Protective Eyewear Clip Latch for Secure Visor Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Protective goggles often fall off when not in use, posing a risk of injury, and when tethered, they can create a choking hazard when hung around the neck.
Innovation Solution
A clip device with a latch structure that couples to a wearable item, featuring an elongate body with a curved cross-sectional profile and a latch structure that transitions between bent and unbent positions, securely attaching to the item and preventing re-entry into the channel, thus keeping the goggles in place without the risk of falling or choking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If protective goggles are moved to rest on the visor of the protective helmet when not in use, then the goggles are conveniently stored, but the goggles can fall off of the visor
Solution Approach 1:
The clip device is divided into separate functional components: a body portion that contacts the visor surface, and a latch structure with side members and a latch body that independently engage with the channel. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the body provides positioning while the latch provides secure retention, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch structure is pre-configured with the latch body spaced apart from the common body portion, creating a built-in biasing mechanism. When the latch structure is inserted into the channel, the latch body automatically bends and engages the channel edge before full insertion is complete, ensuring secure retention is established in advance rather than relying on final position alone.
2Reliability
If protective goggles are provided with a strap for tethering, then the goggles can be secured to the individual, but the goggles and strap may provide a potential choking hazard when hung around the neck
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the retention function from the traditional strap system and relocates it to the helmet visor through the clip device. By taking the security function out of the neck-area strap and placing it on the helmet, the harmful choking hazard is eliminated while the reliable attachment security is maintained through the engineered latch mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip device acts as an intermediary between the goggles and the helmet, providing a secure attachment point on the helmet visor. This intermediary solution eliminates the need for neck-area straps while maintaining secure goggle retention, thereby removing the choking hazard while preserving security.
3Device complexity
If plastic goggles without a strap are used, then the goggles are lightweight and simple, but the goggles may break when they come in contact with the floor or other surface
Solution Approach 1:
The latch structure provides beforehand cushioning by creating a secure mechanical engagement between the clip device and the channel on the helmet. This pre-established secure connection prevents the goggles from falling to the floor in the first place, thereby protecting the fragile plastic construction from impact damage while maintaining the simple, strapless design.
4Reliability
If the latch body is biased towards the common body portion during insertion, then the latch body bends to engage the channel edge, but the latch body must automatically return to unbent position after insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The latch body is designed as a dynamic component that transitions between bent and unbent states during the insertion and retention process. The built-in biasing causes the latch body to bend during insertion for engagement, then automatically return to its unbent position after engagement is achieved. This dynamic behavior provides reliable engagement without requiring complex external actuation mechanisms.
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
The clip device securely retains protective goggles on a helmet or visor, preventing falls and choking hazards, ensuring safety and convenience by maintaining the goggles' position without detaching during use or storage.
Implementation Method 1
bending the latch body by biasing the latch body towards the common body portion as the latch body slides against the edge; inserting the latch body and the side members through the channel until at least the free end of the latch body no longer resides in the channel, the latch body automatically unbending when the free end of the latch body no longer resides in the channel
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for coupling a clip to a wearable item with a receiver. The methods involve: receiving the clip's latch structure in the receiver's channel; sliding the latch structure's side members against a channel surface; sliding the latch structure's latch body against the channel's opening edge; bending the latch body by biasing the latch body towards the latch structure's common body portion as the latch body slides against the edge; inserting the latch body and the side members through the channel until at least the free end of the latch body no longer resides in the channel, the latch body automatically unbending when the free end of the latch body no longer resides in the channel; and preventing at least the free end of the latch body from re-entering the channel such that the clip is coupled to the wearable item.