Harness Cord Splicing Eliminates Stitching Weight

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional harnesses for outdoor sports fail to significantly minimize weight while maintaining necessary comfort and strength, as they rely on heavy stitching to intercouple materials.

Innovation Solution

The use of unbraided wider regions and braided narrower regions of the same cord, eliminating the need for stitch-type couplings, and incorporating spliced intercoupling of the cord ends to form a continuous loop without independent stitches.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If stitching multiple materials together is used to maintain comfort and strength, then the harness provides necessary strength and comfort, but the overall weight increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveharness strengthVSAvoidharness weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the stitching component entirely from the harness construction. Instead of stitching multiple materials together, the invention uses a single continuous cord that is spliced to form the harness structure, eliminating the need for stitches and the weight associated with multiple layered materials and stitching threads.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent combines multiple functional elements into a single continuous cord. The cord serves as both the structural element and the load-bearing element, with braided and unbraided regions integrated into one continuous piece rather than being separate components requiring stitching.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Strength

If heavy stitching is used to intercouple regions, then the harness maintains necessary strength, but the overall weight increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveregion coupling strengthVSAvoidharness weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical stitching system with a splicing system. Instead of using needles and thread to intercouple regions, the invention uses cord ends that are spliced together to form continuous loops, creating strength through the splice rather than through stitching.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Weight of moving object

If multiple materials are stitched together to minimize weight, then the harness weight is reduced, but the complexity of stitching increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveharness weightVSAvoidstitching complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Weight of moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different structural qualities to different regions of the same cord. The cord has braided regions for structural integrity and unbraided regions for comfort and flexibility, all within a single continuous piece, eliminating the need for complex stitching between different materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10143865B2Harness and load bearing systems

Publication Date: 2018.12.04 BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT

AI summary

One embodiment of the present invention is related to a harness system including a waist member and a leg loop member. The waist member is configured to encircle the naval region of the user and form a continuous loop. The leg loop member is configured to encircle the legs of the user. The leg loop member nay also be coupled to the waist member via a third loop. The leg loop member includes a continuous cord with at least two unbraided regions and at least one splice coupling. The unbraided regions are disposed between braided regions and are disposed on the leg loop member to correspond to the user's legs. The unbraided regions further comprise a plurality of separated strands oriented substantially parallel and equidistant to one another.