Removable Drip Tray Structure for Narrow Beverage Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation devices, such as espresso machines, require a drip tray that is wider than the device housing and has a high profile, limiting design flexibility and stability when removed, as the tray must protrude laterally and be correspondingly high to prevent tilting.
Innovation Solution
A beverage preparation device with a drip tray that features a base integrated into the device housing, allowing the tray to be designed narrower and shorter, ensuring stability without tilting by positioning the base below or inside the housing, and using elongated feet that extend along the depth axis to support the tray's trough sections, enabling secure placement on a horizontal surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the drip tray is designed to be removable and stand on its own on a horizontal surface, then the drip tray can be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance, but the drip tray may tilt or become unstable when removed from the device housing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the support function from a two-dimensional base plane to a three-dimensional structure by extending feet along the depth axis. These feet create a stable triangular or multi-point support configuration that prevents tilting while maintaining ease of removal. The feet extend below the trough floor level, creating a support geometry that is inherently stable on horizontal surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The feet are pre-positioned and integrated into the drip tray structure during manufacturing, ensuring that the drip tray is inherently stable when removed. The feet are formed as part of the drip tray assembly, so no additional assembly is needed - the stability is prepared in advance through the integrated foot design.
2Area of stationary object
If the drip tray is made narrower to fit within the device housing width, then the device housing width can be reduced, but the drip tray may become unstable and tilt when removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the reduced width by utilizing the depth dimension. The feet extend along the depth axis below the trough floor, creating a longer base of support in the depth direction. This allows the drip tray to be narrow in width while maintaining stability through extended depth-wise support structures.
3Length of stationary object
If the drip tray is made shorter in height to reduce device housing height, then the overall device size can be reduced, but the drip tray may tilt more easily when removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for reduced height by extending the support feet along the depth axis. Instead of relying on vertical height for stability, the design uses horizontal extension in the depth direction to create a stable support polygon. The feet extend below the trough floor level, creating a stable base that does not require increased overall device height.
4Quantity of substance
If the drip tray is designed to collect beverage residues and rinsing water in a trough, then liquid can be effectively collected and contained, but the drip tray structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the trough structure with the feet structure by integrating the foot supports directly into the trough formation. The feet extend from the trough floor or sidewalls, merging the liquid collection function with the structural support function into a single integrated component rather than separate parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The feet serve multiple functions: they provide structural support for the drip tray when removed, they extend below the trough floor to create stability, and they are integrated into the trough structure itself. This multi-functionality reduces overall structural complexity while maintaining liquid collection capacity.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a beverage preparation device with a device housing (2), with an outlet arranged on a front side (3) of the device housing (2) for discharging the prepared drink, and with a removable drip tray (6) having at least one base (19), which in a functional position with a beverage container storage section (5), preferably carrying a drip grid (7), in an area outside the device housing (2) below the outlet in such a way that it protrudes with an inner section into a front housing recess (10), and which can be set down on the at least one base (19) in a removal position moved out of the device housing (2), wherein the at least one base (19) is arranged in such a way that it is arranged inside the device housing (2) in the functional position. The drip tray (6) has an outer high trough section (8) and a flat trough section (9), and that the at least one foot is arranged below the flat trough section, and the at least one pedestal (19) extends along from the high trough section (8). the depth axis (T) to below the flat tub section (9).