Clothes hanger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable garment hangers have not gained industrial acceptance due to high manufacturing costs compared to conventional hangers, and existing designs often feature complex mechanisms that are expensive to produce and prone to unintentional swiveling under load.
Innovation Solution
A clothes hanger with pivotable legs connected via a housing cassette, featuring a resilient connection and latching mechanisms to secure the legs against unintentional pivoting, allowing for easy operation without reaching into the garment collar.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a latch mechanism is used to secure the legs against unintentional pivoting, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The latch mechanism is integrated into the housing cassette structure, merging the locking function with the existing housing components. The latching elements are formed as part of the housing cassette and leg arms, eliminating separate locking components and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism operates automatically through the resilient connection of the leg arms. When the legs are inserted or adjusted, the resilient connection automatically engages the latching elements, securing the legs without requiring manual intervention or complex control systems.
2Ease of operation
If a resilient connection is used to allow pivoting movement, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient connection is integrated directly into the leg arms and housing cassette structure. The leg arms themselves provide the resilient connection through their construction, eliminating the need for separate springs or flexible elements, thus reducing component count while maintaining ease of pivoting operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional hanger designs are used, then the manufacturing cost is low, but the foldability function is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger is divided into modular segments (leg arms, housing cassette, latching elements) that can be manufactured separately using standard plastic injection molding techniques. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing processes and assembly, maintaining cost-effectiveness while enabling the foldable functionality.
4Device complexity
If the latching mechanism is placed inside the garment collar area, then the structure is compact, but the ease of operation deteriorates as users must reach inside to release it
Solution Approach 1:
The latching mechanism is positioned on the outer surface of the housing cassette, accessible from the front or side of the hanger. This spatial repositioning allows users to operate the release mechanism from outside the garment collar area, significantly improving ease of operation while the overall hanger structure remains compact.
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 design reduces manufacturing costs by using fewer components made from plastic or alternative materials, while ensuring stability under load and easy operation, making it suitable for mass production and user-friendly.
Implementation Method 1
The leg arms are resiliently connected to one another via a housing cassette, so there is a resilient connection between the leg arms. The angular width of the angle can be reduced by a pivoting movement about a pivot axis of the legs. This is done by building up a restoring force through the resilient connection, which counteracts the pivoting movement of the leg arms towards each other.
Data Source
AI summary
A clothes hanger has two limbs, each of which has a limb arm. The limb arms are elastically connected together via a housing cassette. The housing cassette forms the apex of an angle, and the limb arms form the two legs of the angle. The size of the angle can be reduced by pivoting the limbs about a pivot axis, thereby building up a restoring force by means of the elastic connection. The limbs are secured against an accidental pivoting of the limb arms via at least one locking mechanism, and corresponding blocking elements of the locking mechanism or the locking mechanisms move away from each other or towards each other in the event of a pivoting movement of the limbs.