Gadgets I would like to exist

[simont]

I've occasionally thought it would be nice to have a coffee mug with a built-in heater, so it keeps the coffee from getting completely cold. But this is an obviously impractical idea: heating costs serious energy, so you'd have to have a stand to supply the power, which is inconvenient; also there are probably some exciting failure modes.

This morning it occurs to me that there's a much smaller, simpler and more realistic coffee-related gadget that would deliver a similar benefit: a thermometer you could attach to the outside of the mug which would go beep when the temperature dropped to a predefined threshold, signalling ‘last chance to drink up your coffee before it gets unpleasantly cold’. That could much more easily be a standalone device running off a battery.

I suppose you'd also want it to notice if you'd already finished the coffee, and not go beep just because an empty mug had cooled past the threshold. Hmm. Must be something clever you can do about that…

Comments

[sunflowerinrain]

You could tweak eTea :)
http://code.google.com/p/etea/

[simont]

Ooh yes, that looks like a good start. Presumably that's measuring the mug warming up rather than down (hence, presumably, your comment about needing to tweak it a bit), but it looks like basically the right thing.

Now all it needs is the extra mechanism for detecting an empty mug – preferably without dangling something grubby in the drink. I feel there ought to be something clever along those lines: some sort of micro-seismic detector, perhaps, that wobbles the mug slightly and then 'listens' for ripples bouncing back from the far side to see if there's still liquid in there.

[sunflowerinrain]

That's a very clever idea! Wobblemug :)

Actually, eTea has a timer for brewing; the temperature-checking part of the gadget is (as I remember it) what starts off the timer. You may need to tweak it more than a bit.

I recommend dorkbot meets.

[simont]

Ah, yes, that would make sense. (It was difficult to get proper information since the main eTea website is empty apart from a link to a video, and I wasn't even conveniently able to watch the video with sound :-)

[jack]

Alternatively, how about:

- calculating how long it is on average, and having your gadget simply measure the time
- having one of those little stands which keeps something warm with a candle
- using an insulated but not heated mug or a thermos with a small mug

[pseudomonas]

Is this equivalent to something that pings the mug and checks what the pitch of the ping is?

[kilinrax.livejournal.com]

Water level detectors are cheap (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9246470.htm?storeId=10001&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F9246470.htm%3FstoreId%3D10001&jspStoreDir=argos&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674|prd%3A2010640&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674|prd%3A1546795&referrer=COJUN&cmpid=COJUN%23pdpFullProductInformation). Definitely viable.

[andrewducker]

Surely a USB-powered device would be ideal for this, especially as you'd also be able to set your preferred temperature using a handy program on the PC!

[pjc50.livejournal.com]

Anyone remember Global Hypercolour and their heat-sensitive items? You can certainly do this trivially with a visual alert, but if you want an audible one I guess it means ciruitry, which has to be waterproofed so you can wash the mug.

Heating could easily be done inductively: put a single turn coil or something in the bottom of the mug and sit it on a coil mat.

[the-alchemist.livejournal.com]

I think heated coffee mugs already exist - powered either through a USB cable or through something or other I don't know about because it's related to cars and I don't drive. I don't think I'd find it inconvenient to have my coffee mug on my desk attached to my computer.

[simont]

I don't think I want the mug tethered to my computer, really. By all means have it plug into USB to reprogram and/or recharge, but while it's in operation it ought to just attach round the outside of the mug with elastic or some such and not have a trailing cable.

[simont]

Washing the mug: I was thinking more in terms of a device attaching round the outside of the mug by elastic or some such, so you can take it off once you've finished your coffee (and attach it to your next mug).

[isihac.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my first thought was the USB hotplate.

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/usb-cup-warmer/index.html

[isihac.livejournal.com]

My M-i-L has one that sits on the side of the cup to measure the water level and beeps. Very funky.

http://www.rnib.org.uk/shop/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?category=utensils&productID=DK12701

[https://me.yahoo.com/a/sOa8t2QOsOITsXrS87.mnr7IK4W7oQ--#0d948 (from livejournal.com)]

Oh, I know this one. They already invented a handy portable heat-generating device; you can get them in all shapes and sizes, they called them 'candles'.

Unless you wanted something with a button. Must be a button. Don't understand this whole button thing. The world's gone mad just pushing little buttons...

S.

[simont]

Congratulations on finding the ugliest OpenID in the world!

[oneplusme.livejournal.com]

Couldn't you power the required electronics with some kind of thermocouple between the hot coffee and the outside of the mug? Of course, that would cool your coffee infinitesimally faster, but you'd at least be able to have a beeper. And it would derive no power from an empty mug, so it might simplify the "no coffee" case.

[twigletzone.livejournal.com]

Insulated travel mugs do a lot to reduce the cooling rate and are very reasonably priced...

[khalinche.livejournal.com]

MTE.

[gerald_duck]

Or, if that's not sufficiently heavy duty, a travel mug immersion heater.