Who invented the zipper?

The appearance of zipper was a century ago. At that time, in some places in Central Europe, people tried to replace buttons and bows with belts, hooks and rings, so they began to experiment with zippers. Zippers were first used in military uniforms. During World War I, the US Army first ordered a large number of zippers to make clothes for soldiers. However, the promotion of zipper in the folk was relatively late, and it was not until 1930 that it was accepted by women to replace the buttons of clothing. The zipper has its current name at 1926. It is reported that the novelist Francot said at a business luncheon to promote a zipper sample, "Pull it and it will open! Pull it again and it will close! " The characteristics of zipper are explained very concisely. The word zipper comes from this. The embryonic form of the invention of zipper originally came from the boots people wore. /kloc-In the middle of the 0/9th century, boots were very popular, especially suitable for walking on muddy roads or roads with horse manure. But there are more than 20 hooks on the boots, and it takes a long time to put them on and take them off. This shortcoming is a headache for inventors, and it also costs sponsors a lot of money and patience. In order to avoid the trouble of wearing boots, people even put up with wearing boots all day. Finally, in 185 1 year, elias howe, an American, applied for a patent for a similar zipper design, but it was not commercialized and even forgotten for half a century. 1893, an American engineer named Judson developed a "zipper" and obtained a patent, which is the initial prototype of the zipper. The appearance of this device has an impact on the button hooks used in high boots. However, this invention did not catch on quickly, mainly because the quality of this early locking device was not good enough, and it was easy to loosen at an inappropriate time and place, which was embarrassing. 19 13 years, Sambak, Sweden improved this rough locking device and made it a reliable commodity. The method he adopted was to connect the metal lock teeth to a flexible shaft. The working principle of this zipper is that each tooth is a small hook, which can be matched with the small hole under a small tooth on the next belt and the opposite belt. This kind of zipper is so strong that it can only be opened by sliding the slider to open the teeth. It was not until11990' s that there was a turning point. Whitcomb L. Judson, a mechanical engineer from Chicago, proposed a sliding device to install and separate two rows of buttons (the principle is similar to zipper, but the word zipper didn't appear until about 30 years later). Judison's invention was fortunately funded by Pennsylvania lawyer Lewis Walker. Walker is very interested in Judith's new design. During World War I, the American economy was very depressed. Steel costs 5 cents a pound, and workers' wages are 6 dollars a week. The company laid off employees, leaving only Sam Baker and another employee, Sam Baker, who is both a manager and an engineer. The company's economy has encountered unprecedented difficulties. In order to repay the thousands of dollars owed to Jobolin Company, which supplied steel wire, Sembeck had to repair a machine for making paper clips to make money. Fortunately, sponsors keep appearing. At that time, the playwright's father James O 'Neill visited The Count of Monte Cristo, and he was very interested in Sembeck's zipper. Although his career turned for the better, Sembeck personally suffered an unprecedented blow, and his wife died during childbirth. When Sambeck was sad, he devoted himself to improving the zipper. 19 13 applied for a patent again, and the patent license was approved in 19 17 (patent number 12 1988 1). Walker called this patent a "hidden hook" and was optimistic about the future. Walker renamed the company "Hookless Fastener Company" and moved the factory to Midvale. Sembeck further improved the hook-free button. The shape of teeth is changed to spoon shape, the top is convex and the end is concave. When the sliding device slides, the left and right "teeth" can be embedded and then slide back to separate, which is called "Hookless No.2". A machine for manufacturing teeth is designed. 19 13 He officially announced that this technology had been broken through. "American Science" once took the patent of Senbeck as the cover story. Six months later, Sembeck will mass-produce this button, and Hook No.2 will be on the market. Walker's second son also spent eight years working on the improvement of hook-free buttons. Josephine Calhoun of Florida also applied for a patent for a similar safety zipper at 1907. In the same year, Frank Kefer of Colorado also applied for a patent. Inventors devoted to this research not only appeared in the United States, but also the patents of Catalina Kuhn-Moose and Henry Foster in Zurich in 19 12 were the final products closest to Sembeck. However, no one has become a commodity like No.2 hook ... The market demand determines the success or failure of the product. Hook-free No.2 didn't have many orders at first. Mcreery, a department store in Pittsburgh, thinks that Hook-free No.2 is very suitable for skirts and suits, and requires manufacturers to adopt Hook-free No.2, but few imitators dare to take risks with new products. In order to win customers, Sembeck constantly improves the performance of zippers to meet the demand. The manufacturing technology of Medway Factory is becoming more and more sophisticated, and 1630 No.2 hook is manufactured every day, and there are no defective products. As a result, orders are increasing. The first world war also brought new opportunities for new products, and the military's money belt increased the demand for hook-free II. Using hook-free 2 in air force flight suit can not only save materials, but also have better windproof effect; The navy's life jacket also uses hook 2, so the government specially allocates metal materials for production. Hook-free No.2 proved to be very useful, but the price was too high to be popularized. Sembeck understands this and is committed to reducing production costs and improving manufacturing efficiency. He invented the S-L machine to reduce unnecessary waste of materials in the production process, as long as the original raw material was 4 1℅. After reducing the production cost, the first product used was Locktite cigarette bag, and the sales were still successful. At the end of 192 1, the number of No.2 hook required by tobacco companies every week reached an unprecedented number. In order to meet the high demand, Hookless Button Company has built a new factory. In 192 1 year, B.F.Goodrich of Ohio ordered a small amount of products from Hookless Button Company for their rubber shoes. After the trial, it was found that the effect was good, and a large number of orders were placed, and the company was informed of the shortcomings found. After improvement, the company introduced mysterious boots, which are characterized by being able to put on or take off as long as they are pulled. Marketers are not satisfied with the name Wonderful Boot and want to find a name that can better reflect its characteristics. The manager was inspired by the word "Zip"-the sound of fast moving objects, so he renamed Wonderful Boot as Zipper Boot (as shown in Figure 2). This year was 1923, and later "zippers"-"zippers" all became similar. Unfortunately, Judith died in 1909. He has never heard of the word "zipper" before, nor has he seen his invention successfully popularized in the world. That winter, Fu Hao Company sold nearly 500,000 pairs of zipper boots, and in the mid-1920s, it bought at least one million zippers from the buttonless company every year. Hook-free Button Company feels that the word "hook-free" has negative associations, and the word "zipper" was created by Fu Hao Company. So I came up with the name "Talon", and the company changed its name to Talon at 1937. Before 1930, the hook-free button company could sell 20 million "eagle claws" every year, ranging from pencil cases to the hood of motorboats. However, the clothing industry is still waiting to see. In the mid-1930s, fashion designer Elsa Scappa Reilly used "eagle claws" extensively for the first time. The New Yorker described 1935' s spring fashion show as "all zippers". Since then, the garment industry has gradually adopted zippers. With the spread of products, the manufacturing technology of zippers has gradually spread all over the world. European countries such as Switzerland and Germany, and Asian countries such as Japan and China have started to set up zipper workshops.