Abstract:
A latch which for example may secure a closure to an associated receptacle. The latch may comprise a collar which entraps the enlarged head of a large headed object. The collar may have a series of passages formed therein, each of which receives a spherical object such as a ball bearing. The latch may comprise a pushbutton having an annular body bearing a first portion which prevents the ball bearings from moving, and a second portion which gives each ball bearing space to occupy. The ball bearings normally interfere with the enlarged head and entrap the same within the collar. When the pushbutton is depressed, the second portion allows the ball bearings to move out of the interference position, thereby enabling the enlarged head to escape from the collar. Motion of the pushbutton also provides actuating force for moving the ball bearings.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/408,929, filed Mar. 23, 2009. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to devices for coupling one object to another, and more particularly to a latching mechanism particularly suitable for latching one object to an underlying object, which latching mechanism may operate in pushbutton fashion to release the latched object. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is frequently necessary to keep objects coupled together, and to periodically release these objects from the coupled condition. For example, hinged doors and other closures may ordinarily be kept closed, but are opened periodically to afford access to the space sealed by the closure. Conventionally, rotatable hand operated latches may be provided to latch and unlatch a closure from its associated receptacle. However, rotatable latches typically have exposed projecting components which may become entangled with environmental objects, damaged, or lost. 
     In one example, the hood of a motor vehicle may require a latch which is readily actuated to release the hood for opening. Although passenger vehicles are conventionally provided with latches which engage automatically and which are manually released from the passenger cabin, supplementary latches have been provided for securing the hood. Typically, these latches utilize lanyards and other components which are susceptible to damage and loss due in part to the fact that they project upwardly above the hood surface. Environmental objects can easily become entangled with latch components, which may distort the latch and damage the environmental objects. 
     It would be desirable in situations such as that regarding exposed hood latches to provide a latch which may be essentially flush with the surface of its associated closure, and which is readily manually actuated. There exists a need for a potentially flushly mounted, manually actuated latch for latching two objects to one another and unlatching the same. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention sets forth a latching arrangement which satisfied the above stated needs. The latching arrangement may comprise a large headed object which is fixed to an object, and a receptacle fixed to another object such as a closure, which releasably entraps the large head of the large headed object. 
     The large headed object may be entrapped by spherical objects such as ball bearings, which are retained in a surrounding collar bearing passages formed in the wall of the collar. In the latched condition, the ball bearings are so close to the enlarged head that they interfere with the ability of the large head to pass through the collar and escape therefrom. 
     A pushbutton assembly may telescopically encircle the collar. The pushbutton assembly may have an area displaying a constricted opening which holds the ball bearings in place in the interfering position, so as to assure interference with the enlarged head. Depressing the pushbutton assembly may expose the ball bearings to space into which the ball bearings may move, thereby moving out of the interfering position. The enlarged head may then drop out of engagement with the surrounding collar, with the consequence that the formerly latched objects are now unlatched. 
     The novel latching arrangement is particularly suited for securing a closure to a cabinet or compartment having an internal space which is closed by the closure. One particular example is for keeping the hood of a motor vehicle closed. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a latch which may be manually depressed for actuation. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a latch which may be formed substantially flush with an object to which it is attached. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental side view of a latch according to at least one aspect of the invention, showing the latched condition. 
         FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but shows the unlatched condition. 
         FIG. 3  is an environmental side view of a latch according to another aspect of the invention, showing the latched condition. 
         FIG. 4  is an environmental side view of a latch according to another aspect of the invention, showing the latched condition on a stem that is angled. 
         FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 3 , but shows the unlatched condition. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a latch  10  according to at least one aspect of the invention. The latch  10  is shown seated on an environmental substrate  2 . Although the latch is shown out of contact with the environmental substrate  2 , it will be understood that ordinarily, the latch  10  will be suitably anchored to the environmental substrate  2 , such as by using fasteners, adhesive, a heat bonding process such as welding, soldering, or brazing, or in any other suitable way, or any combination of these. 
     The latch  10  may be said to comprise stationary parts which are anchored to the environmental substrate  2 , and moving parts. The stationary parts may include a housing  12  and a mounting flange  14 . The housing  12  is a structural base to which other components of the latch  10  are fixed. The mounting flange  14  provides convenient structure for securing the latch  10  to the environmental substrate  2 . The housing  12  has an internal space  16  for containing other components of the latch  10 . One of these other components is a receptacle  18 . Although depicted as a separate component, the receptacle  18  is fixed to the housing  12 . Illustratively, the receptacle  18  may have a flange  20  which is received within a groove  22  formed in the housing  12 . Although the housing  12  is depicted as being monolithic, it may be formed in several sections (not shown) which are suitably joined together such as by heat bonding, using fasteners, adhesives, or in other ways. This may be advantageous in that the groove  22  may be formed by space left when several sections are joined, thereby avoiding necessity of forming the groove  22  by molding, internal machining, or in some other way. 
