Sliding Door Soft-Closer with Adjustable Latch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Security sliding doors require a soft-closer device that ensures consistent and secure closure while allowing for adjustable engagement with the doorframe, preventing unauthorized access and accommodating varying doorframe clearances.
Innovation Solution
A soft-closer device with an elongate housing, a roller and latch assembly, and a locking mechanism that includes a soft-closer actuator and adjustable latch height, allowing for secure engagement with a strike plate and accommodating different doorframe heights through a compression spring arrangement and adjustable ramps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the roller and latch assembly is made adjustable in vertical position to accommodate varying doorframe clearances, then the adaptability of the device is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the locking mechanism and adjustment components
Solution Approach 1:
The roller and latch assembly is designed with dynamic adjustability in the vertical direction, allowing it to be repositioned to accommodate different doorframe clearances. The assembly can be adjusted between a first position (adjacent to housing opening) and a second position (retracted), providing adaptability while maintaining a manageable complexity through controlled movement rather than multiple fixed components
Solution Approach 2:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: the housing, the roller and latch assembly, and the locking mechanism. This segmentation allows the roller and latch assembly to be independently adjusted and locked at different positions, providing adaptability to varying doorframe clearances while keeping the overall system complexity manageable through modular design
2Reliability
If the roller engagement with the rail is made secure to prevent unauthorized access, then the reliability of the security system is improved, but the ease of operation decreases due to the need for precise vertical adjustment and locking
Solution Approach 1:
The roller and latch assembly incorporates a resilient biasing mechanism that automatically pushes the assembly toward the first position (adjacent to the housing opening). This self-biasing feature ensures consistent engagement with the strike plate and maintains reliable security without requiring manual intervention for positioning, thereby improving ease of operation while preserving security reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism provides tactile and mechanical feedback when the roller and latch assembly is properly positioned and locked in the vertical adjustment. This feedback ensures that the assembly is securely engaged, maintaining reliable door security while making the operation intuitive and easier for the user
3Reliability
If the soft-closer actuator is positioned to ensure correct latch and strike plate engagement, then the reliability of closure is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for precise positioning and adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The soft-closer actuator is integrated with the roller and latch assembly, allowing it to move dynamically between the first and second positions. This dynamic positioning ensures that the actuator maintains correct engagement with the strike plate throughout the door's movement, achieving reliable closure without requiring a separate, complex positioning mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The soft-closer actuator is merged with the roller and latch assembly into a single integrated unit. This combination ensures that the actuator and latch move together in unison, maintaining correct relative positioning for reliable engagement with the strike plate while reducing overall device complexity by eliminating separate positioning 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
Ensures reliable and secure closure of security sliding doors by maintaining correct latch and strike plate engagement, accommodating varying doorframe clearances, and providing adjustable vertical offset for secure operation.
Implementation Method 1
the assembly is resiliently biased towards the first position
Implementation Method 2
a soft-closer actuator mounted in the sub-housing and operable to extend and contract substantially parallel to the x-axis
Data Source
AI summary
A soft-closer device has a housing installable in door rail, a roller and latch assembly in the housing and movable relative to the housing between first and second positions. A locking mechanism is adapted to secure the roller and latch assembly against movement to hold a sub-housing in a required position. The assembly includes a soft-closer actuator in the sub-housing operable to extend and contract, with latch mounted to project through and move along an opening of the housing as the actuator extends and contracts, and a journal on the sub-housing at which the roller is rotatable.