SPILL RESISTANT DISPOSABLE CUP Tom Chan, AUstin wong, Daniel Mcnulty II design process + prototype log (2015 - Present) openideo circular design challenge 2017
SUMMARY Our spill resistant disposable cup is a disposable and recyclable paper coffee cup. It has an integrated origami-like folding lid that prevents spills that might burn you, ruin your clothing, and destroy your laptop. Inspiration This idea emerged in May 2015. I (Tom) was a big fan of Japanese bottled beverages. The background picture was where the idea was inspired - Sunrise Mart in Lower East Side, New York. I felt it was too wasteful when I had to dump the used bottles into the trash cans. I want to create a more environmentally friendly beverage container, so I applied this idea to a more popular drink - coffee. We realised that there were already existing all-paper cups in the Google patents database, so we wanted to create one that also would solve customer s problems.
prototyping process - summary 1. Sketch + cutting 2. Autocad 3. Lasercut 4. glue + dry 5. spill test/interview 6. reiterate
major prototypes in a page
prototype quantity - A total of 212 CAD reiteration files - hundreds of prototype cups made
milestones Phase one July 2015-1st MVP prototyped at Cooper Union Invention Factory (2nd place) - Submitted 1st provisional patent application Phase TWO March 2017 - Signed partnership agreement with Austin Wong & Daniel McNulty II 2015 2016 2017 Oct 2016 - Invention is displayed at Origami Universe Exhibition at Chimei Museum, Taiwan from Oct 2016 to May 2017 Nov 2016 - Applied 2nd provisional patent application May - Aug 2017 - Established Spill Res Cup LLC in New York City, USA - Reiterated design based on industrial designer feedback - Applied to OpenIDEO Circular Design Challenge
Phase one cooper union invention factory 2015
INSIGHTS FROM INTERVIEWS WITH COFFEE DRINk- Rain Chan Arch 18, Cooper Union - Girlfriend spilled coffee easily and often on her architecture homework - felt very wasteful when he saw a mountain of coffee cups in studio s trash can David M. Wootton Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Cooper Union - disliked coffee being served too hot - sometimes waited too long and coffee became too cold - coffee cup could fit in a folding bicycle or stroller - faced the sloshing/spilling problem Eric Lima & Alan Wolf Advisors, Cooper Union Invention Factory 2015 - Prof. Wolf is an avid coffee drinker and has suffered from the catastrophic spill. - both feel it is too ambitious to solve every problem with one single cup WE CHOOSE SPIILLABILITY AS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM TO TACKLE we decided not to consider the too hot cup problem.
MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH DISPOSABLE cups TOO HOT RISK OF SPILLING ENvironmentally wasteful
we filled disposable coffee cups with water and spilled them in a sink from waist height in order to study how cups deform upon impact.
OBSERVATION FROM SPILL TRIALS The reason lids could not prevent catastrophic spills was due to shape mismatch. When the cup hits the floor, the lid (shown by the blue circle) bends much less than the cup because of its circular shape and rigid material. As a result, the lid pops off the cup, and the liquid inevitably spills out. After the test, we decided that the cup and lid should deform together in a similar way.
Relevant PRIOR ART Compleat Cup by Peter Herman Pros: + Two overlapping layers of paper flaps + Folded layers create sprout to drink from Cons: - Insecure lid Folding Cup by Robert Lang Pros: + Unique folding pattern Cons: - Insecure lid - Can t drink without cup fully open
By studying patents of cups with integrated lids, we were able to reproduce these designs and study their behaviour upon impact.
First PROTOTYPES Our first two prototypes were made quickly with corrugated board at the beginning of the Inventon Factory program to test the concept of the lid being part of the cup. Both concepts failed as the lid failed to maintain a secure connection to the cup s body.
