Patent ID: 7029043

Claim:
A latch assembly mountable in a body of a vehicle comprising: a latch including a latch housing having a mouth and an exterior shut face, a claw-type latch bolt rotatable in a first plane, and a wedge plate securable to the exterior shut face of the latch housing and having a first wedge surface, wherein the latch is mountable to a first vehicle component selected from one of a vehicle door and a vehicle body and the wedge plate is releasably securable to the latch, wherein the first vehicle component includes a skin, and the skin is located between the latch and the wedge plate; a striker including a striker bar engageable by the claw-type latch bolt and a second wedge surface, wherein the striker is mountable to a second vehicle component which is the other of the vehicle door and the vehicle body, and engagement of the claw-type latch bolt and the striker bar releasably secures the first vehicle component to the second vehicle component by relative displacement of the latch towards the striker; and a vertical wedge arrangement including the first wedge surface and the second wedge surface, wherein the first wedge surface and the second wedge surface cooperate to prevent movement between the mouth of the latch housing and the striker bar in a direction substantially parallel to the first plane.