Cup Rack with Aperture Plate for Stable Disposable Cup Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cup holders in the food service industry are difficult to clean, provide inadequate stability, and are often expensive, posing sanitary issues and being prone to jams and spills.
Innovation Solution
A cup rack with a base and a cup retainer plate featuring a plurality of apertures that securely hold disposable cups in place, allowing for easy access and stability, while being easy to clean and requiring no specialized installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If spring loaded cup holders recessed into cabinetry are used, then cups can be quickly obtained for service, but they are prone to jams, take up a great deal of space, are costly, require professional installation, are difficult to clean, and spills will soil the entire contents requiring emptying for cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder is divided into multiple individual cup slots arranged in a grid pattern on a flat surface, allowing each cup to be independently accessed without affecting others. This segmentation eliminates the complex spring-loaded mechanism while maintaining quick access capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holder design extracts the cups from a recessed cabinet configuration and places them on a surface-mounted flat plate. This extraction eliminates the need for complex installation and cleaning mechanisms while maintaining functionality.
2Ease of operation
If spring loaded cup holders recessed into cabinetry are used, then cups can be quickly obtained for service, but they are difficult to clean and spills will soil the entire contents requiring emptying
Solution Approach 1:
The flat plate with individual cup slots creates distinct, separated compartments for each cup. This segmentation allows for easy cleaning of individual slots and prevents spills from affecting the entire structure, as each slot is independent and accessible.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of recessing the cup holder into cabinetry (complex, hard to clean), the design inverts the approach by mounting a flat plate on the surface. This inversion makes the structure externally accessible and dramatically simplifies cleaning procedures.
3Ease of operation
If stacks of cups are simply left out on an open table, then they are easily accessible, but they pose sanitary problems and are prone to being moved, upset or toppled
Solution Approach 1:
The flat plate divides the open table space into discrete, defined cup slots. This segmentation provides stability by confining each cup to its own designated space, preventing them from being easily moved or toppled, while maintaining accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat plate provides localized support and containment for each cup within its own slot, creating stable, defined spaces. This local quality control ensures cups remain upright and accessible without requiring the entire structure to be complex or restrictive.
Data Source
AI summary
A cup stacking and holding assembly is disclosed with methods of application in standard use and with internal electronics for visual displays. The cup holder assembly may be manufactured in various configurations, all providing a cup rack for convenient and stable stacking of disposable cups. The cup rack may comprise: a base providing a surface for abutting support for a plurality of cups; a cup retainer plate coupled to the base; a plurality of cup retaining apertures formed within the cup retainer plate, each cup retaining aperture sized to receive a corresponding cup and having a diameter smaller than the largest exterior diameter of the corresponding cup; the cup retainer plate moveable from a first closed position parallel and proximal to the surface for abutting support to a second open position for insertion of cups within the cup retaining apertures.