Rotary latch and lock

A rotary latch for mounting on a closure for releasably retaining the closure in a closed position by latchingly engaging a suitably configured strike formation, comprising:

• a) elongate housing means, including:
• i) an elongate, generally rectangular first housing side plate having opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof, with the first housing side plate defining a first U-shaped notch located near one of the opposed end regions of the first housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat first side wall portion that extends along the length of the first housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the first U-shaped notch;
• ii) an elongate, generally rectangular second housing side plate having opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof with one of the opposed end regions of the second housing side plate overlying said one end region of the first housing side plate, with the second housing side plate defining a second U-shaped notch located near said one end region of the second housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat second side wall portion that extends along the length of the second housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the second U-shaped notch to overlie the first side wall portion of the first housing side plate, with the second U-shaped notch being configured and positioned by the second housing side plate to substantially align with the first U-shaped notch;
• iii) spacer means for extending transversely between and for rigidly connecting with the first and second elongate side wall portions for holding in substantially parallel-extending overlying relationship the first and second housing side plates, with the spacer means comprising only a first spacer and a second spacer, with the first spacer extending along a first transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is relative near to said opposite end regions of the first and second housing side plates, with the second spacer extending along a second transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is substantially mid-way between the opposite ends of the first and second housing side plates, and, with the first and second transverse axes extending substantially parallel to each other in a direction that extends transversely between the overlying side wall portions of the first and second housing side plates;
• b) rotary means comprising only two rotary latching elements each of which is carried by a separate one of the first and second spacers, namely a rotary jaw and a rotary pawl that extend substantially within a common plane located between the overlying side wall portions of the first and second housing side plates, with the rotary jaw being connected to the second spacer and being rotatable through a limited range of angular movement about the second transverse axis between latched and unlatched positions but being spring-biased toward its unlatched position, with the rotary pawl being connected to the first spacer and being movable relative to the housing about the first transverse axis between jaw-retaining and jaw-releasing positions to selectively release and retain the rotary jaw in its latched position but being spring-biased to move the rotary pawl toward its jaw-retaining position as the rotary jaw moves to its latched position, with an operating arm being provided for moving the rotary pawl to release the rotary jaw from its latched position, with the rotary jaw defining a third U-shaped notch that is configured to cooperate with the first and second U-shaped notches to concurrently receive and to latchingly retain within the confines of the first, second and third U-shaped notches a suitably configured strike formation when the rotary latch latchingly engages the strike formation;
• c) wherein the first and second U-shaped notches open generally in a direction that is substantially opposite to a direction of travel extending along a path of travel that is followed by the closure in moving away from a slightly open position toward the closed position, with each of the first and second notches being defined, at least in part, by a pair of spaced-apart side surfaces that extend along opposite sides of said path of travel and that are smoothly interconnected by an associated curved surface, and with at least one of the associated curved surfaces having a radius of curvature that substantially matches the radius of curvature of a generally cylindrical strike formation portion that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches when the strike formation is latchingly engaged by the rotary latch;
• d) wherein the first housing side plate has a first strike engagement surface that is configured to be directly engaged by a strike formation that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches, with the first strike engagement surface being defined by at least a portion of a chosen one of the pair of spaced-apart side surfaces of the first U-shaped notch of the first housing side plate, which chosen one of the side surfaces is the side surface that is located farthest from the second transverse axis about which the rotary jaw is rotatable;
• e) wherein the second housing side plate has a second strike engagement surface that is configured to be directly engaged by a strike formation that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches, with the second strike engagement surface being defined by at least a portion of a chosen one of the pair of spacedapart side surfaces of the second U-shaped notch of the second housing side plate, which chosen one of the side surfaces is the side surface that is located farthest from the second transverse axis about which the rotary jaw is rotatable;
• f) housing side plate reinforcement means for strengthening and enhancing the rigidity of a selected one of the first and second housing side plates in the immediate vicinity of the associated one of the first and second strike engagement surfaces by providing in close proximity to said associated strike engagement surface a transversely extending flange:
• i) that is formed integrally with said selected housing side plate;
• ii) that substantially parallels the first and second transversely extending axes so as to transversely bridge between the overlying said one end regions of the first and second housing side plates;
• iii) that is connected by a relatively small radius right angle bend to such portions of said selected housing side plate as define the strike engagement surface;
• and,
• iv) with said flange and said bend being located in close proximity to the strike engagement surface so as to cooperate in rigidifying and strengthening said portions of said selected housing side plate that define the strike engagement surface;
• g) wherein at least a designated on e of the first and second spacers has at least one designated enlarged end region that extends into and engages with a separate, associated hex-shaped opening formed through a designated one of the first and second housing side plates to establish a secure, rotation resistant connection between the designated one of the spacers and the designated one of the housing side plates.

