CREATING A HANDICAP FRIENDLY COFFEE MUG

Emelia ConteHarry Gao

Laura Searles

19 October, 2014

The Coffee Muggles AbstractThe goal of this project is to design a coffee mug that can be easily used by individuals with symbrachydactyly, or in general, people without any number of fingers. Individuals without the full number of fingers often have trouble doing day-to-day tasks, including zipping a jacket, fishing, and drinking coffee from a mug. This project aimed to eliminate the difficulty associated with a disabled person drinking a beverage from a coffee mug. Team Coffee Muggles aimed for the mug to be portable, durable, useful, safe, cost effective, and, most importantly, able to be used by someone with only one finger. The issue faced with the current design of a coffee mug is that someone with one finger cannot easily grip the handle and thus has a great likeliness of spilling hot beverage and burning themselves without actually having enjoyed the delicious taste of the liquid. Through the assessment of customer needs, concept generation, and concept selection, the team developed a viable Solidworks model of a new mug. With the addition of two “hand-hug mug” handles, the Coffee Muggles came up with a cost-effective solution that will help alleviate the difficulty of a disabled person not being able to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee.

1.0 Introduction

In the United States alone, over 2 million people are living with limb loss (Ziegler-Graham, 2008). Whether it be due to birth defects (symbrachydactyly), equipment injuries, cancer and other diseases, war injuries, or other factors, people who have missing fingers have a much more difficult time learning to handle daily tasks that non-disabled people can do without thinking, including drinking from a coffee mug. According to the Amputee Coalition, over 185,000 amputations occur per year in the United States alone (Owings, 1998), and research by Maurice Leblanc of Stanford University says there are an estimated 3 million arm amputees in the world, most of whom live in developing countries (Leblanc, 2008).

With the design of most coffee mugs currently on the market for consumers today, these 3 million people with disabilities in their hands or missing digits cannot safely consume a hot beverage. Currently, the market for coffee mugs for these individuals is very small and not sufficient to meet their needs, and current coffee mug companies do not provide handicap

friendly mugs for use by individuals with symbrachydactyly, or who have lost fingers by other means.

In order to reach out to this consumer base, Team Coffee Muggles has decided to design a coffee mug that will allow a higher ease of use for those with missing fingers and contribute positively to the community as a whole. By following the design process and sticking to a system of weekly meetings, Team Coffee Muggles assessed customer needs, performed a patent search and literature review, generated preliminary design concepts, and analyzed a final design to accomplish this task. Furthermore, the team generated a design in Solidworks and evaluated the final design based on pre-established criteria to determine that the solution met the needs of the target audience. 1.1 Initial Problem Statement

The goal of Team Coffee Muggles is to design a new coffee mug that will allow people with disabilities in their hands or missing digits to easily and safely consume hot beverages.

2.0 Customer Needs Assessment

The primary goal of assessing customer needs for this project was to determine how the needs of a person with symbrachydactyly differed from those of people with all fingers. Gathering this data was crucial, as it allowed the team to get into the mindset of the potential consumers and users of the team's products to enable the team to better accommodate them. In order to conduct research to determine what is important to potential consumers, the team interviewed individuals who have relatives with missing fingers or a lack of dexterity, used reviews of coffee mugs on various internet shopping sources, watched videos of individuals with symbrachydactyly performing everyday tasks, and thought about the team's own needs in regards to coffee mugs since the team are marketing to both people with missing fingers and those without.

First, the team researched how people with missing fingers typically perform day-to-day tasks, including drinking from mugs, by interviewing two people whose relatives are handicapped in this way. After talking with a family member, one of the Coffee Muggles discovered that in a person with myotonic dystrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy that affects muscle strength and dexterity, it is important to consider the weight of the product and the ease of use. In a separate interview, Team Coffee Muggles discovered that for someone with missing fingers, a large part of the problem with drinking from currently designed mugs is the inability to stabilize the mug while drinking. Secondly, the team looked up customer reviews of current coffee mugs as a means of determining what people believed these designs are lacking and what they believe the designs are already doing well. Generally, there were few complaints. However, since most of the populace

do not have disabilities, the team realized that many of the reviews do not hold much merit in appealing to our target consumer base.

