Patent Publication Number: US-2023160241-A1

Title: Latch and locking structure

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202122860585.2, entitled “LATCH AND LOCKING STRUCTURE”, filed on Nov. 19, 2021, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202210131272.X, entitled “LATCH AND LOCKING STRUCTURE”, filed on Feb. 14, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates to a latch, and also relates to a locking structure comprising the latch. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A latch is a common locking member or fastener capable of locking and releasing one object in respect to another object. 
     Typically, a latch includes a movable component capable of rotating or moving to perform its locking and releasing process. Therefore, the latch must occupy a certain active space to ensure that its function can be properly performed. However, with the continuous improvement of product requirements in modern industry, the space required for a latch is smaller. In particular, in some usage environments, it is desirable for the latch to occupy as little space as possible in a certain direction. Therefore, so-called ultra-low latches are required to meet this usage requirement. On the other hand, in view of production cost and ease of installation and use, it is desirable for a latch to have as few components as possible. 
     SUMMARY 
     In this regard, the application provides a latch, which can at least partially solve the above problems. 
     The latch according to the application can be used to releasably lock a first object to a second object. The latch includes: a housing, fixed to the first object; a locking member, accommodated in the housing and pivotable between a locked position and an unlocked position in respect to the housing along a lateral axis, when the locking member is located in the locked position, locking portions of the locking member are capable of extending from the housing, and when the locking member is in the unlocked position, the locking portions of the locking member retract into the housing; an operating member, at least partially accommodated in the housing, the operating member is capable of performing a longitudinal movement between a first position and a second position in respect to the housing, and a direction of the longitudinal movement is substantially perpendicular to the lateral axis; wherein the operating member is coupled with the locking member, such that a movement of the operating member is capable of being converted into a pivoting movement of the locking member, when the operating member moves longitudinally forward from the first position to the second position, the locking member is pivoted from the locked position to the unlocked position. 
     In an embodiment, the housing has a first housing and a second housing, the first housing and the second housing are buckled to each other to form a non-closed accommodating space for accommodating the locking member and the operating member. The first housing is fixed to the first object), the second housing faces an outside or the second object, an opening is disposed on the second housing, and the locking member and the operating member are capable of being exposed from the opening. 
     In an embodiment, the locking member includes: a locking member body; a pivoting shaft, arranged at one end of the locking member body and extends in a lateral direction along both lateral sides of the locking member body, and the locking member is pivotably mounted on the first housing through the pivoting shaft, wherein the locking portions are arranged at the other end of the locking member body longitudinally opposite to the pivoting shaft; and first recessed portions, located between the pivoting shaft and the locking portions, concavely formed along a thickness direction of the locking member body, and the thickness direction is perpendicular to the lateral direction and a longitudinal direction. 
     In an embodiment, the locking member further includes second recessed portions located between the locking portions and the first recessed portions and concavely formed along the thickness direction; and wherein the first recessed portions are further concavely formed from ends of the second recessed portions away from the locking portions. 
     In an embodiment, the locking member includes two cantilevers extending forward from both lateral sides of the locking member body respectively away from the pivoting shaft, and an opened slot is formed between the two cantilevers; and the first recessed portions and the second recessed portions are respectively formed on each of the cantilevers, wherein each of the first recessed portions and the second recessed portions is in an obtuse-angled concave configuration viewed along the lateral direction, such that an end of each of the cantilevers is in an acute-angled convex configuration, and the two cantilevers are left-right symmetrical in respect to a longitudinal centerline of the locking member. 
     In an embodiment, the operating member includes an operating member body and abutting portions, the abutting portions are located at a longitudinal rear end of the operating member body and extend laterally from both lateral sides of the operating member body; and when the operating member is in the first position, the abutting portions are fit into the first recessed portions, and when the operating member is in the second position, the abutting portions are fit into the second recessed portions, such that the operating member is mounted on the locking member via the abutting portions, and a longitudinal front end of the operating member extends forward along the longitudinal direction. 
     In an embodiment, the operating member body is accommodated in the opened slot, such that portions of the operating member other than the abutting portions are not overlapped with the locking member in the thickness direction. 
     In an embodiment, a portion of the operating member extending forward along the longitudinal direction forms a pull ring for a user to perform a pulling operation; the housing is provided with a housing ring, and the housing ring is located at a longitudinal front end of the accommodating space for the user to hold; and the pull ring is arranged in a space surrounded by the housing ring, when the operating member is in its first position, the pull ring is away from an inner side of the housing ring, and when the operating member is in its second position, the pull ring is close to the inner side of the housing ring. 
     In an embodiment, a sliding slot extending along the longitudinal direction is arranged at a lateral center position of the operating member body of the operating member, and a positioning protrusion inserted into one end of the sliding slot is arranged on an inner side of the housing; and the latch further includes a first elastic member for biasing the operating member to the first position, the first elastic member is arranged in the sliding slot of the operating member, and both ends of the first elastic member respectively abut against the positioning protrusion and the other end of sliding slot. 
     In an embodiment, the housing has a substantially flat rectangular shape, the first housing, the second housing, the locking member and the operating member body are all substantially in a shape of a plate, and a thickness of the entire latch does not exceed a thickness of the locking member; notches corresponding to the cantilevers of the locking member are arranged on the first housing to provide a pivoting space for the locking member; the locking member body of the locking member is provided with engaging concave portions on both lateral sides respectively, the engaging concave portions are disposed between the pivoting shaft and the first recessed portions along the longitudinal direction, and inner sides of the opening of the second housing are correspondingly provided with engaging convex portions for cooperating with the engaging concave portions, so as to restrict a pivoting degree of the locking member extending from the housing; and the positioning protrusion is formed on a longitudinal front side of the opening of the second housing. 
     In an embodiment, a second elastic member is disposed between the housing and the locking member, and the second elastic member biases the locking member to its locked position. 
     In an embodiment, the abutting portions are closer to the second housing in the thickness direction than a rotation center of the pivoting shaft, and when the locking member is in its locking position, the abutting portions abut against a rear end of the first recessed portions to prevent the locking member from being pivoted toward its unlocked position. 
     In an embodiment, the second recessed portions are arranged such that when the locking member is in its locked position, front surfaces of the second recessed portions do not protrude beyond the housing. 
     The locking structure according to the application includes: a first object, capable of being inserted into a second object along a longitudinal direction; and the latch according to the application, fixed on a side of the first object facing the second object, and the second object is provided with a corresponding locking hole for the locking portions to extend into. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present application will be specifically described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS.  1 A to  1 F  are respectively a front view, a rear view, a left view, a right view, a top view, and a bottom view of a latch according to the application, and  FIGS.  1 G to  1 J  are perspective views of the latch at different angles; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded perspective view of the latch; 
         FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  are perspective views of a first housing of the latch at different angles; 
         FIGS.  4 A and  4 B  are perspective views of a second housing of the latch at different angles; 
         FIGS.  5 A and  5 B  are perspective views of a locking member of the latch at different angles; 
         FIGS.  6 A and  6 B  are perspective views of an operating member of the latch at different angles; 
         FIG.  7 A  is a front view of the latch in a locked state,  FIG.  7 B  is a sectional view taken along line A-A in  FIG.  7 A ,  FIGS.  7 C to  7 E  are perspective views corresponding to different angles in  FIG.  7 A , where in  FIG.  7 E  the second housing has been removed to show an interior of the latch; 
         FIG.  8 A  is a front view of the latch in an unlocked state,  FIG.  8 B  is a sectional view taken along line B-B in  FIG.  8 A , and  FIGS.  8 C to  8 E  are perspective views corresponding to different angles in  FIG.  8 A , where in  FIG.  8 E  the second housing has been removed to show the interior of the latch; 
         FIG.  9    is a perspective view of an exemplary application scenario of the latch applied to a first object and a second object, where the latch is in a locked state; 
         FIG.  10    is a perspective view of an exemplary application scenario of the latch applied to a first object and a second object, where the latch is in an unlocked state; 
         FIGS.  11 A and  11 B  are perspective views of different angles of another embodiment of the latch, in which the housing ring and the pull ring have varied shapes. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Although the disclosure is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the disclosure should not be limited to the shown details. Specifically, various modifications may be made in these details within the scope of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the disclosure. 
