Ratching latch with quick release mechanism
AssigneeAMD Design, LLC
InventorsChen An, Mahesh Kumar Varrey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for securing a first chassis within a second chassis in a manner than completes a blind connection and maintains that connection without the use of tools. A cam tooth on an arm rotating with respect to the first chassis engages a striker on the second chassis and, with rotation of the arm toward the first chassis, draws the first chassis into the second. The arm is attached to a handle including a cam hook that rotates to engage a striker of the first chassis. With rotation of the cam hook, the striker draws the handle toward the first chassis, the resulting movement of the arm toward the first chassis causing the arm to rotate and the cam tooth to draw the first chassis into the second.
Claims19
An apparatus comprising:
- a handle;
- a rotatable plate connected to the handle and including a perimeter partially defined by a toothed arc with slanted teeth;
- a first hook configured with a cam section and connected to the rotatable plate;
- a lever;
- and
- a first pawl connected to the lever, the first pawl being biased by a first spring to engage with a respective one of the slanted teeth on the toothed arc, the first pawl being configured such that as the lever moves in a first direction and a first striker is positioned within the first hook, the first pawl sequentially engages with consecutive teeth of the slanted teeth and causes rotation of the rotatable plate in a first rotary direction and the cam section to move against the first striker and pull the first striker toward the handle, the first pawl being further configured to ride over consecutive teeth of the slanted teeth as the lever moves in a second direction.
A method comprising:
- positioning a handle adjacent to a face of a chassis having a striker, the handle including:
- a lever,
- a rotatable plate connected to the lever and having a perimeter partially defined by a toothed arc with slanted teeth and a cam hook with a cam section, and
- a first pawl connected to the lever and biased by a first spring to engage the toothed arc, the first pawl being configured such that as the lever moves in a first direction, the first pawl sequentially engages with consecutive teeth of the slanted teeth and causes rotation of the rotatable plate in a first rotary direction, the first pawl being further configured to ride over the slanted teeth as the lever moves in a second direction;
- and
- actuating movement of the lever in the first direction to rotate the rotatable plate in the first rotary direction and cause the cam section to move against the striker and pull the striker toward the handle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.