Hidden Button Placket for Shirt Garment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Business casual garments often lack customizable button placement, leading to discomfort and inappropriate exposure of chest hair or cleavage, with adding more buttons resulting in an aesthetically unpleasing appearance.

Innovation Solution

A collared shirt with a placket featuring spaced apart buttons and a hidden fly-front placket portion to conceal an intermediate button, allowing for optimal unbuttoning without visible excess buttons.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If more buttons are added to the shirt to allow for optimal unbuttoning, then the wearer can achieve better comfort and appearance control, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates due to excess visible buttons

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebutton customizationVSAvoidaesthetic appearance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the intermediate button from the visible placket area by creating a hidden button mechanism. The button is placed on the placket but concealed by the collar when the shirt is worn normally, allowing additional buttoning options without affecting the aesthetic appearance of the shirt front.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The collar acts as an intermediary element that conceals the intermediate button. By positioning the button within the collar structure, the design uses the existing collar as a hiding mechanism, allowing the button to be present but invisible during normal wear.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If buttons are placed closer together to allow for finer control, then the wearer can achieve better appearance control, but the placket becomes more complex and harder to manufacture

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveappearance controlVSAvoidplacket construction

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The placket is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides the standard button placket functionality for the visible buttons while simultaneously housing a hidden intermediate button. This multi-functionality allows for additional appearance control without requiring separate structures or complicating the manufacturing process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If the shirt allows for more unbuttoning options, then the wearer can achieve better comfort and style balance, but the visible exposure of chest area increases leading to inappropriate appearance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunbuttoning flexibilityVSAvoidinappropriate exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The buttoning system is segmented into visible buttons for standard wear and a hidden intermediate button for adjusted wear. This segmentation allows the wearer to control the degree of unbuttoning in increments, providing flexibility to achieve the right balance between comfort and appropriate appearance without excessive exposure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9538791B2Shirt garment with hidden button

Publication Date: 2017.01.10 JOHNNIE-O INC

AI summary

A garment having a collar, the garment comprising: a placket, extending the length of the garment and having spaced apart first and a second buttons substantially nearer to the collar than a third button; wherein a portion of the placket intermediate the first and second button comprises a fly-front placket hiding an intermediate button therein; and wherein a remaining portion of the placket is not a fly front placket.