US3642313A

US3642313A - Latch for appliance doors

Info

Publication number: US3642313A
Application number: US34477A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald L Anderson
Original assignee: Amerock Corp
Current assignee: Amerock Corp
Priority date: 1970-05-04
Filing date: 1970-05-04
Publication date: 1972-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-15

Abstract

When the appliance door is open, the latching element of the latch is lodged within a pocket in a slot formed in the latch bracket and is blocked against movement from an unlatched position so as to prevent operation of the appliance. As the door is closed, a strike directly engages the latching element and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from the unlatched position. If the door is reopened before being latched but after the latching element has been moved a short distance from the unlatched position, the latching element is blocked against movement to a fully latched position and the appliance cannot be operated.

Description

United States Patent Anderson Feb. 15,1972

LATCH FOR APPLIANCE DOORS [72] Inventor: Donald L. Anderson, Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Amerock Corporation, Rockford, Ill.

[22] Filed: May 4, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 34,477

[52] US. Cl. ..292/66, 292/1 13, 292/D1G. 69 [51] Int. Cl. [58] FieldotSearch ..292/7, 66,113,114, DIG. 62,

292/DIG. 69, 67; 70/DlG. 42; 126/197 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,476,424 1 1/ 1969 Erickson ..292/66 3,410,591 11/1968 Fowler 3,125,365 3/1964 Eigelbach .......292/7 Primary ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe AttorneyWolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd.

[57] ABSTRACT When the appliance door is open, the latching element of the latch is lodged within a pocket in a slot formed in the latch bracket and is blocked against movement from an unlatched position so as to prevent operation of the appliance. As the door is closed, a strike directly engages the latching element and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from the unlatched position. If the door is reopened before being latched but after the latching element has been moved a short distance from the unlatched position, the latching element is blocked against movement'to a fully latched position and the appliance cannot be operated.

9 Claims, 11) Drawing Figures PATENTEB FEB l 5 I872 SHEET 1 BF 3 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a latch especially suitable for use in latching the door of an appliance such as a self-cleaning oven or an automatic dishwasher in a tightly closed position against the appliance cabinet prior to operation of the appliance and includes generally an operating lever mounted on a base and operable to move a latching element first from an unlatched position to engage a strike and then to a latched position to draw the door in tightly against the cabinet. More particularly, the invention relates to a latch in which the latching element is blocked against movement from the unlatched position until the door is closed against the cabinet and the strike or some member associated with the strike acts upon the latch to free the latching element for movement from the unlatched position. Latches of this general type are disclosed in Jellies US. Pat. No. 3,005,065 and Yake U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,822. Also, a latch somewhat related to the present latch is disclosed in Erickson U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,424.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary aim of the present invention is to provide a new and improved latch of the above character which is simpler in construction and more reliable and foolproof in operation than prior latches of the same general type. In large, these ends are achieved by a unique construction in which advantage is taken of the base of the latch to block the latching element against movement from its unlatched position and in which the strike directly engages the latching element itself as the door is closed so as to free the latching element to move from its unlatched position. As a result, the desired blocking of the latching element is effected without need ofincorporating additional mechanisms in the latch for accomplishing this end.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch of the foregoing character in which the latching element is prevented from moving to its fully latched position if the door should happen to be reopened before being latched but after having been closed sufficiently far to release the latching element for movement from its unlatched position. Thus, double protection is provided to insure against movement of the latching element to its latched position unless the door is closed.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary verticalcross section of an appliance equipped with a new and improved latch embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the latch in a fully latched condition.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 3 and showing the latching element in its fully latched position.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the latching element in its unlatched position and blocked against movement from such position.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the latching element released for movement from its unlatched position.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the latching element in an intermediate position prior to being shifted to its fully latched position.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the latching element blocked against shifting to its fully latched position.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 99 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the operating lever of the latch.