Finally, the team individually used coffee mugs and analyzed the process of their usage to determine criteria in the first person, since the ideal situation is to appeal to both handicapped and nonhandicapped consumers. As the team came up with new design concepts to test, the team kept these needs in mind, as they became extremely helpful in evaluating the each designs’ effectiveness for users and ability to sell on the market.

After interviewing people with disabilities and/or missing fingers and doing research online, the Coffee Muggles determined a general list of primary customer needs. This was useful in determining criteria for the original design concepts. These criteria are listed in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Initial Customer Needs List Obtained from Online Research and Individual Interviews

AestheticsSafetyWeightUsabilityComfortSizeCostAvailability

Using the Initial List of Customer Needs in Table 1, the Coffee Muggles constructed a table that associated a number with the needs to organize the categories by supposed importance and added subcategories to further define the criteria determined through our customer needs assessment. The team also created constraints for some categories to ensure the effectiveness of our final design solution. Creating Table 2, below, helped define concepts for which to create AHP charts (Analytical Hierarchy Process charts) and apply the weights to the needs.

Table 2. Hierarchal Customer Needs List Obtained from Online Research and Individual Interviews

1. Aesthetics2. Safety 2.1 Spill Resistant 2.2 No dangerous projections

3. Weight C.1 Light enough to be lifted with one hand4. Usability 4.1 Easy to grip 4.2 No obstructions 4.3 Extra fingers don’t get in way 4.4 No restriction on number of fingers5. Comfort6. Size7. Cost C.2 About cost of conventional coffee mug8. Availability

2.1 Weighting of Customer Needs Based on the means of gathering customer needs data discussed above, the team began the analytical hierarchy process evaluation for each category and sub-category determined in the above hierarchical needs chart. The weighting of these categories were crucial in the design process because they helped the team create concepts that were attentive to the most important needs of the customer and later assess the these concepts in terms of their effectiveness in meeting the most important criteria as based on the weighting of criteria through the AHP process. After the team determined which criteria were important to the design process for the coffee mug, the team derived an AHP comparison chart to determine how heavily to weight each of the main criteria when generating design concepts. In order to do this, Team Coffee Muggles used data from the customer needs assessment to assign integer values to categories that were seen as the most important by customers and decimal values to categories deemed more unimportant. This resulted in a numerical representation of importance for each category, which could then be converted to a percentage and ordered from largest to smallest to determine overall importance of each category as shown in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting for Main Objective Categories

After determining the weighting of the main objective categories with the original AHP comparison chart, Team Coffee Muggles then used the same process to determine the order of importance of pre-determined sub-objectives of the main category objective “usability,” a process shown in Figure 2, below.

Figure 2. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Usability Sub-Objectives

After determining the weighting of the main objective categories with the original AHP comparison chart, Team Coffee Muggles then used the same process to determine the order of importance of pre-determined sub-objectives of the main category objective “safety,” a process shown in Figure 3, below.

Figure 3. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Safety Sub-Objectives

After using AHP pairwise comparison charts to weight each category and subcategory, Team Coffee Muggles then developed a weighted hierarchical customer needs based on the values obtained from the AHP analysis. In the ordered pairs, the first number next to the category

corresponds to the category or subcategory’s absolute weight, while the next number is the category or subcategory’s comparative weight.

Table 3. Weighted Hierarchical Customer Needs List Obtained from AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart Analysis

1. Aesthetics (.07, .07)2. Safety (.30, .30) 2.1 Spill Resistant (.1, .33) 2.2 No dangerous projections (.2, .67)3. Weight (.11, .11) C.1 Light enough to be lifted with one hand4. Usability (.09, .09) 4.1. Easy to grip (.01341, .149) 4.2. No obstructions (.0171, .190) 4.3 Extra fingers don’t get in way (.01935, .215) 4.4 No restriction on number of fingers (.04014, .446)5. Comfort (.10, .10)6. Size (.11, .11)7. Cost (.13, .13) C.2 About cost of conventional coffee mug8. Availability (.09, .09)

3.0 Revised Problem Statement

Based on the team's customer needs survey, the new goal is to design a coffee mug that is spill resistant, lightweight, cost effective, and comfortable for people both with all their fingers and without.