     The direction descriptions such as “front,” “rear,” “up,” and “down” involved in this document are only for the convenience of understanding, and the disclosure is not limited to these directions, but can be adjusted according to actual situation. 
     Now the latch  100  according to the application will be generally described by referring to  FIGS.  1 A to  2   . 
     As shown, the latch  100  includes a housing  110 , a locking member  120 , an operating member  130 , a first elastic member  140 , and a second elastic member  150 . Among them, the housing  110  is used for accommodating other components of the latch  100  and fixing the latch  100  to a first object  200  such as a server or a hard disk. In the application, the housing  110  is formed by a first housing  111  and a second housing  115  buckled to each other. It should be understood, in other embodiments, the housing  110  may also be an integral component. The locking member  120  is pivotally accommodated in the housing  110  for locking the latch  100  to a second object  300 , such as a cabinet. The operating member  130  is linear movably accommodated in the housing  110  for the user to operate. The operating member  130  is coupled with the locking member  120 , such that a movement of the operating member  130  can be converted into a pivoting movement of the locking member  120 . The first elastic member  140  is used to bias the operating member  130  to the locked position, and the second elastic member  150  is used to bias the locking member  120  to the locked position (to be described in detail hereinbelow). 
     In the following, for the convenience of description, the extending direction of a pivoting shaft  121  of the locking member  120  is referred to as a lateral direction, the moving direction of the operating member  130  is referred to as a longitudinal direction, and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction is referred to as the thickness direction. Moreover, the direction of the operating member  130  corresponding to the locked position is referred to as the rear, and the direction corresponding to the unlocked position is referred to as the front. In this embodiment, the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the thickness directions are substantially perpendicular to each other. It should be understood, in other embodiments, according to the use environment, especially according to the shapes of the first object  200  and the second object  300 , the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the thickness direction may be arranged to have a certain angle with each other. 
     Now a specific structure of the first housing  111  will be described by referring to  FIGS.  3    A to  3 B. 
     The first housing  111  is a portion of the housing  110  facing the first object  200 , and having a substantially flat rectangular shape. The first housing  111  includes: a pivoting shaft slot  112 , a positioning protrusion  113 , a housing ring  114 , and a first blind hole  118 . Among them, the pivoting shaft slot  112  is arranged near a rear end of the first housing  111  and extends in the lateral direction. The pivoting shaft slot is formed by being recessed outward from an inner surface of the first housing  111  for accommodating the pivoting shaft  121  of the locking member  120 . The housing ring  114  is formed at a front end of the first housing  111  in a shape of a substantially semicircular, and a diameter of the semicircular extends in the lateral direction. The positioning protrusion  113  is located approximately at a center of the housing ring  114  and rises inwardly in the thickness direction from an inner surface of the first housing  111  for positioning the operating member  130  and the first elastic member  140 . The first blind hole  118  is located in a middle of the first housing  111  in the lateral direction, slightly forward in the longitudinal direction compared to the position of the pivoting shaft slot  112 , and is formed by being recessed from an inner side of the first housing  111 . The first blind hole  118  is used to accommodate and abut against the second elastic member  150 . 
     The first housing  111  is also provided with notches corresponding to cantilevers of the locking member  120  to provide a pivoting space for the locking member  120 . 
     Now a specific structure of the second housing  115  will be described by referring to  FIGS.  4 A to  4 B . 
