner.