Cup lid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cup lids are difficult to use with straws and prone to spilling due to their flat inner surfaces, limiting their functionality for both hot and cold drinks.
Innovation Solution
A cup lid design featuring a main body with an annular engaging portion, a concave sip portion, and a flippable sealing member that allows for two drinking methods and prevents spills by directing excess beverage back into the cup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional cup lid with a flat inner surface is used, then it is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, but it makes the beverage easy to spill out and cannot accommodate straw insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into multiple functional zones: a concave portion for spill accumulation, a sip portion with opening for direct drinking, and a through hole for straw insertion. This segmentation allows the lid to support multiple drinking methods simultaneously without requiring a completely complex redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid features a concave portion with curved surfaces instead of a flat plane. This curvature creates natural spill zones that guide liquid flow back toward the sip portion, preventing spills while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Ease of manufacture
If a plane inner surface is used in the cup lid, then it is easy to manufacture, but it causes beverage to spill easily during drinking
Solution Approach 1:
The inner surface incorporates a concave portion with curved geometry that naturally directs spilled beverage back toward the sip portion. This curvature is simple enough to manufacture using standard molding techniques while effectively preventing spills during normal use.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cup lid is designed for hot drinks only with a sip portion, then it maintains simple structure, but it limits the cup lid to be only used for hot drinks and cannot accommodate straws
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed to support multiple drinking methods: direct sipping through the sip portion, straw insertion through the through hole, and spoon access. This multi-functionality allows the same lid structure to serve both hot and cold beverages without requiring separate lids for different purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening structure is segmented into a sip portion with a larger opening for direct drinking and a through hole for straw insertion. This segmentation allows each opening to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cup lid may comprise a main body having a cup edge at an outer periphery thereof. An upper surface of the main body has a cover comprising a concave upper surface, and a first end and a second end are respectively formed at two opposed edges of the concave upper surface at corresponding positions. A concave sip portion formed adjacent to the first end, and a plane surface is formed at a bottom portion of the sip portion. A flippable sealing member extends from the plane surface, and a sip-through opening is formed overlapped with the sealing member. A month-contact portion is formed adjacent to the first end, and a height difference formed between the month-contact portion and the sip-through opening is configured to prevent the overflow of beverage when drinking.