Patent ID: 8328249

Claim:
A latch assembly, comprising: a fork bolt movably secured to the latch assembly, the fork bolt being capable of movement between a latched position and an unlatched position; a detent lever movably secured to the latch assembly, the detent lever being capable of movement between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the detent lever retains the fork bolt in the latched position when the detent lever is in the engaged position and the detent lever has a stop member and a guide member each protruding away from a surface of the detent lever, the stop member being in a spaced relationship with respect to the guide member; and an actuator for moving the detent lever from the engaged position to the disengaged position by contacting the guide member, the stop member being positioned so that the actuator will contact the stop member and prevent further movement of the actuator when the fork bolt is in the unlatched position and the detent lever is in the disengaged position, wherein at least a portion of the detent lever and at least a portion the fork bolt rotate in a similar plane and the actuator rotates in a plane that is not parallel to the plane in which the portion of the fork bolt and the portion of the detent lever rotate and the guide member and the stop member extend away from the detent lever in a direction parallel to the plane the actuator rotates in, wherein the actuator is coupled to a motor configured to move the actuator.