Adjustable Beverage Outlet With Dual End-Position Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparing devices with vertically adjustable outlets require multiple safety switches or sensors to detect both end positions, leading to complexity and increased costs, while also posing challenges in cleaning and maintenance due to non-removable actuating members.
Innovation Solution
A single actuating member with pivotable joints and dual contact surfaces is used to activate a safety switch or sensor, allowing for detection of both lower and upper end positions, and is designed as a removable unit for easier cleaning, utilizing a mechanical or optical/magnetic sensing element for precise positioning and deactivation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple safety switches or sensors are used to detect both end positions, then detection precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The single actuating member is designed with dual functionality: it detects both the lower end position (when the beverage outlet contacts the receptacle) and the upper end position (when the beverage outlet reaches its retracted position). This multi-functional design eliminates the need for multiple separate safety switches or sensors, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining precise detection of both end positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the detection functions for both end positions into a single integrated safety device comprising one actuating member and one safety switch. Instead of using separate detection mechanisms for the lower and upper positions, the actuating member is designed to activate the same safety switch at different positions, merging multiple detection functions into a unified system.
2Reliability
If the actuating member is fixed and non-removable, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to cleaning difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating member is designed as a removable component that can be separated from the beverage outlet assembly. This segmentation allows the actuating member to be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance while still providing reliable safety detection when installed. The removable design enables users to access and clean the actuating member without disassembling the entire beverage outlet mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A beverage preparing device includes a beverage outlet that is vertically adjustable and is adapted to dispense a beverage into a receptacle. The beverage outlet has a safety device including a safety switch or safety sensor for interrupting height adjustment of the beverage outlet when the beverage outlet approaches or contacts the receptacle. An actuating member is pivotable about a joint so as to activate the safety switch or safety sensor. The actuating member includes a contact surface adapted to activate the safety switch or safety sensor and an additional contact surface for interrupting the height adjustment of the beverage outlet when an upper end position of the beverage outlet is reached.