Fixation of door locks without screws into home appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door-locking devices for domestic appliances face challenges in mounting without screws and are not universally compatible with all appliance models, with some designs prone to accidental locking during transport and delivery.
Innovation Solution
A door-locking device featuring a housing with a movable slider and a fastening portion made of injection-moulded plastic, using integral teeth and snap-engaging pins to secure to the appliance's front panel without screws, allowing for easy and secure mounting by engaging the device's teeth with the panel's edges and pins with pre-drilled holes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a protection plate with snap-engaging pins is used to fix the door-locking device without screws, then the mounting process becomes simpler and screw-less, but the protection plate may accidentally snap to the locking position during transport and delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening portion is designed with a movable protection plate that can transition between positions. The pins are capable of moving relative to the body, allowing the protection plate to be positioned in an unlocked state during transport and then snap into the locked position during installation when properly aligned with the aperture edges.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement portion with teeth is designed to preliminarily engage with the edges of the aperture before the pins snap into the locking position. This preliminary engagement guides the pins into proper alignment with the holes in the front panel, ensuring that the pins only snap to the locking position when correctly positioned, preventing accidental locking during transport.
2Ease of operation
If the protection plate is designed to snap engage during mounting, then the mounting process is simplified, but it cannot be used in all models of domestic appliances due to compatibility issues
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening portion is designed with a universal engagement mechanism where the teeth can engage with edges of the aperture and the pins can engage with holes in the front panel. This design allows the same fastening portion to be adapted to different appliance models by varying the aperture shape and hole positions, while maintaining the simple snap-engagement mounting process.
3Strength
If rigid projections are used to engage with holes in the front panel, then the connection is stronger, but a resilient member must be overmoulded in the seat to allow resilient movement
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member is extracted from the engagement portion and placed in the protection plate instead. The pins are integral to the protection plate and move with it, eliminating the need for separate resilient members overmoulded in the body. This maintains the strength of rigid projections while simplifying the overall structure.
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
Enables secure and screw-less mounting on various domestic appliance models, preventing accidental locking during transport and ensuring reliable installation by using elastic deformation to snap pins into place, thus overcoming compatibility and mounting issues of prior solutions.
Implementation Method 1
The axial movement of the pins (42) into the holes (44) is allowed by an elastic deformation of the lateral portions of the base wall (36)
Data Source
AI summary
A door-locking device for a domestic appliance, including a fastening portion for fastening without screws the door-locking device to a front panel of the domestic appliance, the fastening portion including a body having an opening intended to receive a hook connected to the door of the domestic appliance, the body including an integral engagement portion projecting from a bottom wall of the body and including first and second opposite teeth adapted to engage opposite edges of an aperture of the front panel.