     The second housing  115  is a portion of the housing  110  facing outward (when not locked to the second object  300 ) or the second object  300  (when locked to the second object  300 ), and also has a generally flat rectangular shape. An opening  116  is arranged on the second housing  115 , and the locking member  120  and the operating member  130  can be exposed from the opening  116 . Inner sides of the opening  116  of the second housing  115  are correspondingly provided with engaging convex portions  117  to cooperate with engaging concave portions  126  of the locking member  120 , thereby restricting a pivoting degree of the locking member  120  extending from the housing  110 . The positioning protrusion  113  of the first housing  111  is corresponding to a front end position of the opening  116  of the second housing  115 . 
     Now a specific structure of the locking member  120  according to the application will be described by referring to  FIGS.  5 A to  5 B . 
     As shown, the locking member  120  includes: a locking member body  129 , a pivoting shaft  121 , locking portions  122 , first recessed portions  123 , second recessed portions  124 , an opened slot  125 , engaging concave portions  126 , and a second blind hole  127 . The pivoting shaft  121  and the locking portions  122  are arranged at opposite ends of the locking member  120  along the longitudinal direction. More specifically, the pivoting shaft  121  is arranged at a rear end of a locking member body  129 , and extends in the lateral direction along lateral sides of the locking member body  129  in the lateral direction. The locking member  120  is pivotably mounted on the first housing  111  through the pivoting shaft  121 . The locking portions  122  are arranged at the front end of the locking member  120  and rise from the locking member  120  toward the second housing  115  in the thickness direction. When the locking member  120  is in the locked position, the locking portions  122  extend from the opening  116  of the second housing  115 , so as to be engaged and locked to the second object  300 . 
     The locking member  120  includes two cantilevers respectively extending forward from both lateral sides of the locking member body  129 , and an opened slot  125  is formed between the two cantilevers. The operating member body  131  has a shape corresponding to the opened slot  125  and is accommodated in the opened slot  125 , such that portions of the operating member  130  other than abutting portions  132  are not overlapped with the locking member  120  in the thickness direction. 
     A first recessed portion  123  and a second recessed portion  124  are respectively formed on each of the cantilevers. The two cantilevers are symmetrical in respect to a longitudinal centerline of the locking member  120 . The first recessed portions  123  are located between the pivoting shaft  121  and the locking portions  122 , and are concavely formed along the thickness direction of the locking member body  129 . The second recessed portions  124  are located between the locking portions  122  and the first recessed portions  123 , and are also concavely formed along the thickness direction. More specifically, the first recessed portions  123  are further concavely formed from ends of the second recessed portions  124  away from the locking portions  122 , that is, when viewed from a lateral perspective ( FIG.  8 B ), the first recessed portions  123  are sunken more than the second recessed portions  124 , or closer to the first housing  111 . Each of the first recessed portions  123  and the second recessed portions  124  is in an obtuse-angled concave configuration, such that an end of each of the cantilevers is in an acute-angled convex configuration, and the two cantilevers are left-right symmetrical in respect to the longitudinal centerline of the locking member  120 . As shown in  FIG.  7 B , in the locked state, the side of each of the second recessed portions  124  away from the locking portions  122  (right side in  FIG.  7 B ) does not protrude beyond an outer surface of the second housing  115 . In this way, in the locked state, only the locking portions  122  extends to an outside of the second housing  115 , thereby allowing the second housing  115  to be arranged close to the second object  300  and reducing a space occupied by the latch  100 . 
     The engaging concave portions  126  are arranged on both lateral sides of the locking member body  129  of the locking member  120 , and are disposed between the pivoting shaft  121  and the first recessed portions  123  along the longitudinal direction. The engaging concave portions  126  abut against the engaging convex portions  117  of the second housing  115  to limit a pivoting range of the locking member  120 , such that the locking member  120  is not separated from the housing  110  from the side of the second housing  115 . 
