First of all, thank you @ Lei Feng's Trial @ (Start up the future) provides an opportunity to experience smart door latches. As a lazy cancer patient, I'm sorry for the tardiness of this winter vacation assignment.

Smart door latch is a very innovative and practical smart home product. Its functions are very simple, but we don't know much about it. Therefore, Insect considers introducing this product to everyone in the Zhihu mode, and at the same time, gives some suggestions for the subsequent improvement and enhancement of this product. During the experience, the official provided comprehensive technical support and online guidance, which was moving and also reflected the confidence and determination to do a good job in this product. As the product is still in the internal testing stage, the product experience and display do not represent the final product, but only for your reference. For more technical parameters and professional introductions, please visit the official website.

OK Next, let's get down to business and start the Zhihu Q&A!

one What is a smart door latch?

Latch refers to the sliding bolt inserted in the door after the door is closed so that the door cannot be pushed open. With the change of people's living conditions, there are few latches in the traditional sense in the urban unit buildings.

However, inside the entrance unit door, there is still an internal locking device. Its function is actually the latch. That is, from the locking device inside the door. As the name implies, intelligent latch is an intelligent anti lock device that uses modern information technology, especially the Internet of Things technology.

I believe that bugs are easy to understand and everyone has a preliminary concept of this product. Next, take a look at the product unpacking.

The latch of the snail housekeeper is packed in a rectangular box. Because it is an internal test sample, it seems rough, but compared with the products in the field of home decoration, this kind of packaging is already exquisite.

In the middle of the packing box, a red ring package is designed, which introduces the product information, which is festive and unique.

Open the box and there is a letter to the tester inside. It seems that the snail team has a high EQ. And the insect got the red latch. According to the official information, the latch also has the colors of Tuhaojin, Northeast Silver, and Moon Cake Blue.

Here is the first suggestion: as we all know, today's entrance unit doors use more wood grain texture and wood color, and the latches with these colors are installed on the door, which is a strong sense of discord. It is suggested to develop an appearance color matching that is more consistent with the color and texture of the security door. It can also learn from many mobile phone brands and study the feasibility of adopting a removable and replaceable rear cover.

The size of the latch is 156*40*40mm , roughly the same size as the anti-theft door lock module. The weight after installing the battery is about four hundred It's still very textured.

two What is the working mode and anti-theft principle of the latch?

In this regard, the innovation team of snail housekeeper also made statistical analysis on the relevant data of burglary cases.

Based on the analysis of data, the working mode and anti-theft principle of anti-theft door latch - anti lock anti-theft door are given.

The working mode of the intelligent door latch is very simple. The core is a rotary module that can be controlled wirelessly and remotely. Through the rotary module, the anti lock device of the anti-theft door lock can be twisted, so that the user can lock the door outside the door, thus improving the anti-theft effect.

The core module of the intelligent door latch is the rotatable anti locking twist fitting buckle. Through the nesting of the gear set, the fitting buckle achieves strong resistance and maintains stability when twisting.

The official gives the type and size of the anti lock twist to which the fitting buckle fits. In theory, the latch can be installed and used as long as the anti locking torque can be successfully adapted. However, in practice, the insects found that there are still many abnormal shapes, for example, cylindrical, polygonal and wide oval anti lock twist can not fit.

Therefore, here is the second suggestion: the anti lock torque adapter can be designed as a nut controlled, width adjustable mode to increase the adaptation range of the anti-theft door. This kind of industrial design is very mature. For example, the design of adjustable wrench and vernier caliper can be used for reference.

three Are the door latches strong and durable?

Since it is a lock, users are most concerned about its durability. The snail latch is mostly made of plastic, can it be really anti-theft and durable?

This concern is unnecessary. Because just mentioned the working principle of the door latch, the door latch is just a control device for twisting and anti locking, and the anti locking component of the anti-theft door really plays the role of anti-theft. It has nothing to do with the material and firmness of the latch itself.

Now, let's briefly introduce the installation method, so that you can see it more clearly.

The combination of latch and door adopts a plug-in buckle design, and the buckle is 3M Super glue is bonded to the anti-theft door.