4.0 External Search

In order to design a mug that would be compatible with both a disabled person and the equipment typically used in the coffee brewing process, team Coffee Muggles performed various forms of research, including the reading of coffee mug reviews on popular shopping websites, the analysis of websites regarding individuals with symbrachydactyly, and the investigation of a Mr. Coffee TF6 5-Cup Coffee Maker. The team also researched various traditional and more innovative coffee mugs as a benchmark of the quality of products on the market. By completing the external search process, the team determined similarities to other products on the market, compatibility with complementary products, designs that generally perform well among consumers in the market, and ways in which the team can distinguish the final product from other designs to better appeal to potential purchasers.

4.1 Literature Review

While looking at different coffee mugs for benchmarking, the Coffee Muggles came across basic criteria that most customers without a disability want in a coffee mug. When talking about the “Diner Coffee Mug” from Amazon, some customers enjoyed a heavy, heat-resistant cup that kept their coffee warm while others wanted a lighter version of the coffee mug that was still relatively heat-resistant. This mug is competitively priced at $3.85 per unit (4imprint Diner Mug-10 Oz, 4imprint.com).

Reviews of the “Porcelain Chocolate Owl” mug on Amazon, priced at $8.89, indicated that consumers loved the aesthetic appeal of a mug that looks like an owl. However, many customers complained about the porcelain material, expressing their discontentment with the fact that the porcelain heats up very quickly and makes holding the mug for too long difficult without becoming burned. Additionally, customers were not thrilled with the fact that the mug did not hold up well in the dishwasher; the painted owl eyes, when washed in the dishwasher, chipped significantly (Porcelain Chocolate Owl 12 Oz Coffee Mug, Amazon.com).

Team Coffee Muggles also investigated the “Lucky Fin Project” website, which gave the team a clearer idea of the different types of hand disabilities that the team needs to accommodate for in the design of a coffee mug. The home page of the website listed seven different classifications of symbrachydactyly that can occur in children and adults with hand disabilities: short finger, cleft type (thumb and small finger present), peromelic (finger stumps), monodactyly (only the thumb present), wrist bones present, wrist bones absent, and transforearm (Stapelman, 2014). 4.2 Patent Search

Team Coffee Muggles also performed a patent search to determine if there are current patents for parts and features of a typical coffee mug. After researching the different patents, the team derived an Art-Function Matrix (Table 4) to show different US patents that have already been obtained by competing companies. This was important to the team's design process in order to maintain design integrity; it was not the goal of Team Coffee Muggles to steal and compile patented ideas, but to come up with an original design to suit the needs and wants of the team's customers.

Table 4. Art-Function Matrix for Coffee Mug Components/FeaturesFUNCTION ART

Outward Projecting Handle

Anti-Scalding Appariti

General insulation techniques

Liner General Design

Grip USD499609 S1

Insulation US20070056923 A1

US8770429 B2

Holding liquid USD455047 S1USD306111 S

Safety CN202739512 U

4.3 Benchmarking The next step in the design process was benchmarking, which allowed our team to assess current products on the market and their effectiveness in completing the criteria that the team determined for the team’s design project. Team Coffee Muggles researched four coffee mug products on the market and compared them in terms of the most important criteria as determined from the customer needs survey. Coffee mug benchmarking process showed how current mugs compare to their competition and gave the team a clearer picture of which designs performed the best in each category. The team used this information to develop the preliminary and final concepts for the coffee mug. The team also benchmarked four coffee makers to better understand the machinery with which the coffee mug interacts. This is important because the team does not want consumers to disregard purchasing the mug because of compatibility issues with more expensive equipment that they already own. To evaluate the different types of mugs already on the market, the team chose four different types of mugs and benchmarked them by giving them a score on a 1 to 5 scale for each category, where 1 means the mug has extremely bad performance in a category and 5 means the mug has extremely good performance in a category.

