Push-Pull Door Locking Wheel for Secure Washer Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door closing devices for domestic appliances, such as washing machines, often fail to ensure a proper seal and can open unintentionally during operation due to excessive force, and are either large in size or expensive to produce.
Innovation Solution
A push-pull type locking device with a containment body, a locking wheel, and a sliding bolt mechanism, utilizing a torsion spring and helical spring, along with an electromagnetic or thermal time-delay mechanism, which allows the door to open from the inside safely and prevents unintended opening during operation by resolving the applied force into two components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional locking device is used to ensure proper sealing, then the door remains securely closed, but the device becomes large in size and requires expensive materials
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into separate functional components: a locking wheel (3) for engagement, a sliding bolt (5) for linear movement, and spring elements (4, 6) for force application. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and assembled in a compact configuration within the containment body (1).
Solution Approach 2:
The locking wheel (3) converts rotational motion into linear motion of the sliding bolt (5) through its contoured extremity interacting with the wheel's tilted surface (11). This dimensional transformation enables compact packaging of the mechanism while maintaining effective locking functionality.
2Ease of operation
If a locking device allows opening from inside the machine, then safety is improved, but the door may open unintentionally during operation under excessive force
Solution Approach 1:
The locking system transitions between different states: the sliding bolt (5) can move freely during the opening phase, then engages with the locking wheel (3) to create a locked state. The spring elements (4, 6) provide dynamic force to maintain engagement while allowing controlled disengagement when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism operates in distinct phases: closing phase where the bolt moves forward, locking phase where engagement occurs, and opening phase where disengagement happens. This periodic operation ensures proper sequencing of safety features and prevents unintended opening.
3Ease of operation
If a push-pull type locking device is used, then door closing is simplified, but the device lacks the kinematic complexity needed for proper sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The locking wheel (3) with its contoured extremity and tilted surface (11) converts simple linear pull force into rotational motion and then into controlled linear engagement of the sliding bolt (5). This curved geometry provides the necessary kinematic complexity while maintaining simple operation.
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 device effectively maintains a secure seal and prevents door opening during machine operation, even under high force, while being compact and cost-effective, allowing easy retrofitting to existing machines without structural modifications.
Implementation Method 1
a locking wheel (3) subject to the action of a torsion spring (4)
Implementation Method 2
a sliding bolt (5) subject to the action of a helical spring (6)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention regards a locking device for the closing door of a washing and drying machine, constituted of a body of containment (1) that houses a locking wheel (3) for the door latch, subject to the action of elastic means (4), a sliding bolt (5) capable of preventing the rotation of said wheel (3) and a time-delay mechanism fitted with a locking pawl for said sliding bolt (5). The wheel (3) is fitted with a cavity (10) that presents a surface (11) tilted with respect to the plane of rotation, so as to resolve the force it exerts on the bolt (5), when a pulling is exerted on the door (1) while the device is in a closed and locked position.