Openable Milk Supply Tube Structure for Easy Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Beverage making appliances, particularly milk frothers, face difficulties in cleaning the suction tube due to milk residue drying and forming stubborn deposits, making regular cleaning necessary but often cumbersome and costly.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a slit along the length of the tube that can be opened for cleaning purposes, allowing for easy access and rinsing without leakage during use, and using flexible materials to ensure a leakproof closure when not in use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a suction tube is used to transport milk in a milk frother, then the milk frothing function is achieved, but the tube becomes difficult to clean and milk residue dries up forming stubborn deposits
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is divided into two separate parts: a removable outer sleeve and an inner tube. This segmentation allows the outer sleeve to be easily removed and cleaned separately, while the inner tube remains in the device. The segmentation resolves the cleaning difficulty by making the tube structure disassemblable for thorough cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer sleeve is designed to be completely removable from the inner tube. This extraction principle allows users to take out the outer sleeve and clean it thoroughly, including reaching inside to clean the inner tube. The removable design directly addresses the cleaning ease problem.
2Productivity
If the tube is made openable for cleaning access, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but liquid leakage may occur during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between the outer sleeve and inner tube is designed to be dynamic rather than fixed. The outer sleeve can be easily removed for cleaning and then reattached for operation. This dynamic design allows the tube to switch between closed (operational) and open (cleaning) states, resolving both the cleaning efficiency and seal reliability requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer sleeve is designed as a flexible component that can be easily removed and reattached. The flexible material allows for simple manipulation during cleaning while maintaining a reliable seal during operation when the sleeve is properly positioned on the inner tube.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A beverage making appliance comprises at least one tube (1) for transporting a liquid, particularly a tube (1) which is provided with a slit (3) extending along a length of the tube (1) between one end (11) of the tube (1) and another end (12) of the tube (1). At the position of the slit (3), the tube (1) is openable, which is advantageous for cleaning purposes. Hence, the tube (1) is very well applicable in appliances such as milk frothers in which liquids are used which are apt to cause contamination of a system for transporting those liquids. It is possible to use elastic material in the tube (1), so that the tube (1) can be folded open for assuming a flat appearance.