Safety hook

In a safety hook including a hook body portion having a mounting portion, a load bearing portion and a hook gripping portion connecting said mounting and load bearing portions, said mounting portion being formed with a slot to define a pair of spaced ears, said ears having a pair of axially aligned openings;

• a pivot pin extending transversely between said ears and being end supported within said aligned openings;
• a keeper having a pointed end portion, said keeper being mounted by said pivot pin intermediate said ears for movements about a pivot axis between hook closed and open positions, wherein said pointed end portion is disposed in and removed from engagement with said load bearing portion, respectively;
• and a latch device carried by said hook body portion for releasably retaining said keeper in said hook closed position, the improvement wherein:
• said mounting portion is formed with an opening arranged to extend transversely thereof and essentially parallel to said pivot axis, said opening communicating with said slot at a point intermediate the ends thereof, and said mounting portion having an abutment partially blocking one end of said ends of said opening;
• said latch device includes a member mounted within said opening for reciprocating movements lengthwise thereof between latched and unlatched positions, and spring means arranged within said opening for biasing said member into said latched position;
• and
• said keeper is formed with a rib arranged intermediate said ears, said rib having opposite side surfaces and an edge surface arranged to face said opening, said edge surface having a notch formed therein, said latched position of said member being defined by engagement of one end of said member with said abutment, said one end of said member being accessible to an operator of said safety hook through said one end of said opening to permit operator pressure to be applied to said one end of said member for moving said member against the bias of said spring means from said latched position into said unlatched position, said member when in said latched position being engageably received within said notch to prevent movement of said keeper from said hook closed position and when in said unlatched position being removed from within said notch to permit movements of said keeper between said hook closed and open positions.