HookedUp

This was a fun University project to create a product to tackle a problem we have all faced at one point or another - crappy towel hooks!

Operation

The product is extremely intuitive to use as you simply hang the towel on the hook as you do normally. The small learning curve users must overcome is to lift the towel up (the magnet will retract the hook) before lowering the towel again. It works so well you can even do trick shots!

Operation of the HookedUp Product

Just toss it at HookedUp and it will catch it!

Overview

Inspiration for the mechanism came from the self-locking nature of gate latches and some Tensile Tester jaws. The mechanism is quite clever as the more you load the hook the tighter it pinches the towel preventing it from falling out. The first failure mode would be bending the front stop out but this occurs around 15kg of load much greater than that of any towel even fully soaked.

A lot of discussion and ideation was put into how to retract the hook after it has been loaded with initial designs calling for torsion springs. One night it came to us to try using magnets which are great as they can be completely embedded into the body of the hook and creates this almost magic feeling when it retracts. The low part count is great for future commercialization potential as a cast or injection molded product.

I have currently been using this hook for 5 months and it has been great! Haven’t noticed any fatigue effects so far.