Closure fasteners – Bolts – Swinging and hooked end – multiple head
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-27
2002-09-24
Luu, Teri Pham (Department: 3677)
Closure fasteners
Bolts
Swinging and hooked end, multiple head
C290S053000, C290S017000, C070S208000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06454320
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application also is a continuation-in-part of design application Ser. No. 29/113,063 filed Oct. 28, 1999 by Lee S. Weinerman et al, issued as U.S. Pat. No. D44,5015, entitled FRONT EXTERIOR PORTION OF A LATCH OR LOCK HOUSING WITH PUSH BUTTON OPERATOR, relating to appearance features of push button operators that may be utilized in the practice of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
REFERENCE TO SUBJECT-MATTER RELATED APPLICATION
Reference also is made to a concurrently filed design application, Ser. No. 29/131,819 filed by Lee S. Weinerman et al, issued as U.S. Pat. No. D447,002 entitled CLAMP BRACKET ASSEMBLY WITH J-SHAPED LINKAGE ARMS FOR USE WITH PUSH BUTTON LATCH AND LOCK OPERATING ASSEMBLIES, relating to appearance features of a clamp-on bracket and linkage assembly that can be attached to push button operator assemblies, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements 1) in weather resistant push button operators or “operating assemblies” for latches and locks that are capable of providing good service longevity in exterior environments, for example when used to secure tool boxes mounted on pickup trucks, or the like; 2) in bracket and linkage assemblies for connection to the housings of push button operators for adapting the push button operators to substantially concurrently operate a pair of remotely located latches or “latch assemblies;” and,
3
) in push button controlled latch and lock systems for holding closed the hinged lids of tool boxes of the type often mounted on pickup trucks, or the like, where lockable push button operator assemblies are provided at opposite end regions of the body or lid of the tool box, with each of the push button operator assemblies being capable of concurrently releasing a pair of latch assemblies connected to the tool box body at substantially equally spaced locations on opposite sides of a center plane of the box, and wherein the systems utilize novel and improved symmetrical arrangements of the push button operators, the latch assemblies they operate, and the linkage components that interconnect the push button operators with the latches to offer smooth operation with substantially equal application of force, and to provide substantially the same operational “feel” regardless of which of the two push button operator assemblies is used to substantially concurrently release the grip of the latch assemblies on suitably positioned strikers.
2. Prior Art
Push button operated latches and locks are well known. Over the years, many have been designed for relatively light duty interior applications where weather resistance is not of concern, for example to secure glove compartment doors in vehicles. More recently, some proposals have addressed the need for heavier duty push button operators to be used exteriorly, for example to secure the elongate doors of tool boxes of the type carried by pickup trucks, or the like. A drawback of previously proposed push button operator assemblies has been the ease with which moisture may seep past the push buttons and/or past the lockable key cylinders carried by the push buttons of these assemblies. If moisture can move with ease alongside the push buttons and/or alongside the key cylinders carried by the push buttons, this moisture may enter the tool box and may cause corrosion and damage to components of the locking system, to the tool box itself, and to the contents of the tool box. Thus, a need has remained for improved lockable push button operator assemblies that not only employ reliable sets of simply configured, easy to assemble components but also offer improved weather resistance.
Rotary latch assemblies are well known that employ a stamped, elongate housing which is provided near one end with a notch for receiving a latch striker, which is provided near the opposite end with a pivotal release lever, and which provides a notched rotary jaw carried by the housing together with other latch elements to enable the rotary jaw to retain the striker in the notch of the housing until released by pivoting the release lever from a retaining position to a release position. Among the patents that disclose a preferred type of rotary latch assembly that takes a simple and relatively inexpensive form that has a proven track record of reliability and service longevity (referred to hereinafter as the “Patented Rotary Latch Assembly”) are the following patents issued to Lee S. Weinerman et al: U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,260 issued Aug. 8, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,295 issued Oct. 15, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,458 issued Dec. 24, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,076 issued Jan. 21, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,224 issued Mar. 18, 1997; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948 issued Mar. 23, 1999. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.
Attention is particularly directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948 wherein features of the most recently improved form of the Patented Rotary Latch Assembly are disclosed, and to
FIGS. 22-25
of this patent wherein examples are provided of some of the ways in which pivotal release levers may be connected to the housings of these latches. The rotary latches that are depicted in the drawings of the present application preferably take the improved form that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948, have housing carried latch components that preferably are identical to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948, and preferably employ pivotal release levers that operate in substantially the same manner as the four differently configured release levers that are utilized by the four rotary latch embodiments depicted in
FIGS. 22-25
of U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948.
While it is known to provide elongate tool boxes of the type often mounted on pickup trucks with 1) a pair of rotary latches assemblies that are supported by the body of the tool box for receiving latch strikers that are carried by the hinged lid of the tool box, 2) a pair of lockable push button operator assemblies mounted on opposite ends of the tool box body, and 3) a linkage that interconnects the push button operator assemblies and the rotary latch assemblies to enable either of the push button operator assemblies to concurrently release the rotary latch assemblies, a number of drawbacks have been encountered with previously proposed systems of this type.
Among the drawbacks exhibited by prior proposals is the noticeably unequal magnitude of force that typically is required to operate the left and right push buttons to release the rotary latch assemblies—a distinct difference that exists because the linkage that interconnects the push button operator assemblies and the rotary latch assemblies is not “symmetrical” in character and tends to bind when more force is applied to one of its ends by one of the push buttons than when force is applied to the other of its ends by the other of the push buttons. Because the interconnection linkage is “non-symmetric,” what each of the push button operator assemblies connects with is a different arrangement of linkage components—in essence, a linkage that offers a different arrangement of components to each of the left and right push button operator assemblies. Typically, one of the push buttons has a reversing crank located quite near to it, while the other push button therefore faces a linkage that has the reversing crank near the opposite end of its chain of components.
As those who are skilled in the art will readily appreciate, it is not unusual to find that very different magnitudes of force are required to move a chain of components through identical movements depending on which of the components that one selects to receive the force application that causes movement. Such is the case with prior proposals that utilize “non-symmetric” linkages that differ significantly in character depending on which of the push button operators is called upon to operate these linkages. The resul
Kuminski Arthur J.
Weinerman Lee S.
Burge David A.
Luu Teri Pham
The Eastern Company
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