Sequential Vent-Orifice Lid Assembly for Hot Beverage Dispensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage containers often allow hot air to escape through the drink orifice when dispensing hot beverages, causing discomfort, and mechanisms to open the gas vent before the drink orifice are either complex or prone to user forgetfulness.
Innovation Solution
A lid assembly with a mechanism that ensures the gas vent is opened before the drink orifice, utilizing a pivotally mounted vent lever and actuator to sequentially open the gas vent and then the drink orifice, preventing hot air from escaping through the drink orifice.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a gas vent mechanism is added to allow hot air to escape before drinking, then safety and comfort are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the gas vent mechanism and drink orifice mechanism into a single integrated lid assembly with a unified actuator system. The vent lever and drink lever share common structural elements and are controlled by the same actuator element, merging two functions into one cohesive device that reduces overall complexity while maintaining safety benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism is designed to automatically open the gas vent before the drink orifice when the actuator is activated. This preliminary action ensures hot air escapes through the vent seal first, preventing spraying onto the drinker's face before beverage dispensing begins.
2Device complexity
If manual activation of gas vent is required, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases due to user forgetfulness
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the gas vent opening function automatically as part of the normal drinking operation. When the user activates the actuator to open the drink orifice, the mechanism self-manages the sequence of opening the vent first, then the drink orifice, eliminating the need for separate manual activation and ensuring consistent reliability.
3Ease of operation
If both gas vent and drink orifice are opened simultaneously, then ease of operation is improved, but safety deteriorates as hot air cannot escape before drinking
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical linkage between the vent lever and drink lever ensures that the gas vent opens in advance of the drink orifice during a single actuator activation. The vent seal is lifted first, creating a pathway for hot air to escape before the drink seal is released, thus maintaining safety while requiring only one user action.
4Reliability
If a sequential opening mechanism is implemented, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vent lever is positioned within and interacts with the drink lever structure, creating a nested arrangement where the smaller vent mechanism is integrated into the larger drink mechanism. This nesting allows sequential operation through mechanical interference and linkage without requiring completely separate systems, thereby limiting the increase in complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A lid assembly for a beverage container, comprising a lid body adapted for detachably coupled to the beverage container, the lid body having a drink orifice and a gas vent, each being sealable to block fluid communication with the beverage container; a first sealing mechanism configured for sealing and unsealing the gas vent; a second sealing mechanism configured for sealing and unsealing the drink orifice; an actuator for actuating and de-actuating the first and second sealing mechanisms. The actuator is configured for sequentially actuating the first and the second sealing mechanisms, causing the gas vent to unseal as a result of an initial actuation of the actuator, and subsequently causing the drink orifice to unseal as a result of a further actuation of the actuator.