     The second blind hole  127  is located at a center of the locking member body  129  in the lateral direction, slightly ahead of the pivoting shaft  121  in the longitudinal direction, and is formed by being recessed from a side of the locking member body  129  facing the first housing  111 . The second blind hole  127  is corresponding to he position of the first blind hole  118 . Both ends of the second elastic member  150  are respectively accommodated and abutted in the first blind hole  118  and the second blind hole  127 , thereby biasing the locking member  120  to the locked position. 
     In other embodiments, the second elastic member  150 , the first blind hole  118 , and the second blind hole  127  may not be provided. Alternatively, a torsion spring may be disposed between the pivoting shaft  121  of the locking member  120  and the pivoting shaft slot  112  of the first housing  111 , and the torsion spring biases the locking member  120  to a position protruding from the second housing  115  (i.e., the locked position). 
     Now a specific structure of the operating member  130  will be described by referring to  FIGS.  6 A to  6 B . 
     As shown, the operating member  130  includes an operating member body  131 , abutting portions  132 , a pull ring  133 , and a sliding slot  134 . Among them, the abutting portions  132  are located at a longitudinal rear end of the operating member body  131 , and extend from both lateral sides of the operating member body  131  along the lateral direction. In addition, the abutting portions  132  are slightly raised from the operating member body  131  toward the second housing  115  in the thickness direction, so as to be fit into the first recessed portions  123  and the second recessed portions  124  of the locking member  120 . When the operating member  130  is in the locking position, the abutting portions  132  are fit into the first recessed portions  123 , and when the operating member  130  is in the unlocked position, the abutting portions  132  are fit into the second recessed portions  124 , such that the operating member  130  is mounted on the locking member  120  via the abutting portions  132 . The longitudinal front end of the operating member  130  extends forward along the longitudinal direction. 
     The pull ring  133  is arranged at the front end of the operating member  130 , and is exposed outside the accommodating space formed by the first housing  111  and the second housing  115 , so as to facilitate operating of the user. The pull ring  133  is approximately semi-circular, and its diameter is slightly smaller than that of the housing ring  114 . When the operating member  130  is in the unlocked position, the pull ring  133  abuts against the inner side of the housing ring  114 . The sliding slot  134  is arranged at the lateral center position of the operating member body  131 , and extends along the longitudinal direction. The position of the sliding slot  134  is corresponding to the position of the positioning protrusion  113  of the housing  110 , such that the positioning protrusion  113  is inserted into the sliding slot  134  to limit a longitudinal movement range of the operating member  130 . In other embodiments, the pull ring  133  may also be rectangular, trapezoidal or any other shape. 
     The first elastic member  140  is arranged in the sliding slot  134 , and its two ends respectively abut the positioning protrusion  113  and an end of the sliding slot  134 , so as to bias the operating member  130  to the locked position (i.e., the rear end). In this embodiment, the first elastic member  140  is a compression spring. 
     Now the operation of the latch  100  according to the application will be described by referring to  FIGS.  7 A to  8 E . 
     In  FIGS.  7 A to  7 E , the latch  100  is in the locked position. At this time, the operating member  130  is close to the rear end of the latch  100 , and the abutting portions  132  of the operating member  130  are fit into the first recessed portions  123  of the locking member  120 . Since the first recessed portions  123  is more deeply recessed, the locking member  120  is pivoted to the locked position under biasing of the torsion spring, i.e., the position where the locking portions  122  extends from the second housing  115 . At this time, the locking portions  122  can be fit to a corresponding part of the second object  300 , thereby locking the latch  100  (and the first object  200  fixed to the latch  100 ) to the second object  300 . 
