Glassware Nesting Insert for Anti-Stick Stacking and Rim Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Glassware stored in nested arrangements often becomes stuck, requiring significant force to dislodge, leading to breakage risks and potential injuries, and the nesting process can cause rim chipping or breaking, especially due to the difference in thickness between glass bottoms and rims.
Innovation Solution
A glassware nesting device with vertically extending prongs from a shared planar base, including a donut-shaped shock absorber and finger-shaped prongs, designed to partially envelop the glass bottom, reducing friction and absorbing impact to prevent breakage and chipping, while allowing easy stacking and sliding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If glassware is stored in a nested arrangement to conserve space, then storage efficiency is improved, but the risk of glassware breakage increases due to glasses becoming stuck together
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device placed between nested glasses to prevent them from sticking together. This mediator absorbs the forces that would otherwise cause the glasses to bond, allowing them to be easily separated without breaking while maintaining the space-saving nested storage arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by placing protective elements between glasses before they are nested together. These cushioning elements pre-positioned between the glasses prevent direct contact and potential sticking, cushioning against the forces that would cause breakage during storage and retrieval operations.
2Ease of operation
If considerable force is applied to dislodge stuck glassware from a nested arrangement, then the glassware can be removed, but the risk of injury from broken glass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary device acts as a mediator that prevents direct glass-to-glass contact, eliminating the sticking problem that requires forceful removal. With the intermediary in place, glasses can be easily pulled apart without applying considerable force, thereby preventing breakage and injury risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful sticking force into a beneficial non-sticking interface by introducing the intermediary material. The same forces that would cause glasses to stick and break are transformed into harmless interactions with the intermediary material, which is designed to withstand and dissipate these forces without causing damage.
3Volume of stationary object
If the bottom of one glass is placed inside another glass during nesting, then space is conserved, but the rim of the second glass may chip or break due to impact from the heavy glass bottom
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by placing protective elements at the rim area of glasses before nesting occurs. These cushioning elements are positioned to absorb the impact from the heavy glass bottom during the nesting process, preventing chipping or breaking of the rim while still allowing the nested configuration to achieve space conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary device serves as a mediator between the heavy glass bottom and the fragile rim of the receiving glass. This intermediary absorbs and distributes the impact forces, preventing direct transmission of shock to the rim, thereby protecting it from chipping or breaking while enabling the nested storage arrangement.
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 device enables efficient storage of glassware while minimizing breakage and injury risks by reducing the force needed to dislodge glasses and protecting the rims from chipping during the nesting process.
Implementation Method 1
a donut-shaped shock absorber... absorbing impact to prevent breakage and chipping
Implementation Method 2
reducing friction and absorbing impact to prevent breakage and chipping
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to the protection of glasses and glassware in the hospitality and bar industry. Specifically, the device provides for a rubberized or plastic nesting device sized to fit on the outside of glassware, such as for example, a pint glass, whereby the plastic nesting device permits multiple glasses to nest and save space during cleaning and storage and preventing the direct contact of the sides of the glassware that might lead to breaking.