Foldable Hanger with Sliding-Block Guide to Reduce Manual Effort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing foldable garment hangers require manual effort to overcome spring force during use, making them inconvenient and fatiguing, and often obstruct neck openings of clothes due to arm positioning.
Innovation Solution
A foldable hanger design featuring a sliding-block guide and prestressed flexible element that allows easy opening and closing with minimal user effort, enabling the arm to be deflected without obstructing cloth neck openings, using a spike and arresting pin mechanism for smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hanger uses a spring mechanism to hold arms open, then the arms can be automatically latched in extended position, but the user must continuously overcome spring force during operation which is fatiguing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static spring-held open mechanism into a dynamic system where the sliding block guide moves between locked and unlocked positions. The arm can dynamically transition from a fixed extended position to a freely movable folded position, allowing the user to override the spring force temporarily during operation while maintaining automatic latching at rest.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding block guide acts as an intermediary mechanism between the user's manual operation and the spring-loaded arm system. By manipulating the sliding block guide, the user can temporarily disengage the arm from the spring's restraining force, fold the arm, and then re-engage it, eliminating the need to continuously overcome spring force.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the second arm hangs vertically downwards to maintain stability, then the hanger structure is stable, but it obstructs inserting the hanger through neck openings of clothes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the arm position dynamic rather than fixed. The arm can be in a stable extended position for hanging clothes, but can also be temporarily folded parallel to the body when needed for insertion. This dynamic repositioning capability resolves the contradiction between maintaining structural stability and enabling easy insertion through narrow neck openings.
3Reliability
If the hanger arms are kept in extended position for use, then the hanger can support clothes, but it requires continuous manual effort to maintain against spring force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the hanger to serve itself by automatically maintaining the arm in the extended support position through the spring mechanism, without requiring continuous manual effort. The sliding block guide allows temporary manual intervention for folding, but once released, the spring automatically returns and holds the arm in the extended position, making the system self-maintaining.
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 easy and fast operation of the hanger, allowing effortless cloth hanging without applying force, as the movable arm can be aligned with the firm arm for easy threading and returns to standard position for secure blocking.
Implementation Method 1
a prestressed flexible element for forming a continual pushing force pushing the sliding-block guide into the open position
Implementation Method 2
an arresting pin mounted on the spike flexibly slidable (for example via a spring) for ensuring slidable movement of the arresting pin along the spike and for creating a continual force pushing the arresting pin off the spike
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2~3b
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Foldable hanger (1) comprising a body (2) with a hanging element (3), one firm arm (4) fixed to the body (2) and one movable arm (5) pivotably attached to the body (2), an arresting pin (7) attached with a spike (6) in a flexible and sliding manner, the arresting pin consisting of a shank (7.1) having a relief (7.2) for snapping to an arresting groove (8.3) of a sliding-block guide (8) which os movably positioned in the body between open and closed positions comprising a guiding slot (8.1) for the shank (7.1), a space (8.2) for free movement of the relief (7.2) along the whole guiding slot arresting groove (8.3) for the relief at the closed end of the guiding slot (8.1); a prestressed flexible element (8.4) for sliding the sliding- block guide (8) to its open position; sliding-block guide cogs (8.5) for collaboration with cogs (5.1) of the movable arm and wherein in the closed position the relief is sunk in the arresting groove and the movable arm is in the standard position; and in the open position the arresting pin is at the entry of the guiding grove, and the relief is out of the arresting groove resulting in moving the sliding-block guide to the position, in which it is accessible for the operation by a user and the movable arm (5) is deflected from its standard position.