Beverage Package With Expandable Bottom For Swollen Filter Bag
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional beverage preparation packages face issues with wet and swollen filter bags that are difficult to handle and store, leading to leakage and inefficient liquid drainage, and existing solutions either require complex manufacturing or excessive packaging material.
Innovation Solution
A protective package design where the front and rear walls meet at their vertical edges, allowing for a liquid-tight bottom structure that can be expanded to support the bag upright and facilitate easy insertion and drainage, while minimizing space and material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the package is dimensioned to fit closely the dimensions of the dry bag, then the package saves space and uses minimal material, but it becomes difficult to pull the swollen bag into the package after brewing
Solution Approach 1:
The package bottom is designed with expandable supporting edges that can be pressed apart to increase the package internal volume. This dynamic structure allows the package to adapt from a compact state for storage to an expanded state for easy insertion of the swollen bag after brewing, resolving the contradiction between space-saving and ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the package is made openable from the bottom to facilitate bag removal and squeezing, then the bag can be easily handled and squeezed without staining hands, but liquid can still run through the bottom of the package if placed horizontally
Solution Approach 1:
The package bottom is constructed from flexible package material that can be pressed to expand the supporting edges. This flexible membrane structure allows the bottom to deform and expand when pressed, facilitating easy bag insertion and handling, while maintaining liquid tightness when in its natural state, thus preventing leakage.
3Ease of operation
If a through hole is made in the package bottom for the string, then the bag can be easily lowered and lifted, but beverage can leak through the hole particularly if the bag has not been squeezed sufficiently dry
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the through hole entirely from the package bottom. Instead, the string is threaded through the filter bag itself, and the expandable bottom structure provides the necessary opening mechanism. This extraction of the harmful through hole eliminates the leakage path while the expandable bottom and string configuration maintain ease of operation for lowering and lifting the bag.
4Ease of operation
If complex folding structures are used to create an unfoldable box-like package, then the package can support the bag upright and facilitate squeezing, but the package requires a lot of package material and is difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The package bottom uses a dynamic press-to-expand mechanism with supporting edges that can be easily pressed apart to create the upright support structure. This simple dynamic structure eliminates the need for complex pre-formed folds and multiple panels, significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and package material usage while maintaining the ability to support the bag upright and facilitate squeezing.
Data Source
AI summary
A package containing solid raw material for a beverage, wherein the raw material is packed in a water permeable filter bag (1) and the filter bag is packed in an openable protective package (2) enclosing the bag and having a front wall (2d) and a rear wall (2e) which are connected at their both vertical edges. The protective package (2) can be opened by forming an opening between the front wall and the rear wall. Both the front wall (2d) and the rear wall (2e) end at their respective supporting edges (2a, 2b) at the bottom, and said supporting edges can be brought apart to form a bottom structure to keep the bag upright. At least between the supporting edges, the package material forms a bottom that is liquid tight throughout.