Child Safety Latch With Auto-Reengaging Prong and Secondary Lock
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child safety latches for drawers and cabinets are often complex to install and may become unsafe over time due to plastic components deforming with use, requiring significant force that can be difficult for adults to maintain, and adhesive strips may fail with repeated use.
Innovation Solution
A child safety latch mechanism featuring a resilient plastic cantilever prong arm with a spring-loaded design that requires two distinct movements to open, secured using adhesive or Velcro, allowing easy installation without tools and maintaining security through smaller, directional forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If significant force is required to open the latch, then child safety is improved, but ease of operation for adults deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The latch uses a resilient prong arm that dynamically changes its mechanical properties during operation. The prong arm is flexible enough to be pressed by children's fingers for normal opening, but becomes rigid when engaged with the stop member, requiring significant force to disengage and thus providing child safety while remaining easy to operate for adults
Solution Approach 2:
The latch changes the force parameter required to open depending on the engagement state. When the prong arm is engaged with the stop member, the force required to disengage it is significantly increased compared to the force needed to simply press the prong arm, creating a threshold that prevents children from opening while allowing adults to open when needed
2Ease of manufacture
If plastic components are used to reduce cost and complexity, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to creep and tolerance changes over time
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient prong arm uses plastic material with specific local properties - it is resilient and flexible in the region where it needs to be pressed, but maintains sufficient rigidity when engaged with the stop member. This local quality differentiation allows the plastic component to maintain reliability over time while remaining easy to manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The latch uses inexpensive plastic components that are designed to be replaced rather than repaired. The prong arm and stop member are simple plastic parts that can be easily manufactured and replaced if they wear out, maintaining cost-effectiveness while ensuring safety through replacement rather than maintenance
3Ease of operation
If adhesive strips are used for installation, then ease of installation is improved, but reliability deteriorates with repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The latch is divided into separate components (prong arm, stop member, resilient element) that can be installed independently. This segmentation allows the resilient prong arm to be attached with adhesive for ease of installation, while the critical latching function is provided by the mechanical engagement between components that maintains reliability over time
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 latch effectively restricts drawer or door opening to a safe distance, remaining secure over time without requiring excessive force, and can be reliably attached using adhesive or Velcro, ensuring safety from children while being accessible to adults.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient plastic cantilever prong arm with a spring-loaded design
Implementation Method 2
a resilient plastic cantilever prong arm with a spring-loaded design
Implementation Method 3
secured using adhesive or Velcro
Implementation Method 4
secured using adhesive or Velcro
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a child safety latch for limiting movement of a first element with respect to a second element, comprising a prong assembly secured to the second element, said prong assembly including a prong arm with a terminal end;a receiving means secured to the first element for capturing the terminal end of said prong, to stop movement of the first element with respect to the second element by a specified distance from the second element; by automatic engagement of the receiver of the receiving means with the terminal. The prong arm being movable by a user between a first position in which the terminal end is captured by the receiver preventing movement of the first element with respect to the second element and a second position in which the terminal end is released from the receiver permitting movement of the first element with respect to, and further away from, the second element; in a way that the prong arm is resilient and returns to the first position after release by the user such that when the first element is moved back towards the second element, the latch is automatically reactivated such that subsequent movement of the first element away from the second element by the specified distance will result in re-engagement of the terminal end and the receiver. Secondary lock means is provided which is biased to a locked position in which it prevents movement of the prong arm by the user until the secondary lock means is first moved by the user to an unlocked position.