     In the shown embodiment, the abutting portions  132  are closer to the second housing  115  than the rotation center of the pivoting shaft  121  in the thickness direction, i.e., higher in  FIG.  7 B . When the latch  100  is shaken by an accidental impact, the locking member  120  tends to rotate toward the unlocked position, that is, tends to rotate counterclockwise in  FIG.  7 B . At this time, since the abutting portions  132  abuts against the rear end of the first recessed portions  123  and the position of the abutting portions  132  is closer to the second housing  115  than the pivoting shaft  121 , the abutting portions  132  will block the trend of the locking member  120  to rotate counterclockwise. Therefore, such an arrangement is advantageous in preventing accidental unlocking of the latch  100 . It should be understood, in other embodiments, the abutting portions  132  may be equidistant from, or more distant from, the second housing  115  than the rotation center of the pivoting shaft  121  in the thickness direction. 
     When the user needs to unlock the first object  200 , the user may grasp the pull ring  133  of the operating member  130 , and pull the pull ring  133  toward the housing ring  114 . In this way, the operating member  130  moves forward in respect to the first housing  111 , the second housing  115 , and the locking member  120 , such that the abutting portions  132  move from the first recessed portions  123  to the second recessed portions  124 . Since the second recessed portions  124  are shallow, the locking member  120  is forced to be pivoted toward the direction of the first housing  111 , such that the latch  100  reaches the unlocked position shown in  FIGS.  8 A to  8 E . At this time, the abutting portions  132  are engaged in the second recessed portions  124 , such that the locking member  120  does not automatically return to the locked position. At this time, the locking portions  122  is retracted into the housing  110  and no longer fit to the second object  300 , thereby releasing the latch  100  (and the first object  200  fixed to the latch  100 ) from the second object  300 . 
     Now an example of applying the latch  100  to the first object  200  and the second object  300  will be described by referring to  FIGS.  9  to  10   . As shown, the latch  100  is mounted on the side of the first object  200  facing the first object  200 . When the first object  200  is inserted into the second object  300 , rearward-facing slopes of the locking portions  122  abut on the second object  300 , such that the locking portions  122  are temporarily pivoted to the unlocked position. When the first object  200  is completely inserted into the second object  300 , the locking portions  122  automatically pops up and is fit into a window of the second object  300 , so as to lock the first object  200 . The user can pull the pull ring  133  to unlock the first object  200 , and can also pull the first object  200  out of the second object  300  through the pull ring  133 . Furthermore, since the latch  100  is designed laterally symmetrical, it can be applied to both sides of the first object  200  symmetrically. 
       FIGS.  11 A and  11 B  are perspective views of different angles of another embodiment of the latch  100 , in which the housing ring  114  and the pull ring  133  have varied shapes. More specifically, the housing ring  114  is connected by a plurality of curve sections, including a curve section located on each sides of the transverse direction and close to the rear (left side of  FIG.  11 A ) and a curve section located in the middle of the transverse direction and protruding toward the front (right side of  FIG.  11 A ). The pull ring  133  has a shape corresponding to the housing ring  114 . The above shape of the housing ring  114  and the pull ring  133  is favorable for improving the beauty and operation convenience of the latch  100 . 
     In summary, the application provides a latch  100  with a simple structure and convenient operation. Moreover, through a special design of the housing  110 , the operating member  130 , and the locking member  120 , the necessary functions of the latch  100  can be achieved while overlapping of the components in the thickness direction is minimized, thereby realizing an ultra-thin design. 
     Although preferred embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood, these embodiments are given by way of example only. Those skilled in the art will think of many variants, changes and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover all such variants as fall within the spirit and scope of this invention. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
       100  latch
           110  housing
             111  first housing     112  pivoting shaft slot     113  positioning protrusion     114  housing ring     118  first blind hole   
             115  second housing
             116  opening     117  engaging convex portion   
             120  locking member
             121  pivoting shaft     122  locking portion     123  first recessed portion     124  second recessed portion     125  opened slot     126  engaging concave portion     127  second blind hole     129  locking member body   
             130  operating member
             131  operating member body     132  abutting portion     133  pull ring     134  sliding slot   
             140  first elastic member     150  second elastic member       

       200  first object 
       300  second object