Closure fasteners – Keepers – With movable dog – catch or striker
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-02
2001-11-27
Luu, Teri Pham (Department: 3627)
Closure fasteners
Keepers
With movable dog, catch or striker
C292S341150, C292S340000, C292S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322114
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The invention relates to a latch unit for constituting an attaching device for fixing a fixed member and a movable member in cooperation with a striker. The latch unit is used in various equipments including the fixed and movable members and installed in compartments of a car, train, airplane or the like, wherein the latch unit is generally provided at the fixed member and is allowed to engage the striker provided at the movable member so that the movable member is held in a front position with respect to the fixed member.
If there are a fixed member and a movable member, and if it is necessary to attach the movable member to the fixed member at a front position, such as a body portion and a cover of a console box, a body member and a cover member of a glove box installed in a compartment of a car, a rear surface of a seat and a supplementary table rotatably fixed thereto in a train, or a luggage shelf and its cover in an airplane, there has been often used an attaching device including a striker and a latch for receiving the striker therein. The latch includes an elastic member provided with an engaging projection for elastically engaging an engaging portion of the striker as the striker is received therein.
However, in the car or the like, the striker may be unexpectedly disengaged from the latch due to the situation that the moving member is moved by an inertia force or impact force applied thereto by a collision or sudden braking of the car. This unexpected disengagement is desirably prevented. Such a situation can be prevented by increasing an engaging force between the striker and the latch. However, in case such an engaging force is merely increased, there may be disadvantages such that it is difficult to carry out an inserting and engaging operation of the striker with the latch, and an extraction and releasing operation of the striker from the latch.
Of course, in case inertia force or impact force is applied thereto, an emergency lock mechanism for not releasing the engagement of the striker and the latch may be provided separately. However, it is desirable to easily incorporate such a mechanism into the attaching device, so that labor for assembling the car and a weight of the car can be reduced, and the car can be supplied at a lower price.
In view of the above requirements, the present invention has been made, and an object of the invention is to provide a latch unit, wherein there is incorporated a mechanism for preventing the latch and the striker from being disengaged from each other due to the inertia force or impact force applied thereto in case of emergency of a car, without causing any problem in engaging and disengaging operations of the striker and the latch in the normal state.
Another object of the invention is to provide a latch unit as stated above, wherein the engagement release preventing function in case of emergency can be properly provided to an attaching device, which can be made only by attaching the latch unit.
A further object of the invention is to provide a latch unit as stated above, wherein labor for assembling the attaching device can be reduced to thereby supply the car at a lower price.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to attain the above objects, a latch unit of the present invention includes: a casing having a holding chamber for holding a striker therein and a side chamber adjacent to the holding chamber, and to be inserted into an attaching hole formed on an object to which the casing is attached; a responding member movably housed in the side chamber; an introduction opening provided in the casing for introducing the striker therethrough and communicating with the holding chamber; an elastic member projecting toward the introduction opening from an inner deep portion of the holding chamber so that the holding chamber and the side chamber are partitioned, the elastic member having an engaging projection to be engaged with the striker, so that after the elastic member is bent toward the side chamber by an engaging portion of the striker as the striker is inserted into an inner side of the holding chamber through the introduction opening, the elastic member is returned to an original position by positioning the striker in a predetermined position to thereby allow the engaging projection of the elastic member to engage with the engaging portion of the striker to prevent the engaging portion of the striker from being extracted from the holding chamber; and an urging device for always urging the responding member to be positioned on a side of the base portion of the elastic member in the side chamber. An urging force of the urging device is set such that when an inertia force or impact force for allowing the striker to be extracted from the holding chamber by releasing an engagement of the engaging projection of the elastic member and the engaging portion of the striker is applied thereto, the responding member is allowed to move toward a projecting edge of the elastic member to prevent the elastic member from being bent toward the side chamber.
According to the structure, the engaging portion of the striker is engaged with the engaging projection of the elastic member as the striker is inserted into the holding chamber of the latch unit through the introduction opening, so that a member to which the striker is provided can be attached to an object to which the latch unit is attached with one touch operation.
Also, in case at least the inertia force or impact force having such a big force as described above is applied thereto, the responding member is allowed to move toward the position for preventing the elastic member from being bent toward the side chamber, i.e. toward the projecting edge of the elastic member. Thus, the responding member prevents the elastic member from being bent toward the side chamber to thereby prevent the striker from being extracted from the holding chamber, in other words, prevent the member to which the striker is attached from being separated from the object to which the latch unit is attached, due to the inertia force or impact force.
As a result, it is not necessary to excessively increase an engaging force of the elastic member with respect to the engaging projection of the striker, and large pushing-in and pulling-out forces are not required for inserting the striker into the latch or engagement operation, and pulling out the striker from the latch or engagement releasing operation in a normal situation.
Also, the attaching device having a function for preventing the striker from being extracted when the inertia force or impact force is applied thereto can be easily provided to a member which require such an attaching device, by installing the casing into an attaching hole formed on the member.
Also, as far as the inertia force or impact force is not applied, since the responding member can be stably located at a position where the responding member does not prevent the elastic member from being bent toward the side chamber, even if the latch unit is attached so that a front surface of the casing faces upwards, sidewards or downwards, any operation of insertion of the striker into the holding chamber or engagement operation, and extraction of the striker from the holding chamber or releasing operation can be carried out without any problem in the normal operation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4871629 (1989-10-01), Bunyea
patent: 5186516 (1993-02-01), Alexander et al.
patent: 5520424 (1996-05-01), Hapke et al.
patent: 5613718 (1997-03-01), Lin
patent: 6106035 (2000-08-01), Hetherington
Kurachi Katsuhito
Shimajiri Naohiro
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Luu Teri Pham
Nifco Inc.
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