Gideon Sundback
Encyclopedia
Gideon Sundbäck was a Swedish
-American
electrical engineer. Gideon Sundbäck is most commonly associated with his work in the development of the zipper
.
(Ödestugu på gården Sonarp), in Jönköping County
, Småland
, Sweden
. He was the son of Jonas Otto Magnusson Sundbäck, a prosperous farmer, and his wife Kristina Karolina Klasdotter. After his studies in Sweden
, Sundbäck moved to Germany
where he studied at the polytechnic school in Bingen am Rhein
. In 1903, Sundbäck took his engineer exam in electronics. In 1905, he emigrated and moved to the United States
.
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. In 1906, Sundbäck was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company in Hoboken, New Jersey
. In 1909, Sundbäck married Elvira Aronson who was daughter of the Swedish born plant manager, Peter Aronsson. Subsequently Sundbäck was promoted to the position of head designer at Universal Fastener.
Sundbäck made several advances in the development of the zipper
between 1906 and 1914, while working for companies that later evolved into Talon, Inc.
He built upon the previous work of other engineers such as Elias Howe
, Max Wolff
, and Whitcomb Judson.
He was responsible for improving the "Judson C-curity Fastener". At that time the company's product was still based on hooks and eyes. Sundbäck developed an improved version of the C-curity, called the "Plako", but it too had a strong tendency to pull apart, and wasn't any more successful than the previous versions. Sundbäck finally solved the pulling-apart problem in 1913, with his invention of the first version not based on the hook-and-eye principle, the "Hookless Fastener No. 1". He increased the number of fastening elements from four per inch to ten or eleven. His invention had two facing rows of teeth that pulled into a single piece by the slider, and increased the opening for the teeth guided by the slider.
In 1914 Sundbäck developed a version based on interlocking teeth, the "Hookless No. 2", which was the modern metal zipper in all its essentials. In this fastener each tooth is punched to have a dimple on its bottom and a nib or conical projection on its top. The nib atop one tooth engages in the matching dimple in the bottom of the tooth that follows it on the other side as the two strips of teeth are brought together through the two Y channels of the slider. The teeth are crimped tightly to a strong fabric cord that is the selvage edge of the cloth tape that attaches the zipper to the garment, with the teeth on one side offset by half a tooth's height from those on the other side's tape. They are held so tightly to the cord and tape that once meshed there is not enough play to let them pull apart. A tooth cannot rise up off the nib below it enough to break free, and its nib on top cannot drop out of the dimple in the tooth above it. United States patent no. 1219881 for the "Separable Fastener" was issued in 1917.
The name zipper was created in 1923 by B.F. Goodrich who used the device on their new boot
s. Initially, boots and tobacco
pouches were the primary use for zippers; it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion
industry. About the time of World War II
the zipper achieved wide acceptance for the flies of trousers and the plackets of skirts and dresses.
. Although Sundbäck frequently visited the Canadian factory as president of the company, he resided in Meadville
, Pennsylvania
and remained an American citizen. Sundbäck was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
in 1951. Sundbäck died of a heart condition in 1954 and was interred at Greendale cemetery
in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 2006, Gideon Sundbäck was honored by inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame
for his work on the development of the zipper.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electrical engineer. Gideon Sundbäck is most commonly associated with his work in the development of the zipper
Zipper
A zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...
.
Background
Otto Fredrik Gideon Sundbäck was born on Sonarp farm in Ödestugu ParishJönköping Municipality
Jönköping Municipality is a municipality in Jönköping County, southern Sweden. The city Jönköping is the municipal seat. The municipality is situated by the southern end of lake Vättern.-Historical background:...
(Ödestugu på gården Sonarp), in Jönköping County
Jönköping County
Jönköping County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The capital is Jönköping.- Provinces :...
, Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He was the son of Jonas Otto Magnusson Sundbäck, a prosperous farmer, and his wife Kristina Karolina Klasdotter. After his studies in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Sundbäck moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he studied at the polytechnic school in Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
. In 1903, Sundbäck took his engineer exam in electronics. In 1905, he emigrated and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Career
In 1905, Gideon Sundbäck started to work at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing CompanyWestinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. In 1906, Sundbäck was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
. In 1909, Sundbäck married Elvira Aronson who was daughter of the Swedish born plant manager, Peter Aronsson. Subsequently Sundbäck was promoted to the position of head designer at Universal Fastener.
Sundbäck made several advances in the development of the zipper
Zipper
A zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...
between 1906 and 1914, while working for companies that later evolved into Talon, Inc.
Talon Zipper
Talon Zipper was a company founded in 1893, originally as the Universal Fastener Company, in Chicago. They later moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, and finally to Meadville, Pennsylvania. It was in Meadville that the zipper as we know it was invented, until then they were producing hookless fasteners...
He built upon the previous work of other engineers such as Elias Howe
Elias Howe
Elias Howe, Jr. was an American inventor and sewing machine pioneer.-Early life & family:Howe was born on July 9, 1819 to Dr. Elias Howe, Sr. and Polly Howe in Spencer, Massachusetts. Howe spent his childhood and early adult years in Massachusetts where he apprenticed in a textile factory in...
, Max Wolff
Max Wolff
Max Wolff Filho was a Brazilian Army sergeant, a member of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force who fought in Italy in World War II....
, and Whitcomb Judson.
He was responsible for improving the "Judson C-curity Fastener". At that time the company's product was still based on hooks and eyes. Sundbäck developed an improved version of the C-curity, called the "Plako", but it too had a strong tendency to pull apart, and wasn't any more successful than the previous versions. Sundbäck finally solved the pulling-apart problem in 1913, with his invention of the first version not based on the hook-and-eye principle, the "Hookless Fastener No. 1". He increased the number of fastening elements from four per inch to ten or eleven. His invention had two facing rows of teeth that pulled into a single piece by the slider, and increased the opening for the teeth guided by the slider.
In 1914 Sundbäck developed a version based on interlocking teeth, the "Hookless No. 2", which was the modern metal zipper in all its essentials. In this fastener each tooth is punched to have a dimple on its bottom and a nib or conical projection on its top. The nib atop one tooth engages in the matching dimple in the bottom of the tooth that follows it on the other side as the two strips of teeth are brought together through the two Y channels of the slider. The teeth are crimped tightly to a strong fabric cord that is the selvage edge of the cloth tape that attaches the zipper to the garment, with the teeth on one side offset by half a tooth's height from those on the other side's tape. They are held so tightly to the cord and tape that once meshed there is not enough play to let them pull apart. A tooth cannot rise up off the nib below it enough to break free, and its nib on top cannot drop out of the dimple in the tooth above it. United States patent no. 1219881 for the "Separable Fastener" was issued in 1917.
The name zipper was created in 1923 by B.F. Goodrich who used the device on their new boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s. Initially, boots and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
pouches were the primary use for zippers; it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
industry. About the time of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the zipper achieved wide acceptance for the flies of trousers and the plackets of skirts and dresses.
Citizenship and death
Sundbäck also created the manufacturing machine for the new zipper. Lightning Fastener Company, one early manufacturer of the zipper, was based in St. Catharines, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Although Sundbäck frequently visited the Canadian factory as president of the company, he resided in Meadville
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and remained an American citizen. Sundbäck was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or Kungl. Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien , founded in 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
in 1951. Sundbäck died of a heart condition in 1954 and was interred at Greendale cemetery
Greendale cemetery
Greendale Cemetery, in Meadville, Pennsylvania is a a publicly owned, non-profit cemetery. Many notable people including a Supreme Court Justice, several congressman, soldiers and inventors are interred in the cemetery.-Notable burials:...
in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 2006, Gideon Sundbäck was honored by inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
for his work on the development of the zipper.
Other sources
- Petroski, Henry The Evolution of Useful Things (Random House of Canada, 1994) ISBN 0679740392
External links
- http://www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat1219881.pdf An image of US patent no. 1219881