Container for receiving beverages and device for filling the container
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers for beverages, such as drinking cups, are expensive to manufacture and dispose of, and they are not suitable for quick and efficient filling with freshly tapped beer or soft drinks, leading to delayed drink distribution at large events, which reduces consumer satisfaction.
Innovation Solution
A container design with a peripheral wall featuring multiple perforations near the base, allowing for rapid filling through the side, and an elastic sealant ring that slides along the wall to seal the perforations after filling, ensuring quick and secure sealing, while also serving as an advertising medium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional containers are used for beverage dispensing, then the containers are simple and inexpensive, but they cannot be filled quickly enough to serve large numbers of people during short breaks
Solution Approach 1:
The container wall is divided into multiple perforations distributed around the circumference, allowing beverage to enter through multiple points simultaneously. This segmentation of the filling aperture enables parallel flow paths, dramatically increasing the filling speed from seconds to sub-second timescales.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional bottom-filling (vertical dimension) to side-wall filling through perforations (horizontal dimension). This dimensional change allows beverage to enter the container from the side, enabling much higher flow rates and faster filling while the elastic ring seals the perforations after filling completes.
2Productivity
If the wall has perforations for rapid filling, then filling speed increases, but the container becomes harder to manufacture and the perforations must be precisely positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic ring's width is designed to be greater than the diameter of individual perforations, and the ring is positioned to cover multiple perforations simultaneously. This parameter relationship ensures that precise positioning of each individual perforation is not critical, as the ring's broader dimensions provide tolerance for manufacturing variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic ring serves multiple functions: it seals the perforations after filling, provides structural reinforcement to the container wall, and can be designed with advertising messaging. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, simplifying manufacturing.
3Ease of operation
If an elastic ring is used to seal the perforations, then sealing is quick and easy, but the ring must be precisely positioned to ensure complete coverage of all perforations
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic ring is pre-positioned on the container wall at a location that ensures coverage of all perforations before the filling operation begins. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for precise real-time adjustment during sealing, as the ring is already in the correct position to cover all perforations when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic ring's width is deliberately designed to exceed the diameter of individual perforations and to span the entire circumferential region where perforations are located. This parameter choice creates a sealing system where exact positioning tolerance is relaxed, as the ring's broader dimensions ensure complete coverage even with moderate positioning variations.
4Productivity
If multiple perforations are distributed around the wall, then filling speed and evenness improve, but the container design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple perforations are distributed uniformly and evenly around the container wall at consistent intervals. This homogeneous arrangement ensures uniform beverage flow distribution during filling, preventing localized overflow or foam formation, while the regular pattern simplifies manufacturing compared to irregular perforation placements.
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 rapid filling and sealing of containers, reducing production costs and facilitating efficient drink distribution at events, ensuring a large number of people can be served quickly and securely, with the added benefit of minimizing foam formation and allowing for easy cleaning and reuse.
Implementation Method 1
the sealing agent consists of an elastic ring which is pushed onto the wall of the container and is displaceable along the wall into a filling position and into a closing position
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
According to the invention, in order to create a container (1) for receiving beverages, in particular a drinks container or drinks cup, at least comprising a base (2) and a circumferential wall (3) projecting approximately perpendicularly from the base (2), which can be produced particularly inexpensively, can be filled within a minimum time and can be securely sealed after the filling, the wall (3) has openings (4) via which the container (1) can be filled with a beverage, wherein the openings (4) can be closed after the filling via a sealing means that is/can be applied from outside to the outer surface of the wall (3). The invention also relates to a device that can fill a container of this type with a corresponding beverage, such as beer or a soft drink, within a minimum time, said device being simple to operate, inexpensive and simple to produce and having a long service life.