Locking Element Connection Structure for Easy Manual Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting devices for components, such as hoses and suction devices, are not easily handled by users due to complex unlocking mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A connecting device with a locking element that can be accessed and actuated by the user through an insertion section, allowing for easy detachment and connection of components, featuring a locking section, actuating section, and web section for intuitive operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking element is used to secure the connection between two components, then the connection reliability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to complex unlocking mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is segmented into distinct functional sections: a locking section with locking protrusions for securing the connection, a web section for structural connection, and an actuating section with actuating protrusions for user operation. This segmentation allows each section to be optimized independently, maintaining reliable locking while enabling easy unlocking through the accessible actuating section.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuating protrusions serve as an intermediary mechanism between the user and the locking mechanism. Users interact with the accessible actuating protrusions rather than directly manipulating the locking protrusions, simplifying the unlocking operation while maintaining the integrity of the locking mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If the locking element is made accessible through an insertion section, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is merged with the connecting ring as an integrated one-piece component, eliminating the need for separate locking mechanisms. The actuating section is merged with the web section and locking section, creating a unified structure that provides both structural integrity and user accessibility without additional complex components.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking element serves multiple functions simultaneously: the locking section provides connection security, the web section provides structural support and flexibility, and the actuating section provides user interface functionality. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, simplifying the overall device structure while improving operability.
3Ease of operation
If the locking element protrudes radially outward for easy actuation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the compactness of the device deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is designed with elastic deformability, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. The radial protrusion of the actuating section is flexible, enabling it to extend outward for user access during operation and retract or deform during connection/disconnection cycles, maintaining compactness when not in use while providing accessibility when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking element is constructed as a flexible, elastically deformable component rather than a rigid structure. This flexibility allows the actuating section to protrude radially for user access while the overall structure remains compact, as the element can deform and retract as needed without requiring additional space for mechanical movement.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a connection device (100) that can be operated especially easily and comfortably by a user, comprising a first component (102a), a second component (102b) that can be detachably connected to the first component, and a locking element (108), which can be accommodated in an accommodating segment (110) of the first component and which can be brought into engagement with an accommodating opening (124) of the second component in order to lock a connection between the first component and the second component, wherein the locking element can be actuated by a user in order to release the connection. According to the invention the accommodating opening adjoins an insertion segment (128) of the second component, through which the locking element can be guided in order to connect the components to each other and/or in order to disconnect the components from each other, wherein the locking element is accessible to the user, in particular can be actuated by the user, during the guiding of the locking element through the insertion segment, wherein the locking element has an arresting segment, by means of which the locking element engages behind the accommodating opening in a locked state of the locking element with respect to a connecting direction, an actuating segment, on which a user acts in order to actuate the locking element, and a web segment, by means of which the locking element can be guided through the insertion segment, wherein the web segment is arranged between the arresting segment and the actuating segment.