Decorative Light Clip With Universal Gutter And Shingle Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing decorative light mounting clips are difficult to remove without damaging the structure, are limited to specific profiles, and fail to maintain consistent light bulb orientation across different substrates like shingles and gutters, making them unsuitable for versatile and aesthetically pleasing displays.
Innovation Solution
A clip design featuring a tapered leg, perpendicular middle portion, and a hook with a living hinge U-shaped light holding portion, along with locking tabs and wings for stability, allowing easy attachment and removal from various surfaces while maintaining consistent light bulb orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing clips lock onto existing profiles of shingles or gutters, then the clips can hold lights during high winds, but the clips are difficult to remove without damaging the structure and are limited to specific profiles
Solution Approach 1:
The clip is divided into two separate bodies: an attaching body that engages with the gutter or shingle profile, and a light holder body that secures the light string. This segmentation allows the attaching body to be designed for secure engagement while the light holder body can be easily released, resolving the contradiction between holding strength and ease of removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip employs a dynamic locking mechanism where the attaching body can be easily inserted and locked onto the profile, but also easily released by applying a simple releasing action. This dynamic design allows the clip to transition between a secure locked state during high winds and an easily removable state for installation and takedown.
2Reliability
If existing clips are designed for specific profiles, then they can securely attach to those structures, but they cannot accommodate different gutter or shingle designs
Solution Approach 1:
The attaching body is designed with a universal profile engagement mechanism that can accommodate various gutter and shingle designs. The tapered shape and flexible engagement features allow the same clip design to securely attach to different structural profiles, providing both secure attachment and versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip design incorporates adjustable parameters such as the angle of the tapered leg and the position of engagement points, allowing the same basic design to adapt to different profile geometries. This parameter flexibility enables secure attachment across multiple structure types without requiring different clip designs.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing clips maintain fixed light bulb orientation, then the installation is simple, but the lights cannot be optimally displayed on different substrates like shingles and gutters
Solution Approach 1:
The light holder body is designed to rotate or adjust its orientation relative to the attaching body, allowing the light bulbs to be positioned at different angles. This dynamic adjustment capability enables optimal aesthetic display on different substrates while maintaining simple installation through a single clip design.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip design incorporates asymmetric features in the light holder body that allow for varied light orientation. The asymmetric design enables the lights to be displayed at different angles relative to the substrate, providing aesthetic flexibility while maintaining installation simplicity through a unified clip structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A clip for holding decorative lights has an arm with a hook at one end, a leg and middle portion between the arm and the leg. The hook and leg together define a space between them in which will receive a roofing shingle or a portion of a gutter. A second hook may be attached to the middle portion and sized to receive a rope light. There may also be a light holding portion attached by a hinge to the corner formed where he arm meets the middle portion. There is a first locking tab attached to the arm and a second locking tab is attached to the middle portion. A first retainer tab and a second retainer tab on opposite sides of the light holding portion are configured and positioned to engage one of the pair of locking tabs.