Single hand operated collapsing hanger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional rigid clothes hangers are difficult to use with non-opening garments, as they require manual dexterity to insert and remove, often causing damage due to the need to hold the hanger with one hand and manipulate the garment with the other, and folding hangers with spring biasing means can be challenging to open and close, especially with one hand.
Innovation Solution
A collapsing clothes hanger with a latching mechanism that allows easy folding and expansion using one hand, featuring bracing and lifting surfaces to overcome garment resistance, enabling intuitive manipulation and controlled folding and extending of wings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rigid hanger is used, then the hanger can support the garment, but it is difficult to insert and remove from non-opening garments
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger transitions from a rigid structure to a dynamic, collapsible structure. The wings can be folded downward to pass through the garment neck opening and then expanded to support the garment shoulders, combining ease of insertion with support capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger is divided into a central section and two separate wings that can move independently. This segmentation allows the wings to be folded for insertion and then deployed for support, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and support strength.
2Strength
If a strong spring is used to overcome garment resistance, then the hanger can support heavy garments, but it becomes challenging to fold with one hand
Solution Approach 1:
The spring provides partial assistance during folding rather than full force. This partial action is sufficient to overcome the resistance of heavy garments during support, but during folding the user's hand force combined with the spring's partial assist is manageable for one-handed operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring's force is dynamic, providing stronger assistance when needed to support heavy garments and softer assistance during folding. This dynamic force adjustment allows the same spring mechanism to handle both heavy garment support and easy one-handed folding.
3Ease of operation
If the hanger is collapsed to pass through the neck opening, then insertion is easy, but the hanger cannot support the garment
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger dynamically changes from a collapsed configuration during insertion to an expanded configuration for support. The wings are folded downward to pass through the neck opening easily, then expanded upward to support the garment shoulders effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger is preliminarily collapsed to facilitate easy insertion through the neck opening, then subsequently expanded to provide garment support. This preliminary collapsing action enables the transition from insertion mode to support mode.
Data Source
AI summary
A garment hanger with particular ease of use advantage when removing or hanging crew neck or turtleneck type shirts or blouses. The hanger provides an easily manipulated and intuitive mechanism for collapsing the garment support portions of the hanger, thus allowing for simple passage through the narrow neck hole of a garment. The hanger further provides an easily manipulated and intuitive mechanism for returning the folded garment support portions to their extended and supportive positions, which can be done with the hanger enveloped within a garment, thus providing an improved means for hanging some shirts or blouses without the need to feed a hanger up through the bottom opening of the garment.