     The receptacle  18  may be closed at its upper end by a threaded cap  24  which threads to threads  26  formed in the receptacle  18 . It should be noted at this point that orientational terms such as upper and lower, left and right, and others refer to the drawings as viewed by an observer. Therefore, orientational terms must be understood to provide semantic basis for purposes of description, and do not limit the invention or its component parts in any particular way. 
     The lower section of the receptacle  18  entraps an enlarged head  28  of a large headed element  30  which may also comprise a stem  32 . The stem  32  serves as a connector which is either directly or ultimately connected to an environmental element (not shown) to which the environmental substrate  2  is releasably coupled by the latch  10 . For example, the environmental substrate  2  could be part of the hood of a passenger vehicle (not shown), while the stem  32  may be connected to a component of the engine compartment which is closed by the hood. It should be stated that the stem  32  is shown only in representative capacity, and may comprise a rigid member, a flexible member, or a combination of flexible and rigid members. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates the latched condition of the latch  10 , wherein the enlarged head  28  is engaged by an interference element. The interference element may comprise one or more spherical objects such as ball bearings  34 . The lower end of the receptacle  18  may comprise passages  36  each of which is dimensioned and configured to receive one ball bearing  34  in operable position for operating the latch  10 . In the latched condition of  FIG. 1 , each ball bearing  34  is prevented from moving out of interfering relationship to the enlarged head  28  by an abutment surface  38  formed in the lower end of a pushbutton assembly  40 . The pushbutton assembly  40  serves as a manual actuator which moves the ball bearings  34  out of interference with the enlarged head  28  when the manual actuator is linearly actuated, as will be described hereinafter. The pushbutton assembly  40  is held in the position shown in  FIG. 1  by a return spring  42  which is biased to urge the pushbutton assembly  40  upwardly, as seen in  FIG. 1 . The return spring  42  is seated on the cap  24  which, it will be recalled, is among the stationary parts of the latch  10 . 
     A pusher spring  44  seats on the lower surface of the cap  24 , and is arranged to push on a locking piston  46 . The locking  1  piston  46  constantly urges the enlarged head  28  downwardly, under the influence of the pusher spring  44 . See also  FIG. 3  showing a further embodiment of the latch of the present disclosure and  FIG. 4 , which shows how the latch of the present disclosure is capable of engaging the large headed element, which is the combination of the enlarged head  28  stem connector  32 , that is positioned at an angle other than parallel to the vertical surfaces of the latch  10 , said another way, at an angle other than parallel to operation axis A in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 4 , the sidewall  19  of receptacle  18  is tapered to allow for the clearance of the large headed element when it enters at an angle other than parallel to the vertical surfaces of the latch. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , linear actuation occurs when the pushbutton assembly  40  is depressed downwardly. This motion has several consequences. It will be seen that the abutment surface  38  has moved out of the abutting relationship with the ball bearings  34  it exhibited in  FIG. 1 . Instead, a relief space is provided by a beveled surface  48 , which is radially recessed compared to the abutment surface  38 . The enlarged head  28 , urged downwardly by the locking piston  46  and the pusher spring  44 , in turn displaces the ball bearings  34  outwardly such that the ball bearings  34  now occupy the relief space. This may be called a retraction arrangement which moves the ball bearings  34  into the relief space responsively to the pushbutton assembly  40  being linearly moved. 
     Once occupying the relief space, the ball bearings  34  release the enlarged head  28  from interference therewith, due to the linear motion of the pushbutton assembly  40 . Once the user&#39;s finger is removed, the pushbutton assembly  40  will be moved upwardly to the position it occupied in  FIG. 1  due to expansion characteristics of the return spring  42 . 
     Some components of the housing  12  have been described as moving upwardly and downwardly, such as the pushbutton assembly  40  and the locking piston  46 , this being seen by comparing  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Also, the return spring  42  expands and contracts in the same directions. These directions may be called an axis of operation (represented by an arrow A) for semantic purposes. The components of the housing  12  which are movable along the axis of operation A include the locking piston  46 , which is disposed within the open interior  54  of the receptacle  18 , and the pushbutton assembly  40 , which is entrapped between the housing  12  and the receptacle  18 . Also, comparison of  FIGS. 1 and 2  will also reveal that the return spring  42 , which is located between the threaded cap  24  of the receptacle  18  and the top of the pushbutton assembly  40 , and the pusher spring  44  which is disposed within the open interior  54  of the receptacle  18 , expand and contract along the axis of operation A. 
