Modular Pour-Over Frame with Interlocking Panels for Compact Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drip coffee brewing devices are bulky and awkward to store, making them difficult to carry for camping or travel, as they require a dedicated holder or funnel that occupies significant space in backpacks.
Innovation Solution
A modular pour-over frame device composed of interlocking panels with a slot and tongue mechanism, allowing easy assembly and disassembly to form a compact structure for brewing coffee, which can be coupled with other devices to create a pour-over frame for holding coffee filters and grounds, and then easily stored when not in use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional holder or funnel is used to hold coffee grounds, then the coffee brewing function is achieved, but the device becomes bulky and occupies significant space in backpacks
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is divided into multiple separate panels that can be stored independently in a flat configuration, reducing storage volume. During use, these panels are assembled to form the complete holder structure with cavity, demonstrating how segmentation allows compact storage while maintaining full functionality when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder transitions from a static, bulky structure to a dynamic, reconfigurable assembly. The panels can be easily assembled and disassembled, allowing the device to change its form factor from a compact flat state for storage to a three-dimensional functional structure for brewing, thus resolving the space versus usability contradiction.
2Ease of operation
If a conventional funnel shape is used, then coffee grounds are held effectively, but the device is awkward to store and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The funnel/holder structure is segmented into multiple flat panels that can be stored in a compact, space-efficient manner. When assembled, these panels form the complete functional structure with cavity for holding coffee grounds, effectively resolving the contradiction between compact storage and functional form.
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions from a two-dimensional flat panel configuration for storage to a three-dimensional structured holder for brewing. This dimensional transformation allows the same components to occupy minimal space during transport while forming the necessary functional shape during use.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a dedicated holder is used for coffee brewing, then the brewing process is supported, but the device complexity increases and portability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The panel assembly serves multiple functions: it forms the holder structure, creates the cavity for coffee grounds, provides support surfaces, and enables easy assembly/disassembly for portability. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining brewing support capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A device, couplable with another, corresponding device to form a pour-over frame, includes a panel having a body between a first end of the panel, a second end of the panel opposite the first end, a top of the panel, and a bottom of the panel opposite the top. The first end of the panel includes a slot having a width. The second end of the panel includes a tongue that has a region and a lock. The tongue's region has a thickness that is less than the slot's width and is configured to extend into the slot of another, corresponding device. The tongue's lock is operable to hold the tongue's region in the slot of the other, corresponding device. The panel's bottom includes an interface operable to contact a container to support the panel above the container. When the device is coupled with another, corresponding device to form a pour-over frame, the region of the device's tongue extends into the slot of the other, corresponding device, and the slot of the device receives a region of another, corresponding device's tongue. When formed, the pour-over frame is operable to hold a coffee filter with coffee grounds disposed in the filter while one pours water on the coffee grounds to produce drip coffee.