Modular Locking Device for Openable Body Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking devices for sliding sashes are expensive to manufacture in small series, bulky for transport, and require precise dimensions tailored to specific openings, making them inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A modular locking device comprising adjustable connecting rods and bolts that can be assembled without tools, allowing for quick adaptation to various openings, with the bolts providing resistance to tearing and the connecting rods being flexible for easy mounting, enabling the device to be manufactured in large series and transported compactly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If locking devices are made specifically to measure for each opening with precise dimensions, then the locking performance and positioning accuracy are improved, but the manufacturing cost increases and production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is divided into separate modular components: connecting rods with standardized dimensions and bolts with adjustable positions. This segmentation allows the connecting rods to be manufactured in large series with standard dimensions, while the bolts can be positioned at different locations along the rods to adapt to various openings, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolts are made adjustable along the connecting rods, allowing their position to be dynamically changed to match different opening configurations. This adjustability enables the same standardized connecting rod to serve multiple applications, eliminating the need for custom-made rods for each opening type and thus reducing manufacturing costs.
2Ease of operation
If locking devices are assembled and transported in the assembled state, then the device is ready for immediate installation, but the device becomes bulky and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is segmented into separate connecting rods and bolts that can be transported independently in a compact form. The connecting rods can be stored flat or in a compact configuration, and bolts are attached only when needed at the installation location, significantly reducing transport volume while maintaining readiness for immediate installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolts can be attached to the connecting rods in a nested or compact configuration during transport, with the bolts positioned along the length of the rods in a space-efficient manner. This nesting approach allows the components to be transported in a compact state while still being ready for quick assembly at the installation site.
3Strength
If the width of each rod is determined to ensure resistance to tearing, then the locking strength is improved, but the device becomes less adaptable to different openings
Solution Approach 1:
The load-bearing function is segmented and assigned specifically to the bolts, which are designed with sufficient width and strength to resist tearing. The connecting rods have reduced width since they primarily serve as structural supports and positioning elements. This functional segmentation allows the bolts to be optimized for strength while the connecting rods remain adaptable in width for different openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting rods are designed with locally optimized dimensions: sufficient width at the bolt attachment points to handle tearing forces, but reduced width in other sections to maintain adaptability and ease of installation. The bolts themselves have localized reinforcement at critical points to ensure tearing resistance without requiring the entire rod structure to be oversized.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1e
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The mechanism has a fitting for driving rod bolt holders under effect of actuation of an actuator. The holders are mounted along an edge of a door and comprise connecting rods (15) and bolts (16), where the rods and the bolts are matched such that the bolts are assembled to longitudinal ends (25) of the rods. The rods are bent in a flexible manner such that the holders are assembled by insertion of the bolts between lateral wings of a section of the door, longitudinally sliding the bolts inside the section and bending the rods connected to the bolts during the insertion process. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a door (2) a method for assembling a locking mechanism.