US2523814A - Hood latch - Google Patents

Description

P 65 1950 A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,523,814

H001: LATCH Filed July 20, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 1950 A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,523,814

HOOD LATCH Filed July 20, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. CLAUD- MANTLE Sept. 26, 1950 HOOD LATCH s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 20, 1946 Patented Sept. 26, 1950 HOOD LATCH Arthur Gland-Mantle, Trumbull, Conn, assignor to The Bassick Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 20, 1946, Serial No. 685,026

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to hood latches, and

more particularly to those in which the auto.

mobile hood is of the alligator type, the lid of.

the hood being liftable from the front of the car.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved hood latch of the type in which the lid carries a depending'latch member which is adapted to be gripped and held within a gripping device carried by the lower stationary part of the hood.

Another object is toprovide for very secure fastening of a latching member in the form of a latching post or shank, the latching member being firmly held against movement or play during the travel of the vehicle.

Another object is to provide improved means for acting upon and holding the latching post or like member and for effecting its release when it is desired to open the hood.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig; 1 is a side elevation, with parts broken away and with some parts in section, showing a hood latch embodying the invention, the latch being in the latchedposition;

Fig. 2 is an elevation; with some parts broken away and some parts omitted; showing. the latch illustrated in Fig. 1, looking from the front end of the car;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3'3- of Fig. 2';

Fig; 4-is asection: at right" angles to Fig. 3;

Fig. 5-is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a viewsimilarto Fig. 3, with parts omitted, showing the latch in the released position, the lid being raisedtoa certain extent;

Fig. '7- is a section at right angles to Fig. 6, showing the parts in the same position;

Fig. 8 is a section on:line 88" of Fig. 7';

Fig. 9is-a sectionon line'99 of' Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the action in releasing the latch;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation, partlyin section, showing a latch. of somewhat modified form;

Fig. 12 is a view taken at rightangles to Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a section on line [3-43 of Fig. 12-;

Fig. 14 is a sectiononline. Ill-54 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 1-5 is asectionon line l5l 5 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 16 is a section on line IG IE, of Fig. 12;

In the embodiments selected for'illustration,

the automobile hood is of the alligator type hav ing a lid which isliftable from the front end of thecar,. and has a hinge located adjacent the rear end of the engine enclosure: Thelatching mechanism. includes a. depending latching member generally in the form of a post carried by the lid adjacent the front end of the lid, and adapted to be engaged by a gripping device 10-. cated within the upper part of the stationary member of the engine enclosure. The latching post is fiXedto-a transverse mounting plate car-- ried by the lid, and the gripping device'is carried by a mounting plate supported in and extending transversely of the lower stationary hood member. The gripping device is constructed to receive and center the latching post when the lid is lowered, and the usual springv isemployed in association with the two hood. members, acting to separate them to a certain extent as soon as the latch is released. There is also preferably associated with the latching mechanism a safety hook or other safety. device acting to limit. lifting of the hood when the safety device is in the normal or active position. The gripping device for gripping. the latching post and holding the lid in the closed position has, of course, associated therewith means whereby the latch can be released, and it is preferred to have the releasing means operable from. the interior of the car throughthe use of a suitable member, such as a flexible pull member.

In the drawings, the lidis shown at 2B, the lower hood member at 2!, the mounting plate carried by the lid at 22, the mounting plate on the other hood member at 23, the latch post carried. by member 22 at 24, and the lid-lifting spring at 25. The member 24 is preferablyconstructed in the manner hereinafter described. The gripping device carried by the mounting plate 23: isindicated generally at 26; The pull cable. leading from the gripping device to the interior of thecar is shown at 27!, and an operating knob fixed to the pull cable within the interior of the car is. shown at 28. The safety catch previo-usly'mentioned is shown at 29. In the form shown this catch is provided with a hook and is in pivotal relation tothe plate 22 and adapted to engage in the usual manner undera portion of a rib tl to be hereinafter described, when the hook is in the normal position. The hook is manipulable by means of a manipulating arm or pad 29 The latching post 24 is preferably of somewhat larger cross section adjacent its upper end than ity' it is preferably provided with an enlargement or head that is secured to plate 30 in any suitable manner, as by riveting or upsetting. Plate 3i)? is attached to plate 22. The spring 25 is a helical spring which surrounds the post 24 and has itslower end received in a cup 3| which is slidably mounted on the post and is adapted to take up against the upper part of the gripping device 26 when the lid is in the latched position, as shown in Fig. 4, at which time the spring is under considerable compression. The part of the gripping device with which the cup 3| makes contact is, in this form, a plate 31 suitably supported from mounting plate 23, said plate 3P having marginal reinforcing ribs 3| extending transversely of the hood.

