Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

A traditional sliding deadbolt[1], which cannot be locked while the door is open since the tongue will prevent the door from closing completely, takes very little force to operate (for those arguing that this overly complex design is "because accessibility"), and can be combined with a switch to prevent the power operated mechanism from attempting to move the door if the lock isn't all the way open (i.e. the switch actuates before the tongue protrudes.)

But in this case they clearly attempted to complicate things as much as possible, so no surprise that additional edge-case bugs and points of failure were also introduced.

[1] https://i.redd.it/3mclitgdus6b1.jpg



And how do you deal when someone felt sick inside a toilet? Or when a little child locked himself and can't unlock? Or when someone without a ticket went in?


And how do you deal when someone felt sick inside a toilet? Or when a little child locked himself and can't unlock?

You add a mechanical override cylinder. Conversely, I could ask "how do you deal with electronic failures that leave the door locked?"

Or when someone without a ticket went in?

If you got on the train, you already have a ticket. Or do you need a separate ticket just to enter the toilet(!?)


How about y'all actually try to write some counterarguments to my points? Or do you just not like to hear the truth?


> If you got on the train, you already have a ticket

Well you wrote this… which makes me think you've never even seen a train in real life.

You should try, before going about designing trains :)


Now you're just assuming things...

Yes I have been on a train before, and getting to the platform to board it required passing through a ticket gate and security checkpoint.


That's not how this works in most of the world. And it's good like that. Train travel doesn't need to suck as much as flying




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: