LATCH LOCKING MECHANISM

Abstract

 A latch locking mechanism comprising a stationary body (1), a latch (2) slidably attached to the body (1) and taking an extended position at which it extends from the body (1) and a retracted position when it retracts into the body (1), a spring (3) that drives the latch (2) out of the body, a detent element (4) that takes either an upper position or a lower position. It further comprises a lever (5) pivotally attached to the body (1) for releasing the detent element (4), said lever having an at least one arm (11) at one side and a flat pressure section (12) at the other side, wherein the detent element (4) has a catch (7) at one side and is pivotally attached to the body (1) at the other side. The latch (2) is secured to the body (1) with an at least one pin (6) which is configured to engage the catch (7) of the detent element (4), wherein the catch (7) has a sliding surface (8) which forms an acute angle with a feed axis of the latch (2) allowing the detent element (4) to be turned to the upper position while the latch (2) takes the extended position, and wherein the catch (7) further has a locking surface (9) preventing the latch from being moved into the retracted position when the detent element (4) is in the lower position, and in addition. The detent element (4) has a driver (10) engaging with the at least one arm (11) of the lever (5) and is configured in such a way that upward movement of the least one arm (11) lifts the detent element (4) to the upper position thereby releasing the pin (6) and allowing the latch (2) to retract and the spring (3) to tension.

Description

Field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a latch locking mechanism, in particular for panel doors.

Background Art

[0002] EP2640914B1 discloses a gate lock comprising a body, which in turn comprises a latch that can house a key for opening the lock and a stop element having a first configuration of engagement on at least a part of the gate. The lock further comprises a slide, which slides with respect to the body. A stop element is slidably constrained to a guide element. This lock does not have an element that extends the locking element. This leads the locking element to rub against an element of the lock, which increases wear of the lock and generates sounds that are unpleasant to the ear.

[0003] EP3516135B1 discloses a fitting for a window or a door, wherein a locking element is provided for engaging with a lock-engaging element in a displacement direction running along a rebate. In the locked position said locking element engages in a laterally-open locking slot of the lock-engaging element, the locking slot running along the rebate. A stationary stop is associated and at a short distance from the locking element on the transverse edge of the coupling device, against the locking slot. The stop has a detachable detent mechanism for the lock, spring loaded in the direction of the lock-engaging element, and the detent mechanism is triggered when the lock-engaging element contacts the stop. The triggering element locks the locking element by means of frictional force, which leads to significant wear of the rubbing surfaces during the operation of the lock and to the generation of sounds that are unpleasant to the ear.

[0004] The objective of the present invention is to provide a latch locking mechanism that eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to the present invention there is provided a latch locking mechanism comprising a stationary body, a latch slidably attached to the body and moving between an extend position at which it extends from the body and a retracted position at which it retracts into the body, a spring that drives the latch out of the body, a detent element that takes either an upper position or a lower position. Furthermore, the latch locking mechanism also comprises a lever pivotally attached to the body for releasing the detent element, said lever having an at least one arm at one side and a flat pressure section at the other side, wherein the detent element has a catch at one side is pivotally attached to the body at the other side. The latch is secured to the body with an at least one pin which is configured to engage the catch of the detent element, and wherein the catch has a sliding surface which forms an acute angle with a feed axis of the latch allowing the detent element to be turned to the upper position while the latch takes the extended position, and wherein the catch has also a locking surface preventing the latch from being moved into the retracted position when the detent element is in the lower position. In addition, the detent element has a driver engaging with the at least one arm of the lever and configured so that the upward movement of the at least one arm lifts the detent element to the upper position thereby releasing the pin and allowing the bolt to retract and the spring to tensioned.

[0006] In one embodiment, the latch is attached to the body with two pins.

[0007] In another embodiment, the lever has two symmetrical arms.

[0008] In another embodiment, the body has a housing fixed thereto and the latch has a housing fixed thereto.

[0009] In another embodiment, the latch housing is being retracted into the body housing while the latch is being retracted.

[0010] In another embodiment, the detent element has an additional spring which presses it to the lower position.

[0011] In another embodiment, the spring is either a pull spring or a pressure spring.

[0012] In yet another embodiment, the latch locking mechanism additionally comprises an adjustable stop for adjusting the depth of insertion of the latch into the body.

Brief description of Drawings

[0013] The invention will be now explained in more detail in a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 -

shows a side view of the latch locking mechanism without housing.

