Lever compression latch

A latch assembly for mounting in an opening of a door and for releasably latching the door to a door frame, said latch assembly comprising:

• a housing that is mountable to the opening of the door;
• a lever that is rotatably coupled to the housing for rotation between a deployed position and a retracted position, wherein in the retracted position, the lever is substantially flush with the door, and in the deployed position, the lever protrudes from the door for grasping by a user and for moving the door relative to the door frame;
• a lock plug rotatably mounted within the housing, the lock plug having one end for receiving either a tool or key, and an opposite end, the opposite end having a base surface, at least one elevated surface that is elevated with respect to the base surface, and at least one ramped cam surface extending between the base surface and the at least one elevated surface;
• and
• a latching member that is moveably coupled to the housing, the latching member having a post comprising a lever engagement surface for constraining the lever in the retracted position of the lever, and a lock plug engagement surface that is configured to be contacted by the lock plug;
• wherein in a first rotational position of the lock plug, the base surface of the lock plug is rotationally aligned with the lock plug engagement surface of the latching member, and rotation of the lock plug to a second rotational position, which is rotationally offset from the first rotational position, causes the at least one ramped cam surface to engage the lock plug engagement surface until the at least one elevated surface of the rotatable lock plug is rotationally aligned with the lock plug engagement surface of the latching member, whereupon the at least one elevated surface bears on the lock plug engagement surface of the latching member, which causes the lever engagement surface of the latching member to release the lever by separating the post from the lever, which permits the lever to rotate from the retracted position and toward the deployed position.