Gear Strap Locking Head with Stabilizer and Pivoting Cam
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gear straps are difficult to manufacture inexpensively, do not lay flat when connected, and have insecure or difficult-to-disconnect closures, leading to potential damage and loss of gear items.
Innovation Solution
A releasable gear strap with a locking head, retaining loop, and a strap portion featuring a pivoting locking member and stabilizer, allowing for easy one-handed operation and secure attachment to a belt or carrying structure while preventing inadvertent opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gear straps are made of resilient materials to provide secure connection, then connection security is improved, but the straps become difficult to flatten and allow gear movement
Solution Approach 1:
The gear strap is divided into distinct functional segments: a locking head portion and a strap portion. The locking head provides resilient connection security while the separate strap portion can be designed to lay flat, resolving the contradiction between connection security and flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the gear strap have different material properties optimized for their specific functions. The locking head uses resilient material for secure connection, while the strap portion uses flatter, more stable material to prevent gear movement and lay flat against the body.
2Reliability
If connectors are designed to be highly secure, then resistance to inadvertent opening is improved, but disconnection becomes difficult requiring specialized tools
Solution Approach 1:
The locking member is designed to pivot between locked and unlocked positions. This dynamic mechanism allows the connector to be highly secure when locked while remaining easily operable with one hand for intentional release, eliminating the need for specialized tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam surface geometry automatically engages the locking loop when the strap is pulled through, creating a self-locking mechanism that resists inadvertent opening. The same cam geometry allows easy manual release by pushing the locking member, providing both security and ease of operation.
3Ease of operation
If gear straps have multiple moving components to achieve resilient and easy operation, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing cost and assembly complexity increase prohibitively
Solution Approach 1:
The locking head and strap portion are combined into a single unitary molded construction. This integration eliminates the need for separate moving components that would require assembly, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining resilient and easy operation through the integrated cam surface and locking loop geometry.
4Ease of manufacture
If gear straps are made as unitary molded construction for easy and inexpensive manufacture, then ease of manufacture is improved, but achieving secure yet easy-to-open closure becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The unitary molded locking head incorporates a pivoting locking member that can rotate between locked and unlocked positions. This dynamic feature is integrated directly into the molded structure, allowing secure yet easily operable closure without requiring separate moving parts or complex assembly processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam surface geometry in the molded locking head is designed with specific angular parameters that provide both secure engagement when locked and easy release when actuated. By optimizing the cam angle and locking loop geometry during molding, the design achieves resilient closure and easy one-handed operation within a single molded component.
Data Source
AI summary
A releasable gear strap for retaining and securing articles has a locking head and a strap portion. The locking head has a retaining loop and a tab. The strap portion connects to the locking head and has a tail section. A pivoting locking member extends from the tail section of the strap portion, and includes a release cam surface and an aperture. The retaining loop and the tab are positioned on the locking head such that the release cam surface clears the retaining loop simultaneously with the tab seating in the aperture, when the tail section of the strap portion is urged through the retaining loop. A stabilizer on the locking head under the retaining loop and tab help reduce bending of the locking head.