Patent Application
20060152018
This invention relates to cabinet and drawer latches and more particularly to latches that prevent young children from gaining access to cabinet and drawer interiors.
The latch assembly of the present invention in its preferred form is comprised of two parts, namely, a latch and a catch. These two parts may be made of a variety of materials, but preferably they are each molded as a unitary structure of a plastic material that affords the latch sufficient flexibility so that a caregiver can deflect the latch so as to disengage it from the catch, but which is beyond the skills of a young child.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to the configuration of the latch. The latch is free of sharp edges and comers so that if a youngster places a hand or fingers in the path of the latch as the door or drawer is being closed, the child's fingers will not be cut, jammed or otherwise injured by the latch and/or catch. The leading face of the latch is a relatively large and rounded surface so as not likely to pinch the fingers of a child when the parts come together as the door or drawer is closed.
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
This invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
In
The latch assembly of the present invention is composed of two principal parts, namely, the latch 16 and catch 18. In
The catch 18 includes a base 20 having a face 22 adapted to be readily mounted on the cabinet rail 14. A collar 24 that is approximately semi-cylindrical in shape having a rounded rear surface 26 that joins a pair of spaced apart side walls 28, is mounted on the base 20. Both the semi-cylindrical surface 26 and side walls 28 extend downwardly from the base 20 and the semi-cylindrical surface 26 tapers downwardly and rearwardly from the base and away from the cabinet. The front edges 30 of the side walls 28 serve as ramps for deflecting the latch 16 as it approaches the catch 18. (Note the arrows in
The latch 16 has a foot 40 for attaching the latch to the door. The foot is typically a rectangular shaped plate that may be other shapes as well, and has a pair of holes 42, one adjacent each end of the foot 40, for receiving fasteners such as wood screws to secure the foot in place. Like the holes 32 in the base of the catch 18, the holes 42 are also elongated to assist in achieving proper alignment of the catch and latch during mounting. The foot 40 on its exposed surface 44 carries a bail 46 that is generally U-shaped having spaced apart arms 48 secured at their ends 50 to the face 44 of the foot. The other ends of the arms 48 are joined by an arcuate segment 52 preferably having a radius of curvature complimentary to the semi-cylindrical portion 26 of the collar 24 of the catch 18. The spacing of the arms at the junction with the curved portion 52 is substantially greater than the lateral extent of the collar 24 of the catch. As shown in
In the preferred form of the invention, the latch 16 is a unitary structure, preferably molded of a plastic material such as polypropylene so that the bail 46 is rigid enough to maintain the essentially horizontal position shown but which is sufficiently flexible so that without too much force, the curved portion 52 may be manually deflected downwardly below the bottom surface 34 of the collar 24 of the catch. While polypropylene is the preferred material for forming the latch 16, and the same material may be used for the catch 18, other materials such as polycarbonate, acetal (POM), or nylon may be used as well. It should be noted that the catch need not exhibit any flexible qualities as in normal operation the catch is fixed and does not require that any of its parts be deflectable.
The latch 16 and catch 18 are aligned with one another on the door 12 and cabinet rail 18. That is, the bail is aligned with the collar 24 so that as they move toward one another as the door closes, the curved segment 52 of the bail will engage the ramps 30 formed at the back or free edges of the side walls 28. The segment 52 of the bail should engage the camming surfaces or ramps 30 that will deflect the bail downwardly on the collar 24 as suggested by the arrows 55 so that ultimately the curved segment passes beneath the side walls 28 and beyond the bottom of the semi-cylindrical portion 26 of the collar. Ultimately, the curved segment 52 passes beyond the collar and the bias of the bail causes it to climb upwardly about the collar to the locked or engaged position as shown in
It should be noted in
Typically the overall length of the latch 16 measured from the back surface 41 of the foot 40 to the outer surface of the curved segment 52 may be approximately 3.8 inches, the bail 46 at its widest point may be approximately 1.8 inches, and the front to back depth of the catch collar 26 may be approximately 0.75 inches. Therefore, if the rail 14 of the cabinet is approximately 0.75 inch in thickness and the latch 16 is mounted on the door at the edge remote from the door hinge, the door opening permitted by the engaged latch and catch will be less than approximately 3 inches. These dimensions are given by way of example only, and it should be appreciated that the latch assembly may be made in a wide variety of sizes suitable for a variety of applications.
While in the foregoing description the catch and latch are described as being disposed in a horizontal orientation and with the collar 24 of the catch extending downwardly from the base 20, it should be appreciated that the latch assembly may be inverted so that the collar extends upwardly from the base assuming that the horizontal orientation of the assembly is chosen. The assembly may also be oriented in appropriate circumstances dictated by the configuration of cabinet or drawer controlled by it, in a vertical plane, that is, with the bail disposed with one arm 48 above the other. In any orientation, when the door or drawer is closed, the bail 46 will surround the collar with sufficient freedom between the two so as to permit the door or drawer to be opened slightly to provide finger room to enable a person to deflect the bail so that the cabinet or drawer may be fully opened.
Because of the configuration and material from which the latch assembly is made, a child is most unlikely to get its fingers pinched or bruised by accidentally closing the door or drawer on them. Particularly, the absence of sharp corner, the curvature of the bail and the softness of the material from which it is made will avoid the likelihood of injury.
Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.
