Latch assembly

A latch assembly comprising:

• a support structure having a body defining a fishmouth;
• a forkbolt coupled to the support structure and biased by a first biasing element to rotate in a first direction about a first pivot point, wherein the forkbolt is configured to engage and restrain a striker;
• a detent coupled to the support structure and biased by a second biasing element to rotate in a second direction about a second pivot point, the detent configured to engage with the forkbolt in both a primary latched position and in a different, secondary latched position;
• a tertiary catch coupled to the support structure and biased by a third biasing element to rotate about a third pivot point, wherein in a first position of the tertiary catch a region of the tertiary catch is positioned adjacent the fishmouth, and in a second position of the tertiary catch the region of the tertiary catch is positioned away from the fishmouth;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the detent, wherein when the detent and the forkbolt are in the primary latched position, the actuator is configured to be activated a first time to cause the detent to rotate in the first direction and release from the forkbolt, and then deactivated a first time to cause the detent to rotate back in the second direction and re-engage the forkbolt in the secondary latched position, and wherein when the detent and the forkbolt are in the secondary latched position, the actuator is configured to be activated a second time to cause the detent to again rotate in the first direction and release from the forkbolt, thereby releasing the striker from the forkbolt, wherein the forkbolt, the detent, and the tertiary catch are arranged such that the striker is configured to be spaced from and out of contact with the tertiary catch in both the primary latched position and the secondary latched position;
• wherein the forkbolt, the detent, and the tertiary catch are arranged such that both when in an intermediate position, which is between the primary latched position and the secondary latched position, and also in a pop-up position, which occurs after the secondary latched position when the actuator is activated the second time, the detent is configured to engage the tertiary catch to rotate the tertiary catch away from the fishmouth.

A method of operating a latch assembly, the latch assembly including a support structure having a body defining a fishmouth, a detent, a forkbolt, and a tertiary catch, wherein the forkbolt restrains a striker, the method comprising:

• rotating the detent a first time to cause a first rotational movement of the forkbolt from a first latched position toward a second latched position;
• rotating the detent a second time to cause a second rotational movement of the forkbolt, wherein the second rotational movement releases the striker from the forkbolt;
• wherein the step of rotating the detent the first time causes the detent to rotate the tertiary catch away from the fishmouth during the first rotational movement;
• wherein after the first rotational movement, the tertiary catch is configured to rotate back over the fishmouth;
• wherein the step of rotating the detent the second time causes the detent to rotate the tertiary catch away from the fishmouth during a pop-up position;
• and
• wherein after the pop-up position, the tertiary catch is configured to rotate back over the fishmouth to re-secure the striker and restrain the striker from further movement away from the latch assembly.