Electro-mechanical latch assembly

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

• a post mounted to the door;
• a latch mounted to 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 retaining element for engaging and holding said post within said latch, said retaining element being movable between a locked position in engagement with said post and an unlocked position displaced from said post for enabling said post to be released to enable said door to be moved to an open position away from the frame, said series of retaining elements each comprising a holding ball of a pair of opposed ball detent assemblies each of which further includes a back stop ball urging said holding ball toward engagement with said post and a biasing element for urging said back stop ball in engagement with said post for locking said post within said latch;
• an electronic lock control;
• a key controller for supplying power to said lock control in a contact-free manner through a surface of the door and across a gap for energizing said lock control from outside the door;
• and
• an actuator for moving said retaining element from its locked position to its unlocked position for releasing said post from said latch in response to energizing of said lock control and permitting the door to be moved to an open position displaced from the frame without the use of a mechanical key and tumbler lock mechanism.

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

• a latch assembly having a post mounted to the door and a latch mounted to the door frame and positioned to receive said post therein to secure the door to the frame in a locked position;
• said latch including a detent assembly having at least one holding ball biased into engagement with said post and a solenoid for disengaging said detent assembly to release said post from engagement therewith;
• an electronic lock control system including a lock controller communicating with said latch assembly for actuating said solenoid to cause said backstop ball to free said holding ball from engagement with said post and an access control mechanism communicating with said lock controller for energizing and causing said lock controller to actuate said solenoid in response to access information from said access control mechanism;
• and
• a portable key controller carried by an operator and capable of transmitting power to said access control mechanism across a gap and through a surface of the enclosure for supplying the power in a contact-free manner to energize said lock controller for actuating said solenoid and permitting the door to be moved to an open position displaced from the frame without the use of an insertable mechanical key and tumbler lock mechanism.

A method of actuating an electronic latching apparatus securing a door to a frame of an enclosure, comprising:

• placing a key controller on a surface of the enclosure;
• selectively transmitting power in a contact-free manner from the key controller from
• outside the enclosure, through the surface of the enclosure and across a gap to a lock controller;
• verifying identification of the key controller;
• transferring power transmitted from the key controller to an actuator for a latch assembly for the door;
• and
• disengaging a retaining mechanism from locked engagement with a post mounted to the door in response to transferring power from the key controller to enable the post to be moved from a latch mounted to the frame for opening the door of the enclosure without using a mechanical key, wherein the step of disengaging a retaining mechanism comprises urging at least one back stop ball of a detent assembly out of engagement with at least one holding ball to release the holding ball from engagement with the post to enable the post to be moved from the latch.