Reversible Pocket Door Latch Cartridge

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional mechanical locking mechanisms for sliding doors require disassembly and reinstallation to reverse the door latch direction, making it cumbersome and inconvenient.

Innovation Solution

A flush-mounted latch mechanism with a pivoting lever and keyhole, where the inner and outer plates can be switched without disassembling the moving parts, allowing for easy reversal of the door latch direction within the cartridge housing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If conventional mechanical locking mechanisms are used with levers fitted in shallow recesses, then the latch mechanism can be concealed within the pocket door, but the mechanism requires disassembly and reinstallation to reverse the door latch direction

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveConcealment of latch mechanismVSAvoidDisassembly requirement for reversal

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The latch mechanism is divided into separate components: a housing that remains fixed in the door, and a removable cartridge containing the moving parts (lever, linkage, catch). This segmentation allows the cartridge to be easily removed and reinstalled in reverse orientation without disassembling the entire mechanism, resolving the contradiction between concealment and ease of reversal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The moving parts of the latch mechanism are extracted from the housing and placed into a separate removable cartridge. This extraction allows the cartridge to be independently removed and reinstalled in reverse orientation, enabling easy reversal of the door latch direction while maintaining the concealed appearance of the fixed housing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the latch mechanism is designed with a fixed configuration, then the mechanism structure remains simple, but it cannot adapt to doors that close in opposite directions

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveReversal of door latch directionVSAvoidReversible mechanism design

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The latch mechanism incorporates a dynamic reversal capability through the removable cartridge design. The cartridge can be easily removed and reinstalled in either orientation, allowing the mechanism to adapt to doors that close in opposite directions. This dynamic adaptability is achieved without requiring complex adjustable components within the mechanism itself.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The housing is designed as a universal component that can accommodate the cartridge in either orientation. The fixed housing contains mounting features that work regardless of which direction the cartridge is installed, making the overall mechanism versatile enough to handle doors closing in either direction while maintaining a simple structural design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS11319735B1Sliding-door latch

Publication Date: 2022.05.03 MONTANEZ MICHAEL JUSTIN

AI summary

A reversible apparatus for a conventional pocket door has a sliding-handle mechanism and a handle cavity sized to facilitate human operation. Moving parts are contained in a cartridge, and remain assembled, independent of the configuration of the apparatus for doors that close from left to right, or doors that close from right to left.