Sliding Plate Access Control for Multi-Compartment Storage Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage devices lack the ability to partially restrict access to individual storage areas, necessitating a solution that allows flexible and automated control over access to specific compartments.
Innovation Solution
A device with a transport system featuring a slide and overlapping sliding plates, controlled by a drive and holding elements, enabling selective access to storage areas by positioning sliders and sliding plates to block or reveal compartments as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a lid is used to close the compartment, then access to storage areas is restricted, but individual storage areas cannot be partially accessed
Solution Approach 1:
The compartment is divided into multiple storage areas by dividing elements, and the lid is segmented into multiple sliding plates that can be independently positioned. Each sliding plate can cover or reveal specific storage areas, allowing selective access to individual compartments while the lid remains closed. This segmentation enables partial access control without requiring the entire lid to be opened.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding plates are made movable along the lid, allowing their positions to be dynamically adjusted. The transport system with drive and holding elements enables the sliding plates to be positioned at different locations, transforming the static lid into a dynamic access control mechanism that can selectively reveal or cover storage areas as needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sliding plates are added to enable selective access, then access control flexibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sliding plates are combined onto a single movable lid structure, sharing common support elements and control mechanisms. The transport system integrates multiple sliding plates that can be independently positioned but are mechanically unified through the common lid structure, reducing the overall complexity compared to having separate mechanisms for each plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding plates serve multiple functions: they act as structural elements of the lid, provide access control for individual storage areas, and can be positioned at different locations to reveal different compartments. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If sliding plates are made movable for flexible positioning, then access control versatility is improved, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding plates move along the lid in a direction parallel to the storage areas, utilizing the horizontal dimension of the lid structure. This approach avoids consuming additional vertical or depth space, as the movement occurs within the existing lid footprint. The sliding mechanism exploits the lateral dimension to achieve positioning flexibility without increasing the overall device volume.
Data Source
AI summary
A device with a lid and a compartment that has separate storage areas that open upward. The device has a transport device with a slide that is displaceable in a transport direction. The slide extends transversely to the transport direction over the entire width of the compartment and cover part of the storage areas of the compartment. The slide is slidably mounted between the compartment and the lid in the transport direction, and two slide plates are arranged on the slide and overlap with the slide and are slidably mounted relative thereto in the transport direction of the slide. The slide is displaceable in the transport direction by a controllable drive of the transport system and wherein one of the slide plates is fixable in a stationary manner by a holding element of the transport system, whereby the slide can move relative to the slide plate.