Collapsing Hanger Latch Mechanism for One-Handed Shirt Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional rigid clothes hangers are difficult to use with garments that have non-opening fronts or backs, as they require manual dexterity and can cause stretching or damage, especially when removing the garment, and many folding hanger designs are hard to open back up to a rigid position using one hand.
Innovation Solution
A collapsing clothes hanger with a latching mechanism that allows the wings to fold and extend easily using one hand, featuring bracing and lifting surfaces for controlled manipulation and a pinching motion to overcome garment resistance during expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rigid hanger is used, then the hanger can support garments, but it is difficult to insert and remove garments with non-opening fronts or backs
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger wings are designed to be dynamically changeable between extended and collapsed positions. The wings can be collapsed to a compact position for easy insertion through small neck openings, then extended to provide full garment support. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction by allowing the hanger to adapt its structure to different operational phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger is divided into a central body and separate wing components that can move independently. The wings are segmented from the main body and connected via pivots, allowing them to be collapsed inward for insertion and then deployed outward for support. This segmentation enables the hanger to simplify its structure during insertion while maintaining full functionality during support.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the hanger wings are extended to support garments, then the hanger can prevent garment damage, but the hanger cannot pass through small neck openings
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger wings dynamically change their span from a compact collapsed state during insertion to a fully extended state for garment support. This dynamic adjustment allows the hanger to pass through small neck openings when collapsed, then provide full shoulder support when extended, resolving the contradiction between insertion size and support capability.
Solution Approach 2:
When collapsed, the wings are nested close to the central body of the hanger, creating a compact profile that can pass through small openings. When extended, the wings unfold from this nested position to provide full garment support. This nesting arrangement allows the hanger to minimize its dimensions during insertion while maintaining full functionality during support.
3Ease of operation
If a complex folding mechanism is used to enable easy collapse, then the hanger can be manipulated, but the mechanism becomes difficult to open back up
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism provides self-service by automatically assisting the extension process. When the user initiates extension, the spring releases stored energy to help push the wings into their extended position, compensating for the complexity of the folding mechanism. This makes the extension operation as easy as the collapse operation, resolving the contradiction between ease of collapse and difficulty of extension.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism acts as an intermediary that simplifies control of the complex folding mechanism. By providing a simple engage/disengage control, the latch makes both collapsing and extending operations easy despite the underlying mechanical complexity of the folding joints and spring system.
Data Source
AI summary
A garment hanger with particular ease of use advantage when removing or hanging crew neck or turtleneck type shirts or blouses. The hanger provides an easily manipulated and intuitive mechanism for collapsing the garment support portions of the hanger, thus allowing for simple passage through the narrow neck hole of a garment. The hanger further provides an easily manipulated and intuitive mechanism for returning the folded garment support portions to their extended and supportive positions, which can be done with the hanger enveloped within a garment, thus providing an improved means for hanging some shirts or blouses without the need to feed a hanger up through the bottom opening of the garment.