Fig. 2 -

shows an axonometric view of the latch locking mechanism without housing.

Fig. 3 -

shows an axonometric view of the latch locking mechanism with housing.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

[0014] The latch locking mechanism comprises a stationary body 1 made of steel sheet, a bolt 2 made of steel sheet slidably attached to the body 1 and taking an extended position when it extends from the body 1 and a retracted position when it retracts into the body 1. In addition, the latch locking mechanism has a spring 3 that drives the latch 2 out of the body 1 and has a detent element 4 that takes either an upper position or a lower position. The detent element 4 is made of steel sheet in the form of a single-sided hook. In addition, a lever 5 is pivotally secured to the body 1 by means of a pin 6 or other element - not shown in the drawings. The lever 5 releases the detent element 4 by lifting (turning) it. The lever 5 has an at least one arm 11 at one side which configured for lifting the detent element 4, and a flat pressure section 12 at the other side for releasing the detent element 4. The detent element 4 has a catch 7 at one side and is pivotally attached to the body 1 at other side where the catch is in the form of a hook with a sliding surface 8 positioned at an acute angle of 15 to 70 degrees with a feed axis of the latch 2. When locking (the latch is extending), the pin 6 of the latch 2 slides on the sliding surface 8 and lifts (turns) the detent element 4. When the latch 2 is moved further, the pin 6 goes further and contacts a locking surface 9 that is shaped so that the movement of the latch 2 does not lift the detent element 4.

[0015] More specifically, the latch 2 is attached to the body 1 by means of one or two pins 6, wherein one of which is configured to engage the catch 7 of the detent 4. In an alternative embodiment, there may be more pins.

[0016] In addition, the detent element 4 has a driver 10 engaging with the arm 11 of the lever 5 and configured so that the upward movement of the arm 11 lifts the detent element 4 to the upper position thereby releasing the pin 6 and allowing the bolt 2 to be retracted and the spring to be tensioned 3.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the mechanism also comprises a housing of the body and housing of the latch 2 that are configured so that the housing of the latch is retracted in the housing of the body.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the latch locking mechanism has an adjustable stop 13 to adjust the depth of insertion of the detent element 4 into the body 1. The stop 13 is threaded and screwed into the body so that the mechanism can be adjusted to match with the depth of insertion of the latch 2 or to clear backlash in the mechanism resulting in loud or incorrect operation of the mechanism.

Claims

1. A latch locking mechanism comprising a stationary body (1), a latch (2) slidably attached to the body (1) and taking an extended position at which it extends from the body (1) and a retracted position when it retracts into the body (1), a spring (3) that drives the latch (2) out of the body, a detent element (4) that takes either an upper position or a lower position, and a lever (5) pivotally attached to the body (1) for releasing the detent element (4), said lever having an at least one arm (11) at one side and a flat pressure section (12) at the other side, characterised in that the detent element (4) has a catch (7) at one side and is pivotally attached to the body (1) at the other side, wherein the latch (2) is secured to the body (1) with an at least one pin (6) which is configured to engage the catch (7) of the detent element (4), wherein the catch (7) has a sliding surface (8) which forms an acute angle with a feed axis of the latch (2) allowing the detent element (4) to be turned to the upper position while the latch (2) takes the extended position, and wherein the catch (7) further has a locking surface (9) preventing the latch from being moved into the retracted position when the detent element (4) is in the lower position, and in addition, the detent element (4) has a driver (10) engaging with the at least one arm (11) of the lever (5) and is configured in such a way that upward movement of the least one arm (11) lifts the detent element (4) to the upper position thereby releasing the pin (6) and allowing the latch (2) to retract and the spring (3) to tension.

2. The latch locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the latch (2) is attached to the body (1) with two pins (6).

3. The latch locking mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lever (5) has two symmetrical arms (11).

4. The latch locking mechanism according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the body (1) has a housing fixed thereto and the latch (2) has a housing fixed thereto.

5. The latch locking mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the latch (2) housing is being retracted into the body (1) housing while the latch (2) is being retracted.

6. The latch locking mechanism according to any claim 1 to 5 wherein the detent element (4) has an additional spring which presses it to the lower position.

7. The latch locking mechanism according to any claim 1 to 6 wherein the spring (3) is either a pull spring or a pressure spring.

8. The latch locking mechanism according to any claim 1 to 7 wherein it additionally comprises an adjustable stop (13) for adjusting the depth of insertion of the latch (2) into the body (1).

Drawing