Capillary Beverage Cup Geometry for Zero-Gravity Liquid Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Beverage cups designed for standard gravity environments fail in zero or microgravity settings due to capillary forces causing liquids to adhere to the cup interior, making it impossible to drink effectively, and existing solutions like sealed bags limit flavor and drinking experience.
Innovation Solution
A capillary beverage cup with an open top and a continuous interior corner that utilizes capillary forces to direct liquid to the rim, allowing for continuous capillary action and easy drinking by leveraging surface tension and cup geometry, ensuring stability and complete drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standard open-topped beverage cup is used in zero gravity, then the cup structure is simple and allows aromatics to be experienced, but capillary forces cause liquid to adhere to the cup interior making it impossible to drink
Solution Approach 1:
The cup interior is segmented into distinct functional zones: a hydrophobic lower portion that prevents liquid adhesion, a hydrophilic middle portion that promotes capillary action, and a hydrophobic upper rim portion that controls liquid delivery. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function in the capillary liquid delivery system.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the cup interior have different surface properties (hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic) tailored to their specific functions. The lower portion is hydrophobic to release liquid from adhesion, the middle portion is hydrophilic to establish capillary forces, and the upper rim is hydrophobic to control delivery to the user's lips.
2Reliability
If sealed bags are used to contain liquids in space, then clean delivery is ensured, but flavor is reduced as aromatics are nearly completely eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a flexible, deformable membrane that seals the cup opening while allowing controlled liquid delivery through capillary action. This membrane approach maintains the sealed containment needed for clean delivery while permitting aromatics to pass through to the user's nose, unlike rigid sealed bags.
3Productivity
If a corner channel is used to exploit capillary forces, then liquid can be directed to the rim, but the capillary pressure gradient dissipates as liquid level decreases making it difficult to completely drain
Solution Approach 1:
The cup design dynamically adapts as liquid level decreases. The hydrophilic portion continuously establishes new capillary pathways as the liquid recedes, and the tapered geometry concentrates remaining liquid toward the delivery rim. This dynamic adjustment maintains effective capillary action throughout the entire draining process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from relying solely on vertical capillary channels to utilizing a multi-dimensional capillary network that includes radial and circumferential components. The hydrophilic portion creates capillary forces in multiple directions, ensuring complete liquid extraction even as levels decrease.
4Ease of operation
If the corner channel extends to the rim, then liquid can reach the rim, but the user must drink from a tapered point making the experience less like drinking at standard gravity
Solution Approach 1:
The upper rim portion acts as an intermediary element between the capillary action zone and the user's lips. It receives liquid delivered by capillary forces and reformats it into a conventional rim geometry that allows natural sipping, bridging the gap between capillary delivery and traditional drinking.
5Stability of the object's composition
If capillary forces are used to hold liquid stable, then liquid stability is improved, but the amount of liquid that may be held is limited due to inertial forces
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrophobic lower portion creates a counteracting force against capillary adhesion by minimizing liquid contact with the cup interior. This allows larger liquid volumes to be held stable without excessive adhesion forces, effectively counterbalancing the capillary forces that would otherwise limit capacity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables stable and efficient liquid consumption in low-gravity environments while maintaining flavor and aroma, allowing users to drink naturally, with the capillary forces ensuring liquid is drawn to the lip interface for easy access, even as the liquid level decreases.
Implementation Method 1
A capillary beverage cup may be used to provide a liquid for drinking in a low-gravity environment. The capillary beverage cup may provide a continuous capillary force on the liquid contained by the cup, utilizing a continuous interior corner extending from a lip interface into an inner cavity of the capillary beverage cup
Implementation Method 2
The continuous interior corner may comprise an acute included angle which tapers continuously as the interior corner approaches the lip interface, allowing the cup to provide continuous increased capillary under-pressure (e.g. suction) on liquids
Implementation Method 3
A beverage placed inside such a cup will adhere to the base of the cup interior due to capillary forces
Data Source
AI summary
A capillary beverage cup comprises a continuous interior corner extending from a lip interface into an inner cavity of the capillary beverage cup, the continuous interior corner comprising an acute included angle which tapers continuously as the interior corner approaches the lip interface. The capillary beverage cup provides a continuous capillary force on the liquid contained by the cup, allowing for complete withdrawal of fluid from the cup in low or near zero gravity environments, while enabling the cup to have an open top, allowing for aromatics to be experienced by a user while drinking with reduced concerns of spilling or release free-floating spheres of liquid in the low-gravity environment.