AM] I DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a latch 15 preferably but not necessarily mounted within the door 16 of an appliance such as an automatic dishwasher and including a latching element 17 selectively engageable with a strike 19 on the dishwasher cabinet 20 to latch the door in a tightly closed position against the cabinet prior to operation of the dishwasher. In such a latch, an operating lever 21 is pivoted on a base or mounting bracket 23 and is connected to the latching element in such a manner that counterclockwise swinging of the lever from an unlatching position (FIG. 6) to a latching position (FIG. 7) and then to a tight-sealing position (FIG. 4) results in a two-step movement of the latching element relative to the bracket to latch the door. As the lever is swung between its positions, the latching element first moves along the front of the cabinet from anunlatched position (FIG. 6) to an intermediate position (FIG. 7) in engagement with the strike, and then remains bodily stationary but assumes a latched position (FIG. 4) relative to the bracket 23 as the latter and the door are drawn inwardly against the cabinet with continued swinging of the lever to its tight-sealing position. To prevent operation of the dishwasher when'the door is open or free to open, a safety switch 24 (FIGS. 1 and 3) in the control circuit of the dishwasher is arranged to be closed to condition the circuit for operation only when the lever 21 is in its tight-sealing position (FIGS. 3 and 4) with the door latched and tightly closed.

In this instance, the mounting bracket 23 is a one-piece member made of sheet metal and includes upper and lower horizontally disposed plates 25 and 26 (FIG. I) joined at their inner ends by an upright web 27. The bracket is housed within the upper end portion of the door 16 and is fastened to the latter by screws 29, two of the screws extending through ears 30 upstanding from the upper plate 25.

The operating lever 21 comprises an elongated handle 31 extending through a slot 33 (FIG. 1) in the door 16 and formed at its inner end with an upright web 34 (FIGS. 3 and 10) which, in turn, is integral with a plate 35 overlying the handle and spaced vertically from the latter. Anchored to the

bracket plates

25 and 26 is a vertical pivot pin 36 which extends through the handle 31 and the plate 35 to mount the operating lever 21 for swinging between its positions on the bracket 23. A contractile spring 37 is stretched between a finger 39 (FIG. 3) depending from the handle 31 and an ear 40 on the lower plate 26 of the bracket 23 and normally urges the lever toward its unlatching position (FIG. 5). As the lever approaches its tight-sealing position, the longitudinal axis of the spring crosses over the pivot pin 36 and urges the lever into its tight-sealing position (FIG. 4). A lug 41 (FIGS. 3 and 5) on one side of the handle 31 engages the lower plate 26 of the bracket 23 to limit clockwise swinging of the lever beyond its unlatching position while the finger 39 engages the lower plate to limit the extent of counterclockwise swinging of the lever.

Herein, the latching element 17 constitutes part of a bolt 44 which is connected to be moved by the operating lever 21. More specifically, the bolt comprises an upper plate 45 (FIG. 1) overlying the upper plate 34 of the operating lever 21 and formed at its inner end with an elongated slot 46 which receives the pivot pin 36 and whose edges are slidable along and pivotable on the pin. A depending web 47 (FIG. 1) is formed at the outer end of the plate 45 and joins the latter to a comparatively short plate 49 spaced below the upper plate. The latching element 17 preferably is a pinlike member anchored at its lower end to the lower plate 49 of the bolt 44 (see FIG. 9) and extending upwardly through the upper plate 45. To move the bolt in response to swinging of the operating lever, a driving link 50 (FIG. 8) is pivotally connected at its outer end to the latching element 17 between the plates 45 and 49 and is pivoted at its inner end on a rivet 51 which is secured to the upper plate 34 of the operating lever 21, the rivet extending through an enlarged oblong hole 53 in the inner end of the driving link to establish a lost-motion connection between the link and the lever. As the operating lever is swung through its positions, the driving link transmits the motion thereof to the bolt 44 to move the latter and the latching element 17.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2, the strike 19 is fastened to the upper portion of the cabinet 20 by rivets 54 and extends outwardly of the cabinet, the outer end portion of the strike projecting through a slot in the door 16 and overlying the latch when the door is in a closed position. The strike is a generally flat member whose outer edge 55 (FIG. 2) is inclined outwardly and coacts with a hook-shaped keeper 56 to define a U-shaped notch 57 for receiving the latching element when the latter is in its fully latched position. Engagement of the latching element 17 with the inner edge of the keeper 56 prevents the door from being opened as long as the latching element is in its latched position.

