Deflectable Tab Buckle for Reusable Safety Collar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal collars that are designed to break away when subjected to a force exceeding a threshold force often become unusable after release, lacking the ability for reusability and continuous protection.
Innovation Solution
The animal collar features a buckle with a deflectable tab and a tooth that engages the belt, providing a frictional force that inhibits sliding up to a threshold force, allowing the collar to loosen and re-tighten without permanent deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a break-away collar design is used with non-releasable buckles and lines of weakness, then the collar can be released when subjected to excessive force, but the collar becomes unusable and cannot provide continuous protection
Solution Approach 1:
The buckle incorporates a deflectable tab that can dynamically adjust its position based on applied force. Under normal conditions, the tab maintains a locked position with the tooth engaging the belt. When excessive force is applied, the tab deflects to allow the belt to slide through, providing automatic release. This dynamic behavior enables the collar to transition between locked and released states without permanent deformation, allowing reuse after release events.
Solution Approach 2:
The frictional force parameter is made variable through the deflectable tab mechanism. The tab can be biased towards an initial position to provide high friction (locked state) or deflect to reduce friction (released state). This parameter change allows the same buckle to provide both secure holding and controlled release functions, enabling the collar to be reusable while maintaining safety release capability.
2Strength
If a deflectable tab with frictional engagement is used, then the collar can be securely held in place, but the collar may not loosen sufficiently when force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The deflectable tab creates a dynamic friction system where the frictional force is not fixed but changes based on the deflection state. When the collar is properly fitted, the tab remains in its initial position providing strong frictional holding. When excessive force is applied during entanglement, the tab deflects under the load, automatically reducing the frictional force and allowing the belt to slide through, thus providing both secure holding and automatic loosening.
Solution Approach 2:
The buckle mechanism is designed to automatically adjust its frictional engagement based on applied force without external intervention. The deflectable tab self-regulates the frictional force between the tooth and belt, maintaining strong holding under normal conditions and automatically reducing friction when excessive force is detected, enabling the collar to loosen itself when needed.
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
This design enables the collar to remain intact while loosening sufficiently to provide safety to the animal, allowing for reusability and continuous protection, while also reducing collar losses.
Implementation Method 1
the tooth exhibits a frictional force on the belt sufficient to inhibit sliding of the belt up to a threshold force applied to the belt
Implementation Method 2
The deflectable tab is configured to deflect towards and away from the passage
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are animal collars and methods of using animal collars. Also described herein are buckles for animal collars.