Rotatable Latch Housing for Even Load in Angled Apertures

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing latches used in offshore wind turbines with angled apertures experience uneven load distribution and stress fatigue due to fixed latch fingers, leading to potential failure from rattling and stress accumulation.

Innovation Solution

A latch design featuring a rotatable outer housing with moveable latch fingers and a guide system that biases the outer housing to optimal rotational positions, ensuring even engagement with the aperture wall and reducing stress on individual fingers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If fixed latch fingers are used in an angled aperture, then the latch can be inserted, but uneven load distribution and stress fatigue occur leading to potential failure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelatch durabilityVSAvoidlatch finger stress resistance

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The latch fingers are made moveable rather than fixed, allowing them to adjust their position and orientation when engaging with the aperture wall. The outer housing can rotate around the inner part, enabling the latch fingers to self-align with the wall surface at optimal angles, distributing loads more evenly across multiple fingers and preventing stress concentration that would lead to fatigue failure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The rotational position of the outer housing changes the engagement parameters of the latch fingers with the aperture wall. By allowing rotation, the system can optimize the contact angle and force distribution between the latch fingers and the wall, transforming the static engagement into a dynamically adjustable one that adapts to the angled aperture geometry.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Device complexity

If latch fingers are fixed in position, then the structure is simple, but the latch rattles within the aperture causing stress to the fingers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelatch structure simplicityVSAvoidlatch stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The latch fingers are made moveable rather than fixed, allowing them to adjust their position and orientation when engaging with the aperture wall. The outer housing can rotate around the inner part, enabling the latch fingers to self-align with the wall surface at optimal angles, distributing loads more evenly across multiple fingers and preventing stress concentration that would lead to fatigue failure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Ease of manufacture

If latch fingers engage at fixed angles, then manufacturing is easier, but load distribution is uneven causing stress fatigue

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelatch finger positioningVSAvoidload distribution uniformity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The latch fingers are made moveable rather than fixed, allowing them to adjust their position and orientation when engaging with the aperture wall. The outer housing can rotate around the inner part, enabling the latch fingers to self-align with the wall surface at optimal angles, distributing loads more evenly across multiple fingers and preventing stress concentration that would lead to fatigue failure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The latch mechanism automatically adjusts its own configuration through the rotatable outer housing. When inserted into the angled aperture, the guide structure and wall contact points cause the outer housing to rotate to a predetermined position where the latch fingers naturally align for optimal engagement. This self-adjusting mechanism eliminates the need for complex pre-positioning or manual alignment during installation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS20240006863A1Latch and method of inserting a latch into an aperture

Publication Date: 2024.01.04 NYLACAST ENGINEERED PROD LTD

AI summary

A latch comprises a body having a forward end, a rearward end and a longitudinal axis, configured to be inserted into an aperture by its forward end in a first direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. The body comprises an inner part, and an annular outer housing surrounding at least part of the inner part and rotatable around the inner part. Latch fingers are moveably attached to the outer housing, each latch finger moveable between a closed and an open position, such that in the open position a latch finger prevents removal of the body from the aperture in the direction opposite to the first direction. A guide may be attached to the body and configured to bias the rotation of the outer housing, when the body is inserted into an aperture, to a predetermined rotational position, thereby also locating the latch fingers in a the predetermined rotational position.