Laundry Door Lock Assembly With Indexed Seal Pressure Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking arrangements for laundry treatment machines experience a decrease in contact pressure over time, leading to leaks, as the seal's setting behavior is not adjustable, and replacing seals can result in improper contact pressure due to missing discs and bent latch clasps.
Innovation Solution
A positioning device with an adjusting disk, featuring diametrically opposed grooves and tongues, allows for controlled adjustment of the lock element's position on the retaining plate, enabling precise contact pressure adjustment without adding or removing parts, ensuring proper sealing during seal replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the lock element is adjusted using slotted holes and threaded bolts, then the contact pressure can be increased, but the positioning becomes uncontrolled and may cause latch clasp malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the adjustment mechanism from continuous (slotted holes allowing any position) to discrete (indexed positions defined by groove depths). The adjusting disk with grooves provides predefined positioning steps, transforming the parameter control from continuous to quantized, thereby achieving both adequate contact pressure and controlled positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting disk acts as an intermediary between the lock element and the opening edge. It mediates the adjustment process by providing a controlled interface: the grooves on the adjusting disk interact with tongues on the lock element, enabling precise, repeatable positioning while preventing direct uncontrolled movement that would cause malfunction.
2Reliability
If discs are removed to increase contact pressure, then the sealing improves, but the adjustment becomes uncontrolled and may cause latch clasp malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting disk with indexed grooves enables the system to self-regulate the contact pressure through predefined positions. The mechanism automatically provides controlled adjustment steps without requiring user judgment or risk assessment, making the system self-sufficient for achieving reliable sealing while maintaining operational safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves are pre-formed at specific depths during manufacturing, establishing predetermined safe positioning options before use. This preliminary action ensures that when adjustment is needed, the user only needs to select from pre-validation positions, eliminating the need for uncontrolled trial-and-error adjustments that could cause malfunction.
3Force
If the lock element is made adjustable, then the contact pressure can be optimized, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting disk is segmented into multiple grooves at different radial depths, creating discrete adjustment levels. This segmentation allows the complex function of contact pressure control to be divided into simple, selectable positions, reducing the operational complexity while maintaining the capability for optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the adjustment function into the existing lock element structure. The adjusting disk is integrated with the lock element assembly, combining the positioning and locking functions into a single unified mechanism, thereby minimizing additional complexity while achieving contact pressure optimization.
4Device complexity
If the lock element position is fixed, then the device complexity is reduced, but the contact pressure cannot be adjusted over time
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces controlled dynamics into an otherwise static system. The lock element transitions from a completely fixed state to a dynamically adjustable state with predefined positions. The adjusting disk enables the system to adapt over time by selecting different groove positions, maintaining long-term reliability while adding minimal complexity through the indexed adjustment mechanism.
Data Source
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AI summary
The arrangement has a door (3) for locking a feeding opening (4). A latch element (8) that is operated from the outer side of the door is arranged at the inner side of the door for locking of the door. The latch element cooperates with a lock element that is arranged at an opening edge of the feeding opening. The lock element is adjustable at the opening edge of the feeding opening. The lock element cooperates with positioning devices, where the contact pressure of the door is adjustable by the positioning devices on a seal.