(Summary description)In this issue, let’s take a look at the patents related to "zippers", which are common daily necessities. Did the "zip" you think was used for the following items from the beginning? Actually, it wasn't really at the beginning. As the saying goes, where there is a market, there is demand. Now we have to add that innovation can win the market. For example, the "zipper" mentioned this time, before the "zipper", the structures used to connect the boundaries of two objects are basically the following: (1) Buttons: The button knot in the Chinese knot is still very practical, and now some clothing is also used. (2) Lace: Iconic lace and bow. (3) Hook-and-loop buckle: I’m sorry, but I can’t find the picture anymore. Let’s imagine it is one hook and one ring used together. So the question is, what will happen if the above-mentioned structures are used in boots, especially the boots that were popular in the early days of the "zipper" prototype? Imagine replacing all the "zippers" in the picture above with buttons. In addition, the button structure of that period was not as fine and durable as it is now. A pair of boots may have more than 20 buttons. Well, it is estimated that it will take 30 minutes to wear and take off. It will take 30 minutes (only for patients with slow hand speed and "handicapped" patients)... Therefore, the "zipper" has also developed in this environment. Checking the information found that there are many theories about the origin of the "zipper" (who invented it), but the earliest patent related to the "zipper" I can find is the following: Those who understand machinery may be able to see the characteristics of this structure at a glance through the above structural diagram. This is not the point. The point is that the patent application date is August 27, 1914, so early... So here comes the second question. Up to now, how many patents are there on zippers? The author searched for "zipper" through Baiteng using the patent name, and the result was this: Regardless of whether they are all patents related to the zipper structure, there may also be related patents related to the production process of the "zipper". However, it can be seen from the above picture that there are 5159 authorized and valid patents related to the "zipper" (the following picture is the statistical data). what does this mean? This means that if you want to open a "zipper" production and operation company or sell "zips", unless you can ensure that all the structures of your products are existing technology, or that all the structures of your products are innovative and exceed the existing technology And the existing patents, then you don’t have to worry about the more than 5000 patents whose authorization is still valid. Otherwise, you may receive a notice of infringement of the patent rights of others. exist). As for the details of the more than 5000 patents that are still valid, sorry, the author has limited energy and can't look at the past one by one. If you are interested, you can try it. Of course, the above search is only limited to domestic patents, and the search keyword is simply "zipper". In fact, there is another name for zipper, "zipper", but "zipper" is more conventional and commonly used. However, in foreign countries, regardless of the different types of vocabulary and language, the Japanese name for "zip", even if translated, it is not called "zip" but "fixture". This actually makes me quite puzzled.... In addition to these, if you want to fully search the patent documents related to the "zipper", then you must also consider its higher-level concepts, such as "sliding no tight device", "tension device"...; maybe it can be searched completely in this way. . If there are any omissions in the above content, please criticize and correct; the above and later content are all about the promotion and popularization of patents, but if you want to know more, please reply and discuss together; if the above content is similar, it is a coincidence .