Door Latch Pin with Biasing Means for Misalignment Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional door latch mechanisms fail to maintain a seal in vehicles with large or frameless doors prone to distortion, leading to drafts and poor sealing due to misalignment between the door and door frame.
Innovation Solution
A door latch mechanism featuring a pin with an elongate axis and releasable jaw means, where the pin is mounted with biasing means to move linearly perpendicular to its axis, allowing for misalignment compensation without distorting the door, and is housed in an elongate guide slot with springs to maintain a central position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional fixed pin latch mechanism is used, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the door cannot accommodate distortion without poor sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The pin is made movable within an elongate guide slot rather than being fixed, allowing it to adjust its position dynamically. The biasing means provides a restoring force while the guide slot permits linear movement perpendicular to the pin's elongate axis, enabling the latch to adapt to door distortion and maintain sealing reliability.
2Reliability
If the pin is made movable to accommodate door distortion, then sealing is maintained, but the latch mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The latch mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components: the pin, the elongate guide slot, and the biasing means. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently - the guide slot provides movement freedom, the biasing means provides restoring force, and the pin provides the latching action - thereby maintaining sealing consistency through a relatively simple modular structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If biasing means are added to the pin, then misalignment is compensated, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing means acts as an intermediary element between the pin and the housing structure. It mediates the interaction by providing a controllable restoring force that enables misalignment compensation without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms or precise manufacturing tolerances, thereby achieving adaptability while maintaining ease of manufacture.
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 solution ensures a consistent seal around the door periphery by accommodating misalignment without distorting the door, enhancing weatherproofing and structural integrity, particularly beneficial for frameless doors like those in tractors.
Implementation Method 1
biasing means so as to allow the pin to move substantially linearly
Implementation Method 2
The biasing means may comprise a pair of springs which bias the pin towards a central position
Data Source
AI summary
A door latch mechanism (10) comprises a pin (11) having an elongate axis, and releasable jaw means (12) comprising a pair of jaw elements (18) which engage the pin therebetween to latch a door (16) in a closed position to a door frame (14). The pin is mounted on the door or the door frame with biasing means, such as a pair of springs, so as to allow the pin to move substantially linearly in a direction perpendicular to the elongate axis of the pin and substantially parallel to the plane of the door when in the closed position. The movement of the pin (11) allowed by the biasing means caters for any vertical displacement of the door caused by worn hinges for example without any forced distortion of the door. The invention is of particular benefit to doors having no frame and which are susceptible to flexing and come with the associated risk of structural failure.