Patent ID: 11898375
Assignee: CHANNELL COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E  H | IPC E  H

Claim 4:
5. A shielded self-latching locking system for securely closing a lid on an enclosure, comprising:
a non-conductive cover secured to an underside of the lid by fasteners;
a slide member disposed within the non-conductive cover, the slide member having a latch portion thereof positioned to engage an abutment located on an inside of the enclosure when the lid is forced down over an opening in the enclosure;
a resilient spring member disposed in the slide member;
the spring member normally biasing the latch to an extended position adapted for contact with the abutment on the enclosure, the slide member adapted to slide within the non-conductive cover, against the bias of the spring member, to said retracted position from the latch contacting the abutment with a downward force, when the lid is forced down over the opening in the enclosure, the slide member adapted to slide within a channel within the non-conductive cover to said retracted position due to the latch contacting the abutment when the lid is forced down over the opening of the enclosure due to the downward force applied to the top of the lid;
the latch in said extended position being retained in a locking position beneath the abutment via the bias of the spring member;
an L-bolt having a shaft portion thereof positioned in the lid adjacent the slide member and a leg portion thereof coupled to the slide member between the spring member and the latch,
the non-conductive cover guiding spring-biased axial travel of the slide member within the non-conductive cover between the extended and retracted positions, in unison with rotation of the shaft portion of the L-bolt,
the shaft portion of the L-bolt accessible from the exterior of the lid for rotating the L-bolt to retract the latch from the locking position and against the spring-bias sufficiently for removing the lid from the enclosure,
the non-conductive cover shielding the spring member, L-bolt and fasteners from electrical conductivity from within the enclosure; and
wherein the non-conductive cover includes an end wall, a first side wall, a second side wall and a base wall forming the channel, and a rigid rib wall extending inwardly into the channel from the end wall and the base wall in between and spaced from the first side wall and the second side wall for engaging an end of the spring member in the slide member at a distance away from the end wall,
wherein the end wall is located at an end of the first side wall, the second side wall and the base wall.