Bendable Hat Brim Wire Cable Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional sun hats with wide brims are floppy and misshapen, especially in windy conditions, and their structural integrity degrades when washed or stored, causing issues with shape retention and interference with backpacks or photography.
Innovation Solution
A sun hat with a bendable and shapeable brim featuring a wire cable assembly secured in the brim's perimeter, allowing for multiple configurations and easy storage, combined with a crushable crown, machine washability, and adjustable features like a stowable neck cover and removable crown top.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the brim is made stiff to maintain shape, then shape retention is improved, but the brim becomes less flexible and harder to store
Solution Approach 1:
The brim incorporates a wire cable assembly that allows dynamic adjustment of stiffness parameters. The wire provides structural support to maintain shape, while the flexible cable construction enables the brim to be bent and folded for storage when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The brim combines fabric material with an embedded wire cable assembly. This composite structure integrates the flexibility of fabric with the shape-retaining properties of the wire, resolving the contradiction between maintaining shape and enabling flexibility
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the brim is made wide to provide sun protection, then sun protection capability is improved, but interference with backpacks and photography equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The brim is designed to be dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The wire cable assembly allows the brim to be reshaped or folded back when it interferes with backpacks or photography equipment, while maintaining its wide protective shape when needed for sun protection
3Ease of manufacture
If the hat is designed for durability through washing and crushing, then ease of maintenance is improved, but structural integrity of the brim degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The wire cable assembly changes the mechanical parameters of the brim to be more resistant to degradation from washing and crushing. The flexible wire structure can withstand repeated bending and compression without losing its shape-retaining capability
Solution Approach 2:
The wire cable assembly provides preemptive structural reinforcement to the brim before it undergoes washing or crushing. This pre-built structural support prevents the brim from deforming permanently during maintenance and storage
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hat can be reshaped repeatedly without losing structural integrity, providing enhanced functionality and style versatility while maintaining protection from the sun, and can be easily stored or packed without losing its shape.
Implementation Method 1
a bendable and shapeable brim (12) featuring a wire cable assembly secured in the brim's perimeter
Data Source
AI summary
A sun hat having a bendable and shapeable brim is described. The bendable brim is characterized by a wire cable assembly secured in the brim of the hat along its perimeter. The wire cable assembly can comprise a loop of multi-strand metal cable enclosed in a slightly oversized flexible plastic sheath that is hermetically sealed at joining ends. The cable can be comprised of an annealed metal that permits it to be bent thousands of times without breaking.