Hat Brim Clip Wedge Design for Camera Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing accessory mounts for hats, particularly baseball caps, are deficient in securely attaching heavier devices like point-of-view cameras due to insufficient friction and clamping force, leading to instability during vigorous activities.
Innovation Solution
A springless clip design with wedge-shaped and convex/concave surfaces that engage the hat brim's curvature, providing increased frictional contact and a channel to secure the stitched fabric border, ensuring stable attachment of accessories.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an alligator clip mount is used to attach accessories to a hat brim, then the mount can be easily installed, but it provides insufficient grip and allows the accessory to slide during vigorous activity
Solution Approach 1:
The clip design changes the physical parameters of the clamping mechanism by using a spring-loaded resilient structure that automatically adjusts clamping force. The spring mechanism maintains continuous pressure on the brim, adapting to variations in brim thickness and material properties, thereby providing reliable grip without requiring precise manual adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip incorporates curved and contoured surfaces that match the natural curvature of hat brims. This curvature enhancement increases the contact area between the clip and brim, distributing clamping force more effectively and preventing slippage during movement while maintaining ease of installation.
2Device complexity
If a molded plastic clip is used to attach accessories to a hat brim, then the mount structure is simple, but it does not create enough clamping force for heavier devices
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient material properties of the plastic clip are optimized to provide sufficient elastic deformation under load. By carefully selecting material durometer and thickness parameters, the clip generates adequate clamping force through elastic recovery, maintaining structural simplicity while supporting heavier devices like POV cameras.
Solution Approach 2:
The clip design incorporates pre-formed stress concentrations and reinforcement ribs that are molded into the structure during manufacturing. These preliminary structural features are positioned to optimize force distribution and clamping effectiveness without adding complex assembly steps or multiple components.
3Reliability
If a metal spring alligator clip is used, then the clip can grip the brim, but it is bulky and creates visual distraction underneath the bill
Solution Approach 1:
The clip utilizes a thin, flexible plastic construction that replaces the bulky metal spring mechanism. The flexibility of the thin plastic material provides the necessary elastic deformation for gripping, while the reduced thickness and profile eliminate visual distraction underneath the brim, achieving both reliability and aesthetics.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the clip panels are made rigid, then the structure is stable, but the clip cannot conform to the curvature of the hat brim for sufficient frictional contact
Solution Approach 1:
The clip panels are constructed from flexible plastic material with optimized thickness to achieve a balance between structural stability and conformability. The material flexibility allows the panels to adapt to the curved surface of the brim, maximizing contact area and frictional engagement, while the overall structural design maintains sufficient rigidity to support the accessory load.
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 securely retains heavier devices like POV cameras and lights on the hat brim, preventing movement during activities, with enhanced frictional engagement and surface contact, ensuring reliable operation.
Implementation Method 1
providing increased frictional contact and a channel to secure the stitched fabric border
Data Source
AI summary
A clip for mounting devices on a hat brim includes a first and second panel. The panels are each resiliently connected to a nose portion and separated by a spacing that tapers to a contact point from the distal portions of the panels to their proximal portions. The second panel has a wedge-shaped portion in which the width of the panel increases from its distal end to its proximal end. The bottom surface of the first panel is concave, the preferable concavity being close to that of the curvature of a hat brim. The top surface of the second panel is convex. The preferable convexity is close to that of the curvature of the brim. The top surface of the second panel includes a channel adapted to receive the fabric border of the undersurface of a hat brim. The top surface of the first panel includes at its proximal end structure adapted to receive an accessory device.