Cardboard Cup Sidewall Shaping for Stability and Insulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cardboard containers are difficult to produce, lack stability, and inadequate insulation, making them unsuitable for serving hot beverages or food.
Innovation Solution
A container with a conically shaped sidewall and base, made from plastically deformable materials like paper or cardboard, featuring compressible circumferential shapings that act as springs for stability and insulation, and a second sidewall for maintaining the compressed shape and enhancing stiffness, along with a bevel at the lower end for improved stand-up stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional cardboard containers are used, then production is simple, but stability and insulation are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by compressing the height of circumferential shapings in the sidewall to transform the cardboard structure. This compression increases radial extension and creates spring-like behavior, enhancing stability and insulation without fundamentally changing the manufacturing process or material type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces circumferential shapings with curved profiles (U-shaped or circular segments) into the sidewall. These curved structures, when compressed, provide radial support and spring-like behavior that improves container stability and structural integrity.
2Temperature
If conventional cardboard containers are used, then material is simple, but insulation performance is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent improves insulation by compressing the height of circumferential shapings, which increases their radial extension. This parameter change creates air gaps and spring-like behavior that trap heat, enhancing thermal insulation performance without adding complex materials or systems.
3Temperature
If sidewall height is reduced through compression, then insulation improves, but volume decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for height reduction by increasing the radial extension of compressed shapings. This dimensional transformation converts vertical space savings into radial structural support, maintaining or enhancing insulation performance while preserving usable container volume through optimized wall thickness and shaping geometry.
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
The container provides enhanced stability, insulation, and leak resistance, while being easy to produce and stack, making it suitable for serving hot beverages and food.
Implementation Method 1
More preferably the compression of the shaping is elastic, i.e. as soon as the deformation force is removed, the shaping resumes, at least partially, its original shape. Thus, in this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the deformed shaping functions as a spring.
Implementation Method 2
Especially the surfaces of parts of the container which are subjected to a liquid and/or vapour are provided with means, especially a coating, an impregnation, a film or the like, which makes the parts at least temporarily resistant against for example humidity, water, aqueous solutions, oil and/or fat or a combination thereof.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a container, particularly a cup, with a base and a first sidewall, wherein the first sidewall comprises at least a first, at least partially circumferential shaping directed inwardly and/or outwardly. The container may also include a second sidewall attached to the shaping of the first sidewall at a connection point thereby providing an air gap between the first sidewall and second sidewall. The shaping of the first sidewall may include a tip to which the second sidewall is sealed or glued.