Patent ID: 8419089

Claim:
A dropdown door assembly for animal transport vehicles, comprising: a door shaped for selectively closing an associated access opening and including a lower portion thereof with a hinge about which said door is rotated about a generally horizontal axis along a generally vertical plane between a raised closed position and a lowered open position; a latch operably connected with said door and releasably retaining said door in said raised closed position; and a combination handle and latch actuator assembly, comprising: a handle having a medial portion thereof shaped for grasping, an upper portion thereof with a first pivot connector thereon and a lower portion thereof with an actuator rod thereon; an upper housing connected with said door and having a second pivot connector rotatably connected with said first pivot connector at a pivot axis to permit said upper portion of said handle to pivot about said pivot axis in a normally generally vertical plane; a lower housing connected with said door at a location vertically aligned with and below said upper housing, and having a sleeve slidably receiving said actuator rod therein to permit said lower portion of said handle to reciprocate relative to said sleeve in a normally generally axial direction; an actuator arm having one end thereof pivotally connected with said door proximate said lower housing, and an opposite end of the actuator arm pivotally connected with said actuator rod, such that reciprocation of said actuator rod rotates said actuator arm; and a connector member having one end thereof operably connected with said latch and an opposite end thereof operably connected with said actuator arm, whereby said door is shifted from said raised closed position to said lowered open position by grasping said medial portion of said handle, and pulling said handle outwardly, thereby pivoting said handle about said pivot axis, shifting said actuator rod outwardly and thereby unlocking said latch, and simultaneously manually pivoting said door downwardly about said hinge in a single, unidirectional, continuous motion to said lowered open position in a controlled fashion.