Passive Door Bolt Assembly with Spring Biasing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hardware for securing passive door panels in French door entryways often fails to maintain a secure, sealed position due to improper assembly or installation, leading to reduced strength under wind loads and sub-optimal sealing performance.
Innovation Solution
A bolt assembly with an anchoring base and a sliding bolt mechanism featuring spaced apart teeth and notches, which includes a pin to engage the entryway frame, and a compression spring to bias the bolt into an extended position, ensuring secure engagement and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sliding bolts are used to secure the passive door panel, then the door can be closed and secured to the frame, but the bolt may inadvertently retreat from its extended position due to repeated active door use, leading to partial or full disengagement and reduced sealing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The bolt assembly incorporates a spring mechanism that dynamically maintains the bolt in its extended engaged position, allowing the system to adapt to repeated door operations while preventing inadvertent retreat. The spring provides continuous force to counteract any forces that might cause the bolt to retract, ensuring reliable engagement throughout the product lifecycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolt assembly is divided into distinct functional components: the bolt itself, the spring mechanism, and the engagement interface with the frame. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together as an integrated system to prevent disengagement.
2Strength
If hardware is mounted to secure the passive door panel, then the door can be held closed, but improper assembly or installation can prevent the hardware from moving into its fully engaged position, reducing strength under wind loads
Solution Approach 1:
The bolt is pre-loaded by the spring mechanism into its extended engaged position before the door is even closed. This preliminary action ensures that when proper assembly is performed, the bolt automatically achieves full engagement with the frame, maximizing wind load resistance without requiring complex adjustment procedures during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring mechanism provides self-adjusting functionality that compensates for minor variations in assembly or installation. The bolt automatically maintains optimal engagement pressure and position, reducing the need for precise manual adjustment and ensuring consistent strength under wind loads regardless of assembly tolerances.
3Reliability
If the bolt is designed to slide between extended and retracted positions, then the door can be secured or released, but the pin may be prevented from moving into its fully engaged position due to improper assembly, leading to sub-optimal compression of sealing components
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism dynamically ensures the bolt reaches and maintains its fully engaged position, providing consistent sealing pressure. This dynamic force compensation ensures that sealing components are consistently compressed to optimal levels regardless of variations in door alignment or frame tolerances, maintaining reliable sealing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring mechanism provides continuous feedback through its mechanical force, ensuring the bolt remains in the fully engaged position required for optimal sealing. The spring's resistance to compression serves as a mechanical feedback signal that the bolt is properly positioned, maintaining consistent sealing performance across repeated operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The bolt assembly effectively secures the passive door panel, maintaining a sealed position and enhancing structural integrity and sealing performance by preventing inadvertent disengagement and ensuring consistent engagement with the frame.
Implementation Method 1
a compression spring to bias the bolt into an extended position
Data Source
AI summary
A bolt assembly for securing a passive door panel relative to an entryway frame. The bolt assembly comprises an anchoring base fixed relative to the passive door panel. The base has at least one column of spaced apart teeth extending from a side there. The column of spaced apart teeth provides notches between the teeth and adjacent to at least one end of the at least one column. The bolt assembly also has a bolt to slide relative to the base between at least a first position and a second position. The bolt includes a slide having a finger for mating into at least one of the notches in the first position and the second position. The bolt also has a pin attached to the slide for movement therewith. The pin is able to engage the entryway frame when the bolt is in the second position.