The embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to latch assemblies for doors and drawers, especially interior doors, bins and drawers typically employed in aircraft cabins. In preferred embodiments, the latch assemblies disclosed herein are especially useful to allow selective latch paddle orientations relative to the orientation of the actuator/striker assembly that can be changed after installation of the latch assembly so as to accommodate the ergonomic preference of the user.
Current latches employed in certain interior aircraft cabin components, such as interior cabin doors, overhead storage bin doors, cabinet doors and drawers, are provided with latch assemblies which include an actuator/striker subassembly having a latch bolt operable so as to engage and disengage from an associated striker plate by a manually operable lever, push button or slider member. The actuator/striker subassembly is in general attached to the structural component that is movable (e.g., the user accessible face of the door, bin, drawer, cabinet or the like). In the locked (engaged) position, the striker of the latch bolt is held by the striker plate (which can often be a wire loop or a punched metal strip) which is attached to the non-movable component or frame associated with the door, bin, drawer or cabinet structure. Conventionally, the location of the latch bolt depends on the best structural integrity and/or available space. The striker placement is dependent on the latch bolt location. The orientation of the operating paddle lever or slider towards the user's hand depends on ergonomic requirements. To allow all the necessary structural elements to function properly together, there is a need to have latch variations (and thus various part numbers) to be used in various locations within the aircraft interior cabin with respectively various orientations of the paddle lever being thereby required.
It would therefore be highly desirable if a latch assembly was provided which allowed for multiple orientations of the paddle lever relative to the actuator/striker subassembly that would thereby reduce the need for varying different latch assembly components. It is towards fulfilling such a need that the embodiments disclosed herein are directed.
Generally, the embodiments disclosed herein are directed toward latch assemblies adapted to releasably latch a movable component to a fixed component. According to some embodiments the latch assembly will include a paddle lever, a striker/latch subassembly and an actuator subassembly. The paddle lever is pivotally movable between latched and unlatched conditions by a manually applied pull force and includes a rearwardly protruding actuator flange. The striker/latch subassembly is provided with a strike plate defining a latch opening and a latch bolt having a latch stem and a latch pin extending forwardly from the latch stem.
The actuator subassembly operatively interconnects the paddle lever and the striker latch subassembly and includes (i) a closeout plate defining an arcuate guide slot, wherein the paddle lever is connected to the closeout plate to allow for manual pivotal movements between the latched and unlatched conditions thereof, and (ii) a rotary disc rotationally moveable relative to the closeout plate.
The rotary disc will preferably include a fixed actuator pin extending forwardly from the actuator plate so as to be operatively engaged with the actuator flange of the paddle lever when the paddle lever is manually rotated into the unlatched condition thereof. A circumferentially spaced apart set of arcuate spirally patterned cam slots is defined in the rotary disc. Each of the cam slots is adapted to receive the latch pin of the striker/latch subassembly and thereby define a respective orientation position of the paddle lever. Pivotal movement of the paddle lever from the latched condition into the unlatched condition responsively engages the actuator flange with the actuator pin to thereby cause rotation of the actuator plate and movement of the latch pin within a selected one of the cam slots whereby the latch bolt is retracted.
According to certain embodiments, the rotary disc defines diametrically opposed pairs of the cam slots that are circumferentially positioned 90° apart from one another to thereby respectively establish 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° orientations of the paddle lever.
The closeout plate may include a pair of separated bosses and a rod extending between and rotationally received by the bosses. The paddle lever may thus include a pair of separated lobes each connected to a respective terminal end portion of the rod to thereby mount the paddle lever to the closeout plate and allow pivotal movements of the paddle lever between the latched and unlatched conditions.
A recessed housing may be provided to house the actuator subassembly therein. The housing may also include a receiver for receiving the latch bolt of the striker/latch subassembly therein.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.
The disclosed embodiments of the present invention will be better and more completely understood by referring to the following detailed description of exemplary non-limiting illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the drawings of which:
Accompanying
As is shown in
As is perhaps more clearly depicted in
The actuator subassembly 40 includes a rotary slotted actuator disc 42 and a closeout panel 50. In the depicted embodiment, the actuator disc 42 is provided with a series of diametrically opposed pairs of arcuate spirally patterned cam slots 42a-42d each of which is adapted to receive therein the latch pin 28 associated with the latch stem 26. The cam slots 42a-42d are preferably circumferentially spaced apart from one another by about 90° to thereby respectively establish 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° positions of the paddle lever 16 as will be described hereinbelow. A central aperture 44 of the actuator disc 42 is adapted to receive therein a cylindrical pin 46 that protrudes forwardly from the back wall 12e of the housing 12. The forward end of the pin 46 is received within the cylindrical collar 52 formed on the back side of the closeout panel 50 (see
The closeout panel 50 is sized and configured so the perimetrical edges thereof are in close press-fit frictional engagement with the interior surfaces of the walls 12a-12d of the housing 12 to present a finished appearance to the latch assembly 10 and thereby visibly hide the rotary actuator disc 42. A separated pair of mounting bosses 54a, 54b receive a rod 56 therebetween. The rod 56 is in turn connected at each end which extends beyond the respective bosses 54a, 54b to a respective one of the separated lobes 16a, 16b (see
A fixed position actuator flange 60 extends rearwardly from the paddle lever 16 and is adapted to engage the actuator pin 48 extending through the guide slot 57 of the closeout panel 50. The rod 56 thereby allows the paddle lever 16 to be pivotally moved from a latched condition (whereby the paddle lever 16 is essentially coplanar with the bezel 14 of the housing 12) and an outward angulated unlatched condition (whereby the paddle lever 16 extends outwardly at an angle relative to the bezel 14 of the housing 12).
Accompanying
A suitable compression spring (not shown) may be positioned within the receiver 30 to exert a spring force against the latch bolt 24 in a direction opposite to arrow A2 thereby biasing the bolt 24 into engagement with the strike plate 22. The beveled upper end of the latch bolt 24 will therefore allow engagement with the forward edge of the strike plate 22 causing the latch bolt 24 to be retracted into the receiver 30 against the bias force of the compression spring and then encouraged to be extended into engagement with the opening 22a upon alignment with the beveled end of the latch bolt 24. Such bias force will also urge the rotary disc 42 to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction (as viewed from the front) to assist in returning the paddle lever 16 to its normal state whereby the paddle lever 16 is essentially coplanar with the bezel 14 of the housing 12a.
It will therefore be appreciated that the actuator subassembly 40 may be disassociated from the housing 12 by removal of the screws 55 and then pulling the entire subassembly 40 with the paddle lever 16 attached thereto out of rotary engagement with the back pin 46. Thereafter the entire subassembly 40 with the paddle lever 16 attached thereto may be rotated to align the latch pin 28 with a different one of the spirally patterned cam slots 42a-42d, following which the subassembly 40 may be re-associated operatively within the housing 12 and re-attached by means of the screws 55. In the embodiment depicted, alignment of the latch pin 28 with the slot 42a of the rotary disc 42 will position the paddle lever 16 in a 0° orientation as shown in
While reference is made to a particular embodiment of the invention, various modifications within the skill of those in the art may be envisioned. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope thereof.
This application is based on and claims domestic priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/283,356 filed on Nov. 26, 2021, the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated hereinto by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63283356 | Nov 2021 | US |