At the same time, most of the lock modules of the anti-theft door protrude from the anti-theft door. Therefore, in order to maintain the level of the latch and the door, a spiral expansion device is used below the fitting buckle to adjust the height of the latch. This device is equipped with a powerful magnet, which can be attached to the steel anti-theft door, and also plays an auxiliary role in the firm installation of the device.

Here is the third suggestion: Although the magnet adsorption mode is simple and easy, its magnetization should also be paid enough attention. When the security door is opened, the position of the latch is basically at the shoe cabinet and locker in the entrance. Here, users often place mobile phones, keys, card bags and other items here. Strong magnetic fields often have demagnetization effect on bank cards, and small metal objects, such as mobile phones and keys, are also easy to be magnetically adsorbed, resulting in hidden dangers of loss and falling of objects. Therefore, the magnet module can also be replaced with 3M Glue design.

four Is it difficult to install the latch?

In order to test the ease of installation, the bug spared no expense in renting a new house for testing. Next, let's have a look.

The entrance door of the insect is a wood grain color security door. The external door handle cannot be turned, so you need to turn the key to open it. There is anti lock torque inside. It is the most popular anti-theft door lock design in the market.

The anti lock twist is a flat strip design, which fully fits the snail latch.

It is very easy to install according to the way just described. As suggested before, red is very eye-catching, a bit like a fire hydrant, and the sense of disobedience is not generally strong. Manufacturers should hurry to revise the color matching of the shell.

From the side, the height between the lock and the anti-theft door can be adjusted to be level with the elevation of the anti-theft door by adjusting the master wheel. After installation, touch it with your hand and find it is very firm. Of course, users can also choose the horizontal installation mode for the same reason.

Here is the fourth suggestion: the thickness of the latch is 40mm , this thickness should be said to be relatively thick. Especially on the basis of the protruding door lock. The combination of the two will make the latch very prominent. According to the current design of most house types, it is very easy to cause the door to touch the wall, or the body to scratch the latch when opening the door. In this regard, first, it is suggested that the material of the latch should consider the metal material. Second, it is suggested that the thickness of the latch should be reduced as much as possible, and if necessary, the plane area can be larger.

    Speaking of this, many users may realize that the rotation direction of the anti lock knob is inconsistent with that of the adapter buckle. Don't worry about this. The snail latch is designed with an adjustment device for the direction of rotation in the battery compartment.

Toggle this switch to switch the rotation direction. Next, use the dynamic diagram to show the effect of clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the adapter button.

  five Where is the intelligence of the intelligent latch?

Since it is an intelligent latch, intelligence is its excellence. The realization form of intelligence, or the channel of wireless communication, is the stable Bluetooth mode. Through Bluetooth, the connection and communication between the latch and the mobile phone and the smart key are realized, so as to achieve the purpose of wireless control.  

First, let's talk about the key of "long overdue". The reason why my report has not been released is because of the goods. The key is designed to be in the shape of a small fish, but I think it is very similar to "Xiaodingding". There is a semicircle on the key led Lights. Blue is the default color, slow flashing green means the latch is found, and fast flashing green means the latch is connected.

The binding and clearing of the Bluetooth key and the latch is very simple and intuitive by pressing the latch rotation button for a long time and using voice prompts to pair and unbind.

This device is similar to the lift bar used by vehicles in the current community. Because everyone is familiar with it, I won't say more about it here. It should be noted that the Bluetooth connection of the smart key is not stable enough for internal testing. This must be further optimized.

Here is the fifth suggestion: the key of the latch is very perfunctory both in design and workmanship. You know, the keys are usually carried the most and wear the most. It is suggested that the key should be made of wear-resistant materials such as metal, and the common emergency lights on the last key ring can also be designed. In addition, usb It is recommended that the charging port be concealed or sealed to prevent the key from being scrapped due to damage to the charging port.

Previously, when communicating with the official, it was mentioned that the adapter button needs to be moved during installation. The official opinion is to use a one yuan coin. In fact, this toggle function can be designed on the key.

In addition to smart key control app To manage and control. Snailbolt app The design is very simple and clear, which is very good. Now many smart products are smart for the sake of intelligence, app It is very tedious, which is not conducive to the improvement of user experience.

App This is the main control interface of the Bluetooth key.

Click the icon of the user's avatar to enter app The management interface is simple and intuitive, and the options are clear at a glance. Long press the round lock in the main interface, or click the lock icon in the upper left corner of the main interface to activate the function setting interface of the latch. The setting options are also simple and clear.

