One-Piece Recyclable Takeaway Cup With Integrated Lid and Sipper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recyclable takeaway cups require separate cleaning and handling of the body and lid, leading to inefficiencies in water, power consumption, and material waste, and necessitate the use of plastic straws for consuming ingredients.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece molded recyclable takeaway cup with a flexible connection unit integrating the body and lid, featuring a removable sucking element that allows direct consumption of drinks and ingredients without a straw, made from environmentally friendly plastic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the body and lid are separate components, then it is easy to manufacture and assemble, but it increases cleaning complexity and resource consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the body and lid into a single integrated component through one-piece molding. The lid is formed as an integral part of the body, eliminating the need for separate assembly and cleaning of multiple parts. This reduces cleaning complexity while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modern molding techniques.
2Reliability
If the body and lid are cleaned separately, then each part can be optimized for cleaning, but it increases water and power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the body and lid into one piece, the patent enables single-unit cleaning operations. This eliminates the need for separate cleaning cycles for each component, reducing water and power consumption while maintaining effective cleaning through the unified structure's smooth surfaces and lack of crevices.
3Ease of operation
If a plastic straw is used to consume ingredients, then ingredients can be easily consumed, but it increases plastic waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the straw function from the system by integrating a sucking element directly into the lid structure. This eliminates the need for separate plastic straws, allowing ingredient consumption through the integrated element while reducing plastic waste. The sucking element is permanently attached to the lid, removing the disposable straw from the waste stream.
4Ease of operation
If disposable cups are used, then convenience is provided, but plastic pollution and garbage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a reusable cup system where the integrated body and lid can be washed and sterilized for multiple uses. The unified structure facilitates efficient cleaning and recovery, allowing the cup to be discarded of contaminants and recovered for repeated use, thereby eliminating disposable cup waste and plastic pollution while maintaining convenience for consumers.
Data Source
AI summary
A recyclable takeaway cup contains: a body, a lid, and a flexible connection unit. The body includes a lower edge, an enlarged fringe, a mouth, a recessed face, and an inlet defined. The body and the lid are one-piece connected via the flexible connection unit, and the flexible connection unit is bendable in a U shape so that the lid is covered on the mouth of the body. The lid includes a surround fence configured to cover the mouth, a platform formed on a top of the surround fence, an opening defined on the platform, corresponding to the conduit and configured to receive the sucking element. The sucking element is removable and hollow so that when the lid is covered on the mouth of the body, the sucking element is inserted into a top of the conduit to suck content in the body.