Stackable Metal Cup with Inflection Points to Suppress Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The thinning of metal cup body portions for weight reduction and resource savings has led to decreased strength and impaired stacking properties, as the cups become easily deformed when stacked.
Innovation Solution
A stackable metal cup design featuring multiple inflection point portions along its body, where the inclination angle changes, enhancing resistance to deformation and maintaining the stacking property by distributing angle differences across distinct regions, thereby preventing shape changes during stacking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the body portion wall thickness is reduced for weight reduction and resource saving, then weight and material consumption decrease, but strength is lowered and the cup becomes easily deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming a curvature portion (R1) at the lower end of the body portion where the wall thickness is reduced. This curved transition zone between the thin-walled upper portion and the thicker bottom portion prevents stress concentration and deformation, allowing the cup to maintain strength despite overall wall thinning for weight reduction.
2Loss of substance
If the body portion wall thickness is reduced for weight reduction and resource saving, then material consumption decreases, but the cup becomes easily deformed and stacking property is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The curvature portion (R1) with a specific radius (0.5-2.0 mm) creates a smooth transition zone that prevents deformation during stacking operations. This curved geometry distributes mechanical stresses evenly, preventing the thin-walled cup from deforming when stacked, thus maintaining stacking property while using less material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating a localized curvature portion (R1) at the lower end of the body portion with specific dimensional parameters. This localized geometric feature provides enhanced deformation resistance precisely where needed during stacking, while the rest of the body portion maintains reduced wall thickness for material savings.
3Ease of operation
If steps are formed in the body portion wall to enable stacking, then cups can be easily stacked and removed, but close contact between body portion walls is suppressed reducing stacking stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional stepped structure with a smooth curvature portion (R1) at the lower end. This curved geometry allows the cups to be easily inserted and removed while maintaining close contact between stacked cups, thereby improving both stacking ease and stacking stability simultaneously without the drawbacks of stepped designs.
Data Source
AI summary
A stackable metal cup including: a body portion having a hollow shape with an open upper portion and having a shape inclined from the upper portion toward a lower portion such that an upper end inner diameter is larger than a lower end outer diameter; and a bottom portion including a grounding portion, the grounding portion being continuous with a lower end of the body portion via a curvature portion. When a height from the grounding portion to the upper end is 100%, an upper region having a height of 70% to 100% includes at least one inflection point portion at which an inclination angle of the body portion with respect to a vertical plane changes.