Camper shell latch with inside safety release
OwnerPeter Hauberinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A camper shell door latch which while locked is openable from within the camper shell by a push button nut which shifts out of locking engagement with a bushing shoulder of limited axial extent to free the latch for inside actuation.
Claims17
Camper shell door latch comprising inside latch means operated by a handle and an outside lockable shaft, and first and second relatively shiftable elements respectively acted on by said shaft and fixed to said latch means, said elements being engaged with each other in one position to block latch means operation in the locked condition of said shaft and disengaged from each other in a second, relatively shifted position while maintaining the outside locked condition of said shaft, whereby said latch means is operable from within said camper shell to unlatch said door while said shaft is locked from the outside.
In a camper shell door latch having inside quick release, comprising:
- a shaft;
- an outer housing adapted to be fixed to the outside of said camper shell door and centered on said shaft;
- an outer handle fixed to said shaft and journaled by said outer housing;
- locking means within said outer housing for locking said shaft relative to said outer housing;
- an inner housing on the inside said camper shell door;
- means centering said inner housing on said shaft, said inner housing being rotatable relative to said outer housing by said shaft, said inner housing carrying an inside handle and a latch means for latching and unlatching said camper shell door responsive to rotation of said inner housing;
- the improvement comprising said inner housing centering means comprising a bushing having a shoulder, and a cooperating nut normally engaging said shoulder to block rotation of said inner housing relative to said shaft, said bushing and said nut being relatively shiftable from inside said camper shell to disengage said shoulder and nut in inner housing rotation unblocking relation, whereby said inner housing is rotatable by said inside handle to unlatch said camper shell door in the locked condition of said locking means.
Camper shell door latch comprising an inner housing rotatable by a shaft, said housing carrying inside latch means, a first element comprising a bushing centering said shaft within said inner housing and fixed within said inner housing for rotation therewith by said shaft, a second element, said bushing having a reduced end portion opposite said second element, said bushing reduced end portion having a polygonal peripheral shoulder of relatively limited axial extent, said second element comprising an interiorly open nut having an inner peripheral shoulder of relatively limited axial extent adapted to engage said bushing reduced end portion shoulder, said nut being supported by said inner housing in outwardly projecting relation and normally in engagement with said first element shoulder against rotation of said inner housing without simultaneous rotation of said shaft, said nut being inwardly axially shiftable over said bushing reduced end portion a distance greater than said limited axial extent of said bushing shoulder to free said nut of engagement with said bushing, whereby said inner housing is rotatable about said shaft and said latch means is actuable without shaft rotation for opening said latch from within said camper shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.