Lock Knob Attachment for Hand-Free Lavatory Door Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for preventing the spread of infectious diseases through door handles require significant installation efforts and are not compatible with existing mechanical door locks, necessitating full-scale renovations.
Innovation Solution
A lock knob attachment that can be attached to a lavatory door, allowing users to lock or unlock the door without using their fingers or hands, featuring an attachment portion that slides along a long hole portion and a main body portion that extends perpendicular to the attachment portion, enabling operation with an arm or elbow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a floor surface is constructed for installation of the equipment, then the door can be locked without hand contact, but the burden of installation becomes heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The door locking system is divided into separate functional components: the existing mechanical lock bar remains in place, while a separate attachment portion with main body portion is added to the lock bar. This segmentation allows the hand-free operation feature to be added without reconstructing the entire door or floor structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment portion is designed to be attached to the existing lock bar, with the main body portion extending outward to provide the hand-free operation surface. The attachment portion fits within the constraints of the existing door structure, nesting the new functionality within the existing system rather than requiring external floor construction.
2Ease of manufacture
If existing equipment with mechanical door locks is utilized, then installation is simplified, but full-scale renovation becomes necessary to implement hand-free operation
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment portion is designed with universal compatibility to work with existing mechanical door lock systems. The main body portion provides the hand-free operation interface while the attachment portion interfaces with standard lock bar structures, allowing the same design to be applied to various existing door lock systems without requiring full renovation.
3Ease of operation
If the main body portion length in the third direction is greater than the attachment portion length, then arm or elbow operation is enabled, but the device dimensions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The main body portion extends in the third direction (perpendicular to both the lock bar's sliding direction and the attachment portion's length), providing a large operational surface area without increasing the length along the lock bar's sliding direction. This dimensional orientation allows arm or elbow operation while minimizing interference with the door's thickness and lock mechanism operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A lock knob attachment includes an attachment portion configured to be attached to a lock bar that is configured to lock a door by sliding in a first direction, and a main body portion configured to be coupled to the attachment portion and configured to extend from the attachment portion to a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. When a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction is defined as a third direction, a length of the main body portion in a direction along the third direction is greater than a length of the attachment portion in a direction along the third direction.