Here is the sixth suggestion: app In the function setting options, the prompt status, automatic lock configuration and other options are too simple for users to know which one they have selected, or to identify the current status of the latch. It is recommended to change the status to check or slide, which is more simple and intuitive.

It should be noted that app There is no display and management of key binding on the interface, which can be added.

  six Is the latch really smart and easy to use?

In this part, insects want to talk about their thinking and understanding of intelligent products of the Internet of Things with the help of latches.  

First of all, many innovative products today have good ideas, but there is still a big gap in industrial design and product control, especially in stable industrial mass production. Take the door latch as an example. At present, it is in the internal test state. During the experience, many friends have submitted many faults and problems. This can be used as a test, but if it is used as a commodity for mass production, it will be very troublesome. In particular, as a safety product that "controls" safety, many times, entering the market requires certification of many quality standards. In this regard, the snail latch still needs to be improved.  

Secondly, intelligent products should not only be "realizable", but also "practical". This view was mentioned by the insect many times before. It means that in order to win the market, smart products must be "alternative" or "revolutionary" to traditional products. The "realizable" function is far from enough. Many functions can be realized, but there is no impact and substitution on the traditional way of use, that is to say, there is a lack of "use value".

This statement is rather awkward. I tell two stories, hoping to enlighten innovative technicians.

——Unilever has introduced a soap packaging production line, but it is found that this production line has a defect: there is often no soap in the box. They can't sell empty boxes to customers. They have to ask a postdoctoral student who studies automation to design a scheme to sort empty soap boxes. Postdoctoral researchers have set up a scientific research team of more than ten people, which uses machinery, microelectronics, automation X It has successfully solved the problem by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ray detection and other technologies. Whenever an empty soap box passes through the production line, the detectors on both sides will detect it and drive a manipulator to push the empty soap box away. A township enterprise in southern China also bought the same production line. When the boss found out about this problem, he was very angry and asked a small worker to say: “ Get this done for me, or you can climb away for me. ” The worker quickly came up with a solution: he spent ninety Yuan Qian put a high-power electric fan beside the production line to blow fiercely, so the empty soap boxes were blown away.

——Due to weightlessness in space, it is impossible to use a ball pen or fountain pen for recording. NASA has invested a lot of money to develop a space fountain pen that can write in weightlessness. The Russian astronauts solved this problem by simply writing with a pencil.

Sometimes, if you change your mind, you may find the problem. The excessive pursuit of "realizable" relying on intelligent information technology may be "impractical" pseudo innovation. The snail latch does not have subversive innovation, but it provides a feasible scheme for anti-theft, which is also worthy of praise.

Third, smart products should avoid the extremes of "ability" rather than "intelligence" and "intelligence" rather than "ability". This is also the Internet in the current wave of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" + It is a common phenomenon in the economy. The so-called "ability" rather than "intelligence" means that the product functions are powerful, but the intelligence and humanization are not enough, the user interface is unfriendly, the IQ is high, and the EQ is insufficient. The so-called "intelligence" rather than "ability" is too flashy, too pursuing the abuse of information technology, and ignoring the stability and reliability of the product itself, that is, high EQ and insufficient IQ. As far as snail latches are concerned, the next step should be to work harder on product quality, especially stability and safety.

Focusing on stability and safety, I would like to make a few more suggestions:

Everyone has concerns about battery life. I suggest that the snail latch can try to provide an active power supply mode. Many users have electronic equipment such as doorbell at the entrance door, and the circuit transformation is not too difficult.

In addition, because the core of the door latch is to control the "inside" anti lock device at the "outside", and the door must be opened by the key most of the time, so the wireless function is not a key function, and the unlocking mode can also consider adding fingerprint recognition, face recognition, iris recognition modes, which will also be more stable than Bluetooth.

In terms of marketing, snail latch can also be used to lock and control the room door when tenants rent a house together. This is a very simple and feasible solution, which also expands the marketing market of snail latch.

In addition, the download QR code of app application is recommended to be placed in the battery compartment, so that users can quickly find it on the latch body, because many users will discard the packaging box.

In a word, snail latch is still a very good product. It's wordy, for your reference and criticism.