Sliding Door Lock Actuator Force Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding door opening and closing apparatuses with locks for railway vehicles face challenges in safely and promptly closing sliding doors without forcibly locking them, especially when luggage or passengers are stuck, leading to difficulties in unlocking and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus adjusts the actuator's output force during the closing operation, increasing it until a predetermined intermediate time point to ensure smooth closure and then reducing it to prevent forced locking, allowing for easy unlocking with minimal manual effort by using a planetary gear mechanism and an electric motor to control the sliding door's movement and lock mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the actuator's output force is increased to ensure prompt closure of sliding doors, then the closing speed is improved, but the risk of forced locking when luggage is stuck increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator's output force is dynamically adjusted during the closing operation. The control unit increases the output force during the initial closing phase to achieve prompt closure, then reduces the output force before the locking phase to prevent forced locking when luggage is stuck. This dynamic adjustment of force throughout the operation resolves the contradiction between closing speed and damage prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit performs a preliminary action by reducing the actuator's output force before the locking phase begins. This preliminary reduction of force prevents the harmful effect of forced locking while maintaining the benefit of prompt closure during the earlier phase when higher force is acceptable.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the actuator's output force is reduced to prevent forced locking, then the risk of damage is decreased, but the closing speed becomes slower
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator's output force is dynamically adjusted during the closing operation. The control unit increases the output force during the initial closing phase to achieve prompt closure, then reduces the output force before the locking phase to prevent forced locking. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by applying high force when speed is needed and low force when damage prevention is needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The closing operation is divided into distinct phases with different force levels. The control unit applies a first output force during the movement phase and a second, reduced output force during the locking phase. This periodic variation in force application allows the system to achieve both prompt closure and damage prevention.
3Ease of operation
If a force amplifying mechanism is added to facilitate manual unlocking when luggage is stuck, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical force amplifying mechanism with a control system that prevents the need for manual force amplification in the first place. By dynamically adjusting the actuator's output force to reduce locking force when luggage is stuck, the system eliminates the need for additional mechanical components while maintaining ease of manual unlocking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs the force adjustment automatically through the control unit, which monitors the closing operation and dynamically modifies the actuator's output force. This self-service approach eliminates the need for manual intervention or additional mechanical assistance mechanisms.
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
This solution enables safe and prompt closure of sliding doors while preventing forced locking, allowing for easy manual unlocking and reducing the risk of damage to luggage, thus improving operational efficiency and user safety.
Implementation Method 1
a planetary gear mechanism to which a driving force of an actuator is input
Implementation Method 2
a rack-and-pinion mechanism configured to receive output from the planetary gear mechanism
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An opening and closing apparatus with a lock that is provided is capable of safely and promptly closing a sliding door, and also easily performing unlocking with a simple configuration is provided. In an opening and closing apparatus with a lock (2) for opening and closing sliding doors (11A, 11B) that are provided with elastic members (12A, 12B) at their door leading ends, output of an electric motor (90) is transmitted to a rack-and-pinion mechanism (10) or a lock mechanism (60). A control unit (91) controls the electric motor (90) such that a closing operation is performed, the closing operation serving as an operation of operates the rack-and-pinion mechanism (10) so as to move the sliding doors (11A, 11B) to a fully closed position and then displacing a link mechanism (61) in a lock mechanism (60) from an unlocking position to a locking position. Furthermore, the control unit (91) controls the electric motor (90) so as to reduce the output of the electric motor (90) at a predetermined intermediate time point during the closing operation.