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US 12,351,972 B2Granted
Door lock and electronic apparatus
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorYang Wang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present application discloses a door lock, which may be implemented on a door panel of an electrical device such as a washing machine. The lock includes a housing that can be installed into the panel without hardware such as a mounting screw, eliminating a need to position a screw in the panel for mounting the lock. The lock housing may include a lock head that can move into or out of a groove formed as a recess into a clamping edge of the housing. Ramped surfaces and contact faces of the housing are provided that allow rotation of the housing during its installation into the panel, which force the lock head into the groove during the housing insertion into the panel and allow the lock head to restore by moving out of the groove when the housing is in an installed position, locking the housing in place.
Claims15
A door lock, comprising:
- a housing;
- a door hook hole body provided on the housing, wherein the door hook hole body comprises a top, a first pair of oppositely provided sidewalls, and a second pair of oppositely provided sidewalls, and the first pair of oppositely provided sidewalls and the second pair of oppositely provided sidewalls are formed respectively by extending downward from a lower part of the top;
- a pair of clamping edges comprising a first clamping edge and a second clamping edge, the pair of clamping edges extending outward respectively from the first pair of oppositely provided sidewalls from the top of the door hook hole body;
- a groove formed by a recess extending into a u-shaped arrangement defined by the first clamping edge, and intersecting segments of a respective one of the door hook hole body sidewalls that are connected to the first clamping edge;
- a lock head provided below the groove, wherein the lock head is capable of moving into or out of the groove respectively defining a retracted state and an extended state, wherein the lock head defines the extended state out of the groove by default when not subjected to an external force and defines the retracted state when subjected to a force that urges the lock head into the groove;
- and
- wherein a pair of first contact faces and a pair of second contact faces are respectively formed by the housing extending from a plurality of outer sides of the second pair of oppositely provided sidewalls, the pair of second contact faces are respectively formed by a plurality of distal ends of the pair of first contact faces extending obliquely downward, and a pair of supporting parts are formed at a respective junction of the pair of first contact faces and the pair of second contact faces.
4 more elements
A door lock, comprising:
- a housing;
- a door hook hole body provided on the housing, wherein the door hook hole body comprises a top, a first pair of oppositely provided sidewalls, and a second pair of oppositely provided sidewalls, and the first pair of sidewalls and the second pair of sidewalls are formed respectively by extending downward from the lower part of the top;
- a pair of clamping edges comprising a first clamping edge and a second clamping edge, the pair of clamping edges extending outward respectively from the first pair of sidewalls from the top of the door hook hole body;
- a groove formed by upward recessing from the lower surface of the first clamping edge;
- and
- a lock head provided below the groove, wherein the lock head is capable of moving into or out of the groove;
- wherein a pair of first contact faces and a pair of second contact faces are respectively formed by the housing extending from the outer sides of the second pair of sidewalls, the pair of second contact faces are respectively formed by the distal ends of the pair of first contact faces extending obliquely downward, and a pair of supporting parts are formed at the junctions of the pair of first contact faces and the pair of second contact faces;
- and
- wherein the pair of second contact faces are sloped faces extending downward from the pair of first contact faces, and acute angles are formed between the extended faces of the pair of second contact faces and the pair of first contact faces;
- the door lock is installed in an installation hole of an installation panel through the door hook hole body, the installation hole has a pair of oppositely provided rims, the pair of oppositely provided rims comprise a first rim and a second rim, the first clamping edge of the door hook hole body is used for being installed on the first rim of the installation hole, and the second clamping edge of the door hook hole body is used for being installed on the second rim of the installation hole;
- and
- during installation, when the lock head is hung on the first rim of the installation hole, the pair of second contact faces come into contact with the installation panel.
9 more elements
An electrical device, comprising:
- a panel provided with an installation hole,
- a door lock configured for installation on the panel and including:
- a housing;
- a door hook hole body provided on the housing,
- a pair of clamping edges extending outwardly from the door hook hole body;
- a groove that is bound by a u-shaped arrangement and formed by upward recessing into one of the pair of clamping edges;
- and
- a lock head provided with respect to the groove for moving into or out of the groove, wherein the lock is positioned out of the groove in a default resting state and in the groove when the lock head is urged toward the clamping edges;
- a first pair of contact faces extending from the housing;
- a second pair of contact faces extending from the housing;
- a pair of supporting parts defined at respective junctions of the pair of first contact faces and the pair of second contact faces, wherein the pair of second contact faces extend downward and outward from their respective junctions with the pair of first contact faces at the pair of supporting parts;
- and
- wherein:
- the door hook hole body of the door lock is installed in the installation hole.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.