Table 5. Benchmarking of Four Mugs Feature 4imprint “Diner

Mug”Clay in Motion “Handwarmer Mug”

Discount Mugs “Tin Style Camper Mug”

Mr. Coffee “Mr. Signature” Latte Mug

Aesthetics 2 5 1 5

Comfort 4 5 3 3

Size 5 3 4 1

Durability 4 4 5 3

Safety 4 5 3 2

Cost 5 2 4 3

In order to assess the compatibility of future design concepts with mainstream coffee makers, the team compared four coffee makers and determined important criteria such as the Brew Pause feature, aesthetics, number of cups able to be brewed, ease to clean, convenience of the on/off switch or ease of programming, cost, and safety. Each criterion was evaluated in terms of effectiveness on a scale from 1-5.

Table 6. Benchmarking of Four Coffee MakersFeature Keurig 2.0 K550

Coffee Brewing System

Mr. Coffee 5-cup TF6 Coffee Maker

Cuisinart DCC-2650 Brew Central 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

Bonavita 8-Cup Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe

Brew Pause Feature None 4 5 None

Aesthetics 4 4 4 5

Number of Cups Able to Be Brewed

1 2 5 5

Ease to Clean 3 3 5 4

Convenience of on/off Switch or Ease of Programming

5 5 4 5

Cost 1 5 1 1

Safety 3 3 4 3

4.4 Product Dissection Team Coffee Muggles dissected a coffee maker in order to optimize compatibility between the design of the mug and the coffee makers that people use to brew coffee. Because coffee makers and coffee mugs are very frequently used in conjunction, it is important that any new coffee mug design be backwards compatible with any of the common coffee maker designs used by average consumers. By studying the parts involved in the coffee maker and the various ways to expel the coffee from the maker into the cup, the team gained a clearer understanding of how to design the mug to fit the standards of a normal coffee maker. The particular coffee maker that the team dissected was a 5-Cup Mr. Coffee TF6 Coffee Maker manufactured by Sunbeam, Inc. See Figure 5 for picture representations.

This coffee maker has 4 detachable parts, including the coffee decanter, coffee decanter lid, filter basket, and the filter holder. The purpose of the decanter is to contain the coffee as its drips out of the coffee maker. It is made of a clear glass with a plastic handle. The decanter lid is a plastic part that prevents coffee from spilling when the decanter is used to pour coffee into a cup, and keeps the coffee warm. The filter basket is made of microfiber and is used to contain the filter paper and coffee grounds. The filter holder is a plastic part that goes underneath the filter basket. After the heated water is filtered, it goes into the filter holder which channels it into an opening in the holder and into the decanter. The opening is spring-activated such that it will only allow coffee to flow through when the decanter is placed in the coffee maker.

Based on the team's analysis, almost any coffee mug design should be compatible with this coffee maker because the coffee is first poured into the decanter, which would then be poured into the mug. As long as the mug has an open and/or removable lid it should be compatible with the coffee maker. However, as the decanter and the mug share similar purposes, innovations in the design of the mug should be able to be applied to the decanter as well to better improve usability by persons lacking digits. However, for people who may use a Keurig or other coffee maker that pours coffee directly into the mug from the coffee maker, the width of the design

should be kept in mind as a design limitation, as a coffee mug that has large external features may not fit directly under the stream of liquid propelled by the coffee maker.

Manufacturer/Model Number: 5-Cup Mr. Coffee TF6 Coffee Maker

General Product Information:

How many detachable pieces does the product have? ___4___Part number: Part name:_____1_____ __Coffee decanter________________________________________2_____ ___Coffee Decanter Lid_______________________________________3_____ ___Removable filter basket_______________________________________4_____ ____Filter Holder______________________________________0*____ ____Coffee Maker Body_________________________________*Technically not detachable, but the team felt it should be included in the dissection due to its importance as the product.