A rotary latch for mounting on a closure for releasably retaining the closure in a closed position by latchingly engaging a suitably configured strike formation, comprising:

• a) elongate housing means, including:
• i) an elongate, substantially flat, generally rectangular first housing side plate that has major portions thereof extending substantially in a common first plane, and that has opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof, with the first housing side plate defining a first U-shaped notch located near one of the opposed end regions of the first housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat first side wall portion that extends along the length of the first housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the first U-shaped notch;
• ii) an elongate, substantially flat, generally rectangular second housing side plate that has major portions thereof extending substantially in a common second plane that substantially parallels the common first plane, and that has opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof with one of the opposed end regions of the second housing side plate overlying said one end region of the first housing side plate, with the second housing side plate defining a second U-shaped notch located near said one end region of the second housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat second side wall portion that extends along the length of the second housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the second U-shaped notch to overlie the first side wall portion of the first housing side plate, with the second U-shaped notch being configured and positioned by the second housing side plate to substantially align with the first U-shaped notch;
• iii) spacer means for extending transversely between and for rigidly connecting with the first and second elongate side wall portions for holding in substantially parallel-extending overlying relationship the first and second housing side plates, with the spacer means comprising only a first spacer and a second spacer, with the first spacer extending along a first transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is relative near to said opposite end regions of the first and second housing side plates, with the second spacer extending along a second transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is substantially mid-way between the opposite ends of the first and second housing side plates, and, with the first and second transverse axes extending substantially parallel to each other in a direction that extends transversely between the overlying side wall portions of the first and second housing side plates;
• b) rotary means comprising only two rotary latching elements each of which is carried by a separate one of the first and second spacers, namely a rotary jaw and a rotary pawl that extend substantially within a common central plane located between and substantially paralleling the common first plane and the common second plane, with the rotary jaw being connected to the second spacer and being rotatable through a limited range of angular movement about the second transverse axis between latched and unlatched positions but being spring-biased toward its unlatched position, with the rotary pawl being connected to the first spacer and being movable relative to the housing about the first transverse axis between jaw-retaining and jaw-releasing positions to selectively release and retain the rotary jaw in its latched position but being spring-biased to move the rotary pawl toward its jaw-retaining position as the rotary jaw moves to its latched position, with an operating arm being provided for moving the rotary pawl to release the rotary jaw from its latched position, with the rotary jaw defining a third U-shaped notch that is configured to cooperate with the first and second U-shaped notches to concurrently receive and to latchingly retain within the confines of the first, second and third U-shaped notches a suitably configured strike formation when the rotary latch latchingly engages the strike formation;
• c) wherein the first and second U-shaped notches open generally in a direction that is substantially opposite to a direction of travel extending along a path of travel that is followed by the closure in moving away from a slightly open position toward the closed position, with each of the first and second notches being defined, at least in part, by a pair of spaced-apart side surfaces that extend along opposite sides of said path of travel and that are smoothly interconnected by an associated curved surface, and with at least one of the associated curved surfaces having a radius of curvature that substantially matches the radius of curvature of a generally cylindrical strike formation portion that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches when the strike formation is latchingly engaged by the rotary latch;
• d) wherein a selected one of the first and second housing side plates has a strike engagement surface that is configured to be directly engaged by a strike formation that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches, which strike engagement surface is defined by at least a portion of a chosen one of the pair of spaced-apart side surfaces of the U-shaped notch of the selected one of the side plates, which chosen one of the side surfaces is the side surface that is located farthest from the second transverse axis about which the rotary jaw is rotatable;
• e) housing side plate reinforcement means for strengthening and enhancing the rigidity of said selected one of the first and second housing side plates by providing in close proximity presence to the U-shaped notch of the selected one of the side plates a transversely extending flange:
• i) that is formed integrally with said selected housing side plate at said one end thereof;
• ii) that substantially parallels the first and second transversely extending axes so as to transversely bridge between the overlying said one end regions of the first and second housing side plates;
• iii) that is connected by a relatively small radius right angle bend to such portions of said selected housing side plate as define the strike engagement surface;
• and,
• iv) with said flange and said bend being located in close proximity to the strike engagement surface so as to cooperate in rigidifying and strengthening said portions of said selected housing side plate that define the strike engagement surface;
• and,
• f) wherein a designated one of the first and second housing side plates defines formations means extending out of the associated one of the common first and second planes in a direction extending toward the common central plane for engaging and assisting in guiding at least a designated one of the rotary jaw and the rotary pawl during angular movement thereof within the common central plane.