     Further, when the push button assembly is pressed, which allows sloped edge  48  to move downward so as to release retaining ball  34  which holds the underside of the ball latch  28 . Once the latch is released, locking piston  46  is pushed downward by spring  44  where the edges of the locking piston  46  block the retaining ball  34  in the outward position so as to hold the sloped edge  48  of push button  40  in the downward position. This in turn holds the button  40  in the downward position giving the operator visual indication that the latch is locked in the open position. The visual indication can be a painted ring  60  around the interior on of the mounting flange  14  (see  FIG. 5 ) or other visual indicator. 
     When the ball latch is reintroduced to the lower face locking piston  46 , the edge of the locking piston  46  is moved upward releasing the retaining balls  34  from its influence. Once the ball latch  28  is moved into proper position, the retaining balls  34  move inward under the latch area which releases the sloped area  48 , whereby the push button  40  moves up under the influence of spring  42  into the latched position shown in  FIG. 1 . The inner sidewall  38  of the push button  40  holds the retaining balls  38  securely inward and under the ball latch  28 . Further, the latch is lockable in an open position when the actuator is held in a downward configuration. 
     It will also be seen that as the pushbutton assembly  40  is depressed, the locking piston  46  descends sufficiently to obstruct the ball bearings  34  from falling out of the relief space in the absence of the enlarged head  28 . Removal of interference formerly provided by the ball bearings  34  enables the enlarged head  28  and the stem  32  of the large headed element  30  to be released by the latch  10 . The locking piston  46  is constrained against loss by interference between a shoulder  50  formed in the locking piston  46  with a ledge  52  formed in the receptacle  18 . The shoulder  50  and the ledge  52  are called out in  FIG. 1 . 
     In summary, the receptacle  18  selectively entraps the enlarged head  28  within the receptacle  18  by interference and releases the enlarged head  28  from entrapment within the receptacle  18 . The receptacle  18  has an interference element which engages the enlarged head  28  of the large headed element  30  with an exposed manual actuator in the form of the pushbutton assembly  40 , actuation of which enables the interference element to release the enlarged head  28  from interference therewith by linear action. To do this manual actuator or pushbutton assembly  40  comprises an abutment surface  38  disposed to engage the interference element and retain the interference element in interfering relationship relative to the enlarged head  28 . 
     A relief space is disposed to enable the interference member to move out of the interfering relationship shown in  FIG. 1  when the manual actuator is linearly moved such that the abutment surface  28  disengages from the interference element. Simultaneously, the relief space comes into alignment with the interference element, thereby enabling the interference element to withdraw from the interfering relationship with the enlarged head  28  as seen in  FIG. 1 , and enabling the enlarged head  28  to move out of engagement with the receptacle  18 , as seen in  FIG. 2 . 
     The latch  10  is quite compact due to the telescopic engagement of the pushbutton assembly  40  with the receptacle  18  as the former passes through the internal space  16  of the housing  12 , and over the receptacle  18 . 
     A lock such as a key lock may be incorporated into the latch  10  if desired so that unauthorized depression of the pushbutton assembly  40  is prevented. 
     The present invention is susceptible to modifications and variations which may be introduced thereto without departing from the inventive concepts. For example, although the invention has been described with respect to the flange  14  being provided for mounting the housing  12  to the environmental substrate  2 , other mountings could be substituted thereof. In such an occurrence, the flange  14  could comprise a trim ring, or may be deleted altogether. Further, it should be appreciated that the latch can include a keyed lock mechanism to lock the latch in a locked or unlocked position. 
     It will be appreciated that the present invention has application to objects other than vehicle hoods. Windows for ships and boats, trailers, aircraft, houses and other objects may utilize the invention. Closures for furniture, vehicles, buildings, sheds, cabinets, furniture, boxes and other articles may utilize the invention. Closures may be of the swinging or hinged type, or may move linearly. For example, drawers may be released and latched using the invention. 
     In the same vein, there is no reason to limit applicability of the invention to closures. The invention may be used to secure any object to another object. In that regard, the invention may be considered as a re-establishable separation of a link bearing an enlarged head from an object which engages that enlarged head by interference. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the disclosed arrangements, but is intended to cover various arrangements which are included within the spirit and scope of the broadest possible interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent arrangements which are possible.