Figure 4.1 Coffee Maker Product Dissection Part 1

Describe the pieces including their functions and their materials.Part number: Material & Functional Description:_____0_____ plastic with metal interiors; used for heating water and condensing it _____1_____ glass, metal strip, plastic handle; used for holding coffee _____2_____ plastic; allows coffee to flow through, keeps coffee hot in decanter _____3_____ plastic and microfibers; used for holding the filter paper with coffee grounds _____4_____ plastic and spring (metal); used to hold the filter in place and coffee passes through it Is it easy to detach each part?Part number: Detachment (Easy, difficult, use of force etc.):_____0_____ ________(Non-Detachable)_________________

_____1_____ ___________Easy_______________________________2_____ ____________Difficult___________________________3_____ ___________Pretty Easy__________________________4_____ ________Easy, but harder than filter basket_______ Describe the packaging. Is it easily opened? Describe the opening procedure.Open box. Remove product stabilizer (cardboard that keeps product from breaking in transit). Remove plastic over coffee maker. Remove coffee decanter from cardboard. Remove plastic wrap from decanter. Plug in for best use.

Figure 4.2 Coffee Maker Product Dissection Part 2

Figure 5. Coffee Maker Dissection Parts Photos4.5 Design Target

Through the benchmarking process, Team Coffee Muggles determined that although traditional coffee mugs with outward handles and plain cylindrical structure are generally the least costly for consumers, problems such as lack of insulation, weight, and dishwasher safety still resulted upon use of these mugs. Literature review also made Team Coffee Muggles aware of multiple versions of hand disabilities to keep in mind during the design process, since it would be against the team’s mission to design a mug that is not compatible with a group of disabled persons because of the nature of their disability. Through the patent search, it was determined that there are no visible patents for a “hand-hug” mug design and that current coffee mug patents are generally restrictive to travel-type mugs. Since the appearance of a typical ceramic coffee mug is fairly uniform, there were not a wide variety of patents for this design. During the benchmarking process, we discovered that the “hand-hug” model outperformed the other designs in terms of the established criteria, and that an extremely large latte mug did not perform well in regards to the same criteria, effectively allowing the Team to gain an idea of the general worst and best mug design ideas. Additionally, the team discovered that few coffee mug designs are constrictive to any traditional coffee maker model researched through the product dissection process. With these discoveries in mind, the team gained a clearer picture of successful designs for the concept generation phase of the design process. 5.0 Concept Generation

During the concept generation phase, Team Coffee Muggles brainstormed multiple concepts based on the customer needs, problem statement, and external searches performed earlier by the team. Each team member brainstormed several concepts and related them to the black box model. Each concept was evaluated using Pugh charts, and the best aspects of each concept were combined to produce the final design.

5.1 Concept Generation

Concept generation became both an individual and a collaborative effort. Each team member was allowed to develop four to five concepts individually, following the black-box model to address energy, material, and signal in each concept. Upon finishing the individual concept generation phase, team members created Playdough prototypes of their concepts, found in Appendix, and presented them to the other team members for evaluation. After seeing each team member’s design, Team Coffee Muggles developed a collaborative design that combined the best attributes of each team member’s individual design concepts.

The independently derived armband design concept, Figure 6, below, is based around the idea of modularity. It is comprised of an armband with a multitude of velcro attachment points. The mug would be of a travel mug design with velcro on the side so that it can be attached to any of the attachment points. In the long term, the goal would be able to create a system of attachments not limited to coffee mugs. The armband would be primarily constructed of polymer, with adjustable straps that allow it to be secured to the users arm. The user would then raise his or her arm and drink through either an extendable, insulated straw or directly from the mug itself.

Figure 6. Armband Concept

The independently derived hand hug concept, Figure 7, below, integrated two ideas of an armband and the “hand hug mug.” The armband was added to keep the coffee mug around the person’s arm and provide stability. The “hand hug” design makes the opening more cozy and balanced than a regular handle for a person with only one finger and a functioning palm. The design of the hand-hug mug is designed to reduce slippage comparatively to the average handle on a coffee mug. Inside the hand-hug, there would also be grips to increase the amount of friction and decrease the possibility of spillage. There is no excess energy input besides the energy input from the person lifting the mug.

