Two-Way Travel Drawer Locking Structure With Peg-and-Trough Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lock devices for two-way travel drawers are structurally complex and unreliable, particularly under excessive force, leading to potential furniture imbalance and risk of articles falling and causing injury.
Innovation Solution
A locking device featuring a peg, two-way travel slides, a groove member with flanges, a sliding member with a horizontal trigger and vertically positioned snapping members, which ensures the peg is securely positioned in a trough, allowing for safe drawer movement and preventing accidents by facilitating balanced drawer operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional lock device structure is used, then the drawer can be locked, but the structure becomes complicated and positioning reliability decreases under excessive force
Solution Approach 1:
The lock device is divided into independent functional components: a groove member with positioning trough, a sliding member with trigger mechanism, and snapping members. Each component performs a specific function, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining reliability. The groove member provides the positioning feature, the sliding member enables controlled movement, and the snapping members provide locking/unlocking action.
Solution Approach 2:
The trigger mechanism is extracted as a separate horizontal trigger element that can be independently actuated. This allows the trigger to be moved laterally to initiate the unlocking sequence without requiring complex integrated mechanisms. The trigger's separation enables simple lateral movement to disengage the locking condition.
2Device complexity
If the sliding member positioning structure is simplified, then the device complexity reduces, but the positioning reliability under excessive pushing force deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The groove member features a specifically designed positioning trough with localized geometric features that engage with the sliding member. The trough provides a defined positioning location that maintains reliability under force. The groove's cross-sectional shape and orientation are optimized locally to ensure the sliding member remains properly positioned during drawer operation.
3Ease of operation
If the drawer allows free movement for accessibility, then the ease of operation improves, but the risk of furniture imbalance and articles falling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lock device transitions between locked and unlocked states dynamically based on trigger actuation. When locked, the drawer is constrained to prevent imbalance. When the trigger is actuated, the locking condition is released, allowing free movement for accessibility. This dynamic state change enables both safety and ease of operation at different times.
Solution Approach 2:
The snapping members automatically engage with the peg when the drawer is in the correct position, providing self-locking without requiring external intervention. This automatic locking prevents furniture imbalance during normal use while allowing easy manual unlocking when accessibility is needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A locking device for a two-way travel drawer is provided with a peg on one side of each drawer; two two-way travel slides each on an outer surface of either side of the drawer; a groove member including front and rear flanges and a second opening element; a sliding member disposed in the groove member and including a trigger in the second opening element; and snapping members disposed vertically on an inner surface of the sliding member, each snapping member including two end latches secured to the sliding member, an intermediate trough having two vertical sides and a central concave portion interconnecting the vertical sides, two first inclined surfaces each extending from either end latch toward the trough, and two second inclined surfaces each interconnecting the adjacent first inclined surface and the adjacent vertical side.