Patent ID: 7296830

Claim:
A latch assembly for releasably securing a first member in a closed position relative to a second member, one of said first member and said second member having a striker in a fixed positional relationship therewith, the latch assembly comprising: a housing; a pawl pivotally supported by said housing and being movable between a latched position and an unlatched position by pivotal movement about a pawl pivot axis, said pawl being provided with a torsion spring that biases said pawl toward the unlatched position; actuation means; a micro-switch securely positioned within said housing proximate said pawl pivot axis such that said micro-switch is engaged by the striker when the striker has moved said pawl to said latched position of said pawl, said micro-switch generating a signal corresponding to one of said latched position and said unlatched position of said pawl; and a trigger pivotally supported by said housing, said trigger being movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position, said trigger having a first lever arm adapted to engage said pawl and maintain said pawl in said latched position when said pawl is in said latched position and said trigger is in said engaged position, said trigger having a second lever arm capable of engagement by said actuation means, said actuation means selectively engaging said second lever arm to move said trigger to said disengaged position to thereby allow said pawl to move to said unlatched position, said second lever arm pivoting toward said pawl as said trigger is moved from said engaged position to said disengaged position, and said trigger is pivotally movable about a trigger pivot axis that is parallel to and spaced apart from said pawl pivot axis.