Shock-resistant motorized locking device
AssigneeCogelec
InventorsJean-Daniel Alzingre, Guillaume Keltz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A locking device includes a mobile locking member, movement of which can be prevented by a blocking member interacting with a motorized lever, where the motorized lever is capable of rotational movement about an axis with respect to the supporting structure, the centre of gravity of the lever lying on the axis, the lever being kept in a determined stable position and without rigid mechanical contact of the lever with the supporting structure apart from its axis of rotation.
Claims18
An apparatus comprising a locking device, said locking device comprising a supporting structure, a mobile locking-member, a piston, a motorized lever, and an actuator, wherein the mobile locking member comprises a housing wherein the actuator comprises a magnet, a stator, and an air gap, wherein the piston comprises a head, wherein the piston prevents movement of the mobile locking-member by engaging the head in the housing, wherein the motorized lever interacts with the piston, wherein the motorized lever is capable of rotational movement about an axis that is stationary with respect to the supporting structure, wherein the motorized lever moves between a locking position and an unlocking position, wherein the locking position is a stable locking-position, wherein, in the locking position, the motorized lever prevents movement of the piston and disengagement of the head thereof from the housing, wherein, in the unlocking position, the motorized lever enables movement of the piston and the release of the locking member when the head is fully extended out of the housing, wherein a center of gravity of the lever is located on the axis, wherein the motorized lever is held stable in the locking position and without rigid mechanical contact between the motorized lever with the supporting structure apart from the connection of its axis of rotation with the supporting structure, wherein the actuator drives the motorized lever to rotate about the stationary axis, wherein the magnet is fixed to the motorized lever, wherein the stator is fixed to the supporting structure, wherein the stator comprises ferromagnetic parts and a coil wherein the coil is a magnetic-field generating coil that produces a magnetic field when energized, wherein the stator's ferromagnetic parts channel the magnetic field, wherein interaction of the magnetic field and the magnet fixed to the motorized lever couples the motorized lever and the stator, wherein as a result of the coupling between the motorized lever and the stator, the motorized lever is induced to rotate, wherein the air gap is between the motorized lever and the stator, wherein the air gap varies in response to the rotation of the motorized lever, wherein the air gap has a minimum width when the motorized lever is in the stable locking position, wherein the air gap has a maximum width when the motorized lever is in the unlocked position, and wherein, when the field-generating coil is no longer energized, the motorized lever remains subjected to a torque that tends to hold the motorized lever in the stable locking position in which the air gap has a minimum width, wherein said torque arises from interaction of said magnet and said ferromagnetic parts.
An apparatus comprising a locking device, wherein the locking device comprises a supporting structure, a mobile locking bolt that is linearly moveable along an axis thereof between extended and retracted positions, a tapered piston that is vertically moveable from a blocking position to an unblocking position, wherein, as a result of being tapered, the tapered piston prevents the bolt from moving from the extended position to the retracted position when the tapered piston is in the blocking position, wherein the tapered piston moves in a direction that is angularly offset from the axis, an elongated lever rotatable about a pivot between a locking orientation aligned with the direction in which the tapered piston moves and an unlocking orientation angularly offset from the locking orientation, the lever being rotatable about a stationary axis, the stationary axis being stationary relative to the supporting structure, wherein a center of gravity of the elongated lever is at said stationary axis, a magnet on the elongated lever, and a structure that is located adjacent to the lever, and that, in operation, attracts the elongated lever toward one of the orientations, wherein the structure is a stationary and magnetizable structure that comprises a stator that comprises ferromagnetic parts and a coil that, when energized, generates a magnetic field, the ferromagnetic parts of the stator being configured to channel the magnetic field produced by the coil so that the magnetic field produced by the coil couples to the magnet that is on the elongated lever and thereby, as a result of the coupling, the magnetic field produced by the coil induces rotation of the elongated lever, wherein an air gap between the elongated lever and the stator has a width that varies as the elongated lever rotates about the stationary axis, wherein the width of the air gap varies between a minimum value, which is reached when the elongated lever is in a stable locking position, and a maximum value, which is reached when the elongated lever is in an unlocked position, wherein, when the coil is no longer energized, the motorized lever is subjected to a torque that tends to hold the motorized lever in an orientation that minimizes the width of the air gap, wherein said torque arises from interaction of said magnet and said ferromagnetic parts.
An apparatus comprising a locking device, wherein the locking device comprises a supporting structure, an electromagnetically-movable locking bolt having a housing, a piston that is moveable between a first position and a second position, wherein in the first position the piston engages a head thereof the housing of the bolt and wherein in the second position the piston disengages the head thereof from the bolt, a lever that is rotatable about a pivot between locking and unlocking orientations, wherein the lever has a wide end and a narrow center, wherein the lever rotates about an axis that is stationary relative to the supporting structure, wherein the lever has a center of gravity that coincides with the axis that is stationary relative to the supporting structure, an end of the piston having a width less than a linear dimension between the wider ends of the lever when the lever is rotated to the unlocking orientation;
- and a stationary magnetizable structure that is located on an opposite side of the pivot from the bolt, the stationary magnetizable structure including a stator having ferromagnetic parts and a magnetic-field generating coil that, when energized, generates a magnetic field that is channeled by the ferromagnetic parts and couples to a magnet on the lever so as to induce rotation of the lever, the lever and the stator being separated by an air gap having a width that varies between a maximum and a minimum as the lever rotates, the minimum being reached when the lever is in a stable locking position and the maximum being reached when the lever is in an unlocking position, wherein, when the coil is no longer energized, the lever is subjected to a torque that tends to hold the lever in a position that minimizes the air gap, wherein said torque arises from interaction of said magnet and said ferromagnetic parts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.