Configurable Shoulder Sections for Arm-Free Infant Dressing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Garments, particularly those designed for infants, are difficult to put on without bending or manipulating the baby's head, shoulders, and arms, which can cause discomfort and potential harm due to their delicate nature.

Innovation Solution

A garment design featuring configurable shoulder sections with upper and lower flaps that can be attached using hook and loop material, magnets, or other mechanisms, allowing the garment to be placed over the body without requiring arm manipulation by folding the flaps to form sleeves.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the garment is designed with fixed sleeves close to the body, then the garment provides good fit and warmth, but it becomes difficult and potentially harmful to put on without manipulating the person's body

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety of garment placementVSAvoidease of putting on garment

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The shoulder section is divided into multiple detachable components including upper flaps, lower flaps, and sleeve sections that can be separated and reconfigured. This segmentation allows the garment to be opened at the shoulders for easy placement onto the body without manipulating the person's limbs, then closed to provide proper fit and warmth.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The shoulder sections are designed with dynamic attachment mechanisms (such as magnets, hooks, or Velcro) that allow the flaps to be attached and detached. This dynamic configuration enables the garment to transition between an open state for easy placement and a closed state for proper fit, eliminating the need to bend or twist the person's body during dressing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If the garment requires pulling over the head and manipulating arms through sleeves, then the garment can be dressed, but it causes discomfort and potential damage to delicate body parts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to dress garmentVSAvoidpotential harm to body

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The traditional head-pulling and arm-manipulation steps are eliminated by extracting the function of opening the garment at the shoulders. The detachable shoulder sections allow the garment to be opened wide enough to accommodate the body without requiring the person to bend, twist, or manipulate their head, neck, or arms through tight openings.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The shoulder sections are pre-configured with attachment mechanisms that allow the flaps to be easily attached after the garment body is placed on the person. This preliminary preparation of the attachment system enables quick and safe closure without requiring manipulation of the person's delicate body parts during the dressing process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If the shoulder sections are made detachable and configurable, then the garment becomes easier and safer to put on, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of garment placementVSAvoidcomplexity of shoulder section mechanism

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Traditional mechanical fasteners like buttons, zippers, or complex buckles are replaced with simpler attachment mechanisms such as magnets, hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro), or elastic bands. These substitution mechanisms provide sufficient attachment strength while requiring minimal dexterity to operate, maintaining ease of use despite the added configurability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The flaps and shoulder sections are constructed from flexible materials that can easily conform to the body shape and are simple to attach and detach. This flexibility reduces the complexity of the attachment mechanism while maintaining ease of operation, as the materials themselves accommodate the configurability needs without requiring complex structural components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

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

Enables safe and comfortable garment placement without bending or twisting the body, protecting the infant's fragile limbs from discomfort or damage.

Implementation Method 1

upper and lower flaps that can be attached using hook and loop material, magnets, or other mechanisms

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHook and loop material attachment: Velcro

Implementation Method 2

upper and lower flaps that can be attached using hook and loop material, magnets, or other mechanisms

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMagnetic attraction: Magnetism

Data Source

PatentUS20250280902A1Garment with configurable shoulder sections

Publication Date: 2025.09.11 SHALTZ HASLUP CARRIE

AI summary

A garment with configurable shoulder sections is disclosed. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow the garment to be placed on a person's body without having to manipulate the person's arms through the sleeves.