Electro-mechanical latching apparatus

A latching assembly for securing a door against a door frame, comprising:

• a post mounted to the door;
• a latch mounted to the door frame in a position to be engaged by said post as the door is moved toward a closed position against the frame and including a housing and a latch element pivotally mounted within said housing for engaging and holding said post within said latch, said latch element being movable between a latch-locked position engaging said post and a latch-unlocked position enabling said post to be released and removed from said latch;
• a detent assembly including at least one holding ball which urges said holding ball into engagement with said latch element for holding said post in a post-locked position within said latch, and including a biasing element positioned to engage and urge said back stop ball against said holding ball;
• an actuator including a solenoid communicating with said latch element moving said latch element from the latch-locked position to the latch-unlocked position for releasing said post from said latch and permitting the door to be moved to an open position displaced from the door frame, a plunger connected to said housing and drawing said solenoid toward said housing as said plunger is retracted by said solenoid, and at least one lift pin movable with said solenoid for engaging said back stop ball to urge said back stop ball from engagement with said holding ball;
• and
• an electronic lock control for controlling said actuator to disengage said latch element.

A latching assembly for securing a door against a door frame, comprising:

• a post mounted to one of a door and a frame;
• a latch mounted to the other of the door and the frame in a position to be engaged by said post as the door is moved toward a closed position against the frame and including a housing and a latch element pivotally mounted within said housing for engaging and holding said post within said latch, said latch element being movable between a latch-locked position engaging said post and a latch-unlocked position enabling said post to be released and removed from said latch;
• a detent assembly including at least one holding ball and a back stop ball which urges said holding ball into engagement with said latch element for holding said post in a post-locked position within said latch and including a biasing element positioned to engage and urge said back stop ball against said holding ball;
• an actuator including a solenoid communicating with said latch element moving said latch element from the latch-locked position to the latch-unlocked position for releasing said post from said latch and permitting the door to be moved to an open position displaced from the frame;
• and
• an electronic lock control for controlling said actuator to disengage said latch element.

A latching assembly for securing a door against a door frame, comprising:

• a post mounted to one of the door and the door frame;
• a latch mounted to the other of the door and the door frame in a position to be engaged by said post as the door is moved toward a closed position against the frame and including a housing and a latch element pivotally mounted within said housing for engaging and holding said post within said latch, said latch element being movable between a latch-locked position engaging said post and an latch-unlocked position enabling said post to be released and removed from said latch;
• a detent assembly including at least one holding ball and a back stop ball which urges said holding ball into engagement with said latch element for holding said post in a post-locked position within said latch and including a biasing element positioned to engage and urge said back stop ball against said holding ball;
• an actuator including a solenoid communicating with said latch element moving said latch element from the latch-locked position to the latch-unlocked position for releasing said post from said latch and permitting the door to be moved to an open position displaced from the door frame, a plunger connected to said housing and drawing said solenoid toward said housing as said plunger is retracted by said solenoid, and at least one lift pin movable with said solenoid for engaging said back stop ball to urge said back stop ball from engagement with said holding ball;
• and
• an electronic lock control for controlling said actuator to disengage said latch element.

A latching apparatus for securing a door to a door frame of an enclosure, comprising:

• a latch assembly having a post mounted to one of the door and the door frame and a latch mounted to the other of the door and the door frame, said latch assembly being positioned to receive said post therein to secure the door to the door frame in a locked position;
• said latch including a latch element pivoting to engage said post and a detent assembly having at least one holding ball biased into engagement with said latch element and a solenoid for disengaging said holding ball to release said latch element from engagement therewith;
• and
• an electronic lock control system including a lock controller communicating with said latch assembly for actuating said solenoid to cause said holding ball to be released from engagement with said latch element and an access control device communicating with said lock controller for causing said lock controller to actuate said solenoid in response to access information from said access control mechanism.