Latch mechanism for releasably securing covers of portable devices used in rugged environments

A latch mechanism for releasably securing a cover to a housing of a portable device, the latch mechanism including a plurality of resilient members for retaining the latch mechanism in a locked configuration, the latch mechanism comprising:

• a latch enclosure of the cover for positioning adjacent to the housing and having a plurality of interior surfaces;
• a latch body positioned in the latch enclosure and configured for reciprocal movement within the latch enclosure between a closed position and an open position;
• a first resilient member of the plurality of resilient members positioned between the latch body and a first surface of the plurality of interior surfaces, the first resilient member for biasing the latch body in a first direction between the open position and the closed position;
• a second resilient member of the plurality of resilient members for biasing at least a portion of the latch body in a second direction towards a second surface of the plurality of interior surfaces, the first direction and the second direction being laterally relative to one another;
• a latch locking mechanism for placing the latch mechanism in the locked configuration when the latch body being placed in the closed position, the latch locking mechanism including a first lock portion on the latch body and a corresponding second lock portion on the cover, the second resilient member biasing engagement of the first lock portion with the second lock portion;
• and
• a cover retaining mechanism for retaining the cover on the housing when the latch body being positioned in the closed position, the cover retaining mechanism including a first retain portion on the latch body configured for engaging with a corresponding second retain portion on the housing, the first resilient member biasing engagement of the first retain portion with the second retain portion when the cover being positioned on the housing.

A latch mechanism configured as a self contained unit configured for mounting to a compatible housing of a portable device for use in releasably securing a cover to the housing employing a plurality of resilient members for retaining the latch mechanism in a locked configuration, the latch mechanism comprising:

• a latch enclosure suitable for mounting in the housing for positioning adjacent to the cover and having a plurality of interior surfaces;
• a latch body positioned in the latch enclosure configured for reciprocal movement within the latch enclosure between a closed position and an open position;
• a first resilient member of the plurality of resilient members positioned between the latch body and a first surface of the plurality of interior surfaces, the first resilient member biasing the latch body in first direction between the open position and the closed position
• a second resilient member of the plurality of resilient members for biasing at least a portion of the latch body in a second direction, such that the first direction and the second direction are laterally relative to one another;
• and
• a latch locking mechanism for placing the latch mechanism in the locked configuration when the latch body is placed in the closed position, the latch locking mechanism including a first lock portion on the latch body configured for engaging with a corresponding second lock portion coupled to the housing, the second resilient member biasing engagement of the first lock portion with the second lock portion.

A latch mechanism configured as a self contained unit for mounting to a compatible cover of a portable device for use in releasably securing the cover to a housing employing a plurality of resilient members for retaining the latch mechanism in a locked configuration, the latch mechanism comprising:

• a latch enclosure suitable for mounting in the cover for positioning adjacent to the housing and having a plurality of interior surfaces;
• a latch body positioned in the latch enclosure configured for reciprocal movement within the latch enclosure between a closed position and an open position;
• a first resilient member of the plurality of resilient members positioned between the latch body and a first surface of the plurality of interior surfaces, the first resilient member biasing the latch body in first direction between the open position and the closed position
• a second resilient member of the plurality of resilient members biasing at least a portion of the latch body in a second direction, such that the first direction and the second direction are laterally relative to one another;
• and
• a latch locking mechanism for placing the latch mechanism in the locked configuration when the latch body is placed in the closed position, the latch locking mechanism including a first lock portion on the latch body configured for engaging with a corresponding second lock portion located on the cover, the second resilient member biasing engagement of the first lock portion with the second lock portion.