That portion of the post 24 which engages within the gripping member 26 is preferably.

flattened in cross section so as to have opposite substantially flat faces, and preferably the cross section of this portion of the latching member is elongated in a direction lengthwise of the hood. The opposite larger faces are adapted to be engaged by gripping elements forming a part of the gripping member, as hereinafter described. The front and rear end surfaces or edges provided on the flattened part of the latch post are preferably slightly rounded, as shown in Fig. 5, but not necessarily so.

The gripping member 26 in the form of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 10, inclusive comprises a. plate member upon which are mounted movable gripping devices adapted to engage the opposite fiat faces of the latch post, and this plate member just mentioned includes the plate 3P and likewise a plate 32 which underlies plate 3|, said two plates providing a two-lply member having a slot 33 into which the latch post can enter as it moves downwardly.

The movable gripping elements above mentioned are respectively indicated at 34 and 35, both being mounted from the slotted plate structure into which the latching post enters. In the form shown, the element 34 is of the nature of a pivoted plate member spring-pressed into engagement with the latch post, and the element 35 is in the nature of an abutment against which the latch post is pressed for holding the latch in position, the abutment being normally fixed in position but being displaceable relatively to the adjacent side face of the latch post for the punpose of releasing the latch.

In the form shown the gripping plate 34 is pivoted to the supporting plate structure by providing plate 32 at one side with a downturned and inturned flange 36, which flange forms a recess in which is received one margin of plate 34. The latter plate is provided with a hole 31 through which extends a guide post 38 serving as a mounting for a coiled spring 39. This spring is interposed between the lower surface of plate 34 and an enlargement 40 at the lower end of the guide post, and the upper end of the guide post has a suitable connection with the plate structure 31 32 whereby it is suitably supported. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4, the spring urges the right-hand portion of the plate 34 upwardly to cause pivotal movement of the plate and gripping engagement thereof with the latch post, the plate when engaged with the latch post being at an angle to the horizontal, the right-hand edge of the gripping plate (Fig. 4) being somewhat lower than the left-hand edge.

The abutment 35 in this form of the device is mounted between flange-like walls 4!, 42 with which the plate 32 is provided at the front and rear, respectively, of the latch mechanism. This abutment comprises a round rod portion 43 that is mounted in the flanges 4!, 42 by providing suitable openings in the flanges. At one point in its periphery the rod portion 43 has a flat 44, but normally the round portion of the rod engages the adjacent side face of the latch post, as shown in Fig. 4. An arm 45 is suitably fixed to one extremity of the rod portion or shaft, and a spring 46 serves to connect the outer end of arm 45 to a stationary part such as a lug 41 projecting from flange 42. This spring 46 normally holds the rod portion or shaft in the position shown in Fig. 4. At the opposite end of the rod portion an arm 48 is fixed in position, said arm serving as a means whereby the rod portion can be turned on its axis. The arm 48 is connected to the forward end of the cable 21 in any suitable manner. In this form, arm 48 is provided with a stop surface 48 adapted to engage plate 3| so as to prevent arm 48 from moving clockwise beyond the position shown in Fig. 2.

The flat portion 44 of the shaft 35 is preferably substantially wider than the shank portion 24 of the latch post, as shown in Fig. 5. At its lower extremity the latch post is preferably tapered, as shown at 24*, to a reduced edge. The lower extremity of the latch post is somewhat wider than the main shank portion, and there is thereby provided a shoulder 24 against which the cup 3| rests when the lid is in a raised position. Normally the spring acting upon the gripping plate 34 holds said plate in the position shown in Fig. '7 where its right-hand portion is against the upper plate structure. The free edge of the gripping plate will then lie in the downward path of the latching post. The normal position of the shaft 35 is as shown in Fig. '7. The flat 44 will not only enable the latch to be released, but it will facilitate entry of the latching post into the gripping device.