When the door 16 is closed and the operating lever 21 is moved from its unlatching position (FIG. 6) to its latching position (FIG. 7), the bolt 44 is swung about the axis of the pin 36 by the driving link 50 to swing the latching element 17 counterclockwise along the front of the cabinet from its unlatched position (FIG. 6) to its intermediate position (FIG. 7). Upon reaching the latter position, the latching element seats in the notch 57in the strike 19 and engages the curved edge of the notch located between the inner edge of the keeper 56 and the outer edge 55 of the strike. The latching element 17 thus is restricted against further bodily movement so that, with continued swinging of the operating lever 21 toward its tight-sealing position (FIG. 4), the latching element bears against the inner edge of the keeper 56 and causes all of the parts of the latch 15 except the bolt 44 to shift inwardly to draw the door inwardly against the cabinet, the pin 36 sliding within the slot 46 in the bolt to allow inward shifting of the movable latch parts relative to the bolt. As the operating lever 21 reaches its tight-sealing position, the finger 39 causes closing of the safety switch 24 which is attached to the lower plate 26 of the bracket 23 and which includes a spring-biased operator 60 (FIGS. 1 and 2) positioned to be depressed by the finger only when the lever is disposed in its tight-sealing position.

Accordingly, the dishwasher will not be conditioned for operation until the operating lever 21 is swung to its tight-sealing position to close the safety switch 24. Because operation of the dishwasher with the door 16 in an open position would result in hot water being sprayed from the cabinet 20, the operating lever 21 is prevented from being moved to its tightsealing position and against the switch operator 60 when the door is not closed. This is achieved by blocking the latching element 17 against movement from its unlatched position so long as the door is open and by utilizing the strike 19 to free the latching element as an incident to closing the door.

In accordance with the primary aspect of the present invention, the construction of the latch 15 is simplified as compared to previous latches of the same general type by advantageously using the bracket 23 itself to block the latching element 17 against movement from its unlatched position when the door 16 is open. Moreover, the strike 19 directly engages the latching element 17 as the door is closed and frees the latching element for movement from its unlatched position. With this arrangement, the blocking and unblocking action is effected through the coaction of the bracket, the strike and the latching element so as to avoid the need of increasing the complexity of the latch by adding a separate mechanism for performing the blocking and unblocking functions.

In the present instance, blocking of the latching element 17 is effected by the upper plate 25 of the bracket 23, the upper plate being formed with a slot 61 (FIGS. 2 and 4) within which the latching element slides as it is moved through its positions. The latching element 17 projects upwardly through the slot 61 as shown in FIG. 9 and carries a washer 63 which rides along the upper surface of the plate 25. When in its unlatched position, the latching element is disposed at the extreme left end (FIG. 5)'of the slot 61 and is captivated within an inwardly extending pocket 64 formed in the left endof the slot. To hold the latching element tightly but releasably in the pocket, a contractile spring 65 (FIG. 5) stretched between the bracket 23 and the upper plate 45 of the bolt 44 pulls the latter inwardly toward the pin 36 and biases the bolt in a counterclockwise direction about the pin.

If an attempt is made to swing the operating lever 21 counterclockwise from its unlatching position (FIG. 5) when the door 16 is open and the latching element 17 is in the pocket 64, the latching element engages the right-hand edge of the pocket and such edge serves as an abutment to prevent movement of the latching element and the bolt 44. The operating lever 21 is permitted to move through only a very limited range, as permitted by the clearance between the rivet 51 and the inner end of the oblong hole 53 in the link 50, and thus is held against any substantial movement and is prevented from engaging the operator 60 of the safety switch 24. Very limited movement of the operating lever 21 from its unlatching position is possible when the latching element 17 is in the pocket 64 because the driving link 50 is positioned such that the rivet 51 is located intermediate the ends of the oblong hole 53. That is, with the lug 41 on the operating lever engaging the lower bracket plate 26 and with the latching element lodged within the pocket 64, the driving link is positioned as shown in F IG. 5 with ,the ends of the hole 53 spaced from the rivet 51 and neither the spring 37 nor the spring 65 is effective to change the position of the driving link.

