Selector® 3782EL Electric Mortice Locks

The Selector® 3782EL design project started with an ambitious plan to create a primary lock based on the recently released mechanical Selector® mortice locks.  The lock had to be multi-voltage and fully configurable on site.  The design team achieved these targets; but taking into account multiple stages of customer feedback and the close collaboration between product management and product design, delivered additional usable benefits to the market.

The design excellence and uniqueness can be further displayed through the patent applications covering a number of features; that have been applied for in various countries.

The Selector® 3782EL’s design improvements impacts all users in the value chain.

Manufacturer impact : The Selector® 3782EL is a primary lock which reduces SKU count making it simpler to keep stock of the entire range. In the previous Synergy® 3582EL range, over 300 SKU’s were needed for different site specific configurations, this has been reduced to only 8 in the Selector® 3782EL range!
Distributor impact : The Selector® 3782EL can now be stocked by distributors which reduces the lead time. Being a primary lock, the exact door configuration does not need to be known before ordering the lock.

Installer impact : The Selector® 3782EL has on-board status indication LEDs which can be seen through lens’s in the door furniture. This was previously only available with leaded LEDs which were cumbersome to route and connect. Now, having LED status indicating furniture takes no more time to install than standard door furniture! Also, having more monitoring outputs available gives more options to ensure that the door is secure.

The design process involved many iterations of prototypes, starting from simple demonstrations of separate functions, then ultimately complete working models.  Each tested for strength, durability and function.  A key aspect of the design process is understanding the customer’s true needs and thus market feedback was obtained and validated throughout the project.

Leveraging existing components, where possible, speed to market was improved while also reducing risks.  Improvements in in-house PCBA prototyping were also needed to match the desired development timing.

A new approach to firmware development was employed.  Modular firmware to maximise re-use for future projects as well as data logging faults to allow better fault finding should problems be encountered in the field.

The Selector® 3782EL uses a motor driven mechanism.  This provides lower power usage, improved security as well as the ability to achieve the unique double reader application.  Power management and short term power storage on a super capacitor were also employed to use available power in the most efficient means possible.
Feedback to the end user has been maximised with two new features.  A heartbeat LED is visible by removing a single fixing screw to help with on-site fault finding and audible feedback is given to end-user if site conditions are preventing the lock from functioning correctly.  These feedback features, combined with the easy to install LED indicating furniture ensures the end user has an intuitive experience.
Setting the lock up for use has been greatly simplified.  Other variants of electric mortice locks require 2 – 3 screws to be adjusted to change functions where the Selector® 3782EL’s function is set by adjusting 2 slide switches.  A monitoring function which was previously set up using 4 setting switches has been simplified to a single switch with no loss of function.