Self-Leveling Container Lid for Consistent Scoop Quantities
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to efficiently and consistently remove excess dry ingredients or modifiers from scoops during the scooping process, leading to variations in beverage recipes and inefficiencies in high-volume production due to regulatory restrictions on manual removal.
Innovation Solution
A self-leveling container system with a lid featuring a leveling mechanism that contacts the scoop to remove excess dry ingredients or modifiers as it is removed, ensuring they remain in the container, regardless of the scoop's volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual removal of excess dry ingredients is permitted, then recipe consistency can be adjusted, but regulatory restrictions prevent this method in high-volume production
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling mechanism is integrated into the lid structure, allowing the system to automatically level excess ingredients without manual intervention. The lid itself performs the leveling function as it is placed on or removed from the container, eliminating the need for separate manual removal operations while ensuring consistent ingredient quantities.
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling mechanism performs the ingredient leveling action during the scooping or lid placement process, before the ingredients are transferred to the beverage preparation area. This preliminary leveling ensures that excess ingredients are removed at the source, maintaining recipe consistency without requiring subsequent manual adjustment.
2Manufacturing precision
If automated leveling mechanism is added to the lid, then ingredient quantity consistency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lid serves multiple functions: it covers the container, facilitates scooping of ingredients, and incorporates the leveling mechanism to remove excess ingredients. By combining these functions into a single component, the patent avoids adding separate automated leveling devices, thereby maintaining relatively simple device structure while achieving precise ingredient quantity control.
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling mechanism is extracted as a separate functional element within the lid structure, positioned to contact the scoop or container rim. This modular approach allows the leveling function to be integrated without requiring complete redesign of the entire lid, keeping the added complexity minimal while achieving the desired precision.
3Productivity
If leveling mechanism contacts the scoop during removal, then excess ingredients are removed automatically, but risk of substance loss through gaps increases
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling mechanism is positioned to level ingredients before they are fully removed from the container. By performing the leveling action at this preliminary stage, excess ingredients are contained and returned to the container, preventing loss through gaps that would occur if leveling happened after complete removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling mechanism acts as an intermediary between the scoop and the container, providing a controlled interface for excess ingredient removal. Ingredients are leveled through contact with the mechanism while remaining contained within the container boundaries, preventing uncontrolled loss through gaps while still achieving automated excess removal.
Data Source
AI summary
A self-leveling container system may include a container and a lid. The lid may include a leveling mechanism coupled to a first portion of the lid a distance from a front edge of the first portion. The lid may include a second portion rotatably coupled to the first portion. The leveling mechanism may be configured to contact a scoop to remove excess of one or more substances in a scoop when the scoop is removed from the recess.