Drinking cup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drinking cups used at hydration stations during athletic events are difficult to handle and prone to spilling due to their large top opening, leading to dehydration issues for runners as they struggle to consume fluids efficiently and safely during races.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible, frusto-conical drinking cup with a wider base and narrower top, made from water-impermeable paper and a flexible plastic bottom, featuring fold lines for easy storage and deployment, which provides greater stability and fluid containment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional drinking cups with large top openings are used, then runners can easily grab and hold the cup, but liquid spills easily during running
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional cup design by making the top opening narrower than the base, opposite to traditional cup geometry. This inverted frusto-conical shape allows the cup to be easily grabbed at the wider base while the narrower top prevents spilling during running.
2Reliability
If runners crush the sides of the cup to collapse the opening, then spilling is avoided, but the runner loses grip and drops the cup
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring the runner to collapse the opening by crushing sides, the design inverts the geometry so the narrow opening is inherent at the top. The cup maintains its structural integrity and grip stability while naturally preventing spills through its frusto-conical shape.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the cup base is made wider than the top opening, then stability and handling are improved, but the cup becomes difficult to flatten for shipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible paper material for the cup body that can be easily collapsed and flattened for shipping despite the frusto-conical shape. The material's flexibility allows the cup to be compressed into a compact form while maintaining the stable wider-base geometry when deployed for use.
4Weight of moving object
If the cup is made from paper material, then it is lightweight and environmentally friendly, but it becomes permeable to liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite structure by coating or treating paper material to make it liquid-impermeable. This composite approach retains the lightweight and environmentally friendly properties of paper while adding the necessary liquid barrier function for holding beverages during athletic events.
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 cup design allows for efficient fluid intake with reduced spilling, improved handling, and increased stability, enabling runners to hydrate effectively and safely during events, even in windy conditions or when fatigued.
Implementation Method 1
attached to the wall of the cup by heating the bottom to soften and attach to the cup through subsequent cooling
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a cup comprising a frusto-conical shaped wall that is narrower on top of the cup, the top of the cup having an opening for passage of liquid, the cup having a circular bottom made from a material that is different than material of the wall of the cup, the wall of the cup having at least two fold lines; wherein the cup has a stowed configuration where the cup is collapsed along the fold lines and the cup has a deployed configuration so that the cup can hold a liquid.