Thin Garment Closure With Rotational Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fasteners for garments, such as brassieres and swimwear, have insufficient tensile strength, leading to a high likelihood of unintentional decoupling, which is inconvenient and embarrassing for the wearer.
Innovation Solution
A thin garment closure system featuring male and female members that couple by inserting a bar into a trough and rotating to a coplanar position, with angled side arms, concave regions, and detents to enhance tensile strength and resist decoupling, allowing for a high-strength connection while maintaining a thin profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If existing fasteners are used for garment closure, then the closure can be achieved, but the tensile strength is insufficient leading to high likelihood of unintentional decoupling
Solution Approach 1:
The male member incorporates a bar with spherical balls at its ends, which engage with corresponding concave regions in the female member. This spherical geometry provides mechanical interlocking that significantly increases tensile strength and prevents unintentional decoupling while maintaining ease of manipulation through rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure is divided into separate male and female members that can be independently manufactured and assembled. The male member contains the bar with balls, while the female member contains the trough with concave regions, allowing for modular design that optimizes each component for its specific function while achieving high overall strength.
2Length of moving object
If a thin profile closure is designed, then comfort and visual appearance are improved, but tensile strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The closure mechanism transitions from a linear insertion motion to a rotational locking action. The bar is inserted through the trough in a thin profile configuration, then rotated so that the spherical balls engage with the concave regions, converting a simple passage through structure into a mechanically locked connection that achieves high strength within a minimal thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical balls at the ends of the bar engage with concave regions in the female member, creating a mechanical interlock that provides high tensile strength. This curved geometry allows the closure to achieve substantial strength while maintaining a thin overall profile, as the locking mechanism operates within the limited space of the rotated position.
3Strength
If a rotation mechanism is added to lock the closure, then tensile strength is increased, but the ease of operation may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical balls on the bar provide a natural rolling action during rotation, making the locking mechanism intuitive and easy to operate. The curved geometry of the balls working within the concave regions allows for smooth rotational motion that is simple for the user to perform while achieving secure mechanical interlocking.
Solution Approach 2:
The bar is first inserted through the trough in a straightforward linear motion, preliminarily positioning the spherical balls near the concave regions. This preliminary insertion action prepares the components for the subsequent rotation, which then engages the locking mechanism. The two-step process breaks down the operation into simple, sequential actions that are easy to perform.
Data Source
AI summary
A thin garment closure includes a male member with a bar having a ball each end and a female member having a trough shaped to receive the bar. The bar is positionable in the trough when the male and female members are in a substantially transverse orientation, and when one member is rotated so that both members are substantially coplanar the closure is closed. The male member has side arms angled inward and connecting the male exterior side and the bar. The length of the bar is shorter than the length of the male exterior side. The trough of the female member has a concave region to receive each ball of the bar. In an embodiment, the concave region is enlarged toward the center of the closure to accommodate movement of the bar under tension. These features improve the tensile strength of the closure.