Bent-Leg Plant Support Staple for Secure Guide Element Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing staples for holding plant stems or branches on guide elements are prone to detachment due to the guide element being easily displaced by growth or weight, leading to the staple opening and detaching from the stem.
Innovation Solution
A staple design with a main body portion and leg portions that include bent sections, allowing for secure engagement with a guide element, featuring a first leg portion with a shoulder portion and a second leg portion with a longer third portion that applies tension to maintain the staple's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the guide element is merely sandwiched by convex protrusions, then the staple structure is simple, but the guide element is likely to be detached from the convex protrusions
Solution Approach 1:
The leg portions are divided into multiple segments (first leg portion with first and second portions, second leg portion with third and fourth portions) that can independently engage with the guide element at different positions, distributing the attachment force and preventing detachment
Solution Approach 2:
The bent portions of the leg portions are nested around the guide element, with each bent portion wrapping around the guide element to create multiple engagement points, ensuring the guide element cannot be easily dislodged
2Ease of manufacture
If the stem or the like merely holds end portions of the closed arms in a superimposed manner, then the staple is easy to manufacture, but the arms are easily opened and the stem or the like is easily detached
Solution Approach 1:
The leg portions extend beyond the plane of the closed arms in a dimensional direction perpendicular to the arms, creating engagement points that prevent the arms from opening by distributing the holding force in multiple spatial directions
Solution Approach 2:
The leg portions include bent portions that curve around the guide element, creating a circumferential engagement that prevents the arms from opening by distributing the holding force around the circumference of the guide element
3Adaptability or versatility
If the stem or the like grows and becomes thick, or a fruit or the like fruited on the stem or the like grows and increases in weight, then the staple can accommodate growth, but the arms are displaced in an opening direction and detachment easily occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The leg portions are designed with bent sections that can dynamically adjust their engagement position with the guide element as the stem grows or weight increases, maintaining secure attachment through elastic deformation and repositioning of the bent portions
Data Source
AI summary
A staple including a body part that is formed from a flexible wire rod and that opens in a first direction, a first leg part that extends continuously from a first end section on one opening side of the body part, and a second leg part that extends continuously from a second end section on the other opening side of the body part, the first leg part having a first section that curves and extends outward, and a second section that curves from the first part and extends in the first direction, and the second leg part having a third section that extends in the first direction, and a fourth section that is bent outward from the tip-end part of the third section, the third section being longer than the second section.