Self-adjusting magnetic link

摘要

The present invention is a self-adjusting link for connecting two anchors that move under a varying external force, comprising: N magnetic units; N−1 link connectors, each link connector connecting one unit to an adjacent unit, each magnetic unit being held by the link connectors such that each pair of adjacent units can move from a closed position where they are magnetically bound to an open position where they do not exert significant force on each other; and anchor connectors attached to the anchors. The length of the link increases as the external force increases sufficiently to cause one or more pairs of magnetic units to move from the closed position into one of the open positions to permit the anchors to further separate, and the length of the link decreases as the external force is reduced and one or more pairs of magnetic units move into the closed position.

主权项

1. A collar comprising a partial loop and a self-adjusting link, the partial loop comprising a strip of material having first and second ends with a first anchor at the first end and a second anchor at the second end, the first and second anchors being spaced apart by a distance, and being movable relative to each other so that the distance between the first and second anchors varies according to a varying external force that pulls the anchors away from each other, the self-adjusting link comprising:
(a) N magnetic units, each of the N magnetic units comprising a permanent magnet, N being an integer greater than or equal to two, one of the N magnetic units being a first end unit and one of the N magnetic units being a second end unit; (b) N−1 link connectors, each of the N−1 link connectors directly connecting one of the N magnetic units to an adjacent one of the N magnetic units, each of the N magnetic units together with an adjacent one of the N magnetic units being a pair of adjacent magnetic units, each of the N magnetic units being held by the N−1 link connectors in an orientation such that each pair of adjacent magnetic units can move from a closed position, in which the magnetic units in the pair of adjacent magnetic units are sufficiently close together that they are bound together by magnetic force, to one of a plurality of open positions in which the magnetic units in the pair of adjacent magnetic units are spaced apart so that the permanent magnets in the pair of adjacent magnetic units do not exert significant magnetic force on each other; and (c) first and second anchor connectors, wherein the first end unit is attached to the first anchor by the first anchor connector and the second end unit is attached to the second anchor by the second anchor connector, wherein the distance between the first and second anchors, being the length of the self-adjusting link, increases as the external force increases sufficiently to cause one or more of the pairs of adjacent magnetic units to move from the closed position into one of the open positions to permit the first and second anchors to further separate, and the length of the self-adjusting link decreases as the external force is reduced and one or more of the pairs of adjacent magnetic units move from one of the open positions into the closed position.