1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a latch for releasably securing a first member, such as a door, panel or the like, relative to a second member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Latches are used to releasably secure panels, covers, doors, electronic modules, and the like to other structures such as compartments, cabinets, containers, doorframes, other panels, frames, racks, etc. Although many latch designs are known in the art, none offers the advantages of the present invention. The advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the attached detailed description and drawings.
The present invention is directed to improvements in latch design. The illustrated embodiment exemplifying the several inventive concepts of the present invention is a rotary pawl latch with the capability to provide a compressive force between the first member and the second member as the latch handle is pushed to the closed or lowered position. The illustrated embodiment has a rotary pawl, a pawl catch, an actuating member, a pivotally movable handle, and a gear train for moving the pawl to provide compression in response to the movement of the handle to the closed position. The rotary pawl is biased toward the unlatched position. The pawl catch is biased toward engagement with the rotary pawl. The catch member can catch and hold the pawl in the latched position and in an intermediate position as will be described. The pawl catch must be disengaged from the pawl to allow the pawl to rotate to the unlatched position. The actuating member is held in a position where it is disengaged from the pawl catch when the handle is secured in the folded-down position. A user can bring the actuating member into engagement with the catch member in order to disengage the catch member from the pawl by moving the handle to a fully raised position from an intermediate position. The handle has a cam that engages the actuating member and pulls the actuating member into engagement with the pawl catch. The pawl catch has one or more claws that are engaged by the actuating member to release the pawl, thereby allowing a member secured by the latch to be opened.
The handle is carried by a first housing, and the pawl, pawl catch and gear train are carried by a second housing. The first and second housings can be secured together and with the door or panel using available fasteners such as screws.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The Referring to
In the illustrative embodiment, the latch 100 is used to secure the door 102 against a doorframe 104. However, the latch 100 could easily have been installed to the doorframe and made to engage a keeper attached to the door to securely hold the door in the closed position.
The latch 100 includes a first housing 110, also referred to herein as the handle housing, and a second housing 120, also referred to herein as the pawl housing. The handle housing 110 pivotally supports the handle 130. The handle housing 110 also supports a mechanism 140 for securing the handle 130 in the folded-down position illustrated in
The pawl housing 120 houses the pawl 160, the pawl catch 170 and the gear train for providing the pull-up action on moving the handle 130 to the folded-down position. The latch 100 belongs to the class of latches known as pull-up or compression latches. When fully latched, these types of latches provide a compressive force through the mechanism of the latch to compress a sealing gasket or the like (not shown) between the door 102 and the door frame 104.
Referring to
To open the door 102, the handle 130 is moved to the fully raised position illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The bolts 290 and 300 engage holes 131 and 133 in the handle 130, respectively, to secure the handle 130 in the folded-down position. Each of the bolts 290, 300 is provided with a bolt spring 310 to bias the bolts 290, 300 toward engagement with the handle 130. The coil spring 280 biases the handle release actuator 270 out of engagement with the bolts 290, 300.
When the handle release actuator 270 is pressed into the inner portion 220 of the handle housing 110, the tips of the L-shaped projections 272 act on the sloping surfaces 292, 302, respectively, to retract the bolts 290, 300 out of engagement with the handle 130 in order to release the handle 130 from the folded-down position. When the handle release actuator 270 is released, the coil spring 280 forces the handle release actuator 270 out of engagement with the bolts 290, 300, thus allowing the bolts 290, 300 to return to their extended positions where they may once again engage and secure the handle 130 in the folded-down position when the handle 130 is returned to the folded-down position. The open top of the assembly including the handle release actuator 270 and the lock plug holder 250 can simply be provided with a cap to provide a push button release for the handle 130. For some applications where unauthorized opening of the latch 100 should be prevented, the latch 100 can be provided with the key-operated lock plug 240, the lock plug holder 250, and the lock plug extension 260. The lock plug holder 250 is received inside the handle release actuator 270 and cannot move relative to the handle release actuator 270. The lock plug 240 and the lock plug extension 260 are received by the lock plug holder 250. The lock plug extension 260 is capable of rotating relative to the lock plug holder 250 and the handle release actuator 270, responsive to the rotation of the lock plug 240 relative to the lock plug holder 250 and the handle release actuator 270. The lock plug holder 250 and the handle release actuator 270 cannot rotate relative to the handle housing 110, but they can only move rectilinearly relative to the handle housing 110. The lock plug 240 can be selectively rotated relative to the lock plug holder 250 and the handle release actuator 270 between a locked position and an unlocked position using a key. The lock plug extension 260 has downward projecting tabs 262 that extend through arc-shaped slots 274 in the bottom of the handle release actuator 270. When the lock plug 240 is in the locked position, the downward projecting tabs 262 register with tabs 222 projecting upward from the bottom of the inner housing portion 220 with the downward projecting tabs 262 and the tabs 222 being in such close proximity that downward movement of the lock plug and the handle release actuator 270 are essentially prevented and the handle 130 cannot be released. When the lock plug 240 is in the unlocked position, the downward projecting tabs 262 are out of alignment with tabs 222. Accordingly, the lock plug 240 and the handle release actuator 270 can be depressed to release the handle 130 from the folded-down position.
