GB753537A - Improvements in and relating to latch mechanisms - Google Patents

Abstract

753,537. Latch fastenings. CHICAGO FORGING & MANUFACTURING CO. Dec. 24, 1953, No. 35863/53. Class 44. In a latch mechanism of the kind comprising a bolt-like keeper mounted on either the hood or the bonnet of a vehicle and which is arranged to penetrate a hole 10 in a plate 1 carried by the bonnet or hood respectively and to be held there by a spring-loaded latch 105 which engages a part of the keeper and holds it against withdrawal from the hole, manually operable means being provided for positively disengaging the latch from the keeper, the mechanism includes a safety latch 110 which is rendered inoperative when the means for disengaging the main latch and keeper are actuated, but which holds the hood and bonnet together should the main latch and keeper become disengaged without actuation of the said means, the safety latch being pivotally mounted on the vehicle part carrying the plate 1 and main latch and the means for disengaging the main latch and keeper comprising an operating lever 100 which bears against the safety latch. In the construction shown, the plate 1 is mounted on the bonnet of the vehicle, and the keeper is mounted on the hood by means of a plate 35. The keeper has a threaded stem 36 so that it is adjustable and a conical head 37 which has a face 39a adjacent the stem 36 which is the part engaged by the latch 105. A compression spring 40 surrounds the stem 36 and is trapped between a fixed abutment 41 and an abutment 42 on the stem 36. The spring 40 is compressed when the latch 105 is in engagement with the face 39a and when the latch is released it raises the hood. The latch 105 and the lever 100 are both pivoted on the plate 1 and a horn103 on the lever 100 is held in contact with a lug 108 on the latch 105 by a spring 104 which is anchored at one end to the lever 100 and at the other end to the latch 105. The spring 104 also keeps the latch 105 in engagement with the keeper. The safety latch 110 is pivoted to a bracket 112 on the plate 1 and is loaded by a spring 113 to a position overlying a lip 51 of a member 50 of the bonnet. It is moved away from the member 50 when the main latch 105 releases the keeper by a bar 116 forming part of the lever 100 which is guided in a slot in the bracket 112 and bears against the lower part of the safety latch 110. Specification 693,341 is referred to.