Accessible Door Lock with Tactile Status Indicators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door locking devices for lavatory compartments do not provide effective visual or tactile information for visually impaired individuals regarding the occupancy status, forcing them to rely on third parties for assistance.
Innovation Solution
A door locking device with a manually controlled locking element and an information unit that provides tactile and visual feedback using pictograms, allowing visually impaired users to determine the compartment's status by touch, and an optional third state accessible only to authorized personnel or automatically triggered by malfunctions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If light signals or color codes are used to indicate compartment status, then visual information is provided for sighted users, but visually impaired people cannot access this information
Solution Approach 1:
The information device is segmented into multiple independent tactile elements (protrusions, recesses, or surfaces with different roughness) that can be individually configured to represent different compartment states. Each tactile element can be independently actuated to provide distinct tactile feedback for different statuses such as occupied, free, or out-of-service
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from two-dimensional visual information (light signals, color codes) to three-dimensional tactile information by creating protrusions, recesses, or surface variations that can be perceived through touch. This dimensional transformation enables visually impaired users to access compartment status information through their sense of touch rather than sight
2Loss of information
If multiple information functions are provided for different compartment states, then comprehensive status information is available, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single information device structure is designed to perform multiple functions by providing different tactile configurations for different compartment states. The same physical mechanism can indicate occupied status, free status, and out-of-service status through different tactile element arrangements, eliminating the need for separate devices for each function
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple information functions are merged into one integrated information device that provides tactile feedback for all compartment states through a unified mechanism. The device combines indicators for occupied, free, and out-of-service states into a single accessible interface rather than using separate indicators for each state
Data Source
Figure 1~6
Figure 7
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for locking the door (2) of a bathroom, said device comprising a door (2) locking element (1) manually controlled from inside the bathroom, said locking element (1) being used for selecting the vacant and occupied states of the room and for locking the door (2) when the occupied state is selected, wherein said device includes an information member (3) arranged on the door (2) at least on the outside of the room and providing at least two piece of touch and visual information based on the state selected by the locking element (1), the information member (3) including raised icons (7) for providing touch information.