Many of us remember the misfortune of stepping on a thumbtack, sitting on a tack (!), or reaching into a box of thumbtacks and getting pricked. New York design engineer Toshi Fukaya has now found a simple solution to the painful problem.
Technical application:
spike, tires, grip applications, climbing, grippers
Bionic application:
Further description:
Toshi noticed how his pet cat used retractable claws. The sharp claws are kept safely withdrawn until needed for defense or stretching. Inspired by the cat’s paw, Toshi designed a retractable thumbtack.The entire thumbtack is placed inside a flexible clear capsule made of soft silicon. When pushed against a hard surface, half the capsule collapses and exposes the pin. When pulled back out, the sharp point is again encased within the capsule. One can safely pick up a handful of the new thumbtacks without danger of a pin prick.
The new safety thumbtack was a 2011 winner in the Red Dot Design Concept competition. However, credit should first be given to the Creator for designing the cat’s paw in the first place.
Video:
Contact:
Sources & Picture-sources:
http://www.discoveryofdesign.com