US3190713A - Chassis latch handle - Google Patents

Description

June 22 1965 J. VANDER sANDE ETAL 3,190,713

CHASSIS LATCH HANDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 29, 1959 INVENTOR m m m mR u REB W. ERM R D AHM .l vwl A LKW R www June 22, 1965 J. L. VANDER sANDE ErAL 3,190,713

CHASSIS LATCH HANDLE Original Filed June 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.6 F|G.7

INVENTORS JOHN L. VANDER .5A/VDE FRAN/f WHEELER BENJAMIN CHRI. B567/ NER THE/? 14T TORNE YS v tion.

i the invention.

United States Patent 3,190,713 v CHASSIS LAT H HANDLE .lohn L. Vander Sande, North Haledonn and Frank Wheeler, Little Falis, NJ., and Benjamin Carl Boehner, Van Nuys, Calif., assignors to Camloe Fastener Corporation, Paramus, NJ., a corporation of New York Continuation of application Ser. No. 323,551, June 29, 1959. This application Jan. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 250,310 7 Claims. (Cl. S12-320) This application is a continuation of our copending application Serial No. 823,551, filed June 29, 1959, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in latch fasteners and relates more particularly to an improved means for securing the freerend of a latch lever which also serves as a carrying handlefor the member to be secured.

The presentk application constitutes an improvement on the structure disclosed in. application Ser. No. 710,836, now'Patent No. 2,925,056, wherein a novel latch is employed for moving a drawer -or chassis forming part'of an electronic device into a frame or housing therefor and securing the saine within the housing. The pivoted lever has a generally C-shaped cam located just beyond the pivot on the side opposite the main llever section, and this cam, mounted on the drawer or chassis, cooperates with a keeper mounted on the frame or housing to urge the chassis, which generally carries a plurality of connectors, into the housing and the complemental parts of the connectors` contained therein. l

An important object of the present invention is to provide' improved readily releasable means for securing the free end of the lever-,handle in generally parallel relation with the .front walljof the chassis, thereby locking the latch in the housing and providing a secure handle, firmly supportedat its ends, for carrying the chassis with its delicate vand expensive components, when the parts are to be repaired or replaced.

In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevationof a latch embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a broken vertical section.

FIG. 3 is a broken theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a broken section.

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 but shows the parts in unfastened condition.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a third form of the inven- F'IG. 7 is a side elevation thereof. lFIG. 8 is a side elevation showing a fourth invention.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation thereof. FIG. 10 is a plan view. y FIG. l1 is a section taken on line 2 2 of FIG. 8. FIG. 12 is a broken sectionV showing the linal form of form of the FIG. 13 is a front elevation of the keeper.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the keeper.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in FGS. land 2 and it includes an elongated bracket 10 which is arranged to be mounted by means of screws or the like on the front wall of a removable box-like metal chassis 11, and at its lower end a pair of spaced ears 12 have a pivot pin 13 which supports a combined latch lever and carrying handle 14. This handle has a generally C- shaped extension 15. below the pivot whichcooperates with a keeper (not shown) attached to the front of a frame or housing fora number of the chassis units. Curved camming surfaces on the front and rear faces of the extension aid in moving the chassis into and out of the housing.

front elevation of a second form of YCC Releasable means are provided at the upper end of the lever which retains it in the position shown in FIG. l in fixed relation to the chassis. When in this secured position the lever secures the chassis against outward movement when it is in the housing and also converts the lever into a convenient carrying handle secured at both ends to the chassis when the latter is removed from the housing for servicing or replacement.

In this rst embodiment of the invention the bracket has a thickened upper end portion 16 provided with an opening 2h to receive the upper, inwardly turned, terminal portion 21 of the lever. This terminal portion has a tapered nose 22 to effectively guide it into the opening and a milled slot vpositioned forwardly of the nose is defined at its inner end by asquare shoulder 23 and at its outer end by a tapered shoulder 24.

The lever is retained in iiXed but releasable position in the opening by means of a slidable latch 25 having an inwardly turned thumb-engaging upper end 26 which is knurled on its upper face. The latch is urged upwardly by a coiled spring 30 carried concentrically of a pin 31 connected at its upper end to the upper end 26 of the latch and mounted for sliding movement in an opening 32 in a shelf 33. Y v

At its lower end the latch has an opening defined at upper and lower ends by dotted lines 34 and 35 and which receives the horizontal portion 21 of the combined lever and handle.

ported for vertical sliding movement in a slot 36 and its upper end in a slot 37 aligned therewith.