PROTOTYPES #3,#4, #5 These prototypes explored different elaborate shapes and their potential to be spill proof. All of them designed with the concept of the lid being an integral part of the cup instead of being separate. None of them were successful in being spill-resistant. These prototypes used realistic materials such as Yupo plastic-paper and 3d printed plastic.
LEARNING FROM ORIGAMI After trying different folding methods of other foldable items and failing to obtain a good design, we sought inspiration from an origami folding book. The page at the left was from Robert Lang s book Origami Zoo: An Amazing Collection of Folded Paper Animals, where we learned about basic folds. The Squash fold caught our attention and we experimented with its possibilities. We overlapped two squash folds and applied to the situation of a cup.
PROTOTYPE #8 marked the first prototype to retain a significant amount of liquid after impact when dropped from waist height.
REfined design constraints post prototype stackability fits into cup-holders secure seal aesthetics The cup had to be tapered in order for it to be stackable for transportation and storage purposes. The cup at this stage was square. It needed to be a tapered round shape in order to be familiar to the users. Squash fold structure left pieces flapping. A better design would lock the flaps into place. The cup needed to have a user friendly design, such as possessing an obvious drinking hole, and requiring only simple folding.
PROTOTYPES #13, #14 A circular taper design replaced the rectangular design to fit into cup holders. There was also an attempt to fix the two bunny ear flaps into place through gaps within the cup, but it failed to prevent the flaps from moving out of place during impact on the floor.
PROTOTYPE #15 A paper-lock system was introduced to the cup flaps in order to secure them. It had limited success in fixing them in place upon impact, but it was not sufficiently secure. The mouthpiece had an awkward two-level position (see the rightmost picture above). The design was unappealing and would discourage drinkers even if it was functional.
#16 - #25 PROTOTYPE The lock system was modified so that the flaps locked against the cup s rim, instead of the flaps locking against themselves. A light brown color was also chosen for the cup as a reminder of its environmental friendliness.
A display stand featuring the cups with folding steps was made for the judges in the final presentation of the competition.
The above image shows a comparison of a regular coffee cup and our cup during spill tests.
covering drinking hole An additional benefit of the rim lock was that the flap could be locked at both sides of the cup, making it possible to cover the drinking hole when the cup was not in use. This feature was helpful for temperature control, when drinkers wanted their coffee to stay hot longer.
Phase two road to manufacturing March 2017 - present
In May 2017, we talked to Eric Chan, CEO of ECCO DESIGN INC, and learned that our prototype is cost-inefficient, difficult to manufacture, and hard to use. He challenged us to completely redesign the cup from the ground up.
The initial prototypes were still influenced by the square fold design, and it took me a few prototypes before we realised we were having a hard time making good prototypes because the folds were so complicated.
In order to redesign the cup, Eric suggested that I experiment with regular cups, and try to cut it into different shapes for new inspiration.
Route 1 --------> Route 2 --------> I played with the cups and discovered how it would change shape as different spots of the cup were pressed. This approach spawned two potential routes of prototypes
After every reiteration, I took a spill-test video.
Austin and Dan were instrumental in devising the cup's business plan and financial forecast.
Route 1 --------> Route 2 --------> I tried both approaches and asked Eric, Austin and Dan for feedback. We ultimately settled on route 2, which is more user friendly, and we refined its details.
After iteration of the final design, we made dozens of cup copies for testing with users.
We set up a prototype testing pop up at the Cooper Union with the help of NYC OpenIDEO Chapter in Aug 29, 2017. Insights from the event is compiled into this Youtube link: https://youtu.be/6ptwgt WVqvk
Interview insights - More people care about eco-friendliness than we expect - Spill resistant design might convince those who don't care sustainability to use our cup - Very easy to pour out and share drinks with others - We should add numbers/colors to guide first time user to fold our cup - Some users pressed too hard and the lock wasn't secure - Users don't mind drinking cold drinks out of our cup - Cup's drinking spout is too wide - Some users might not be used to the drinking spout's semicircular design