Spring-Loaded Clasp With Soft Member for Secure Chain Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional necklace clasps are burdensome to use, especially for the elderly, and existing designs either require excessive effort for attachment and detachment or compromise on locking strength and ornamental integration due to structural limitations.
Innovation Solution
A personal-ornament clasp featuring a soft member in a flat shape, integrated with a closing member and a spring, allowing easy attachment and detachment with one touch while adjusting the retaining position, and providing a strong grip without damaging the ornament, even for thin chains, through the combination of resilient force and friction resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional clasp with pulling eye, apertured plate, and slide part is used, then the clasp can securely hold the necklace, but the attachment and detachment process becomes extremely burdensome and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The clasp is divided into distinct functional segments: the holder with holding portion, the closing member with soft member, and the spring mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, simplifying the overall operation while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex slide part mechanism from the clasp structure. By removing this unnecessary component, the attachment and detachment process becomes straightforward without requiring adjustment of sliding elements.
2Reliability
If a cylinder body made of elastic resin material is used to lock the ornamental chain, then the chain can be locked in position, but repeated insertion and detachment exhausts the cylinder body, weakening locking force and potentially damaging the chain
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter from elastic resin to metal, fundamentally altering the durability and mechanical properties. The metal closing member with soft member coating provides both strong locking force and resistance to repeated use, eliminating the exhaustion problem of resin materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The closing member combines metal structure with soft member material, creating a composite that provides both the structural strength needed for durability and the gentle contact surface that prevents damage to the ornamental chain during repeated operations.
3Strength
If the cylinder body is elongated to acquire predetermined locking force, then the locking force is sufficient, but the ornamental body size increases, losing balance with the chain and degrading ornamental properties
Solution Approach 1:
The soft member acts as a flexible element within the closing member, providing sufficient gripping force through elastic deformation without requiring the entire ornamental body to be enlarged. This maintains the balanced proportions of the overall ornament while achieving reliable locking.
4Reliability
If magnet and metal member are provided to the ornamental member main body for engagement, then the engaging members can engage with each other, but the size of the ornamental member main body increases, losing integration with the chain and impairing ornamental properties
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the magnetic engagement system with a mechanical spring-based gripping mechanism. The spring provides reliable engagement force without requiring additional magnetic components that would increase the size and disrupt the visual integration with the chain.
5Ease of operation
If the ornamental chain and cylinder body are locked by insertion and detachment, then the locking mechanism functions, but attachment and detachment require effort and cannot be made with one touch
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism automatically grips the ornamental chain when the closing member is released, providing self-service locking without requiring additional force from the user. The elastic force of the spring performs the gripping action autonomously once the closing member is positioned.
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
Eliminates cumbersome handling, ensures secure attachment without damaging the ornament, maintains ornamental integration, and supports chains of varying thicknesses with a compact and aesthetically pleasing design.
Implementation Method 1
a spring which repulsively presses the holder and the closing member in the closing direction
Implementation Method 2
the personal ornament main body is strongly gripped without damage to hold the attachment position, thereby allowing prevention of a deviation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Provided is a personal-ornament clasp and a personal ornament using the same, in which a long personal ornament can be easily attached to and detached from the body with one touch while a retaining position is adjusted, and even if the personal ornament is a thin chain, this personal ornament is strongly gripped without damage to hold the attachment position to allow prevention of a deviation and an attachment/detachment portion is made compact to exert excellent ornamental properties. The clasp includes a holder 10 on a fixed side having a holding portion 20 where a personal ornament main body 2 is held via an opening 21, a closing member 12 on a movable side rotatably attached to the holder 10 via a pivotally attaching portion 28 and locking form inside the opening 21 to cause a closed state, a soft member attached to this closing member 12 at least on a side of gripping the personal ornament main body 2, and a spring 13 attached in a repulsive state between the holder 10 and the closing member 12 and pressing the closing member 12 in a direction of closing the opening 21. A grip space S where the personal ornament main body 2 is gripped in the repulsive direction of the spring 13 is provided between the soft member 11 and the holding portion 20.