Referring to
Referring to
The pawl housing 120 includes a bracket 350 that forms part of the pawl housing 120. The bracket 350 rotationally supports the pawl 160, the pawl catch 170, the drive gear 360, and the compression gear 370. The bracket 350 has flanges 352 that abut the door 102 on the inner side of the door 102. The flanges 352 are provided with clearance holes 354 for fasteners used to mount the latch 100 to the door 102. The bracket 350 also has a pair of rectilinear coextensive slots 356 that extend perpendicular to the inner surface of the door 102 and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the actuation rod 150. End portions 344 of the pin 340 ride in the slots 356 such that the pin 340 is essentially limited to rectilinear motion relative to the bracket 350.
The actuation rod 150 has a slot 156 at one end to allow a screwdriver to be used to turn the actuation rod 150. As the actuation rod 150 is turned the threaded engagement between the actuation rod and the pin 340 causes the pin 340 to move axially along the actuation rod 150. Thus the axial position of the pin 340 along the actuation rod 150 can be adjusted to suit doors of different thickness. The pin 340 also has a threaded bore 346 that is coaxial with its longitudinal axis and communicates with the opening 342. The bore 346 allows a set screw 380 to be jammed against the actuation rod 150 to reversibly secure the adjustable pin 340 at a desired position along the length of the actuation rod 150.
As the handle 130 is moved toward the raised position, the cams 230 are pulled away from the pawl housing 120 and accordingly, the actuation rod 150 is pulled outward relative to the pawl housing 120. As the handle 130 is moved toward the folded-down position, the cams 230 are moved closer to the pawl housing 120 and accordingly, the actuation rod 150 is pushed inward relative to the pawl housing 120.
The pawl catch 170 has one or more claws 172 located intermediate the pin 340 and the handle housing 110. As the handle 130 is raised, the pin 340 engages the claw 172 and rotates the pawl catch 170 out of engagement with the pawl 160 so that the pawl is released and allowed to rotate to the unlatched position. The pawl catch spring 390 biases the pawl catch 170 into engagement with the pawl 160. The drive gear 360 has a claw 362 positioned such that the pin 340 is located intermediate the claw 362 and the handle housing 110. The drive gear 360 has teeth 364 that are in mesh with teeth 372 of the compression gear 370. As the handle 130 is moved toward the folded-down position, the pin 340 engages the claw 362 and rotates the drive gear 360, which is in mesh with the compression gear 370. This in turn forces the compression gear 370, and in particular the pawl-engaging portion 374 of the compression gear 370, into engagement with the pawl 160. If the pawl 160 is at the intermediate position between the latched and unlatched positions as shown in
The pawl catch 170 and the drive gear 360 are supported on a common pivot axis but their movements are independent of each other. In the illustrated embodiment two drive gears 360 are provided.
The cover 410 protects the pawl mechanism from objects located on the interior side of the door and forms part of the pawl housing 120. Fasteners such as screws are placed through the holes in the cover 410 and holes in the flanges of the bracket 350 and engaged to the handle housing to mount the latch 100 to the door 102. Additional fasteners can be placed through holes in the cover 410 and engaged directly to the door 102 for added strength. The mounting fasteners for the latch 100 are standard hardware items supplied by the end user and are not intended to be an element of the claimed invention.
Referring to
The user may now grasp the handle 130 and move it toward the fully raised position. As shown in
To close the latch, first the handle must be relaxed (see
As the handle 130 returns to it original folded-down state, the bolts 290, 300 are forced out of the way and then are allowed to reengage the holes 131, 133 in the handle 130 when the holes line up with the bolts, thus securing the handle in the folded-down position.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above, but includes any and all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/863,795, filed Oct. 31, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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60863795 | Oct 2006 | US |