Latch mechanism for storage box
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsFrank Qiukui LIU, Francis Raymond GILLIS
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box may include a pair of pawls fixed on opposite sides of a coupler and configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl, and a sliding element arranged between each of the pawls and the coupler, the sliding element including at least one retention mechanism to fix the pawl to the sliding element and further including a biasing element to compress the pawl to further engage the pawl with the retention mechanism.
Claims20
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a pair of pawls fixed on opposite sides of a coupler configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl;
- and
- a sliding element arranged between each pawl and the coupler, the sliding element including at least one retention mechanism to affix to the pawl, and a biasing element to compress the pawl into the retention mechanism.
A latch mechanism for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a pair of pawls fixed on opposite sides of a coupler configured to cause inward translation of one pawl in response to actuation at the other pawl, each pawl defining at least one flat side;
- and
- a sliding element defining a hollow interior having at least one flat side, the interior configured to receive and align with the flat side of the respective pawl to prevent rotation of the pawl with respect to the sliding element in an installed state.
A latch assembly for a vehicle storage box, comprising:
- a housing including identical first and second portions;
- a pair of gears arranged within the housing and configured to cause inward translation of a pair of pawls in response to an actuation of one pawl;
- and
- a torsion spring including two coils, one surrounding each gear to bias the gears and cause the pawls to rest in an unactuated position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.