Retractable Bolt Safety Lock for Machine Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional access protection devices for machine tools, especially those processing wood or plastics, often pose safety risks due to protruding parts and increased failure probabilities, as they are typically separate systems with mechanical and electronic components that can malfunction or cause injuries during operation.
Innovation Solution
A retractable bolt system integrated into the machine base, with a cylindrical design that fits into a locking receptacle, ensuring the bolt's surface lies flush with the machine base when unlocked, combined with electronic monitoring using active and passive coils, to prevent accidents and minimize production scrap.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional access protection devices with separate mechanical and electronic components are used, then locking functionality is achieved, but safety risks increase due to protruding parts that can cause tripping hazards or injuries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the mechanical locking bolt and electronic monitoring components into a single integrated unit mounted on the machine base. The bolt serves dual functions as both the mechanical locking element and the mounting structure for electronic sensors, eliminating the need for separate protruding components and reducing tripping hazards while maintaining safety functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolt is designed to move vertically in a recessed path within the machine base, allowing it to protrude only when necessary for locking/unlocking operations. When retracted, the bolt surface lies flush with or below the base surface, eliminating tripping hazards during normal operation while maintaining full locking capability when needed.
2Reliability
If conventional access protection devices with separate mechanical and electronic systems are used, then locking functionality is achieved, but failure probability increases due to multiple separate components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates electronic monitoring sensors, control circuitry, and the mechanical bolt into a unified system mounted on the machine base. This reduces the number of separate mechanical and electronic systems that need to be coordinated, thereby reducing overall system complexity and potential failure points while maintaining comprehensive safety monitoring functionality.
3Reliability
If protruding locking parts are used in conventional systems, then mechanical locking is achieved, but production scrap increases due to workpieces getting caught on protrusions
Solution Approach 1:
The bolt is designed to operate within a vertically oriented recessed path in the machine base, allowing it to protrude upward only when actively engaged in locking or unlocking operations. During normal machine operation with the protective door closed, the bolt remains retracted flush with or below the base surface, eliminating interference with workpiece handling and preventing production scrap while maintaining full locking capability.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a machine tool for machining preferably plate-shaped workpieces, which preferably consist at least partially of wood, wood-based materials or plastics, with a machining area which is bounded downwards towards the floor by a machine base and towards the operator by a protective device, a bolt, preferably a cylinder, with a cover surface, a lockable part which is fixed to the protective device, a locking system of the protective device which includes the lockable part and the bolt, a power and evaluation unit which is configured to read and process the signals of a first and a second coil and is characterized in that the cover surface of the bolt lies in the same plane as or below the machine base when the protective device is open.