A rotary latch for mounting on a closure for releasably retaining the closure in a closed position by latchingly engaging a suitably configured strike formation, comprising:

• a) elongate housing means, including:
• i) an elongate, substantially flat, generally rectangular first housing side plate that has major portions thereof extending substantially in a common first plane, and that has opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof, with the first housing side plate defining a first U-shaped notch located near one of the opposed end regions of the first housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat first side wall portion that extends along the length of the first housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the first U-shaped notch;
• ii) an elongate, substantially flat, generally rectangular second housing side plate that has major portions thereof extending substantially in a common second plane that substantially parallels the common first plane, and that has opposed end regions near opposite ends of the length thereof with one of the opposed end regions of the second housing side plate overlying said one end region of the first housing side plate, with the second housing side plate defining a second U-shaped notch located near said one end region of the second housing side plate, and defining a substantially flat second side wall portion that extends along the length of the second housing side plate from the other of the opposed end regions thereof to the second U-shaped notch to overlie the first side wall portion of the first housing side plate, with the second U-shaped notch being configured and positioned by the second housing side plate to substantially align with the first U-shaped notch;
• iii) spacer means for extending transversely between and for rigidly connecting with the first and second elongate side wall portions for holding in substantially parallel-extending overlying relationship the first and second housing side plates, with the spacer means comprising only a first spacer and a second spacer, with the first spacer extending along a first transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is relative near to said opposite end regions of the first and second housing side plates, with the second spacer extending along a second transverse axis that intersects each of the first and second overlying side wall portions at a location that is substantially mid-way between the opposite ends of the first and second housing side plates, and, with the first and second transverse axes extending substantially parallel to each other in a direction that extends transversely between the overlying side wall portions of the first and second housing side plates;
• b) rotary means comprising only two rotary latching elements each of which is carried by a separate one of the first and second spacers, namely a rotary jaw and a rotary pawl that extend substantially within a common central plane located between and substantially paralleling the common first plane and the common second plane, with the rotary jaw being connected to the second spacer and being rotatable through a limited range of angular movement about the second transverse axis between latched and unlatched positions but being spring-biased toward its unlatched position, with the rotary pawl being connected to the first spacer and being movable relative to the housing about the first transverse axis between jaw-retaining and jaw-releasing positions to selectively release and retain the rotary jaw in its latched position but being spring-biased to move the rotary pawl toward its jaw-retaining position as the rotary jaw moves to its latched position, with an operating arm being provided for moving the rotary pawl to release the rotary jaw from its latched position, with the rotary jaw defining a third U-shaped notch that is configured to cooperate with the first and second U-shaped notches to concurrently receive and to latchingly retain within the confines of the first, second and third U-shaped notches a suitably configured strike formation when the rotary latch latchingly engages the strike formation;
• c) wherein the first and second U-shaped notches open generally in a direction that is substantially opposite to a direction of travel extending along a path of travel that is followed by the closure in moving away from a slightly open position toward the closed position, with each of the first and second notches being defined, at least in part, by a pair of spaced-apart side surfaces that extend along opposite sides of said path of travel and that are smoothly interconnected by an associated curved surface, and with at least one of the associated curved surfaces having a radius of curvature that substantially matches the radius of curvature of a generally cylindrical strike formation portion that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches when the strike formation is latchingly engaged by the rotary latch;
• d) wherein the first housing side plate has a first strike engagement surface that is configured to be directly engaged by a strike formation that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches, with the first strike engagement surface being defined by at least a portion of a chosen one of the pair of spaced-apart side surfaces of the first U-shaped notch of the first housing side plate, which chosen one of the side surfaces is the side surface that is located farthest from the second transverse axis about which the rotary jaw is rotatable;
• e) wherein the second housing side plate has a second strike engagement surface that is configured to be directly engaged by a strike formation that is received within the first, second and third U-shaped notches, with the second strike engagement surface being defined by at least a portion of a chosen one of the pair of spaced-apart side surfaces of the second U-shaped notch of the second housing side plate, which chosen one of the side surfaces is the side surface that is located farthest from the second transverse axis about which the rotary jaw is rotatable;
• f) housing side plate reinforcement means for strengthening and enhancing the rigidity of a selected one of the first and second housing side plates in the immediate vicinity of the associated one of the first and second strike engagement surfaces by providing in close proximity to said associated strike engagement surface a transversely extending flange:
• i) that is formed integrally with said selected housing side plate;
• ii) that substantially parallels the first and second transversely extending axes so as to transversely bridge between the overlying said one end regions of the first and second housing side plates;
• iii) that is connected by a relatively small radius right angle bend to such portions of said selected housing side plate as define the strike engagement surface;
• and,
• iv) with said flange and said bend being located in close proximity to the strike engagement surface so as to cooperate in rigidifying and strengthening said portions of said selected housing side plate that define the strike engagement surface;
• and,
• g) wherein a designated one of the first and second housing side plates defines formations means extending out of the associated one of the common first and second planes in a direction extending toward the common central plane for engaging and assisting in guiding at least a designated one of the rotary jaw and the rotary pawl during angular movement thereof within the common central plane.