Laboratory cabinet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laboratory cabinets require users to first open the outer door and then separately open the inner door, which can be cumbersome and disrupt the controlled climate conditions inside.
Innovation Solution
The laboratory cabinet features an electromagnetically controlled inner door lock that unlocks and opens the inner door when the outer door is opened, eliminating the need for a separate handle and ensuring the climate remains undisturbed by using an electromagnet to overcome the mechanical lock's force, allowing the inner door to follow the outer door's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inner door is equipped with a separate handle and lock mechanism for independent opening, then the user can open the inner door after opening the outer door, but the device complexity increases and the opening process becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the inner door lock release function with the outer door handle mechanism. When the outer door handle is operated, it simultaneously releases both the outer door lock and the inner door lock through a coupled mechanical linkage system, eliminating the need for separate handles and simplifying the overall door opening operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer door handle is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as the primary opening mechanism for the outer door and simultaneously acts as the release mechanism for the inner door lock. This multi-functional design reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the user operation sequence.
2Reliability
If the inner door remains locked when the outer door is opened, then the climate conditions in the interior are protected, but the user must perform additional opening actions which disrupts the climate and increases operation time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary unlocking of the inner door lock when the outer door handle is operated, before the outer door is fully opened. This preliminary action ensures that the inner door is already unlocked and can be opened immediately after the outer door, minimizing the time the inner door remains closed and protecting climate conditions while reducing operational time.
Solution Approach 2:
The door opening process is designed as a continuous action where operating the outer door handle initiates a sequence that unlocks both doors and opens them in succession without interruption. This continuous operation minimizes the time the interior climate is exposed to external conditions while maintaining smooth user interaction.
3Illumination intensity
If the inner door is made of transparent material for visibility, then the interior can be seen when the outer door is open, but the inner door still requires separate locking mechanisms adding to device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism for the transparent inner door is merged with the outer door handle system. The same mechanical linkage that controls the outer door lock also controls the inner door lock, eliminating the need for separate locking components on the transparent door and maintaining visibility while reducing overall system complexity.
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 design simplifies the opening process, reduces the risk of mechanical failure under extreme conditions, and maintains the controlled climate by ensuring the inner door opens synchronously with the outer door, enhancing user-friendliness and operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
the first means is designed as an electromagnet arranged on one of the outer door and inner door, which in the activated state interacts with the other of the outer and inner doors or with a magnetizable element arranged on the other of the outer and inner doors
Implementation Method 2
whose holding force is greater than the locking force of the mechanical shutter
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a laboratory cabinet (10), for example a cold cabinet, heating cabinet, drying cabinet or incubator, with a housing (12) which has at least one outer door (14) with an outer door lock (16) and has at least one interior space which can be closed off by an inner door (18 ) can be locked with an inner door lock (20), the inner door lock (20) being a mechanical lock, so that the laboratory cabinet (10) has first means (30), which can be actuated when the outer door (14) is closed, for unlocking the inner door lock (20) of the inner door (14 ) which can be controlled electrically, and that the laboratory cabinet (10) has second means (40) which are designed in such a way that when the outer door (14) is opened, the inner door (18) also opens.