Who invented the zipper and how does it work?

1893, Whitcomb Jadelin (USA) applied for the patent of "zipper lock", which is the predecessor of modern zipper. He cooperated with businessman Cole Lewis Walker to set up General Zipper Company to promote his invention. When Gidvaughn Sadepeco (Sweden) was the chief design director, after several years' transformation, the zipper we are using now was designed in 19 13, and was patented in 19 17. The word "zipper" comes from B F Goodrich Company, and it was renamed when they put it on rubber shoes.

In the19th century, clothes and many leather boots and shoes were fastened with buttons. Before putting on a coat or a pair of boots, people sometimes have to sort out dozens of buttons on the back of the coat or on the edge of leather boots.

An American engineer named whitcomb Judson thinks he can make things easier. He invented a new type of fastener, including a series of buttons. These buttons can be opened or closed by sliding the metal rail. He called this new gadget "Shoe Button Switch" and obtained this patent at 1893.

This is an excellent idea, but it is not feasible. Judson's early fasteners often got stuck, and they often suddenly became public. Judson constantly pondered the idea, improved it at the same time, and invented the machine to make it. But it is not reliable enough, and people don't buy in large quantities.

Another engineer, Gideon Sandback, was attracted to make the final improvement to make this idea come true.

Image above: It is quick and convenient to use. Now, there are zippers on all kinds of coats.

Sandback 1908 started to work in Judson. He redesigned the links of the fastener several times, and then put forward the winning scheme in 19 13: the links with intersecting shapes should be easy to manufacture and convenient and reliable to buckle. This invention quickly sold thousands of pieces.

1923, that is, 30 years after Judson first applied for a patent, the inventions of Judson and Sandback finally became famous in the form of "zipper".