The lower member of the latch having the position shown in Fig. '7, the lowering of the lid will cause the pointed extremity of the latch member to engage the gripping plate from above and tip the right-hand edge downwardly, and the rod portion at the opposite side of the latch post may, if necessary, be moved somewhat against the action of its spring to permit the post to enter between it and the gripping plate, and the post continues its movement until it reaches the fully latched position shown in Fig. 4. In this position the spring 39 urges plate 34 upward and holds it in a wedging and gripping position. The rod portion 35 acts in general as an abutment against which the latch post is forced by plate 34, but in this particular form the rod portion also has a certain resilient gripping action tending to grip and wedge the post across its flat side face along the line where the round surface of the rod portion and the planar surface thereof meet each other. Thus in this particular case the right-hand gripping element (Fig. 4) is yieldingly urged to have a contacting corner or edge portion grip the latch post.

In order to release the latch the cable 21 is pulled, and this will swing the rod portion in a counterclockwise direction with reference to Fig.

'4, with the result that the latch post will be released, and, having ample lateral clearance, will rise under the action of spring 25. This action is shown in Fig. 10, which is a somewhat exaggerated view, and it will be seen that when the planar face of the rod portion is brought substantially parallel to the opposing face of the latch post, the latch post can rise freely without being obstructed by the right hand edge of the gripping plate.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 11 to 16, inclusive, the variation from the form previously described resides principally in the character of the abutment against which the latch post is held by the pivoted spring-pressed gripping plate.

In this case the abutment is a rotary member, as before, and it may, as before, be shifted against the action of a controlling spring by operation of a pull cable or the like from th interior of the car. However, instead of turning on a generally horizontal axis, it turns on a vertical axis. It will not be necessary to refer to the structure of the pivoted gripping plate, as this is the same as in the first form, but it will be noted that in this form the dual plate structure of the lower latch mechanism comprises an upper plate 49 and a lower plate 58 between which is mounted a short venticah shaft i carrying an. abutment 52 adapted to engage the right-hand face (Fig. 14) of the latch post along a vertical line of contact in a region somewhat above the region where the clamping plate engages the post. Here the abutment is constitutedby a round member eceentrically located onv the shaft 5!, as will be seen in Fig. 16. Shaft M has suitable bearings in the plates 49 and 50, and above plate $9 an arm 53 is fixed to the shaft, the free end of which arm has a lug 5% for connection to the pull cable 21*. Intermediate of its nds the arm 53 has connected to it one end of a coil spring 55, the opposite end of which is connected to plate l9 at 55. Through the action of spring 55 the eccentric abutment member 52 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 16, in which position a part of the eccentric is projected out of a slot 5? formed between portions of plates 49 and fill so as to engage the latch post in the manner shown in Figs. 14 and 16. The slot 5'! is a lateral slot in communication with a generally upright slot 58 which is provided in the top plate structure of the lower latch member to receive the latching post. In this form the plate 49 has an upwardly offset portion 59 in which a part of the slot 58 is formed; and the cup on the lower end of the hood-opening spring is adapted to rest on the portion 59 when the hood is in latched position, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14. 1

It is noted that, in both of the forms shown, the gripping portion of the latching post has its horizontal cross section elongated in a direction longitudinally of the hood. This arrangement facilitates proper gripping cooperation between the latching post and the gripping means irrespective of slight inaccuracies in assembling the hood parts and latch parts. In the form shown the elongation of the shank cross section of the latching post is somewhat greater at the lower extremity or tip than elsewhere.

In the forms described the latching member is vely effectively gripped when the hood is in the latched position, and noise and wear resulting from looseness or play of the parts is prevented or largely overcome. The release of the latch can be readily effected by movement of the abutment member against which the latch shank is forced by the gripping member at the other side of the latch member. Moreover, the device is relatively simple in structure and relatively inexpensive.

