Magnetic Shirt Collar Stay Alignment System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing magnetic devices for keeping a shirt collar aligned and fastened are either visible, heavy due to multiple magnets, or fail to securely attach the collar to the shirt front, lacking the ability to maintain a desired alignment and orientation.
Innovation Solution
A thin, elongate collar stay made of magnetic stainless steel with a tapered and rounded end, optionally with detents, is used in conjunction with a neodymium magnet positioned inside the shirt to magnetically hold the collar stay in place, allowing for secure alignment and attachment without visibility, using adhesive or sewing for attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If multiple magnets are used to hold the collar stay, then the holding force is sufficient, but the device becomes heavy and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple magnetic elements into a single integrated magnet positioned at the end of the collar stay. This unified magnetic structure provides sufficient holding force to secure the collar to the shirt front while eliminating the weight and complexity of multiple separate magnets, directly resolving the contradiction between force and weight.
2Ease of operation
If a magnetic device is made visible on the collar, then its function is apparent, but it compromises the aesthetic appearance of the shirt
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the magnetic functional elements from the visible collar area and relocates them to the shirt front behind the collar. The magnet is positioned inside the shirt or on the back of the collar, making it invisible from the front, while the collar stay itself remains visible to indicate its presence and function.
3Ease of operation
If the collar stay is made detachable, then it is easy to install and remove, but it may become misaligned or lost during attachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual alignment and attachment operations with magnetic attraction forces. The magnetic field automatically guides and secures the collar stay to the correct position on the shirt front, eliminating the need for precise manual alignment and preventing misplacement or loss during attachment, while maintaining easy installation and removal through simple magnetic attachment and detachment.
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 solution effectively keeps the shirt collar aligned and fastened to the shirt front, maintaining desired orientation and resisting normal forces, while being discreet and lightweight, allowing for customizable positioning and appearance.
Implementation Method 1
a magnet, which can be, for instance, but is not limited to, a neodymium magnet, which is positioned against the inside surface of the front of a shirt, opposite the collar, and has sufficiently magnetic power for magnetically attracting and attaching or coupling to and holding the stay in a desired position and orientation in relation to the magnet, and thus to the front of the shirt, through at least one layer of fabric
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for holding a shirt collar in a desired position and orientation, magnetically, against a shirt front. The apparatus includes a collar stay insertable into a conventional collar stay pocket or attachable to an inside surface of a collar, and a magnet magnetically attachable or couplable to the collar stay through the shirt front, and the pocket, if applicable, for holding the shirt collar in the selected position and orientation. The collar stay and the magnet can be optionally interlockable and/or include detents for preventing undesired relative movements thereof, which can include particularly, relative longitudinal movements, but which can also include twisting and sideward movements. For collars which do not include any collar stay pocket, or where a collar stay pocket is not desired to be used, the collar stay can include an adhesive on an outer surface thereof adapted for adhesive attachment to the inside surface of a collar.