Disposable Cup Rack With Removable Retainer Plate for Sanitary 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 cups in place, allowing for easy cleaning and stability, with a sanitary plate for additional protection and easy maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If spring loaded cup holders are recessed into cabinetry for employee access, then cup retrieval speed is improved, but device complexity and installation cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder system is divided into separate functional components: a base unit for stability and a removable retainer plate for cup retention. This segmentation allows the simple base to remain in open view for customer access while the retainer plate can be easily removed for cleaning, eliminating the need for complex spring mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup retention function is extracted from the base structure and placed in a separate removable retainer plate. This allows the base to be simple and easy to clean while the retention mechanism can be easily attached and removed, eliminating the need for complex integrated spring mechanisms.
2Stability of the object's composition
If spring loaded cup holders are recessed into cabinetry, then cup stability is improved, but ease of cleaning deteriorates due to soiling of internal contents
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder is segmented into a base and a removable retainer plate. The base provides stability and remains in the open view area, while the retainer plate can be completely removed for thorough cleaning, allowing both stability and ease of cleaning to be achieved.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer plate is designed to be dynamically removable from the base, transitioning from a fixed integrated design to a separable design. This allows the retainer plate to be easily detached for cleaning and reattached for use, solving the cleaning accessibility problem.
3Ease of operation
If cups are placed on open tables for customer access, then ease of access is improved, but sanitary conditions deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer plate acts as an intermediary barrier between the cups and the external environment. It can be removed for cleaning to maintain sanitation while the base remains in the open view area for easy customer access, balancing hygiene and accessibility.
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.