Rotating Cup Lid Venting for Heat Retention and Leak Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reusable beverage cups fail to maintain high temperatures and suffer from heat transfer issues, while both reusable and disposable cups experience leakage and spillage due to inadequate sealing.
Innovation Solution
A closure system for beverage cups featuring a rotatable lid with a vented void that seals when closed, providing a more reliable seal and reducing wear, along with a cam engagement mechanism for enhanced sealing and a boot with resilient segments for improved insulation and grip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a vent is provided in the lid to allow steam escape, then heat retention is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to potential blockage or leakage at the vent location
Solution Approach 1:
A rotatable member acts as an intermediary mechanism between the vent and the sealed void. This member can rotate to either open the vent for steam escape or close it for complete sealing, mediating between the conflicting requirements of heat retention and sealing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The vent system transitions from a static opening to a dynamic system where the rotatable member can change the vent's state between open and closed positions, allowing the system to adapt between heat retention mode and complete sealing mode as needed
2Temperature
If the seal is directly at the vent location, then heat retention is improved, but wear from friction increases reducing seal integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable member serves as a mediator that separates the seal location from the vent opening. The seal is positioned at the interface between the lid and rotatable member rather than directly at the vent, reducing friction wear on the seal while maintaining heat retention when closed
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible seal element (such as an O-ring or gasket) is used at the interface between the lid and rotatable member. This flexible component can accommodate minor misalignments and wear while maintaining sealing integrity, and can be replaced independently of the rigid lid structure
3Device complexity
If a single vent location is provided, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to complete blockage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The vent system is segmented into multiple separate vent openings instead of a single large opening. This segmentation ensures that if one vent becomes blocked, others remain functional, improving reliability while maintaining relatively simple structure
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the lid are provided with vents of different sizes or configurations suited to local requirements. This allows optimization of each vent location for its specific function while maintaining overall system simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
A closure for a beverage cup. The closure comprises a lid having a drinking opening and a rotatable member in rotatable engagement with the lid. The rotatable member swivels laterally of the lid between an open and a closed position. The rotatable member being adapted to close the opening in the lid when the rotatable member is in a closed position. The closure also comprises a vent in the lid that vents into a void under the rotatable member. When the rotatable member is in the closed position the void is sealed to an outside of the closure and when the rotatable member is in the open position the void is open to the outside.