Button-Supported Fashion Accessory: Secure Attachment via Flap Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing button covers for clothing are prone to accidental dislodgment and loss due to their design, which requires attachment and detachment with the flap in a closed condition, limiting their securement and adaptability to various uses.
Innovation Solution
A removable decorative button cover assembly featuring an elongated slider bar with a snare and bracket system that traps the button between the under-flap and over-flap sections, ensuring secure attachment and allowing the decorative cover to be freely movable while preventing accidental disconnection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the button cover is designed to be attached and detached with the flap in a closed condition, then installation and removal are convenient, but the button cover can be accidentally dislodged and lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by requiring the flap to be open (而非closed) for attachment and detachment. The button cover is designed to engage with the button when the flap is open, and the flap itself acts as a retaining barrier when closed, preventing accidental dislodgment while maintaining ease of installation and removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap serves as an intermediary element that mediates between the button cover and the button. When closed, the flap acts as a barrier that secures the button cover in place, while when open, it allows for easy attachment and detachment. This intermediary mechanism resolves the contradiction between securement and convenience.
2Ease of manufacture
If the button cover uses a simple clip design, then it is inexpensive to manufacture, but it lacks adaptability to various uses including belt-buckle type applications
Solution Approach 1:
The button cover design incorporates a universal attachment mechanism that can be used across multiple applications including trouser buttons, shirt cuffs, and belt-buckle type applications. The simple clip design combined with the flap-mediated attachment system provides versatility without significantly increasing manufacturing complexity or cost.
3Reliability
If the button cover is securely trapped on the button, then it prevents accidental loss, but it limits the ability to easily remove it
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment system is dynamic rather than static. The flap can be in two states: closed (providing secure attachment and preventing loss) and open (allowing easy removal). This dynamic state change resolves the contradiction between secure attachment and ease of removal, as the user can transition between these states as needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A decorative button cover assembly for trousers and other types of clothing to be worn as a fashion accessory. The assembly includes an elongated slider bar that establishes a constrained path configured to guide a button captive back-and-forth. A snare is attached to one end of the slider bar and a bracket to the other end, and has an aperture configured to receive and then trap the head of the button. The aperture is bounded on one side by an interior stopper edge. The bracket has a standoff portion and a mounting portion. A decorative cover is supported from the mounting portion of the bracket and spaced from the slider bar. In use, the assembly is inextricably trapped between under- and over-flap sections of the trousers, and yet the decorative cover is moveable toward and away from a position directly overlying the button head.