Stackable cup for producing a beverage capsule and method for stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stackable cups for beverage capsules have grooves that protrude inwardly, reducing the interior volume and the amount of beverage ingredient they can hold, while also increasing friction during stacking and unstacking, making them less efficient for transport and use.
Innovation Solution
A stackable cup design featuring deformable stacking notches that protrude outwardly from the side wall, allowing for easy stacking and unstacking by inward deformation, which increases the interior volume and reduces friction between cups.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If grooves are added to the side wall to enable stacking, then stacking robustness is improved, but the interior volume of the cup is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating inwardly protruding grooves to enable stacking, the patent applies the inversion principle by creating outwardly protruding notches. This reverses the conventional approach: the stacking features extend outward from the cup's exterior surface rather than inward into the interior space, thereby maintaining full interior volume while still enabling robust stacking through complementary engagement between nested cups.
2Stability of the object's composition
If grooves are added to the side wall for stacking, then stacking capability is improved, but friction during stacking and unstacking is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional groove design by placing notches on the exterior surface rather than the interior. This inversion allows cups to nest with their side walls in contact while the outward protruding notches engage with corresponding features on the nested cup, providing stacking stability without creating frictional resistance during insertion or removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking notches are designed as discrete, segmented features distributed around the cup's exterior circumference. This segmentation allows for localized engagement points that provide stable stacking while minimizing overall contact friction, as only specific notch regions interact during stacking rather than continuous surface contact.
3Volume of moving object
If outwardly protruding notches are used for stacking, then interior volume is increased, but device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the stacking feature integration with the cup's existing structural elements. The outwardly protruding notches are formed as part of the cup's molded structure, combining the stacking functionality with the cup's basic geometry rather than adding separate, complex mechanical components. This integration maintains simplicity while achieving the volume benefit.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The deformable notches enable convenient stacking and unstacking, increase the volume for holding beverage ingredients, and reduce frictional forces between cups, allowing for more efficient transport and use in brewing apparatuses without hindering the brewing process.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of deformable stacking notches, which outwardly protrude from an outer surface of the side wall, wherein the notches are inwardly deformable to a deformed state, upon introduction of a radially inward force
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2a
AI summary
The present invention relates to a stackable cup (10) for producing a beverage capsule, comprising a side wall (2), extending between a bottom end (3) and a top end (4), and a flange (6), which is arranged at the top end of the side wall. The side wall defines an interior (5)of the cup and the flange defines an opening (7) towards the interior of the cup. The cup comprises a plurality of deformable stacking notches (9), which outwardly protrude from an outer surface of the side wall. The notches are inwardly deformable to a deformed state, upon introduction of a radially inward force, and the notches are, in the deformed state, substantially flush with the outer surface of the side wall. The present invention further relates to a capsule for brewing a beverage, comprising a stackable cup, a beverage ingredient, which is arranged in the interior of the cup, and a foil, which is arranged on the flange and which is configured to cover the opening of the cup and to seal the interior of the cup.