Panel-Mounted Latch Handle for Frame Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing latch arrangements for doors and windows often require interaction with mechanisms on the frame to open, which can be cumbersome and lack intuitive operation, especially when using frame-mounted locking configurations.
Innovation Solution
A latch arrangement with a manually operable handle mounted on the panel that interacts with an actuating mechanism to selectively disengage the locking element from its depression, allowing the panel to be opened without frame interaction, featuring a pivotable handle, actuating member, and stop latch to securely lock and unlock the panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the locking element is mounted on the frame element, then the security and structural strength are improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because the user must interact with frame mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional operation direction by mounting the actuating mechanism on the panel rather than the frame. The handle on the panel pushes the locking element to engage with the frame, reversing the traditional pull-to-unlock mechanism and enabling intuitive one-handed operation while maintaining frame-mounted security.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuating mechanism serves as an intermediary between the user's manual input and the frame-mounted locking element. It translates the pushing motion of the handle into the appropriate displacement of the locking element, mediating between the panel-mounted control and the frame-mounted locking function.
2Reliability
If the locking element is mounted on the frame element, then the reliability of the locking system is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional actuating mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the actuating mechanism and handle into a single integrated assembly mounted on the panel. This merging reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the overall system while maintaining the reliable frame-mounted locking function.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuating mechanism is designed to perform multiple functions: it actuates the locking element, provides the releasing force through the spring, and incorporates the handle as both a grip and a structural component. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate parts.
3Ease of operation
If a panic bar configuration is used, then the ease of operation for emergency exit is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sloped members and actuating components
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is pre-loaded in the actuating mechanism to store releasing energy in advance. When the panic bar is pushed, this pre-stored energy is immediately released to quickly disengage the locking element, enabling rapid emergency exit without requiring the user to generate significant force.
Solution Approach 2:
The panic bar mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including the movable sloped member that converts linear pushing motion into the appropriate actuating motion, and the spring that provides dynamic force multiplication. These dynamic components enable simple user input to produce effective locking/unlocking action.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A latch arrangement for fastening a panel of a door or a window to a frame element is provided. The latch arrangement includes a locking element mounted on the frame element and displaceable between a locked position in which the locking element can be engaged with a depression formed on the panel locking thereby the panel to the frame element, and an unlocked position in which the locking element can be disengaged from the depression on the panel unlocking thereby the panel from the frame element; an actuating mechanism including a. manually operable handle, the actuating mechanism being mounted on the panel and being configured to selectively engage the locking element and to displace the locking element away from the depression to the unlocked position.