Two embodiments are shown in the drawings,

but it is to be understood that various changes in the organization of parts and in the details may be made without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a hood latch, a rigid post-like latching member adapted to be carried by one part of the hood and having opposite flat sides, and a gripping means adapted to be carried by the other part of the hood for gripping the latching member, said gripping means including a rotary gripping member with a gripping edge adapted to make line contact with the adjacent flat side of the latching member transversely of the latching member, said gripping member having a cylindrical surface portion and a planar surface portion meeting said cylindrical portion.

2. In a hood latch, a rigid post-like latching member adapted to be carried by one part of the hood and having opposite fiat sides, and gripping means adapted to be carried by the otherpart of the hood for gripping the latching member at said flat sides, said gripping means including a rotary shaft member adapted to turn on a substantially horizontal axis, said member having .a gripping edge portion provided on the surface of the shaft to engage the adjacent flat side of the latching member, said shaft having meeting cylindrical and planar surfaces providing said gripping edge portion.

3. In a hood latch, a rigid post-like latching member adapted to be carried by one part of the hood and having opposite flat sides, and gripping means adapted to be carried by the other part of the hood for gripping the latching member at said fiat sides, said gripping means including a rotary shaft member adapted to turn on a substantially horizontal axis, said member having a gripping edge :portion provided on the surface of the shaft to engage the adjacent flat side of the latching member, said shaft having meeting cylindrical and planar surfaces providing said gripping edge portion, said shaft being spring-controlled to hold it normally in a predetermined angular position.

4. In a hood latch, a rigid post-like latching member adapted to be carried by one part of the hood and having opposite flat sides, gripping means adapted to be carried by the other part of the hood for gripping the latching member at said flat sides, said gripping means including a rotary shaft member adapted to turn on a substantially horizontal axis, said member having a gripping edge portion provided on the surface of the shaft to engage the adjacent flat side of the latching member, said shaft having meeting cylindrical and planar surfaces providing said gripping edge portion, said shaft being spring-controlled to hold it normally in a predetermined angular position, and means for moving said shaft angularly so as to release the latch.

5. In a hood latch for an alligator-type hood, in which the hood lid carries a post-like depend ing rigid latch member, a gripping device for the latch member having an upper slotted plate structure into which the latch member enters from above, said plate structure carrying at one side an abutment for the latch member and being provided at the opposite side with a marginal inturned flange, a gripping plate received in the space provided by said flange so as to be pivoted for up-and-down movement relatively to the plate structure, said gripping plate having an opening therein between its edges, and a post member depending from said plate structure and passing through said opening and carrying a spring below the gripping plate which acts to force the free edge of the gripping plate against a side face of the latch member, the abutment above mentioned being displaceable to release the latch member.

6. In a hood latch applied to an alligator hood in which the hood lid is liftable from the front end and carries adjacent the front end a rigid depending latching member adapted to be engaged and held by a gripping device carried by the lower stationary part of the hood, a latching member in the form of a post of elongated flattened cross section presenting opposite fiat faces, a member mounting said latching member rigidly from the lid in pendant position so that the elongation of its cross section is disposed longitudinally of the hood, and a gripping device mounted within the lower stationary part of the hood and adapted to grip and hold the latch member by engaging its opposite fiat faces, said gripping device comprising an upper plate having a slot to receive the latch post and also comprising separate gripping members adjacent the respective faces of the post, one of said gripping members being spring-pressed and operable from a distance to release the post.

'7. In a hood latch for alligator-type hoods, a rigid post-like latching member carried by the lid of the hood adjacent the front end and of elongated flattened cross section so as to present opposite fiat side faces, said member being elong- 8 I ated longitudinally of the hood, and a gripping device carried by the lower stationary part of the hood adapted to grip and hold the latching member, said device including an upper plate having a receiving slot for the latching member disposed longitudinally of the hood and also including spring-pressed movable gripping members located adjacent the respective fiat faces of said latching member, one of said gripping members having as a part thereof a shaft providing a turning axis for said member, and means connected to the shaft and operable from a distance for turning said shaft.

ARTHUR CLAUD-MAN'ILE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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