‘Footering’ is the term I use to describe when I’m all fingers and thumbs trying to engage the zip fastener of my winter coat. I’m always doing this, needless to say, when it’s winter and when the fingers and thumbs themselves are starting to freeze.
Today’s invention is an attempt to allow easier, even one-handed, zipping up.
The diagram shows a future zip ‘keeper’ with a pull tag on the left hand side. Each half of the keeper is shown in a different colour: one half would be permanently attached to each side of the zip.
When both halves of the keeper are grabbed in one hand, magnets on each of the meeting faces align them and join the bottom ends of the two sides of the zip together. This forces the two sets of zip teeth to mesh (the bottom-most ones may have to be created with slightly more open teeth engagement than normal, to allow this).
The zip can thus be sealed in the usual way, but with much less visual supervision and dexterity required.
