Stackable Metal Cup with Alternating Angle Regions to Reduce Adhesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Metal cups are difficult to stack due to close adherence between cups, leading to instability and difficulty in pulling off stacked cups, and the formation of closed spaces which hinder easy stacking and cause potential damage to printed surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A stackable metal cup design featuring a body portion with alternating angles between 85 to 90 degrees and smaller angles, creating a 0.5 mm or more clearance between inner and outer diameters, eliminating horizontal steps and ensuring easy separation and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inner diameter of the opening is set larger than the outer diameter of the bottom portion to enable stacking, then the cups can be stacked, but the outer surface of the side wall adheres closely to the inner surface of the side wall, making it difficult to pull off the upper cup
Solution Approach 1:
The side wall is divided into multiple regions with different inclination angles (first region with smaller angle, second region with larger angle). This segmentation creates alternating contact and clearance zones when cups are stacked, preventing continuous adhesion and reducing the force required to separate cups.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the side wall are given different geometric properties - the first region has a smaller inclination angle for stability, while the second region has a larger inclination angle to create clearance and reduce adhesion. This local differentiation allows the cup to simultaneously achieve stable stacking and easy separation.
2Ease of manufacture
If the side wall is made straight or slightly tapered to simplify manufacturing, then the cup is easy to manufacture, but the cups adhere closely together making stacking difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The side wall is segmented into multiple regions with different inclination angles rather than being a single straight or uniformly tapered surface. This segmentation can be implemented through standard forming processes while achieving the dual benefit of ease of manufacture and improved stackability.
3Ease of operation
If horizontal wall portions are used to form steps for stacking, then the cups can be stacked with reduced adhesion, but a closed space is formed below the bottom portion, creating pressure difference and making it difficult to pull off the upper cup
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using horizontal steps that create closed spaces, the invention inverts the approach by using inclined regions with alternating angles that naturally create clearance spaces. The second region with the larger inclination angle prevents closed space formation by maintaining an open geometry that allows air circulation and pressure equalization.
4Ease of operation
If the body portion angle is increased to improve stackability, then the cups can be easily separated, but the cups become unstable and likely to fall over when standing
Solution Approach 1:
The side wall is segmented into alternating regions with different inclination angles. The first region with the smaller angle (85-90 degrees) provides stability for standing cups, while the second region with the larger angle creates clearance for easy separation. This alternating pattern allows the cup to exhibit different stable states depending on whether it is standing alone or stacked.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the side wall are assigned different inclination angles to fulfill different functional requirements - the first region optimizes for standing stability while the second region optimizes for stackability and easy separation. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a stackable metal cup. The cup includes a hollow body portion with an open upper portion and has a shape in which an inner diameter or outer diameter is reduced toward a lower side such that an upper end inner diameter is larger than a lower end outer diameter. When the metal cup is stacked in a plurality, a first region in which an angle of the body portion with respect to the horizontal plane ranges from 85 to 90 degrees and a second region in which an angle of the body portion is smaller than the angle in the first region are alternately continuous in the height direction such that a predetermined clearance is formed between an inner diameter of the body portion of a lower one of the cups and an outer diameter of the body portion of an upper one of the cups.