Resilient Cover Fastener With Pivoting Arm for Easy Manual Release
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current cover fasteners are rigid and difficult to operate, requiring excessive strength and dexterity, especially in cold weather, and are costly and complicated to repair, often necessitating entire cover replacement.
Innovation Solution
A softer resilient monolithic fastener body with a fulcrum element connecting the base and top, allowing the top to pivot, and a machine-sewn attachment to the cover, enabling easy engagement and disengagement by hand without damaging the cover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid fastener body is used, then the fastener provides strong securing force, but it becomes difficult to operate and requires excessive strength and dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener body is changed from rigid to resilient/flexible, allowing it to dynamically deform during operation. The resilient material enables the fastener to flex during engagement and disengagement, reducing the force required for operation while maintaining securing strength when engaged.
Solution Approach 2:
The material property of the fastener body is changed from rigid to resilient, fundamentally altering its mechanical parameters. This allows the fastener to exhibit both strength when engaged and flexibility during operation, resolving the contradiction between securing force and ease of operation.
2Reliability
If the fastener is secured to the base with multiple attachment points, then the fastening is secure, but repair becomes complicated and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener assembly is segmented into two main parts: the resilient fastener body and the base with receiving channel. The fastener body can be independently removed from the base by squeezing, allowing repair without affecting the base structure or requiring complex disassembly of multiple attachment points.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient fastener body is extracted as a separate, replaceable component from the base assembly. This allows the fastener to be removed and replaced independently without damaging the base or cover, significantly simplifying repair procedures while maintaining secure fastening when engaged.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid fastener body is used, then structural stability is maintained, but the fastener cannot be easily released from the receiving channel
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener body transitions from rigid to resilient, enabling dynamic deformation during release. When force is applied to squeeze the fastener body, it flexes and contracts, allowing the finger to be withdrawn from the receiving channel easily, while maintaining structural stability when engaged.
4Ease of operation
If prying tools are used to decouple the fastener, then the fastener can be released, but damage occurs to the cover and fastener
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient fastener body is designed to be manually squeezable by hand, allowing users to release it without requiring external prying tools. The material properties enable the fastener to self-deform under manual pressure, eliminating the need for tools that could cause damage to the cover or fastener.
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 new fastener system is easy to operate and repair, eliminating the need for prying tools and reducing costs by allowing manual disengagement and attachment without damaging the cover, making it accessible to a wider range of users, including children.
Implementation Method 1
a softer resilient monolithic fastener body that includes a fulcrum element connecting the base and top of the body enabling the top to pivot relative to the base
Data Source
AI summary
A cover fastener includes a resilient fastener body. The fastener body has a base with a front leg and a back leg. A fastener arm is connected to the base. The fastener arm has a front end with a finger, a back lever end and a fulcrum element having a pivot between the front end and the back lever end. The fulcrum element connects the fastener arm to the base at the pivot so that the fastener arm pivots on the fulcrum element relative to the base at the pivot. A plurality of fasteners is secured to a cover by sewing to provide a cover and system for fastening a cover.