DavecUK
The left paddle is designed in such a way that makes it a movement that requires a conscious decision to accomplish. It requires more force than a falling cup to pull the left paddle and the weight of the cup isnt enough to do that. Also u need a horizontal force not a downward force which is what a falling cup would exert typically anyway. It also cannot be a momentary force - you have to sustain a higher force than that across a certain horizontal range by continuously pulling the left paddle towards yourself.
I tried knocking the paddle in a downward facing force or a force directed diagonally downwards. The switch didn’t even move. Only a purely horizontal directed force will move the paddle.
Furthermore the pump fills the grouphead quickly, so that would mean almost immediately after the user releases the lever he has to engage the left paddle “accidentally” in order to cause insufficient water to be in the grouohead. But in doing so, the user will more likely also need to move out of line with the lever arm to the left of the group - which puts his chin out of the danger zone.
As for the microswitch alignment part, if it goes out if alignment the left paddle wont even open the valve at all. It is made so that it needs to pull a certain distance before activating the microswitch. That cannot somehow change by itself- unless it is deliberately sabotaged!
Therefore what you suggested is in fact as unlikely to happen as “accidentally” triggering the venting of the grouphead on the vostok by pressing the touch screen wrongly…I use the parentheses because both situations are also to me similarly unlikely to happen and would only be practically possible if one were to intentionally do so…