Figure 7. Hand Hug Concept

The independently derived elephant with handles concept, Figure 8, below, is derived from a typical ceramic mug. The extra handle, where consumers would grip or balance the mug in order to effectively consume their beverage, is meant to add enhanced stability to those consumers of beverages without all of their fingers, so that they can potentially stabilize the mug without added difficulties. However, recognizing that a two-handled mug would probably appear strange to consumers and reduce their willingness to purchase the mug, an elephant trunk and eyes were added, intending to draw the eye of the consumer to this specific mug. The intended material for the mug is a traditional ceramic, which would effectively hold the beverage and protect the consumer’s hands from becoming unbearably hot while holding the mug.

Figure 8. Elephant w/Handles Concept

After assessing the individually derived concepts above, Team Coffee Muggles determined the best attributes of each concept that could be incorporated into a final, collaborative concept that would stem into the final design of the coffee mug (Figure 9). Upon careful examination, the team decided to keep the aesthetic appeal and double handle of the elephant with handles concept and combine it with the inward handle of the hand hug concept. The team also incorporated the idea of a straw from another member into the original collaborative design effort.

In terms of grip, two ear-shaped handles allow the mug to be supported with the top parts of the finger(s), with the palm and a finger, or with the thumb and a palm. An added lid has a loop which allows it to be used with a single finger.

For insulation, the mug is made of conventional ceramic or insulated plastic to prevent heat from burning finger(s). There would also likely be rubber grips inside the handles. However, enough heat is transmitted through the material to keep the finger(s) warm. The mug also has a lid that reduces heat loss.

To increase the ease of drinking, the mug has a spout that allows beverage to be consumed directly from the mug. If necessary, a straw can be placed in the spout for convenience. In addition, a rubber stopper can be placed in the spout to plug it so the mug can be used in a conventional manner without spilling hot beverage on the user.

Because safety is a key factor in the success of the mug, it has a lid that can prevent the mug from spilling beverage when tilted. Rubber grips reduce chance of slipping and make it easier to use with only one finger.

Figure 9. Elephant w/Ears Concept

To summarize the concepts generated during this phase in the design process, Team Coffee Muggles developed a morphological chart depicting each of the major designs evaluated, sketches of each design, and how they function in terms of the black-box model of energy, material and signal (Figure 10). This compilation of the team’s designed allowed the team to see the larger picture of how each design compared to each other in terms of the black-box model.

Figure 10. Morphological Chart

Team Coffee Muggles also developed a black-box model, Figure 11, below, for our collaborative design concept, the elephant with ears concept. The black box model depicts the inputs for a design problem and the proposed outputs as a flow chart. The design problem, defined in the “black box,” is rectified by the signal, energy, and materials of the solution, which all affect the output of a design. For Team Coffee Muggles design problem, which was to design a comfortable, useful, affordable coffee mug for individuals suffering from symbrachydactyly, the team identified each of these inputs and determined their corresponding outputs.

For Energy, the team agreed on using simple manpower to lift and tilt the mug. Any other power source would add too much weight, cost, and complexity.

For Material, the team will most likely use a conventional ceramic, or possibly a lighter weight ceramic. The material needs to be able to insulate the user’s hands from the beverage, but also be light enough to be lifted with single digits easily. If necessary, the team may also add rubber sections to increase the grip. Another option is to use a “phase-changing” material that allows the coffee or tea to stay at a certain temperature while it is in the mug as well as insulating it from the outside so as not to burn the hands of the user.

For Signal, the team is using an elephant-themed handle and spout. The handles are shaped like elephant ears and allow the user to lift the mug with the top part of his finger(s). They are placed on either side of the mug for balance.

Figure 11. Black-Box Model

5.2 Concept Selection

Once Team Coffee Muggles generated preliminary design concepts, the team evaluated each concept by the use of a Pugh Chart, which allowed the team to compare each design to a datum model, in this case, a standard, one-handled, cylindrical, ceramic coffee mug, and determine if they outperformed the standard (receives a “+”), performed equally as well as the standard

(receives a “0), or performed below the abilities of the standard (receives a “-”) for each category determined by our customer needs analysis.

