Protected Drink Bottle Spout Cover for Easy Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drink bottles fail to protect the spout from damage and contamination in stowed configurations and often have complex valve mechanisms for dispensing, which can be cumbersome for users.
Innovation Solution
A drink bottle design featuring a spout and spout cover that move between stowed and dispensing configurations, with an actuator facilitating this movement and a counterweight or spring biasing the spout cover to the dispensing position, allowing for free movement without restrictions, thus protecting the spout and enhancing usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the spout is left exposed in conventional drink bottles, then access to liquid is easy, but the spout is vulnerable to damage and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The spout cover is nested within the lid structure, allowing it to fold over and cover the spout when in the stowed configuration. This nested arrangement provides protection without adding external components, effectively preventing contamination and damage while maintaining easy access when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The spout and spout cover are designed to be movable between stowed and dispensing configurations. The dynamic mechanism allows the spout cover to fold over the spout for protection during storage and transport, then open freely during dispensing, adapting to different operational states without complex controls.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If complex valve or covering mechanisms are added to protect the spout, then spout protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spout cover is integrated with the lid structure, merging the protective function with the existing cap assembly. This combination eliminates the need for separate covering mechanisms, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining effective spout protection through the folding cover design.
3Ease of operation
If the spout cover is biased to the dispensing configuration, then access to liquid is improved, but the spout may be exposed to contamination when not in use
Solution Approach 1:
The spout cover is designed to be self-biasing through the counterweight or spring mechanism, automatically moving to the appropriate configuration based on use state. When the spout is engaged for dispensing, the cover opens; when stowed, the cover automatically folds over to protect the spout, eliminating the need for user intervention to maintain proper configuration.
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
The design effectively protects the spout from damage and contamination while providing easy and unrestricted access to the liquid, improving user experience by simplifying the dispensing process and maintaining hygiene.
Implementation Method 1
a counterweight or spring biasing the spout cover to the dispensing position
Implementation Method 2
a counterweight or spring biasing the spout cover to the dispensing position
Data Source
AI summary
A drink bottle may include a container and a lid connected to the container. The lid may include a spout and a spout cover. Each of the spout and the spout cover may be moved in opposite directions between a stowed configuration and a dispensing configuration.