Push-Button Ingredient Measuring Device for Bulk Container Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooks face challenges in accurately measuring food ingredients from bulk containers, with existing solutions being either cumbersome, space-intensive, or costly, and lacking in ease of use and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A food ingredient measuring device comprising a dual enclosure system with a release assembly, adjustable measurement indicia window, and a flexible seal mechanism that allows for precise measurement and dispensing of ingredients, featuring a push-button operated cycle mechanism and semicircular seals to prevent leakage, suitable for both solid and liquid ingredients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional measuring cups and spoons are used, then measurement can be performed, but accuracy and ease of use deteriorate when measuring from bulk containers
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into distinct functional segments: an upper bulk ingredient container, a lower measurement chamber separated by a movable partition, and a dispensing mechanism. This segmentation allows ingredients to be stored in bulk while enabling precise measurement through the partition system that creates isolated measurement spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The device enables self-service measurement where the user simply pours bulk ingredients into the upper container, and the device automatically controls the measurement process through its internal partition and dispensing mechanisms, eliminating the need for manual measuring with separate tools.
2Ease of manufacture
If bulk containers are used to reduce costs, then cost efficiency improves, but measurement accuracy and control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs preliminary action by pre-configuring the measurement chamber volume and partition positions before the actual measurement process. The movable partition can be adjusted to predetermined positions that correspond to specific measurement quantities, allowing accurate measurement directly from bulk containers without requiring pre-measured portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable partition acts as an intermediary between the bulk ingredient container and the measurement chamber. It controls the transfer of ingredients from bulk storage to the measurement space, enabling accurate measurement while maintaining the convenience of bulk container usage.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact device is designed to save space, then space efficiency improves, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a nested structure where the lower measurement chamber is positioned within or adjacent to the upper bulk container, and the dispensing mechanism is integrated into the chamber assembly. This nesting allows multiple functional components to occupy overlapping or adjacent spaces, achieving compactness without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed as a multi-functional unit where the same structure serves multiple purposes: the upper container stores bulk ingredients, the movable partition creates measurement chambers, and the integrated dispensing mechanism releases measured portions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate devices, achieving space savings without requiring overly complex specialized components.
4Reliability
If seals are added to prevent leakage, then reliability improves, but device complexity and cleaning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses flexible seals made of elastomeric materials that conform to the mating surfaces of the movable partition and chamber walls. These flexible membranes provide effective leakage prevention while maintaining simple geometries that do not create difficult-to-reach areas, facilitating easier cleaning compared to rigid multi-component sealing systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A food ingredient measuring device includes a lower enclosure, an upper enclosure; and a release assembly that passes through the upper enclosure and into the lower enclosure. The release assembly has an activation push-button that extends from the upper enclosure, a pair of connection arms, an inner wall that is at least partially within the lower enclosure and that forms an interstitial space, a seal assembly and a holding cavity. Activation of the activation/release push-button causes the release assembly to retract the seal assembly into the interstitial space to open the holding cavity to enable capture of a cooking ingredient from a bulk container. Another activation causes the release assembly to extend the seal assembly from the interstitial space to close the cavity to capture the cooking ingredient. Another activation causes the seal mechanism to open again to dispense the cooking ingredient.