As the door 16 is swung to a closed position with the latching element 17 lodged within the pocket 64, the latching element first engages and stops, against the left-hand end portion of the outer edge 55 of the strike 19 as shown in FIG. 6, the outer edge being disposed opposite of and aligned with the pocket. Thus, with continued closing of the door, the bracket 23 and the pocket 64 therein move inwardly while the latching element and the bolt 44 remain stationary such that the latching element leaves the pocket and assumes a position in the main portion of the slot 61 (see FIG. 6). The latching element thus is positioned clear of the right edge of the pocket and can be moved from left to right along the slot from its unlatched position and toward the keeper 56 as the operating lever 21 is swung counterclockwise from its unlatching position. Inward movement of the bracket 23 and the operating lever 21 relative to the latching element 17 and the bolt 44 is permitted by virtue of the clearance existing between the rivet 51 and the inner end of the oblong hole 53 in the driving link 50 when the latching element is lodged in the pocket 64.

When the latching element is' disposed out of the pocket as shown in FIG. 6, the clearance is taken up and the inner end of the hole 53 engages the rivet 51.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that, as long as the door 16 is open, the latching element 17 is blocked against movement from its unlatched position by the edge of the pocket 64, which may be formed in the bracket plate 25 by a simple stamping operation. As the door is closed, the latching element is freed from the pocket by virtue of the strike 19 acting directly against the latching element. The latch thus is comparatively simple in construction and operation since, for the most part, the same elements which are used to effect normal latching of the door also are used for the purpose of blocking the latching element to prevent movement of the operating lever 21 to its tight-sealing position unless the door is closed.

According to a secondary aspect of the invention, the latch 15 is arranged such that, if the door 16 is reopened immediately after the latching element 17 has been moved from the pocket 64 and just out of its unlatched position, the latching element still will be prevented from moving to its fully latched position and the operating lever 21 will be prevented from moving to its tight-sealing position to close the safety switch 24. In this way, an extra safeguard is provided to make the latch foolproof and accidentproof and thereby insure against operation of the dishwasher when the door is open.

To achieve the foregoing ends, the latching element 17 is held for swinging in an arcuate path along the front of the cabinet from its released position (FIG. 6) to its intermediate position (FIG. 7) and, if the door 16 is reopened dur ing such swinging such that the latching element fails to engage the keeper 56, the latching element continues to swing a slight distance beyond the intermediate position to a position shown in FIG. 3 where further movement of the latching element and the operating lever 21 is blocked with the lever positioned short of the safety switch 24. If, however, the door remains closed and the latching element engages the curved edge of the notch 57 adjacent the keeper 56, the force created by such engagement causes the latching element to stop while continued movement of the operating lever is effective to shift the bracket 23 inwardly so that the latching element assumes a fully latched position as shown in FIG. 4.

More specifically, the latching element 17, in moving from the released position (FIG. 6) to the intermediate position (FIG. 7), rides in a curved intermediate portion of the slot 61 and is pressed against the inner edge of such portion by virtue of the spring 65 urging the bolt 44 for inward sliding along the pin 36. Accordingly, the latching element and the bolt are held for swinging in an arcuate path about the axis of the pin 36 as the operating lever 21 is swung from its unlatching position to its latching position to move the bolt from its released position to its intermediate position. If the keeper 56 is not located to engage the latching element when the latter reaches its intermediate position, further swinging of the operating lever simply continues to swing the latching element along its arcuate path through a short distance until the latching element enters a shallow pocket 70 (FIGS. 2 and 8) at the right end of the slot and is stopped by the edges of the pocket 70 as shown in FIG. 8. With the latching element lodged in the pocket 70, further swinging of the operating lever is prevented, except as'permitted by the clearance between the rivet SI and the oblong hole 53, and the lever 21 is stopped short of the safety switch 24. The dishwasher thus cannot be operated if the door 16 should happen to have been reopened immediately after initial swinging of the latching element from its unlatched position.

