Concentric Vehicle Glove Box Latch Reducing Depth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive glove box latch systems require improvement as they often occupy valuable space within the glove box, reducing storage capacity and not providing adequate security or ease of operation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle glove box latch system comprising a housing with a pivotably connected paddle and rotor, a pawl mechanism, and a lock barrel that allows for compact design by aligning the lock barrel, rotor, and rotor mounting portion concentrically, reducing depth and increasing storage space, while providing secure locking and easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If traditional latch designs are used, then the latch can provide basic locking function, but the latch occupies excessive space within the glove box, reducing storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The lock barrel is positioned concentric with the rotor and rotor mounting portion, nesting multiple functional elements within a compact radial arrangement. This allows the latch mechanism to maintain its locking function while significantly reducing the depth and volume occupied in the glove box
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism transitions from a depth-oriented traditional design to a radially-expanded compact design by positioning the lock barrel concentric with the rotor. This dimensional reorganization reduces the depth requirement while maintaining all necessary locking functions through improved spatial arrangement
2Volume of stationary object
If the latch depth is reduced to increase storage space, then more storage capacity is available, but the locking mechanism may become compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting the lock barrel concentric with the rotor and mounting portion, the design achieves compact depth while maintaining adequate locking strength through optimized force transmission paths and engagement geometry in the radial direction
3Volume of stationary object
If a compact latch design is implemented, then storage space is increased, but the device complexity may increase to achieve the compact arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The lock barrel, rotor, and rotor mounting portion are merged into a concentric arrangement, combining multiple functional elements into a unified compact structure. This reduces overall complexity by eliminating the need for separate mounting brackets and complex spatial relationships between components
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle glove box latch includes a housing, a paddle pivotably connected to the housing, a rotor pivotably connected to the housing, a pawl coupled to the rotor and having an end that is engaged with an opening in the vehicle, and a lock barrel mounted to the housing for locking and unlocking the vehicle glove box latch. In a locked state of the lock barrel, the pawl cannot be disengaged from the opening in the vehicle. In an unlocked state of the lock barrel, the pawl can be disengaged from the opening for opening the vehicle glove box. The lock barrel, the rotor and the rotor mounting portion are concentrically aligned along an axis, which reduces the depth of the latch, which reduces the space in the glove box necessary for accommodating the latch, thereby resulting in an increase in the available storage space in the glove box.