Single-use means for preparing a beverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing single-use means for preparing beverages from infusible products, such as tea or coffee, face issues with incomplete infusion due to excessive contact area with the bendable sheet-like base, leading to increased force requirements and potential spilling, as well as inefficient material usage and safety concerns when handling hot liquids.
Innovation Solution
A single-use means featuring a bendable sheet-like base with a designated bend line and a bag where the upper portion is attached along a line intersecting the bend line, allowing for safer and more efficient infusion by reducing contact area and improving material usage efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the bag is attached to the sheet-like base along a line parallel to the bend line, then the bag is stable during brewing, but the contact area between the bag and base is excessive, requiring increased force to squeeze and causing spilling
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment line is positioned asymmetrically relative to the bend line, specifically at an angle between 30-60 degrees, creating an optimized geometric relationship that reduces contact area while maintaining stability. This asymmetric arrangement allows the bag to be securely held during brewing but easily controlled during squeezing, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The problem is solved by introducing a angular dimension to the attachment line orientation. Instead of attaching parallel to the bend line (one-dimensional alignment), the attachment line is angled at 30-60 degrees, adding a rotational dimension that optimizes both stability and squeezability by controlling the contact area between bag and base
2Reliability
If the bag is attached to the sheet-like base with large contact area, then the bag is securely fixed, but more material is required and the structure becomes less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment line is positioned locally at an optimal angle (30-60 degrees) relative to the bend line, creating a localized geometric feature that provides sufficient fixation reliability. This local optimization reduces the overall contact area and material requirement while maintaining secure bag attachment during brewing, resolving the contradiction between reliability and material efficiency
3Manufacturing precision
If the bag is attached along a line intersecting the bend line at an optimal angle, then squeezing precision is improved, but the attachment geometry becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment line angle is optimized to a specific parameter range (30-60 degrees) relative to the bend line, transforming a geometric parameter to achieve precise infusion extraction. This parameter optimization provides the right balance between squeezing precision and geometric simplicity, avoiding excessive complexity while maintaining manufacturing precision
Data Source
AI summary
A single-use means for preparing a beverage from an infusible product, containing a bendable sheet-like base with a designated bend line, and a moisture-permeable bag for brewing a product, wherein the bag has an upper portion attached by one side to the sheet-like base, and an unattached lower portion, wherein the sheet-like base and the bag are designed and mutually arranged such that the sheet-like base can cover a vessel containing a liquid, in which the bag is immersed during the brewing of a product, and such that the product can be squeezed after brewing by bending the sheet-like base and pressing the bag from two opposing sides using the bent sheet-like base, wherein to allow more careful squeezing of an infusion from the product in the bag after brewing, the region in which the attached side of the upper portion of the bag is attached to the sheet-like base is situated along a line that intersects the bend line of the sheet-like base, wherein the line along which the attachment region of the bag is situated substantially coincides with the bend of the bag in its suspended state on the base during use.