Edible Cake Stand Kit for Single-Use Assembly and Hygiene
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tiered cake stands are bulky, expensive, and difficult to assemble, with a high risk of breakage during transit and assembly, especially in remote consumption environments, and pose food safety concerns due to repeated use and assembly by novice users.
Innovation Solution
A kit of edible cake stand pieces made from confectionery materials, featuring a stem with support members and apertures that allow easy assembly into a tiered stand, reducing the need for tools and ensuring stability, and can be consumed along with the displayed food.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional tiered cake stands are used, then they provide stable support for cakes, but they are heavy, bulky, and expensive to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The cake stand is divided into multiple separate components (base, stem, support members, display platforms) that can be individually packaged and transported. This segmentation reduces the weight and bulk of each individual piece being shipped, while the components assemble into a stable structure at the destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses edible materials (chocolate, icing, confectionery) to create a disposable cake stand that serves its purpose for a single use and then can be consumed. This eliminates the need for heavy, durable materials required in traditional reusable stands, significantly reducing transport weight and cost.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional tiered cake stands are provided, then they serve the display function, but they pose food safety risks in remote consumption environments
Solution Approach 1:
The edible cake stand is designed for single-use only. After serving its display function, it is discarded and consumed rather than returned, cleaned, and reused. This eliminates the food safety risks associated with repeated use and cleaning in remote consumption environments where professional hygiene protocols cannot be ensured.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of returning and reusing the cake stand, the invention discards it after single use. The edible material is consumed along with the cake, converting the disposal process into a recovery of nutritional value and eliminating hygiene concerns entirely.
3Ease of operation
If traditional cake stands are assembled by novice users, then they can be set up for display, but assembly is troublesome and intricate
Solution Approach 1:
The cake stand is segmented into clearly defined components with intuitive connection points. The modular design allows novice users to assemble the structure step-by-step without requiring complex tools or techniques, as each component has a specific placement location on the stem.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates self-aligning features where components naturally fit together without requiring precise positioning or complex manipulation. The apertures and support members are designed to guide assembly, allowing users to simply connect pieces rather than perform intricate assembly operations.
4Adaptability or versatility
If traditional cake stands are disassembled and returned, then they can be reused, but breakage risk increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The edible cake stand is designed as a single-use product that is consumed rather than returned. This eliminates the breakage risk entirely, as the product does not undergo repeated assembly, disassembly, and transportation cycles that cause traditional stands to fail.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of returning the cake stand for reuse, the invention discards it after single use and recovers value through consumption of the edible material. This approach trades reusability for complete elimination of breakage risk during transportation and handling.
Data Source
AI summary
A kit of edible cake stand pieces having a base, at least two cake display platforms and a stem for supporting the cake display platforms provide a cost-efficient, transportable, robust, simple to assemble, and hygienic assembled tiered cake stand. The kit is formed of a stem with a base end and opposing upper end; a first support member for supporting a first display platform; and a second support member for supporting a second display platform which second support member is disposed further from the base end than the first support member, wherein the first support member has a larger radial extent than the second support member and where the first display platform has an aperture for receiving the stem and for passage of the second support member but not the first support member while the second display platform has an aperture through which the second support member may not pass.