Closure Latch Assembly
OwnerMichael Radelinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An elongated latch bar is slidably carried in a passageway through a bolt housing and is extendable into an aligned passageway of a keeper. The extended end of the latch bar carries a transverse cavity for receiving a cross-latch. The keeper carries the cross-latch in a suitable position to engage and lock the latch bar to the keeper when the latch bar when it is suitably inserted and positioned in the keeper. The cross-latch carries narrow operator that extends across the keeper passageway to an outside location and allows the cross-latch to be manually depressed. The latch bar has a forked end that creates a slot leading to the cavity. The slot is sized to allow passage of the operator but not the cross-latch.
Claims10
In a latch assembly formed of a bolt housing, a longitudinally elongated latch bar partially retained within a passageway of the bolt housing and longitudinally extendable therefrom, and a keeper having a reception passage for receiving an extending free end of the latch bar;
- wherein the free end of the latch bar is extendable from the bolt housing into the keeper, thereby establishing a latching relationship with the keeper, the improvement comprising:
- the free end of said latch bar is configured with a cavity on a lateral face thereof;
- said keeper carries a cross-latch in a transversely moveable relationship with respect to said reception passage, between positions of greater and lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- resilient means biases movement of said cross-latch toward a position of greater intersection with the reception passage;
- and
- an operator is connected to the cross-latch for selectively retracting the cross-latch against the force of said resilient means to a position of lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- wherein said cavity and cross-latch are suitably arranged such that the cross-latch and cavity are mutually engaged when the cross-latch is in said position of greater intersection with the reception passage and the free end of the latch bar has been sufficiently inserted into the reception passage, thereby locking the latch bar to the keeper;
- and
- the cross-latch and cavity are mutually disengaged when the cross-latch is in said position of lesser intersection with the reception passage, allowing the latch bar to be inserted into or removed from the reception passage.
A child-resistant latch assembly for securing a closure element, comprising:
- a longitudinally elongated latch bolt having a transverse reception cavity formed in a side of said latch bolt;
- a bolt housing defining a longitudinal latch bolt passageway, carrying the latch bolt in said latch bolt passageway for sliding movement, such that an end of the bolt is extendable from the bolt housing to latch a closure;
- a keeper defining a longitudinal reception passage, alignable with the latch bolt passageway of the bolt housing for selectively receiving said extended end of the latch bolt in a predetermined relative position with respect to the keeper;
- a cross-latch resiliently carried by said keeper such that said cross-latch can move transversely with respect to said longitudinal reception passage, into and out of intersection with the reception passage;
- wherein, when the latch bolt is in said predetermined relative position with respect to the keeper, the cross-latch selectively engages and disengages the transverse reception cavity in the latch bolt, respectively selectively locking and unlocking the latch bolt with respect to the keeper.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.