Emergency Door Controller With Key-Switched Idle Handle Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional emergency door handle controllers are complex, require significant space, and necessitate specialized skills and tools for installation and reconfiguration, making them prone to errors and malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
An external controller for emergency devices featuring a coupling unit with a tilting element and pivoted inserts, allowing handle enablement/disabling via a cylinder lock, enabling simple inversion and adaptation to clockwise or anticlockwise doors without tools, using a key for configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional mechanical contrivances are used to enable/disable the handle through cylinder lock rotation, then the handle can be controlled to retract latches or remain idle, but the controller housing becomes complex and occupies considerable space
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is divided into modular components: a compact housing, a coupling unit with pivoted inserts, and a tilting element. This segmentation allows each component to perform its function within a minimized space, eliminating the need for a large housing while maintaining full functionality of handle enable/disable control
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic elements including a tilting element that can pivot between positions and inserts that can rotate about an axis. These dynamic components allow the mechanism to achieve multiple functions (enabling/disabling handle, transmitting motion, blocking motion) within a compact space through movement rather than requiring separate static components for each function
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional controllers are designed for specific door rotation directions (clockwise or anticlockwise), then the controller can be optimized for that configuration, but reconfiguration requires mounting/removal operations with tools and specialized skills
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling unit with pivoted inserts and tilting element creates a universal mechanism that can accommodate both clockwise and anticlockwise door rotations without requiring different hardware configurations. The same compact assembly serves multiple functions and adapts to different installation scenarios through simple repositioning rather than complete reconfiguration
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic nature of the tilting element and pivoted inserts allows the mechanism to adapt to different door rotation directions through simple repositioning during installation. The components can be easily oriented to match the required rotation direction without requiring specialized tools or skills, making the installation process accessible to non-specialists
3Ease of operation
If complex mechanical contrivances are used to engage/disengage the handle shaft with the emergency opening device, then the handle can be enabled or disabled, but the components are prone to malfunctions and breakage
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the control mechanism into distinct modular components (coupling unit, inserts, tilting element), the invention eliminates the need for complex interconnected mechanical contrivances. Each component is simple in design with few moving parts, reducing the probability of malfunction and making the system more reliable while maintaining the enable/disable function
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex intermediate mechanical contrivances that connected the handle shaft to the emergency opening device in conventional systems. The simplified coupling unit directly transmits or blocks motion without requiring complex engagement/disengagement mechanisms, thereby improving reliability
Data Source
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AI summary
An external controller (1) for emergency devices for opening doors to passages to access and exit an environment. The devices comprise actuation means for respective latches arranged on a face of the door that is directed toward the inside of the installation environment. The controller (1) comprises a box-like body (2) configured for the at least partial accommodation of an actuating member (3) that can move along a stroke of predefined extent and of a cylinder lock (4). The controller (1) further comprises a coupling unit (6) interposed between a shaft (7) of the actuating member (3) and the actuation means for the latches, and at least one tilting element (8), interposed between the coupling unit (6) and the bit (9) of the cylinder lock (4). The coupling unit (6) comprises a first contoured insert (10) rigidly coupled to the shaft (7) of the actuating member (3) and a second insert (11) rigidly coupled to the actuation means; the first (10) and the second insert (11) are pivoted so that they can rotate with respect to an axis (X). The tilting element (8) comprises at least one pair of mutually opposite projections (12), which are configured to slideably engage respective contoured slots (13, 14) of the first (10) and second insert (11), and at least one protrusion (15) facing and proximate to the surface of a recess (16) of the second insert (11). The tilting element (8) is orientable, by virtue of the action of the bit (9) which can be temporarily inserted into a trough (17) of the element (8), facing and proximate thereto, between a first limit configuration in which the projections (12) are accommodated within a portion of the slots (13, 14) which is proximate to a lateral surface of the box-like body (2) and a second limit configuration, symmetrically opposite to the first limit configuration. A rotation of the actuating member (3) produces, in the first limit configuration, a rotation of the first (10) and of the second insert (11) and of the actuation means for the latches, and in the second limit configuration, a rotation of the first insert (10) and the abutment of the protrusion (15) against the surface of the recess (16) of the second insert (11) which as a consequence is maintained in a fixed position, defining an idle stroke for the actuating member (3) when the element (8) is in the second limit configuration.