Device for adjusting the capacity of a beverage cup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional capacity-adjustable cups for beverages are complex, unsanitary, and cause social alienation due to their bulky design, making it difficult for individuals to drink according to their personal capacity without being noticed by others.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a magnetically secured insertion unit and an outer fixed unit with sensors and a CPU that allows users to adjust the beverage volume discreetly, monitor consumption, and receive alarms or displays to manage drinking pace, while maintaining hygiene and social integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional capacity-adjustable cup with a lift member and driving unit is used, then the user can adjust the beverage volume to fit personal drinking capacity, but the structure becomes complicated and causes social alienation due to the bulky design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional mechanical screw-driven lift mechanism with a magnetic field-based system. Magnets embedded in the cup bottom interact with a magnetic member on the insertable member, enabling capacity adjustment through magnetic attraction/repulsion rather than mechanical threading. This substitution simplifies the structure by eliminating lead-in grooves, sealing portions, and complex driving units while maintaining the core functionality of capacity adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a thin magnetic member that can be integrated into an insertable member (such as a straw or stirrer) rather than requiring a bulky driving unit. This thin-film approach allows the capacity adjustment mechanism to be discreet and minimally intrusive, reducing the visual bulk and social alienation while preserving the ability to adjust beverage volume.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional capacity-adjustable cup with screw member and lift member is used, then the capacity can be adjusted, but foreign substances easily adhere to the components making it unsanitary and disadvantageous in hygiene management
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing the mechanical screw member and lift member system with a magnetic field-based interaction, the patent eliminates crevices, threads, and sealing portions where foreign substances (food particles, beverage residues) can accumulate. The smooth, simple magnetic components have no hidden corners or complex joints, making them resistant to contamination and easier to clean, thus improving hygiene.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the problematic mechanical components (screw threads, lead-in grooves, sealing portions) that create hygiene issues. By using a magnetic member that can be easily detached and is free of complex structural features, the design eliminates the sources of contamination accumulation while retaining the capacity adjustment functionality.
3Ease of operation
If a conventional capacity-adjustable cup with mounted driving unit is used, then the user can control the lift member, but the bulky design causes alienation from others drinking with different cup types
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin magnetic member integrated into an insertable element (such as a straw or stirrer) rather than a bulky mounted driving unit. This thin-profile design is visually unobtrusive and does not significantly alter the cup's appearance, allowing users to maintain social integration while still having the ability to control beverage capacity through the magnetic interaction with the cup bottom.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an insertable member (straw/stirrer) as an intermediary that carries the magnetic member. This intermediary approach allows capacity control functionality to be added without modifying the cup's external structure or requiring bulky mounted components. The insertable member is a common, unobtrusive element that blends into the drinking experience and does not create social alienation.
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
Enables users to adjust beverage volume and monitor consumption without alienation, ensuring a sanitary and simple solution for managing drinking capacity in social settings.
Implementation Method 1
a second magnet sealed in the upper portion of the outer fixed unit for interacting with the first magnet of the insertion unit and securing the insertion unit to the cup by a magnetic force between the magnets
Data Source
AI summary
A device for adjusting the capacity of a beverage cup is provided. The device includes an insertion unit having at least a volume smaller than an interior volume of a cup and a shape in which a lower end portion of the insertion unit comes in contact with a bottom portion of the cup when inserted into the cup. The insertion unit includes a first magnet sealed in a bottom portion of the insertion unit. The device also includes an outer fixed unit to be placed under the cup. The outer fixed unit includes a second magnet sealed in the upper portion of the outer fixed unit for interacting with the first magnet of the insertion unit and securing the insertion unit to the cup by a magnetic force between the magnets.