Magnetically actuated locking mechanism

摘要

A locking mechanism (10) includes a male and female section (12, 14) releasably coupled together. The male section (12) includes a body (16), a projection (22) extending from the body and including a transverse bore (30), a locking element (32) movable between an unlocked position wherein the locking element is received within the bore (30) and a locked position wherein the locking element is partly extracted from the bore, and a first magnet (34) embedded in the locking element. The female section (14) includes a body (38) having a guide cavity (44) dimensioned to receive the projection (22), a transverse locking recess (46) dimensioned to receive a part of the locking element (32) as extracted, and a second magnet (48) embedded in the female body (38) adjacent the locking recess (46). The first and second magnets (34, 48) cooperate to magnetically urge the locking element (32) from the unlocked to locked position when the locking element is aligned with the locking recess after the projection (22) is inserted into the guide cavity (44).