If the door 16 remains closed, the latching element 17 engages and stops against the curved edge of the notch 57 adjaeent the keeper 56 upon reaching the intermediate position (see FIG. 7) and, with further swinging of the operating lever, the driving link 50 approaches and crosses over a line extending between the latching element and the pin 36 and acts as a toggle to force the bracket 23 and the operating lever 21 inwardly relative to the stationary latching element. Such inward movement of the bracket relative to the latching element is permitted by an elongated neck 71 (FIGS. 2 and 4) extending outwardly from the slot 61, the latching element ultimately being disposed within the outer end of the neck 71 as shown in FIG. 4 when the door is fully latched. As the bracket and the operating lever shift inwardly, the pin 36 slides inwardly within the slot 46 in the bolt 44 and the spring 65 yields to permit such inward sliding. Also, while the bracket 23 and the lever 21 are shifting inwardly to bring the latching element into the neck 71, swinging of the lever may be continued to the tight-sealing position to actuate the safety switch 24.

Accordingly, it will be apparent that the present invention brings to the art a new and improved latch 15 in which the latching element 17 is blocked against movement from the unlatched position if the door 16 is not closed and then is reblocked and prevented from moving to the latched position if the door is reopened before being fully latched. The latch thus provides a double safeguard against the dishwasher being operated while the door is open,

I claim as my invention:

1. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and the cabinet, an operating lever on said base and movable between unlatching and latching positions, a latching element engageable with said strike to latch the door and movable by said lever from an unlatched position as the lever is moved from said unlatching position, an abutment on said base and engageable with said latching element when thelatter is in said unlatched position and the door is open thereby to restrict movement of the latching element from said unlatched position, and means associated with said strike and aligned with the latching element to directly engage the latching element as the door is closed and to cause the latching element to move relative to and out of engagement with said abutment thereby to free the latching element for movement from said unlatched position.

2. A latch as defined in claim 1 further including a lost-motion connection between said latching element and said operating lever to transmit the movement of said lever to said latching element as said lever is moved between said unlatching and latching positions while permitting the latching element to move relative to said lever as said latching element is moved out of engagement with said abutment.

3. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and the cabinet, an operating lever on said base and movable between unlatching and latching positions, a bolt having a latching element engageable with said strike to latch the door and movable by said lever from an unlatched position as the lever is moved from said unlatching position, a slot in said base and slidably receiving said latching element, said slot being formed with a pocket within which the latching element lodges when the latter is in said unlatched position and the door is open and having an edge engageable with the latching element to restrict movement of the element from the unlatched position, and said pocket and strike being aligned with one another on the cabinet and the door such that the strike engages the latching element as the door is closed and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from said unlatched position.

4. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and cabinet, a pivot pin on said base, an operating lever mounted on said pin for swinging between angularly spaced unlatching and latching positions, a bolt pivotally and slidably mounted on said pin, a driving link, connections pivotally coupling one end of said link to said bolt and pivotally coupling the other end of said link to said lever to transmit movement of said lever to said bolt as said lever is swung from said unlatching position, said bolt having a latching element engageable with said strike to latch the door and swingable by said lever from an unlatched position as the lever is swung from said unlatching position, a slot in said base and slidably receiving said latching element, said slot being formed with a pocket within which the latching element lodges when the latter is in said unlatched position and the door is open and having an edge engageable with the latching element to restrict movement of the element from the unlatched position, said strike and said pocket being aligned with one another on the cabinet and the door such that the strike engages the latching element as the door is closed and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from said unlatched position, said bolt sliding relative to said pin as the latching element is forced from said pocket, and one of said connections at the ends of said link being a lost-motion connection to permit sliding of the bolt relative to the lever as the latching element is forced out of said pocket.

inin'n 5. A latch as defined in claim 4 in which said lost-motion connection comprises a pivot member located at one end of said link and fitted into an elongated hole formed in one of said link, said lever and said bolt.

6. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike with a keeper on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and cabinet, an operating lever on said base and movable between angularly spaced unlatching, latching and tight-sealing positions, a bolt having a latching element movable by said lever along a first path from an unlatched position to an intermediate position to engage the keeper as said lever is moved from said unlatching position to said latching position, said latching element, after engaging the keeper, being movable relative to said lever along a second path from said intermediate position to a latched position to draw the door in tightly against the cabinet as said lever is moved from said latching position to said tightsealing position, a slot in said base and slidably receiving said latching element as the latter is moved between its positions, one end of said slot being formed with a pocket within which the latching element lodges when the latching element is in said unlatched position and the door is open and having an edge engageable with the latching element to restrict movement of the element from the unlatched position, said pocket and strike being aligned with one another on the cabinet and the door such that the strike engages the latching element as the door is closed and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from the unlatched position, means holding the latching element for movement along said first path as said lever is moved from said unlatching position to said latching position and restricting movement of the latching element relative to the lever along said second path to said latched position until the latching element engages the keeper, and said means freeing said latching element for movement relative to the lever along said second path to said latched position in response to the force created by engagement of the latching element with the keeper and as the lever is moved to said tight-sealing position.

7. A latch as defined in claim 6 in which said pocket extends in one direction from said slot and in which the slot includes a neck extending in the opposite direction, said latching element being disposed within said neck when in said latched position.

8. A latch as defined in claim 7 in which said slot is formed with a second pocket located adjacent the entrance of said neck, said latching element lodging in said second pocket and being prevented from entering said neck when the latching element is moved to and beyond said intermediate position without engaging the keeper.

9. A latch as defined in claim 6 further including a pin mounting said operating lever for swinging on said base and mounting said bolt both for swinging and for sliding on the base, a driving link, connections pivotally coupling one end of said link to said lever and pivotally coupling the other end of said link to said bolt, and one of said connections being a lostmotion connection to permit said bolt to slide relative to said lever as said latching element is forced out of said pocket.

Ilun'n new.

Claims

1. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and the cabinet, an operating lever on said base and movable between unlatching and latching positions, a latching element engageable with said strike to latch the door and movable by said lever from an unlatched position as the lever is moved from said unlatching position, an abutment on said base and engageable with said latching element when the latter is in said unlatched position and the door is open thereby to restrict movement of the latching element from said unlatched position, and means associated with said strike and aligned with the latching element to directly engage the latching element as the door is closed and to cause the latching element to move relative to and out of engagement with said abutment thereby to free the latching element for movement from said unlatched position.

5. A latch as defined in claim 4 in which said lost-motion connection comprises a pivot member located at one end of said link and fitted into an elongated hole formed in one of said link, said lever and said bolt.

6. A latch for use with an appliance cabinet having an access opening, a door movable between positions opening and closing the access opening, and a strike with a keeper on one of the door and the cabinet for use in latching the door in a closed position against the cabinet, said latch comprising a base mountable on the other of the door and cabinet, an operating lever on said base and movable between angularly spaced unlatching, latching and tight-sealing positions, a bolt having a latching element movable by said lever along a first path from an unlatched position to an intermediate position to engage the keeper as said lever is moved from said unlatching position to said latching position, said latching element, after engaging the keeper, being movable relative to said lever along a second path from said intermediate position to a latched position to draw the door in tightly against the cabinet as said lever is moved from said latching position to said tight-sealing position, a slot in said base and slidably receiving said latching element as the latter is moved between its positions, one end of said slot being formed with a pocket within which the latching element lodges when the latching element is in said unlatched position and the door is open and having an edge engageable with the latching element to restrict movement of the element from the unlatched position, said pocket and strike being aligned with one another on the cabinet and the door such that the strike engages the latching element as the door is closed and forces the latching element out of the pocket to free the latching element for movement from the unlatched position, means holding the latching element for movement along said first path as said lever is moved from said unlatching position to said latching position and restricting movement of the latching element relative to the lever along said second path to said latched position until the latching element engages the keeper, and said means freeing said latching element for movement relative to the lever along said second path to said latched position in response to the force created by engagement of the latching element with the keeper and as the lever is moved to said tight-sealing position.

9. A latch as defined in claim 6 further including a pin mounting said operating lever for swinging on said base and mounting said bolt both for swinging and for sliding on the base, a driving link, connections pivotally coupling one end of said link to said lever and pivotally coupling the other end of said link to said bolt, and one of said connections being a lost-motion connection to permit said bolt to slide relative to said lever as said latching element is forced out of said pocket.