Maine CITE

A recent blog from the University of Maine details information about a new invention for an old device. From the UMaine Blog:

While some people might wonder what’s wrong with the design and function of a clothespin, a detail-oriented designer from Winterport, Maine would argue plenty.

With assistance from the University of Maine Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC), designer and inventor Charley Earley has redesigned the traditional clothespin for commercialization. He calls his round, 3-inch-diameter device "EKLIPSE."

"When you look at a traditional clothespin, there are disadvantages, which are widely accepted," says Earley, a project manager and senior designer with Bucksport’s Lewis & Malm Architecture firm. "With a traditional clothespin, you need to provide energy to pinch it. Fifty percent of the commonly accepted products has nothing to do with holding anything, which to me represented waste."

...Earley notes that his EKLIPSE is easier for people with disabilities, since they can grab a stack of the circular pins and simply draw them down over the fabric being hung on a line. It also can be used in any way a traditional wood or plastic clothespin can be used, including pinching snack or chips bags closed, or holding a stack of cards.

Read the whole article about the accessible clothespin.