Motor-Driven Rotor Locking Mechanism for Compact Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking devices for applications like car charging doors and fuel tank caps lack integrated safety mechanisms to prevent accidental unlocking during vehicle travel or when the owner is away, and they occupy excessive space, necessitating a compact and reliable solution.
Innovation Solution
A locking device with a housing, a rotatable plunger, and a motor-driven rotor that transitions between locking and unlocking positions, utilizing a guide groove and elastic needle mechanism to ensure secure engagement and prevent accidental unlocking, while minimizing space usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional electric locking mechanisms are integrated into the locking device, then safety performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the mechanical plunger-based locking mechanism with an electric motor-driven rotor-based locking mechanism into a single integrated device. The housing contains both the plunger (with guide groove) and the rotor (with engagement section), allowing the device to provide both mechanical and electric locking functions simultaneously, thereby improving safety performance while maintaining a unified structure.
2Reliability
If additional electric locking mechanisms are integrated into the locking device, then safety performance is improved, but space occupation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested arrangement where the rotor and its engagement section are positioned within the housing in a way that allows the plunger mechanism to operate in conjunction with it. The engagement section of the rotor can engage with the guide groove of the plunger, creating a compact nested configuration where the electric locking mechanism is integrated within the existing mechanical locking space, thereby minimizing additional space occupation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the plunger is designed to be both movable and rotatable, then locking functionality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger is designed with dual functionality: it can move linearly along the longitudinal direction and rotate around the longitudinal direction. This multi-functional design allows the plunger to engage with the rotor's engagement section in multiple ways, providing both locking and unlocking capabilities through a single component, thereby improving locking functionality while avoiding the need for separate mechanical elements.
Data Source
AI summary
The present application discloses a locking device comprising: a housing; a plunger inserted into the housing, movable and rotatable to transit between a locking position and an unlocking position, wherein when the plunger is in the unlocking position, the plunger is in a first rotating position and a first axial position, when the plunger is in the locking position, the plunger is in a second rotational position and a second axial position; a rotor accommodated in the housing and rotatable around a rotor rotation axis relative to the plunger between a engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein when the plunger is in the locking position, the rotor is rotatable to the engaged position to prevent the plunger from moving; and a motor accommodated in the housing and configured to drive the rotor to rotate. The present application further discloses a locking system.