Elastic Pivot Fastening Pin for One-Handed Cloth Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional safety pins are cumbersome and difficult to use for temporary fastening of multiple cloths in handicrafts, requiring both hands and often leading to misalignment of cloths due to the need to scoop and maneuver the pin, especially when fastening at numerous points on a large area.
Innovation Solution
A fastening pin with a pivotable needle and a hook part, where the needle can be elastically pivoted around its base to engage with a groove and guide, allowing easy one-handed operation by using the non-straight shape as a fulcrum and the holder's design for stable pinching and guiding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional safety pin is used for temporary fastening, then the cloths can be fastened together, but the operation becomes cumbersome and difficult, requiring both hands and causing misalignment when fastening at numerous points
Solution Approach 1:
The needle is designed to be elastically pivotable around the base end, allowing dynamic movement from a straight configuration during insertion to a bent configuration during retrieval. This dynamic capability enables one-handed operation by automatically orienting the needle tip upward for easy engagement with the hook part, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and fastening efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The needle's shape parameter changes from straight to bent through elastic deformation. The non-straight shape with bulging portion creates a fulcrum effect that changes the needle's orientation parameter, allowing it to point diagonally upward when passed through cloths on a table. This parameter change enables efficient one-handed operation across multiple fastening points
2Reliability
If the needle tip is hooked deep into the tip-hooking part for secure fastening, then the fastening is reliable, but the safety pin becomes difficult to pick with fingers and release smoothly
Solution Approach 1:
The holder has differentiated local structures: a groove for secure needle engagement and a protruding guide part for easy release. The groove provides local securement quality for reliability, while the guide part provides local accessibility quality for ease of release. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between fastening reliability and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding guide part acts as an intermediary element that facilitates needle release. It provides a surface for finger engagement and guides the needle out of the groove during release, mediating between the secure hooked state and the release action. This intermediary structure enables smooth one-handed release while maintaining reliable fastening
3Ease of operation
If cloths are picked up and raised above the table for fastening, then the safety pin can be maneuvered more easily, but the top cloth and back cloth may become misaligned
Solution Approach 1:
The elastically pivotable needle dynamically adapts to the fastening operation. When cloths are on the table, the needle's fulcrum effect automatically orients it upward for easy manipulation without requiring the cloths to be lifted. This dynamic adaptation maintains both ease of operation and cloth alignment precision simultaneously
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
Enables efficient and comfortable one-handed temporary fastening and release of multiple cloths, reducing hand fatigue and preventing misalignment, even on large workpieces.
Implementation Method 1
The needle has a non-straight shape bulging in a direction away from the holder and is elastically pivotable around the based end toward the hook part
Data Source
AI summary
A fastening pin includes a needle having a tip and a base end, a holder having a base-end holding part that holds the base end of the needle, and a hook part provided in the holder and configured for the tip of the needle to be hooked thereto. The needle has a non-straight shape bulging in a direction away from the holder and is elastically pivotable around the based end toward the hook part. The hook part is provided with a groove and a protruding guide part. The groove is open toward the holder and configured for the tip of the needle to engage therein. The protruding guide part is arranged on the opposite side of the holder with respect to the groove.