The categories in the Pugh chart for evaluation of Team Coffee Muggles’ design concepts, Figure 12, below, were taken from the developed hierarchical customer needs chart. The weighting for each category was determined by a collaboration of team members. The Pugh chart analysis revealed to the team that the armband design was not effective in meeting the established criteria for the project. However, the hand hug and elephant with handles concepts were equally as effective in meeting customer needs. The elephant with ears concept, the collaborative concept developed by the team using attributes from both the hand hug and elephant with handles concepts, proved the most effective in meeting customer needs by the standards determined in the weighting of customer needs step in the design process. Consequently, after constructing a clay prototype of this concept, see Appendix, the team developed the final design with this concept in mind.

Figure 12. Pugh Chart 6.0 Final Design

After carefully reviewing each concept and evaluating how well they fulfilled the customer needs as outlined on the weighted hierarchical customer needs chart, Team Coffee Muggles decided on a final design modeled closely after the most effective concept as evaluated by the Pugh chart: the elephant with ears collaborative concept. The final design, like the elephant with ears concept, consists of a mug with two inward facing “hand hug” handles to increase stability regardless of the number of fingers and individual has and elephant eyes and a trunk to make the

mug visually appealing to consumers. However, changes to the final design include a change in direction of the trunk, which now faces downward instead of upward. The team decided that an upward facing trunk, although useful as a straw, would decrease overall usability for people who want to consume a beverage directly from the cup. Additionally, the lid was removed from the design, since the team determined that it would simply add another level of difficulty to disabled persons attempting to use the mug. Appendix B shows the Solidworks model views of the mug, and Appendix C displays the drawing of the mug which includes its dimensions.

6.1 Bill of Materials and Present Value Calculations

Team Coffee Muggles determined the parts needed for the manufacturing of the elephant mug design and compiled them into a bill of materials. The bill of materials, which calls for quantity, function, mass, material, and cost among other determinants, allows the team to determine the approximate manufacturing costs for production of our elephant mugs per unit.

Table 7. Bill of Materials

In addition to a bill of materials, Team Coffee Muggles also generated present value calculations to represent the cost of the mug for the consumer over time with interest taken into account. Because the value of the dollar is always decreasing, the team finds it necessary to calculate the cost of owning the elephant mug over the years in present time. To do this, Team Coffee Muggles used the present value calculation formulas after determining yearly expenses of owning the elephant mug.

The team first decided on a profitable cost for the elephant mug, which was settled at $15, and determined the yearly cost of maintenance for it, which was determined to be $3 yearly for dish soap for cleaning. These values are depicted in Table 8, below.

Table 8. Present Value Table

Cost For Duration

$15 Mug One Time

$3 Dish Soap Yearly

Team Coffee Muggles also created a timeline of costs, Figure 13, below, to visually represent the unadjusted cost per year of owning the elephant coffee mug. The timeline settled upon was 5 years, which is the lifetime of the elephant mug.

Figure 13. Present Value Timeline

After determining yearly cost of purchase and maintenance of the mug, the team used the present value calculation formula with the current inflation rate, 1.7%, as the interest value “i” over five years, the life of the mug (Coinnews Media Group, LLC, 2014). These calculations are shown in Figure 14, below.

Figure 14. Present Value Calculations

6.2 How does it work?

The Coffee Muggles’ mug can be used in many different ways that are both efficient and usable for people with or without hand disabilities.

The first way to hold the mug is to place one’s finger(s) inside the ear (see Area 1 in Figure 15), wrap the palm around the side of the mug in between the extension of the ear and the trunk (see Area 2 in Figure 15), and squeeze the hand to obtain friction. The design enables the user to put both hands in the ears with ease in the same way on both sides of the mug in the front. Then the user can lift the mug to their mouth.

Figure 15. Usability Diagram 1

The second way to hold the mug is to again place the finger or rest of the hand inside the ear (see Area 1 in Figure 16), wrap hand around the outer surface (see Area 2 in Figure 16), and place the thumb inside the thumb-holder (see Area 3 in Figure 16). Squeeze to create friction and lift the mug.

Figure 16. Usability Diagram 2

One concern about the different ways to hold the mug is that they might be a bit complicated and not intuitive for consumers. To address these concerns, the Coffee Muggles propose putting pictures of people using the mug on the packaging, so there is a clear representation of these ways of holding the mug.

