Automatic Lock Button With Non-Magnetic Guide And Magnet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic locks with sliding buttons create drag marks when closing doors, and previous solutions like magnetic systems are either complex or susceptible to tolerances.
Innovation Solution
A button with a non-magnetic guide part and a slidably guided magnet that maintains a defined distance from the strike plate, coupled to a trigger via an intermediate element, to avoid direct contact and ensure reliable actuation without grinding marks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sliding button is used to detect the position of the lock case, then the trigger can be actuated to release the bolt movement, but drag marks are created on the strike plate
Solution Approach 1:
A magnetic field is introduced as an intermediary between the button and the strike plate. The button contains a magnet that magnetically interacts with a magnetic strip on the strike plate, enabling position detection and trigger actuation without direct physical contact. This eliminates mechanical sliding friction and the resulting drag marks while maintaining reliable trigger actuation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical sliding contact system is replaced with a magnetic field-based detection system. Instead of the button physically sliding against the strike plate to detect position and actuate the trigger, a magnet in the button creates a magnetic field that interacts with a magnetic strip on the strike plate, substituting mechanical contact with magnetic interaction to avoid wear and drag marks.
2Extent of automation
If a magnetic system with permanent magnets is used to push the latch back, then the automatic locking function is achieved, but the system becomes susceptible to tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The magnetic interaction parameters are optimized to ensure reliable operation. A magnetic strip with specific magnetic properties and geometry is used on the strike plate,配合 a magnet in the button, to create a magnetic field interaction that is less sensitive to manufacturing tolerances and positional variations compared to point-to-point magnet arrangements.
3Reliability
If two oppositely aligned components are used in the leaf and frame, then the locking function is achieved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection and actuation functions are merged into a single button component. The button contains both the magnet for position detection and the mechanical linkage for trigger actuation, eliminating the need for separate oppositely aligned components in the door leaf and frame. This integration reduces structural complexity while maintaining the locking function.
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
This design minimizes grinding marks and ensures reliable trigger actuation by using a non-magnetic guide part with a magnetically attracted intermediate element, reducing structural complexity and susceptibility to tolerances.
Implementation Method 1
a magnet on the guide part is slidably guided towards the strike plate in the position of the lock case opposite the strike plate
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
The automatic lock (5) has a lock case that is arranged oppositely to a metal sheet. A push button is arranged to detect the position of the lock case against the metal sheet. A controllable trigger is provided to release the movement of the latch from the open position to the closed position. The push button is arranged to bias a guide portion of non-magnetic material, in the direction of the metal sheet, such that a magnet on the guide portion is displaced in the metal sheet and the movements of the trigger are coupled with the magnets.