Patent Application
20060006660
This application is based on, and claims priority to, Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0046610, filed on Jun. 22, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention generally relates to a hood latch assembly for a vehicle. More particularly the hood latch assembly is provided with a safety lever that is operative in conjunction with the movement of a latch plate so as to ensure a sufficient space between the safety lever and a hood.
Generally, a vehicle is provided with a hood covering an engine compartment and a latch assembly for opening or closing the hood.
However, conventional hood latch assemblies have a number of disadvantages. For example, they often include a safety latch that requires manual release at the front of the vehicle allowing the hood to be opened. However, it is difficult to provide sufficient space between the safety lever and the hood. This is an important factor when designing to reduce an impact on a human body as a pedestrian is collided with a hood part of the vehicle, as the safety lever is always disposed in an upright position.
Moreover, conventional hood latch assemblies are a disadvantage in that their size is limited by spatial constraints and the shape of the safety lever. The size of the safety lever is generally preferred to be as large as possible for easy manipulation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hood latch assembly having a safety lever that is operative in conjunction with the movement of a latch plate so as to ensure a sufficient space between the safety lever and a hood. Namely, the safety lever is arranged in a folded condition when the latch plate constrains a striker of a hood, i.e. the hood is securely closed by the latch assembly. The safety lever is tilted up into an upright position only when the striker becomes freed from the constraint of the latch plate. Such an arrangement of the hood latch assembly can provide a sufficient space between the safety lever and the hood to reduce an impact on a human body as a pedestrian is collided with a hood part of the vehicle, thereby enabling to comply with traffic regulations for safety of a pedestrian.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hood latch assembly having an enlarged safety lever, which enables ease handling of the same.
To achieve these objects of the present invention, one embodiment of a hood latch assembly includes a base plate secured to the body of a vehicle. A latch plate is rotatably attached to the inner surface of the base plate. The latch plate is furnished with a guide pin. A safety lever consisting of a body portion and a handle portion is rotatably attached to the outer surface of the base plate. The body portion of the safety lever is provided with a guide slot, in which the guide pin of the latch plate is slideably engaged. The handle portion of the safety lever rotates in accordance with the movement of the latch plate by means of the guide pin of the latch plate.
Preferably, the handle portion of the safety lever is coupled to the body portion of the safety lever by a hinge pin, around which a coil spring is mounted while biasing the handle portion of the safety lever to pivot toward a lying position. Both ends of the coil spring are fixed to the handle portion of the safety lever and the body portion of the safety portion, respectively.
The aforementioned aspect and other features of the present invention will be explained in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
The latch plate 13 is furnished with a guide pin 15 at one surface thereof. The guide pin 15 is configured to be perpendicular to the surface of the latch plate 13.
As shown in
Formed at the upper end of the body portion 14a of the safety lever 14 is a hook adapted to temporarily latch the striker 12 that is released from the latch plate 13 by manipulation of an operator. The body portion 14a of the safety lever 14 is rotatably attached to the base plate 20 by means of a pin adjacent to the lower end thereof. The handle portion 14b extends toward the front end of a vehicle for ease operation of the latch assembly. The handle portion 14b is rotatably, and perpendicularly connected to the body portion 14a via a hinge pin 17 that is integrally formed at the proximal end of the handle portion 14b. Around the hinge pin 17, a coil spring 18 is mounted while biasing the handle portion 14b of the safety lever 14 to pivot toward a horizontal or lying position. Accordingly, in absence of an external force, the handle portion 14b remains in the horizontal or lying position.
Referring to
Referring to
With such an arrangement, when the handle portion 14b of the safety lever 14 is folded up into the upright position, the operator may open a hood 11 of a vehicle by pushing the handle portion 14b toward a left direction.
As shown in
As the foregoing description, the hood latch assembly according to the present invention, which is provided with the safety lever operative in conjunction with the movement of the latch plate, is advantageous in that a sufficient space can be obtained between the safety lever and the hood to reduce an impact on a human body as a pedestrian is collided with a hood part of the vehicle. Moreover, the hood latch assembly according to the present invention is advantageous in that an enlarged handle portion of the safety lever can be provided enabling ease of operation of the safety lever because the handle portion of the safety lever is in a horizontal or laying position when the hood is closed.
Even though the present invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. It is evident from the foregoing that many variations and modifications may be made by a person having an ordinary skill in the present field without departing from the essential concept of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-46610 | Jun 2004 | KR | national |