7.0 Conclusions After brief analysis, Team Coffee Muggles concluded that the team’s design solution met most of the needs of the project. The team’s main goal was to design a coffee mug that could be used by people with or without hand disabilities that maintained a high quality of safety, comfort, usability, cost effectiveness, and aesthetic appeal. The unique addition of the elephant “trunk” and “ears” ensured that the otherwise strange-looking mug is visually appealing to all consumers, the wider profile makes the mug more difficult to knock over to prevent spills, and the enclosed ear handles reduce the possibility of the mug slipping, making sure that it is aesthetically appealing and safe for use by all consumers.

With the current ceramic material used, the mug may be slightly heavier than a normal mug, potentially increasing its difficulty of use by those with hand disabilities. In the future, the team hopes to investigate other, more lightweight materials that may make the mug more expensive, yet more effective. In terms of usability, the mug provides great variability in methods of holding to accommodate people of all needs and preferences.

Because the mug is so easy to grip and because of the numerous methods of holding it, people with any number of fingers will be able to use it. Because of the thickness and general structure of the mug, consumers can rest assured that excess heat from their hot beverage will warm their hands without causing burns.

Another concern is that the size of Team Coffee Muggles’ elephant mug is about twice the width of a conventional mug, however, this allows for better ease of use across our target audience. In regards to cost, the initial cost to consumers would be around $15, and the team calculated that consumers would pay $32.24 over the lifetime of the mug for the initial purchase and the cost of soap for cleaning. With these calculations, the elephant mug would indeed be cost effective as intended.

Finally, because the mug would most likely be more industrially produced due to the magnitude of the target audience for our mug, the mug would be available for all consumers to purchase. Based on this analysis, the Team Coffee Muggles elephant mug is an effective solution for those individuals wanting for a less physically/mentally taxing beverage consumption experience.

References 4imprint Diner Mug-10 Oz. 4imprint USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Bonavita 8-Cup Coffee Maker with Thermal Carrafe. Williams-Sonoma. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct.

2014.

Ceramic Tile. The Home Depot. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Clay in Motion Mossy Creek Handwarmer Mug. Made in Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Cuisinart DCC-2650 Brew Central 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker. Amazon.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

"Current US Inflation Rates: 2004-2014." US Inflation Calculator. Coinnews Media Group, LLC, 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.

Discount Mugs 13 Oz. Tin Style Camper. Discount Mugs. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Keurig 2.0 K550 Coffee Brewing System. Bed Bath & Beyond. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Leblanc, Maurice. ""Give Hope-Give a Hand"" Stanford.edu. Stanford University, 9 Nov. 2008. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <https://web.stanford.edu/class/engr110/2011/LeBlanc-03a.pdf>.

McMaster-Carr General Purpose Paint. McMaster-Carr. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Mr. Coffee Mr. Signature 23.6-Ounce Latte Mugs. Walmart.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Mr. Coffee TF6 5-Cup Switch Coffeemaker. Amazon.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Owings M, Kozak LJ. National Center for Health S. Ambulatory and Inpatient Procedures in the United States. 1996. Hyattsville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics; 1998.

Porcelain Chocolate Owl 12 Oz Coffee Mug. Amazon.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Stapelman, Molly. "Lucky Fin Project." Luckyfinproject. Lucky Fin Project, 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.luckyfinproject.org/>.

Ziegler-Graham K, MacKenzie EJ, Ephraim PL, Travison TG, Brookmeyer R. Estimating the Prevalence of Limb Loss in the United States: 2005 to 2050. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation2008;89(3):422-9

Appendix A: Playdough and Clay Prototypes

A1. Armband Concept Playdough Prototype

A2. Hand Hug Concept Playdough Prototype

A3. Elephant with Handles Playdough Prototype

A4. Elephant with Ears Clay Prototype

Appendix B: Solidworks Model

B1. Isometric View

B2. Front View with Painted Eyes

B3. Rear View

B4. Bottom View

B5. Left Side View

B6. Right Side View

B7. Top View

Appendix C: Design Drawing

C1. Solidworks Drawing of Elephant Mug With Dimensions