Closure latch assembly
OwnerMichael B. Radelinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An elongated latch bar is slidably carried in a passageway through a bolt housing and is extendable into an aligned passageway of a keeper. The extended end of the latch bar carries a transverse cavity for receiving a cross-latch. The keeper carries the cross-latch in a suitable position to engage and lock the latch bar to the keeper when the latch bar when it is suitably inserted and positioned in the keeper. The cross-latch carries narrow operator that extends across the keeper passageway to an outside location and allows the cross-latch to be manually depressed. The latch bar has a forked end that creates a slot leading to the cavity. The slot is sized to allow passage of the operator but not the cross-latch.
Claims6
In a latch assembly formed of a bolt housing, a longitudinally elongated latch bar partially retained within a passageway of the bolt housing and longitudinally extendable therefrom, and a keeper having a reception passage for receiving an extending free end of the latch bar;
- wherein the free end of the latch bar is extendable from the bolt housing into the keeper, thereby establishing a latching relationship with the keeper, the improvement comprising:
- the free end of said latch bar is configured with a cavity on a lateral face thereof, and the latch bar is forked from the free end of the latch bar to a junction with said cavity, thereby defining a longitudinal slot extending from the free end of the latch bar and leading into the bolt cavity;
- the cavity is of a dimension wider than the width of said slot at its junction with the cavity;
- said keeper comprises a cross-latch in a transversely moveable relationship with respect to said reception passage, between positions of greater and lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- resilient means biases movement of said cross-latch toward a position of greater intersection with the reception passage;
- an operator is connected to the cross-latch for selectively retracting the cross-latch against the force of said resilient means to a position of lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- the latch bar comprises a keeper end stop, and said cross-latch is suitably positioned with respect to the reception passage to be engaged with said keeper end stop for stopping entry of said latch bar within the reception passage at a location where the cavity is positioned to receive the cross-latch when the cross-latch is in said position of lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- wherein said cavity and cross-latch are suitably arranged such that the cross-latch and cavity are mutually engaged when the cross-latch is in said position of greater intersection with the reception passage and the latch bar is positioned in the reception passage to receive the cross-latch, thereby locking the latch bar to the keeper;
- and
- the cross-latch and cavity are mutually disengaged when the cross-latch is in said position of lesser intersection with the reception passage, allowing the latch bar to be inserted into or removed from the reception passage.
In a latch assembly formed of a bolt housing, a longitudinally elongated latch bar partially retained within a passageway of the bolt housing and longitudinally extendable therefrom, and a keeper having a reception passage for receiving an extending free end of the latch bar;
- wherein the free end of the latch bar is extendable from the bolt housing into the keeper, thereby establishing a latching relationship with the keeper, the improvement comprising:
- said latch bar is configured as a plate of rectangular transverse profile, the free end of said latch bar is configured with a cavity on a lateral face thereof, and the latch bar carries a longitudinal rib of predetermined height on a major face thereof;
- said bolt housing passageway is configured with a rectangular profile suitable to carry the latch bar in slidable relationship;
- said bolt housing defines a channel matching said longitudinal rib of the latch bar, extending parallel to the bolt housing passageway, and receiving the longitudinal rib;
- said bolt housing channel includes a bolt housing channel base wall facing the rib and spaced from the bolt housing passageway by a greater dimension than said predetermined height of the rib;
- the rib carries a first stop extending from the rib toward said bolt housing channel base;
- said bolt housing channel carries a second stop in an interfering position with respect to said first stop;
- said keeper carries a cross-latch in a transversely moveable relationship with respect to said reception passage, between positions of greater and lesser intersection with the reception passage, wherein said reception passage is configured with a matching rectangular profile for receiving the latch bar, such that the latch bar is substantially non-rotatable with respect to the reception passage and relative movement between the latch bar and the reception passage is substantially along a single longitudinal axis;
- resilient means biases movement of said cross-latch toward a position of greater intersection with the reception passage;
- an operator is connected to the cross-latch for selectively retracting the cross-latch against the force of said resilient means to a position of lesser intersection with the reception passage;
- wherein said cavity and cross-latch are suitably arranged such that the cross-latch and cavity are mutually engaged when the cross-latch is in said position of greater intersection with the reception passage and the free end of the latch bar
- has been sufficiently inserted into the reception passage, thereby locking the latch bar to the keeper;
- the cross-latch and cavity are mutually disengaged when the cross-latch is in said position of lesser intersection with the reception passage, allowing the latch bar to be inserted into or removed from the reception passage;
- and
- whereby, moving the latch bar along a single longitudinal axis establishes alignment between the cavity with the cross-latch, and the latch bar is guided in said bolt housing on a major face in contact with the bolt housing passageway, suspending the rib at a gap from said bolt housing channel base;
- and the first and second stops prevent said latch bar from exiting said bolt housing in at least a first longitudinal direction of movement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.