Armrest Locking Mechanism for Vibration-Resistant Manual Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing armrests in moving environments, such as aircraft, lack a locking mechanism that provides secure, reliable locking against vibrations while being easily manually releasable.
Innovation Solution
A locking mechanism featuring a lever with a biasing component and an actuation member, allowing the armrest to be locked and unlocked by pressing a button, ensuring robust engagement with the axle in both open and stowed positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking mechanism is incorporated to prevent rattling and moving in vibrations, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: a lever with locking feature, a biasing component (spring), and an actuation member (push button). This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, achieving reliable locking through simple, well-defined parts rather than a complex integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing component automatically returns the lever to the locked position after actuation, providing self-service functionality. The spring-loaded mechanism ensures the locking feature automatically re-engages with the axle without requiring additional actuation or complex control systems, thereby improving reliability while keeping the mechanism simple.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism is incorporated to provide secure locking against vibrations, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The actuation member (push button) serves as an intermediary between the user and the locking mechanism. By pressing this simple button, the user indirectly actuates the lever through the biasing component, making the operation easy while the lever itself maintains the secure locked state. This intermediary approach decouples the simplicity of user interaction from the complexity of the locking function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the user to directly manipulate the lever or locking feature, the design inverts the control approach: a simple push button controls the lever position through the biasing component. This inversion makes operation easier while maintaining reliable locking, as the button requires minimal force and motion compared to directly moving the lever against spring pressure.
3Reliability
If a lever with biasing component is used for locking engagement, then locking reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking feature at the end of the lever is merged with the lever itself rather than being a separate component. The biasing component is integrated into the lever assembly, with the spring housed within or attached to the lever structure. This merging reduces the total number of parts and simplifies the overall mechanism while maintaining reliable locking engagement through the combined lever-locking feature-spring system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The mechanism provides stable locking resistant to vibrations and easy manual release, maintaining structural integrity and user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing component arranged to bias the first end of the lever in a second axial direction such that the second end of the lever is biased in an opposite first axial direction into engagement with the axle
Implementation Method 2
The biasing component may be a spring arranged to bias the second end of the lever towards the axle
Data Source
AI summary
An armrest locking mechanism includes an axle defining an axis an armrest structure mounted relative to the axle to be rotatable between an open position and a stowed position, a locking mechanism mounted within the armrest structure for releasably locking the armrest relative to the axle in one of the open position or the stowed position. The locking mechanism includes a lever and a pivot point between the first end and the second end, an actuation member extending out of the armrest structure and in engagement with the first end of the lever, and a means for providing locking engagement between the second end of the lever and the axle, and a biasing component arranged to bias the first end of the lever in a second axial direction such that the second end of the lever is biased in an opposite first axial direction into engagement with the axle.