Closure fasteners – Bolts – Swinging
Patent
1999-08-16
2000-11-21
Dayoan, B.
Closure fasteners
Bolts
Swinging
2923363, 292DIG14, E05C 306
Patent
active
061492108
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a hood latch for a vehicle. In particular, this invention relates to a hood latch having a retracting secondary release arm and a light operable on release of a primary release.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Vehicle hood latch systems are well known in the art. Typically, a vehicle hood or trunk deck will have a latch for engaging and cinching onto a striker. The latch will have a rotatably mounted ratchet engaging a pawl in a ratchet relation. The ratchet cooperates with a mouth of the housing to pivot between an open and closed condition for receiving, engaging and cinching a keeper of a striker. The pawl retains the ratchet in the closed and cinched conditions.
Hood latches are required to have a secondary latching mechanism and a primary latching mechanism. The primary latching mechanism is operably from inside the vehicle, normally under the dashboard. A secondary latching is only operable from the outside.
It is known to provide a release lever on the secondary latching mechanism which is presented only upon the release of the primary latch. Examples of such latch mechanism are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,961601; 4,991,884; 5,000,493 and 5,141,265. In these latch mechanisms, the secondary latching mechanism is separate from the primary latching mechanism, requiring additional components and labor for assembly.
In many cases, the location of the arm is difficult to find requiring the operator to probe blindly or bend over to look for the arm. Since the exact location of the handle varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, there exists a need to provide a secondary release lever which is readily accessible and visible to the operator when the hood latch is in the secondary position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a hood latch assembly for a vehicle having a simple mechanism for self presenting a secondary release arm upon releasing of the primary release and which retracts upon closure of the hood.
It is desirable to provide a hood latch having a light which will illuminate once the secondary release arm is positioned for activation.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a hood latch assembly having a housing having a mouth. A ratchet is pivotally mounted within the housing to cooperate with the mouth to pivot between an open, a secondary closed and a primary closed condition for receiving, engaging and cinching a keeper of a striker. The ratchet is biased to the open condition. A pivotally mounted primary pawl is biased for engagement with the ratchet to releasably retain the ratchet in the primary closed condition. A pivotally mounted secondary pawl is biased for engagement with the ratchet to releasably retain the ratchet in the secondary closed condition. The secondary pawl has a release lever which rotates between a deployed position and a retracted position. As the ratchet engages the striker, the ratchet will rotate in a latching sense from the open condition to the secondary closed condition. As the ratchet further rotates from the secondary closed to the primary closed condition, fully engaging the striker, the secondary pawl follows the ratchet, allowing the release lever to rotate from a deployed position to a retracted position.
Upon release of the primary engagement by disengaging the primary pawl, the ratchet will rotate from the primary closed to the secondary closed condition. The secondary pawl will follow the ratchet rotating the release lever from the retracted position to the deployed position. The operator then manipulates the release lever to release the ratchet, allowing the ratchet to rotate from the secondary closed to the open condition.
The hood latch has a light which is operably responsive to a ratchet engagement of the primary pawl or alternatively, to the movement of the release arm moving from the retracted position and the deployed position. As the hood latch changes states between the primary closed condition and the secondary closed condition
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Ghorghorian Dikran
Hunt Trevor
Joshi Ravi
Tomaszewski Kris
Atoma International Corporation
Dayoan B.
Vaterlaus Clifford B
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