Milgard SmartTouch Patio Door Handle

Expanding an innovative, design-driven product line. Following the introduction of their SmartTouch Line, Milgard engaged Carbon to broaden their product offering. The SmartTouch Patio Door Handle combined the trademark simplicity that Milgard customers enjoy with a level of security they expect.

On Lock-Down

When Carbon designed and developed the SmartTouch Window Lock® for Milgard, a new benchmark was set that incorporated easy, one-handed operation with an elegant design. The Window Lock quickly became a sales sensation. Naturally, Milgard sought to capitalize on this success by expanding the SmartTouch® family of products. The next target: a striking new patio door handle whose intuitive function, safety, and ease-of-use would live up to the high standards set by the award-winning window lock.

The team struck upon a deceptively simple innovation: by allowing the handle to pivot slightly on its mount, all the motion necessary to activate the internal mechanism would occur as a natural result of opening or closing the door. Pulling back on the handle naturally pulls the handle away from the face of the door. Conversely, the act of pushing a sliding door closed results in forces that push the handle toward the door. Taking advantage of these natural “side forces,” this innovative design eliminated the need for additional buttons or levers. Simply push or pull.

Pivot the handle in to lock; out to unlock.

Universal Design–Integrated Solution

This success has encouraged Milgard to innovate a new pipeline of projects where novel design drives consumer demand.

–Rick Baczuk, Director of Engineering for Milgard

Most sliding doors employ a button or lever, separate from the door handle, to engage the lock. This makes operating them an awkward, two-step process. The challenge was to design a new handle/latch that was simple, intuitive, and easy to operate with a single hand–all in one easy motion.

Though introduced during a historic decline in the construction industry, this new addition to Milgard’s SmartTouch product line quickly generated strong sales and fueled market share growth.

Carbon collaborated with Milgard’s engineers to integrate the new design with existing internal mechanics. This was easily accomplished by switching the mating gears to a rack-and-pinion design, which translates the lateral motion to lock and unlock the door. Leveraging existing internal mechanics meant that Milgard got a new premium door product for the development and tooling costs of only developing a new handle. This design feature would also mean that current Milgard door owners could purchase just the SmartTouch Patio Door Handle® to upgrade their doors, further building brand loyalty.