Transport Container Lock With Tooth And Lever Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locks for transportable containers are not reliable against accidental opening due to impacts, as they can cause elastic deformation of the gasket and movement of half-shells, leading to unintentional opening, and previous solutions have been structurally complex or difficult to handle.
Innovation Solution
A lock design featuring a clamp with a protruding tooth that engages a lip, combined with a lever having a hook that remains engaged in a groove, preventing accidental opening even under impact, and allowing easy disengagement by pulling the lever, which rotates the clamp and disengages the tooth from the lip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a clamp with tooth and lip engagement is used for locking, then the locking mechanism is simple in structure, but the reliability against accidental opening due to impacts is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into two independent but cooperative components: a clamp with tooth for primary locking and a lever with hook for secondary securing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while together they provide reliable impact resistance without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The lever with hook is designed to preliminarily engage with the lip before the clamp's tooth engages with the lip. This preliminary action by the lever hook prevents the clamp from disengaging under impact forces, ensuring reliability before the actual locking force is applied
2Reliability
If additional components are added to prevent accidental opening, then the reliability improves, but the device complexity and structural complications increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lever and clamp are merged into a single integrated locking assembly where the lever is articulated to the clamp. This merging allows the two components to work together as one unit, providing enhanced reliability without the complexity of separate, independently operated locking mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The lever with hook acts as an intermediary element between the user's opening action and the clamp's tooth-lip engagement. It mediates the force transmission and provides the additional security layer needed for impact resistance without requiring a completely complex multi-component system
3Reliability
If a secure locking mechanism is implemented, then the reliability against accidental opening improves, but the ease of operation for opening and closing decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lever is designed to rotate dynamically about its pivot point, allowing the user to easily apply opening force by simply pulling or pushing the lever. This dynamic rotation mechanism transforms a potentially complex multi-step opening process into a simple single-motion operation, maintaining ease of use while ensuring reliable locking through the hook engagement
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
The lock ensures safe and reliable closure of transportable containers against impacts while allowing easy and ergonomic unlocking with minimal effort, using a structurally simple and cost-effective design.
Implementation Method 1
a gasket extended along the edge of one of the half-shells, which is compressed elastically by the other half-shell when the container is closed again
Implementation Method 2
the lever, which is articulated to the clamp and is configured to rotate the clamp about the first pivot
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A lock for transportable containers, such as trunks, suitcases, cases, trolleys and the like; the containers (100) comprise two half-shells (101) which can move between at least one closed configuration, in which they delimit an internal compartment for accommodating objects, and at least one open configuration, for free access to the compartment. The lock comprises: a clamp (2), which can be articulated to one of the half-shells (101) substantially with a first end portion (2a) thereof and is provided with at least one protruding tooth (3), which can engage a lip (102) that protrudes from the other one of the half-shells (101) in a position for locking, by hindrance, the half-shells (101) arranged in the closed configuration. The lock (1) comprises also a lever (4), which is articulated to the clamp (2) and is provided with at least one protruding hook (5), which is kept elastically engaged with the lip (102) when the clamp (2) is in the locking position. The lever (4) is provided with a first terminal flap (4a) which substantially faces and is proximate to, in the locking position, a second end portion (2b) of the clamp (2), which is opposite with respect to the first portion (2a); a traction applied to the first flap (4a) causes the disengagement of the hook (5) from the lip (102) and the rotational actuation of the clamp (2) for the disengagement of the tooth (3) from the lip (102).