When the lever is swung towards the bracket from its outer or diagonal position the tapered nosecontacts lower edge of the latch opening, camming the latch down-v wardly against the compression of the spring. The full diameter section then passes the opening and when the shoulder 23 arrives at the latch face the latch snaps upwardly to the position of FIG. 2 and the leverlhandlev is locked in place while cam 15 at the lower end of the lever locks the chassis in the housing. The same thing occurs when the chassis has been removed from the housing and the lever is used as a carrying handle.

In actual practice there may be a separate lever assembly of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 at one or at each end of the chassis, or one locking mechanism may be used for two levers, one at each end of the chassis. Thus, in the modified form of the invention in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, a Idouble lever of generally U-shape is' provided for pivotal mounting on of vertical legs 41 joined by a horizontal bar 42. VA cam (not shown) similar to cam 15, is locatedrat the lower end of each vertical leg. This lever may be made from tube stock or it may be made from solid bar stock, and in either event the horizontal section 42 is deformed by suitable die means to form a recess 43 deiined at its rear end by a shoulder 44 which is engaged by the lower end of a latch 45 slidably mounted for Vertical travel on the rear face of an upper section 46 of the chassis. Section 46 has an elongated vertical slot dened at upper and lowerends by edges StB-51 and being of suicient width to receive two headedpins 52 mounted in openings 53 in the latch, said pins passing through openings in a finger piece or release button 54 slidablyvmounted on thefront face of upper chassis section 46. This latter section which has an inverted U-shaped cut-away portion 55 to r allow for movement of the latch release button 54, is

bent rearwardly lat 56 where it enters the housing 57. A spring 58 urges the latch downwardly to locking position.

It will be noted that in the iirst embodiment of the invention a single bracket secured tothe front wall of the chassis forms a pivotal support at its lower end for the lever-handle and the locking mechanism for the Patented June 22, 1565 VThe lower end of the latch -is` sup-V the chassis 40, the lever consisting free end of the lever is disposed at the upper end of the bracket. In the modified form of FIGS. 3-5, the locking mechanism is incorporated into the chassis while the pivotal support for the lever-handle is a separate element. In the next form of the invention, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the locking mechanism is merely supported by the chassis which latter will be only slightly modified to receive the lever locking mechanism.

The cross bar 61 of the combined lever and handle is generally similar to that shown in FIG. 3 except that the recess 62 and shoulder 63 is on the lower surface thereof, and in this instance the latch 64 is formed from spring sheet metal. It may be stamped out in a single blank and at its inner end the blank is rolled to form a circular loop 65 extending over its entire width. The spring latch has a narrowed forward section 66 and the portions of the blank shown in dotted lines 67 in FIG. 6, lying on either side of the narrowed latch portion, are cut along edges 68'from the narrowed portion and are bent to form loops 70. These front and rear loops are suitably mounted in the housing on fixed pins (not shown).

At the outer end of the spring latch the material is bent double to a substantially C-shape to form a latch portion 71 which enters the recess 62 in the handle. A finger portion 72 at the outer end of the spring latch is depressed to release the lever-handle for pivoted movement.

In FIGS. 8 to 1l the latch, when mounted vertically, has a lesser height than that shown in FIG. 1 and accordingly can be used on a chassisof lesser than usual height and in other cases where space limitations are present. It also has a handle latch which is operated from the side rather than the top, as in FIG. l, so that if the vertical spacing between the superimposed chassis units is very small, the handle is nevertheless readily released for pivotal movement. The bracket 75 is secured by screws to the front wall of the chassis indicated at 76 and the frame is indicated at 77. A pin 7 8 forms a pivoted support for handle 80 having the C shaped cam or extension 81 below the pivot, the bracket being provided with a slot 79 to receive this lower section of the lever. The C-shaped cam 81 engages a pin S2 on a slotted keeper bracket 83 secured to frame 77.

The bracket has a linger opening 84 and the leverhandle 80 extends around a curved forward section 88 of the bracket where the two members are nested, as shown in FIG. 1l, and then rearwardly at 8S. The rear terminal 89 of the handle is narrowed where it enters the opening in the bracket. A boss 92 forms a finger portion for drawing the handle forwardly. The keeper for the upper end of the lever consists of an L-shaped latch 86 mounted for horizontal sliding movement in a transverse opening 87 at the upper end of the bracket and whose lateral portion 90 is urged outwardly by a spring 91.

