Thin Garment Closure With Rotational Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing garment closures are not thin enough for improved comfort and visual appearance, and they do not easily accommodate various sizes of male closure members, limiting the versatility and ease of use in lingerie, brassieres, and swimwear.
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 flat surfaces for a thin profile, and a detent mechanism for secure locking, allowing for easy alignment and interchangeability of components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If traditional garment closure structures are used, then the closure provides adequate strength and reliability, but the closure thickness is too large, reducing comfort and visual appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The closure is divided into separate male and female members with distinct functions. The male member contains the bar for insertion, while the female member contains the trough and detent mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for thinness while maintaining overall structural strength through the distributed architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure transitions from a traditional face-to-face joining mechanism to a transverse insertion mechanism followed by rotation to coplanar alignment. This dimensional change in the closing action allows the flat surfaces to contact each other in a thin profile configuration, reducing closure thickness while maintaining strength through the rotation-locking mechanism.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single female closure member design is used, then the closure accommodates various sizes of male members, but the alignment and manipulation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The female member features an asymmetric design with a trough that is open on both ends and curved sidewalls, creating a natural guide for the bar insertion. The curved ends of the sidewalls specifically guide the ball of the bar into proper position, making alignment intuitive and easy while maintaining compatibility with various male member sizes through the universal trough geometry.
3Ease of operation
If the bar is inserted into the trough at orthogonal orientation, then the insertion path is straightforward, but the alignment precision and ease of manipulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The closure members are designed to be manipulated at an angled orientation (between 75-105 degrees) during insertion, which is a preliminary action that positions the bar and trough for optimal engagement. This preliminary angled insertion followed by rotation to coplanar position ensures both ease of manipulation and precise alignment, as the angle provides a natural insertion path while the subsequent rotation locks the precise coplanar alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A thin garment closure includes a male member with a bar having a ball on at least one end and a female member having a trough shaped complementary to the bar. The bar is positionable in the trough when the male and female members in a substantially transverse orientation, and when one member is rotated so that both members are substantially coplanar the closure is closed. The male and female members each have a flat surface which contacts the flat surface of the mating member when the closure is closed, enabling a thin and narrow closure. In an embodiment, the trough has sidewalls which guide the bar into position in the trough for improved manipulation of the closure. In another embodiment, a detent resists decoupling of the closure while allowing coupling over a range of insertion angles.