GB1278910A - Latch mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

1278910 Releasable fastenings FORD MOTOR CO Ltd 19 April 1971 [26 May 1970] 27033/71 Heading E2A A latch assembly 10 has a latch mechanism 11, Fig. 2, and co-acting keepers 12, 13. The latch mechanism 11 may be attached to a vehicle engine compartment (not shown) and the keepers 12, 13 may be rolled edges of an aperture in a hood of a vehicle engine compartment. The latch mechanism 11 has a housing 14, Fig. 1, which comprises sheet metal members 15, 16, Figs. 1 and 2, and a portion 17 having tapered walls 18, 19 which serve to guide the portion 17 into the aperture between the keepers 12, 13. Latching levers 22, 23, Fig. 2, are rotatably mounted on a shaft 24 which is supported by the members 15, 16 of the housing 14. The lever 22 has a bifurcation 28 formed by extensions 26, 27 to receive the keeper 12 and the lever 23 has a bifurcation 32 formed by extensions 29, 31 to receive the keeper 13. The lever 22 has a detent 35 supported by a shaft 36 and the lever 23 has a detent 37 supported by a shaft 38. The lever 22 has an abutment 41 having a face 42 engageable by a face 43 of an abutment 44 on the detent 35 and the lever 23 has an abutment 45 having a face 46 engageable by a face 47 of an abutment 48 on the detent 37. The respective pairs of abutments 41, 44 and 45, 48 are rotationally displaced to provide for sequential engagement of the lever 22 and the detent 35 and then of the lever 23 and the detent 37 so as to effect partial latching and fully latching respectively. A spring 49, having a leg 53 hooked over a comer 55 of the lever 22 and having a leg 52 hooked into an aperture 54 in the detent 35, retains the lever 22 and the detent 35 in the position shown in Fig. 2. Similarly a spring 51, Fig. 4, is connected to the lever 23 and the detent 37. The detent 35, Fig. 2, has a camming portion 56 which is engageable by a surface 57 of the abutment 41 of the lever 22 and the detent 37 has a camming portion 58 which is engageable with a surface 59 of the abutment 45 of the lever 23. The detents 35, 37 are released from the levers 22, 23 by a lever 64, Fig. 7, which is mounted on a stud 65 in a bracket 66 carried by the housing 14. The lever 64 has an arm 67 which is connected by a spring 71 to the bracket 66 and has an arm 68 which abuts an edge 69 of the detent 35. The latter has a pin 61, Fig. 2, attached thereto which is received by an aperture 63 in the detent 37, thus providing a lost motion connection between the detents, movement of the detent 37 being effected via the detent 35. In use the keepers 12, 13, being guided by the portion 17 of the housing 14, engage the extensions 26, 29 of the levers 22, 23 respectively causing rotation thereof so that the keepers are held in the position shown in Fig. 2, this being the partially latching condition. Further movement of the keepers causes rotation of the levers 22, 23 and of the detents 35, 37 to hold the keepers in the position shown in Fig. 3, this being the fully latching condition. The lever 64, Fig. 7, is rotated in a clockwise direction to effect unlatching to move the detent 35 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2. Further movement of the detent 35 from the position shown in Fig. 2 causes the detent 37 to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. The abutment 48 on the detent 37 moves clear of the abutment 45 on the lever 23 and the latter moves in a clockwise direction. When the levers 22, 23 return to the position shown in Fig. 1, the keepers 12, 13 are able to exit from the bifurcations 28, 32 of the levers 22, 23 respectively and the hood may be moved to a fully opened position.