Scuba Weight Pouch Snap Closure with Tapered Release Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional scuba diving jackets' quick engagement buckles are difficult to open with gloved hands, leading to accidental opening and loss of weight pouches due to the need for direct finger manipulation and potential snagging of handles.
Innovation Solution
A device with a flat sheath and elastically deformable latch member, featuring a cap with tapered projections that allows for snap closure and easy release using a handle connected via flexible elements, preventing accidental opening by ensuring the latch member remains locked until intentional tensile force is applied.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional quick engagement buckle is used with direct finger manipulation, then the buckle can be opened, but it becomes difficult to operate with gloved hands and increases risk of accidental opening
Solution Approach 1:
A cap is introduced as an intermediary tool between the gloved finger and the latch member. The cap fits over the latch member and provides a larger surface area that can be manipulated with gloved hands, while the tapered projections on the cap engage with the arms of the latch member to control opening and closing without requiring direct finger contact with the teeth.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening operation is divided into two distinct phases: first, the cap is moved to bend the arms of the latch member inwardly; second, the latch member is withdrawn from the sheath. This segmentation allows for controlled, intentional opening while preventing accidental release, as both phases must be completed deliberately.
2Ease of operation
If a sliding cap is added to the buckle, then gloved hands can manipulate the buckle, but the device becomes more complex and may still be difficult to apply to weight pouches
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is integrated with the latch member through the flexible connection elements, merging the opening mechanism into a unified assembly. The cap and latch member work together as a single functional unit, where the cap's tapered projections naturally engage with the latch member's arms, eliminating the need for separate, complex mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If a handle is used to open the buckle, then opening becomes easier, but the handle may be caught in obstacles causing accidental opening and loss of pouch
Solution Approach 1:
The cap serves as a controlled intermediary that transfers force from the handle to the latch member in a deliberate manner. The tapered projections on the cap ensure that force is applied only when the cap is properly positioned and moved, preventing accidental activation that could occur with direct handle-to-latch contact.
4Reliability
If a locking element is added to prevent accidental opening, then safety improves, but the closing operation becomes more complex requiring two steps
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered projections on the cap are pre-configured to engage with the arms of the latch member in a specific sequence. When the cap is moved during closing, the projections automatically guide the arms into their locked position against the abutment, performing the locking action as a preliminary step that occurs naturally during the single closing motion.
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 safe and effortless release of weight pouches with reduced risk of accidental opening, maintaining the pouch attached to the jacket even if dislodged, ensuring secure operation during scuba diving.
Implementation Method 1
a latch member with a body and with teeth at its end, the teeth being elastically deformable
Implementation Method 2
movement of the cap relative to the latch member that induces elastic deformation of the arms
Data Source
AI summary
A device for releasably connecting a weight pouch to a pocket of a scuba diving jacket. The device comprises a relatively flat sheath connected to and integrally with the diving jacket. A latch member is attached to the weight pouch, the latch member having arms that are elastically deformable in a plane of the sheath and sides tapered relative to a longitudinal plane of symmetry of the sheath to provide snap closure when the latch member is inserted in the sheath. An inward ly-projecting abutment inside the sheath engages ends of the arms when the device is in a closed position, thereby preventing the latch member from sliding out of the sheath. A member is provided for bending the arms of the latch member so as to release them from a position such that they meet the abutment and enable the device to be opened. The bending member includes a cap slidingly mounted on the latch member and contains tapered projections for engaging the tapered sides of the arms. Upon movement of the cap relative to the latch member that induces elastic deformation of the arms, the tapered projections release the ends of the arms from the abutment in the sheath. The cap and the latch member are preferably connected to the same handle for inducing their relative movement by respective flexible connection elements. The element connecting the handle to the latch member is longer than that connecting the handle to the cap, so that the tensile force exerted on the handle first causes relative movement of the cap with respect to the latch member inside the sheath.