Patent Application
20200332558
This non-provisional application claims priority to and the benefit of, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), Taiwan Patent Application No. 108113434, filed in Taiwan on Apr. 17, 2019. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a magnetic lock, and more particularly, to a magnetic lock whose housing and positioning member are fixed together by clamps.
Doors, windows, cabinets, and so on are generally provided with locking devices to prevent unauthorized access and thereby ensure the safety of personal property. A sheerly mechanical lock can be cracked with tools (e.g., a master key) relatively easily. Electronic locks such as magnetic locks, keycard locks, electronic code locks, and wireless remote-controlled locks are gradually adopted for enhanced safety.
A magnetic lock, or electromagnetic lock to be exact, works on the principle of electrically induced magnetism. When supplied with electricity, a magnetic lock (e.g., one provided on a door frame) can attract and hold a mating armature plate (e.g., one provided on the door panel in the aforesaid door frame) and thus enter the locked state. When the power supply is cut off, the magnetic lock can no longer attract and hold the armature plate and is therefore in the unlocked state. Due to the lack of a complicated mechanical structure and a lock tongue, magnetic locks are suitable for use on emergency exit doors or fire doors for access control.
A conventional magnetic lock is typically composed of a housing and an electromagnetic body. The housing has a generally U-shaped cross section and forms a receiving space therein. The electromagnetic body at least includes an iron core and a coil. The iron core can be formed by welding together a plurality of silicon steel plates that are contiguously arranged, and the coil is wound around the iron core. When the electromagnetic body is supplied with electricity, a magnetic attraction force is generated on an outer surface of the electromagnetic body that is exposed through the housing.
The conventional magnetic locks, however, still have some inadequacies in use. First, it is common practice to fix the housing of a conventional magnetic lock to an external object (e.g., a door frame) through a positioning member. The positioning member, the housing, and electromagnetic body are locked to one another using a plurality of screws. When such a magnetic lock is in the locked state, the magnetic attraction force between the electromagnetic body and the mating armature plate can be viewed as a pulling force that tends to pull the electromagnetic body outward, i.e., out of the housing. This pulling force acts mainly on the contact points between the screws and the screw holes in the electromagnetic body, the housing, and the positioning member. If the contact points are subjected to a relatively large force, however, the housing may be deformed in the contact point areas. Consequently, the screws may also be damaged or even break, such that the positioning member and the housing are no longer securely assembled to each other. Should that happen, not only will the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic lock and the armature plate be reduced, but also the housing may be detached from the positioning member and fall off.
Second, the screw-based locking method mentioned above generally entails the use of a large number of screws and consequently a time-consuming assembly process.
The issue to be addressed by the present disclosure is to provide an effective solution to the foregoing inadequacies of the conventional magnetic locks so as to bring about better user experience.
In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies associated with conventional magnetic locks, the present disclosure has culminated in the conception and development of a magnetic lock having a fixing structure. The present disclosure manifests years of practical experience in designing, processing, which, combined with long hours of research and experimentation, leads to such conception and development. The present disclosure is with the aim of overcoming the above-referenced technical inadequacies.
One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a magnetic lock that has a fixing structure. The magnetic lock includes a housing that has a receiving space therein, an electromagnetic body, a positioning member and a clamp. The electromagnetic body can be assembled within the receiving space of the housing. A top surface of the electromagnetic body is exposed through the housing when the electromagnetic body is assembled within the receiving space. The electromagnetic body receives externally supplied electricity, and generates a magnetic attraction force on the top surface of the electromagnetic body. The positioning member can be fixed on an object, and has a first lateral side configured to abut against an outer lateral side of the housing. The clamp can, when the first lateral side of the positioning member abuts against the outer lateral side of the housing, clamp together an end edge of the positioning member and an adjacent end edge of the housing to fix the positioning member and the housing together. The provision of the clamp helps increase the safety of assembly and use of the magnetic lock by allowing the positioning member and the housing to be easily, rapidly, and securely fixed to each other.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, parts or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/part from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, parts or the like.
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The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108113434 | Apr 2019 | TW | national |
