Disposable Cup Lid With Pivoting Closure for Spill-Safe Drinking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disposable cup lids either interfere with drinking due to their design or require removal for adding condiments, leading to increased spillage risks and a suboptimal drinking experience.
Innovation Solution
A disposable cup lid with a raised portion and a pivotable closure member that includes a gripping member, allowing for easy opening and reclosing while providing a drink-through opening that accommodates a person's nose and allows for condiment addition without removal, featuring a sloped design to enhance the drinking experience and minimize spillage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a small openable portion is provided in the cup lid, then beverage spillage is reduced and exposure to ambient conditions is limited, but the lid interferes with the person's ability to drink comfortably and the opening often fails to stay secured
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into distinct functional zones: a raised portion with clearance area for nose accommodation, a flat drinking surface area, and an openable portion with interlocking features. This segmentation allows each area to perform its specific function without interfering with others, resolving the conflict between spillage prevention and drinking comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The openable portion incorporates movable interlocking features including a latch mechanism with resilient arms that can transition between locked and unlocked states. This dynamic design allows the opening to stay securely closed during transport but easily open and remain stable during drinking, addressing both reliability and ease of operation.
2Reliability
If a small fixed opening is provided in the cup lid, then beverage spillage is minimized, but the lid must be removed to add condiments which increases spillage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The openable portion with interlocking latch features provides a dynamic sealing mechanism that can be opened and reclosed. This allows the lid to maintain spillage prevention when closed while enabling easy access for condiment addition when opened, eliminating the need to remove the lid entirely.
3Strength
If the openable portion extends upwardly above the central region of the cup lid, then the lid provides structural support, but it interferes with the upper lip or nose of a person consuming the beverage
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into a raised portion that provides structural support and a separate flat drinking surface area that ensures comfort. The raised portion is positioned to provide strength while the flat area is positioned to accommodate the user's face during drinking, resolving the conflict between structural integrity and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the lid are given different heights and properties: the raised portion provides structural support and clearance, while the flat drinking surface area provides optimal contact with the user's lip and nose. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A disposable cup lid including a body and a mounting portion extending around the periphery of the body. The body defines a suitably shaped clearance area to accommodate a person's nose when drinking the contents of a cup having the lid positioned thereon. The body also defines an enhanced drinking area which is suitably configured to provide a person with a drinking experience more similar to the drinking experience of drinking from an uncovered cup or glass. In one embodiment, the body includes a raised portion which defines a lip engaging front wall and an enhanced drinking area. The enhanced drinking area includes a closure member having an upwardly extending gripping member and a drink-through opening initially covered by the closure member, wherein the drink-through opening is positioned substantially adjacent to the lip engaging front wall. The closure member is movable about a hinge from an initial closed position to an open position. The closure member of the top wall is also movable into a locking position wherein the gripping member frictionally engages the walls of a locking recess.