In the final form of the invention shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, the lever has the same horizontal upper terminal portion 101 with its tapered nose 102 and notch 103. The keeper 104 is formed at the upper end of the bracket which is thickened and has a recess 105 extending downwardly from its upper end and including a front wall opening 106 to receive the lever terminal 101, and a lower wall recess 110 to receive a spring 111. The rear wall also has an opening 112.

A latch keeper 113 is received in sliding engagement within opening 105 and is provided with a latch bolt portion 114 which enters notch 103 in the lever. The keeper is urged into latching position by spring 111 andV its upper surface is ridged at 115, or otherwise rendered nonsmooth. The forward end 116 of this upper portion extends forwardly through front wall opening 106. Below this upperportion an opening 120 is formed which receives the horizontal terminal of the lever. A pin 121 carried by the keeper and riding in bracket slot 112 limits upward travel of the keeper.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined inl the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

We claim:

1. A latching assembly for holding a irst member in a home position on a mounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends, means for mounting lsaid handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said endsv and on said mounting member for moving said first member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch adapted to engage said hook, means for mounting said latch for sliding vmovement on said iirst member and res'ilientmeans for urging said latch to a position at which it engages said'hook as said handle moves to said closed position.

2. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position on a mounting member on which said irst member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends, one of said ends being provided with a leg, means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said irst member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on said leg and on said mounting member for moving said first member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch adapted to engage said hook, means for mounting said latch for sliding movement on saidv irst member and resilient means for urging said latch to a position at which it engages saidy hook as said handle moves to said closed position.

3. A latching assembly for holding a rst member in a home position on a mounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends,

means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open4 and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said ends and on said mounting member for moving said first member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means `forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch adapted to engage said hook, means for mounting said latch for sliding movement on said first member, resilient means for urging said latch to a position at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to said closed position and readily accessible manually operable means for moving said latch against the action of said resilient means out of engagement with said hook.

4. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position on a mounting member on which Vsaid rst member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends, means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said ends 4and on said mounting member for moving saidirst member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed posi tion, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a latch plate vprovided with means adapted to be engaged by said hook, means for mounting said latch plate for sliding movement on said one member and resilient means'for urging said plate to a position at which said hook engages said plate as said handle moves to said closed position.

5. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position on a mounting member on which said iirst member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends, means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said ends and on said mounting member for moving said first member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carried by said one member, alatch, means for mounting said latch for sliding movement within said housing, and means normally urging said latch to a position at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to said closed position.

6. A latching assembly for holding a first member in a home position on a mounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle having ends, means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said ends and on said mounting member for moving said iirst member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carried by said one member, a latch, means fory mounting said latch for sliding movement within said housing and means normally urging said latch to a position at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to said closed position, said latch comprising means extending out of said housing to a position at which it is adapted to be actuated to move said latch out of engagement with said hook.

7. A latching assembly for holding a rst member in a home position on a mounting member on which said first member can be moved into and out of said home position including in combination a handle'having ends, means for mounting said handle for pivotal movement on said first member between open and closed positions, interengageable means on one of said ends and on said mounting member for moving said rst member into said home position as said handle moves to its closed position, means forming a hook on the other end of said handle, a housing adapted to be carried by said one member, a latch plate formed with an opening for receiving said hook, means for mounting said latch plate for sliding movement within said housing and means normally urging said latch plate to a position at which it engages said hook as said handle moves to said closed position.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A LATCHING ASSEMBLY FOR HOLDING A FIRST MEMBER IN A HOME POSITION ON A MOUNTING MEMBER ON WHICH SAID FIRST MEMBER CAN BE MOVED INTO AND OUT OF SAID HOME POSITION INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A HANDLE HAVING ENDS MEANS MOUNTING SAID HANDLE FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ON SAID FIRST MEMBER BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, INTERENGAGEABLE MEANS ON ONE OF SAID ENDS AND ON SAID MOUNTING MEMBER FOR MOVING SAID FIRST MEMBER INTO SAID HOME POSITION AS SAID HANDLE MOVES TO ITS CLOSED POSITION, MEANS FORMING A HOOK ON THE OTHER END OF SAID HANDLE, A LATCH ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID HOOK, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID LATCH FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT ON SAID FIRST MEMBER AND RESILIENT MEANS FOR URGING SAID LATCH TO A POSITION AT WHICH IT ENGAGES SAID HOOK AS SAID HANDLE MOVES TO SAID CLOSED POSITION.

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