Drinking Container Pivoting Lid with Abutment-Surface Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drinking containers often fail to prevent liquid spills and are either difficult to open or mechanically complex and expensive to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A drinking container design featuring a vessel with a cap, a pivoting lid connected by a hinge, and a locking tab that engages with the cap's inner surface to retain the lid in a closed position, allowing for easy opening and closing while preventing spills, and a sliding mechanism to disengage the locking tab for lid removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking tab mechanism is added to retain the lid in closed position, then spill prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tab is integrated directly into the lid structure, and the abutment surfaces are formed as part of the cap and lid bodies rather than separate components. This merging of functions into existing structural elements achieves reliable locking without adding discrete mechanical parts, thereby preventing spills while avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The abutment surfaces automatically engage when the lid is pivoted to the closed position, creating a self-locking mechanism. The geometry of the surfaces themselves provides the locking action without requiring additional actuators, springs, or complex mechanical assemblies, thus improving reliability while maintaining simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If a hinge mechanism is added to allow lid pivoting, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lid assembly is divided into the lid body and the cap, connected by a simple hinge joint. This segmentation allows the lid to pivot independently for easy opening and closing operations, while the hinge itself remains a simple mechanical connection without complex components, thus improving ease of operation without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge acts as an intermediary element between the lid and cap, providing the necessary pivoting motion. By using a simple hinge mechanism rather than direct attachment or complex joint, the patent achieves easy opening and closing while keeping the overall device complexity low.
3Reliability
If abutment surfaces are designed to urge the lid forward during pivoting, then locking reliability is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment surfaces are designed with specific geometric parameters including angled surfaces that convert the pivoting motion into forward urging of the lid. By carefully selecting the angles and dimensions of these surfaces, the mechanism achieves reliable locking through the natural mechanics of the pivoting action, while the precision requirements remain within standard manufacturing capabilities.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A drinking container (10) comprises a vessel (14); a cap (12, 16), atop the vessel (14); a lid (16); and a hinge (100) located proximate a rear of the lid (16) and interconnecting the cap (12, 16) to the lid (16), to allow the lid (16) to pivot on the cap (12, 16) between a closed and open position. A locking tab (90) is at the front of the lid (16) that engages with an inner surface (50, 80) of the cap (12, 16), to retain the lid (16) in the closed position. A first abutment surface (70, 98A) is on the cap (12, 16) and a second abutment surface (70, 98A) is on the lid (16). The first and second abutment surfaces are arranged to contact with each other as the lid (16) is pivoted from the open position to the closed position. Contact of the first and second abutment surfaces urges the lid (16) and the tab (42, 44, 98) forward as the lid (16) is pivoted to the closed position.