Latch mechanism for storage box
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsFrank Qiukui Liu, Francis Raymond Gillis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box may include a pair of pawls fixed on opposite sides of a coupler and configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl, and a sliding element arranged between each of the pawls and the coupler, the sliding element including at least one retention mechanism to fix the pawl to the sliding element and further including a biasing element to compress the pawl to further engage the pawl with the retention mechanism.
Claims18
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a pair of pawls each fixed to one of a pair of sliding elements, where the sliding elements are attached on opposite sides of a gear pair, the gear pair configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl, each pawl including at least two projections;
- and
- wherein the sliding element defines at least two openings configured to receive the projections on the pawl to affix to the pawl, and wherein each of the sliding elements include a biasing element to compress the pawl into the openings, wherein the projections are each snap-fit into the opening of the respective sliding element.
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a pair of pawls each fixed to one of a pair of sliding elements on opposite sides of a gear pair, the gear pair configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl, each pawl defining at least one flat side,
- wherein each sliding element defines a hollow interior having at least one flat side, the interior configured to receive and align with the flat side of the respective pawl to prevent any rotation of the pawl with respect to the sliding element in an installed state.
A latch assembly for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a housing including identical first and second portions;
- a pair of pawls, one arranged in each of the first and second portions;
- a pair of reciprocating gears arranged within the housing;
- and
- a torsion spring including two coils, one surrounding each gear to bias the gears and cause the pawls to rest in an unactuated position, wherein rotation of one of the gears in a first direction causes rotation of the other one of the gears in an opposite second direction such that actuation at one pawl causes inward translation of the pair of pawls.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.