Resilient Cantilever Tilt Latch Bolt for Window Jamb Engagement
Solution Overview
Problem
Tilt latch bolts fail to securely engage window jambs during inclement weather, particularly in high winds, leading to potential disassociation of the window sash from the frame due to flexing of polymeric materials, and existing designs lack resilience and durability.
Innovation Solution
A modified tilt latch bolt with a resilient cantilever on the bolt nose that extends to create a channel to engage the window jamb, providing enhanced frictional attachment and resistance to displacement, and is designed for simplicity in manufacturing and installation, with features like grooves and channels to increase surface contact and tolerance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional tilt latch bolt with rectangular or wedge geometry is used, then the bolt can frictionally engage the window jamb to prevent rotation, but the bolt fails to maintain secure engagement when the window frame flexes in high winds
Solution Approach 1:
The latch bolt incorporates a resilient cantilever portion that can dynamically adjust its position. The cantilever extends to uncover a channel that can receive and engage a portion of the window jamb, allowing the bolt to adapt to frame flexing while maintaining secure engagement. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between reliable engagement and adaptability to varying frame positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolt design changes the geometric parameters of the engagement surface by extending the cantilever to reveal a channel. This parameter change allows the bolt to transition from a fixed rectangular/wedge geometry to a configuration with an exposed channel that can positively engage the jamb, improving reliability under wind load while accommodating frame movement.
2Reliability
If the latch bolt is designed with a resilient cantilever and channel, then engagement security under wind load is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch bolt is segmented into distinct functional portions: a head portion, a resilient cantilever portion, and a channel portion. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently for its specific function while simplifying the overall manufacturing process, as each segment can be formed using standard molding or machining techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient cantilever and channel features are localized to specific portions of the bolt rather than requiring complex geometry throughout the entire bolt. This local quality approach allows the majority of the bolt to maintain simple geometry for easy manufacturing, while only the critical engagement zone incorporates the resilient channel features needed for improved reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cantilever is designed to extend and uncover the channel, then the bolt can engage the jamb during frame displacement, but the bolt structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient cantilever portion and the channel portion are merged into a single integrated bolt structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate components while maintaining the adaptive functionality, thereby reducing overall device complexity compared to using multiple separate parts to achieve the same displacement response capability.
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 modified tilt latch bolt effectively maintains the window sash in a vertical position under pressure distortion, offering improved resistance to abrasion and impact while ensuring secure engagement with the window jamb, even in adverse weather conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient cantilever that uncovers a channel sized and shaped to engage a portion of the window frame when the window is under duress. The cantilever is formed on the exterior portion of a terminal end of the bolt opposite the latch
Data Source
AI summary
An improved tilt latch bolt for a double-hung window with a groove or channel formed in either the biased or planar portion of the bolt nose for engaging a portion of the window frame when the window is under duress is disclosed herein. The grooves and channels define a depth of at least five thousandths of an inch (0.127 cm). The deformable cantilever, by virtue of being formed above, and extending over the channel, is resilient such that were a portion of the window jamb to clear the width of channel, the deformable cantilever provides a small degree of tolerance to capture the wayward window jamb before it inadvertently rotates out of the sash, for example in inclement weather conditions.