Latching Mechanism
First Claim
1. A latching mechanism for detachably connecting two objects, comprising:
- a base member mounted with a first object;
an upright center post projecting upwardly from said base member and being formed with a head and a relief groove below said head;
a slidable sleeve surrounding said center post and being vertically movable relative to said center post, said sleeve being biased into an uppermost position by a compression spring and being movable into a lowermost position by compressing said compression spring; and
at least one detent ball carried by said sleeve and being laterally movable between an outward lock position when aligned with said head of said center post and an inward release position when aligned with said relief groove.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A latching mechanism includes a pusher member formed with an internal ring and being attached to a first object. A center post formed with a relief groove is secured to a release button and is connected to a second object. A slidable sleeve biased upwardly surrounds the center post and carries a pair of detent balls in a position to be alignable with the relief groove. The internal ring of the pusher member pushes the detent balls downwardly until the detent balls become aligned with the relief groove allowing the internal ring pass below the detent balls and thus latch the first and second objects together. Release is attained by pressing the release button to raise the center post into alignment with the detent balls to allow the internal ring to move past the detent balls and affect a release of the latching mechanism.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A latching mechanism for detachably connecting two objects, comprising:
-
a base member mounted with a first object; an upright center post projecting upwardly from said base member and being formed with a head and a relief groove below said head; a slidable sleeve surrounding said center post and being vertically movable relative to said center post, said sleeve being biased into an uppermost position by a compression spring and being movable into a lowermost position by compressing said compression spring; and at least one detent ball carried by said sleeve and being laterally movable between an outward lock position when aligned with said head of said center post and an inward release position when aligned with said relief groove. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of detachably connecting two objects together, comprising the steps of:
-
mounting a base member to a first object; providing a latching mechanism having a an upright center post projecting upwardly from said base member and being formed with a head and a relief groove below said head, a slidable sleeve surrounding said center post and being vertically movable relative to said center post, said sleeve being biased into an uppermost position by a compression spring and being movable into a lowermost position by compressing said compression spring, and at least one detent ball carried by said sleeve and being laterally movable between an outward lock position when aligned with said head of said center post and an inward release position when aligned with said relief groove; securing a pusher member to a second object, said pusher member having an internal ring that is engagable with said at least one detent ball when in said outward lock position, said pusher member being sized to pass over said slidable sleeve; pressing said internal ring of said pusher member against said at least one detent ball and compressing said compression spring until said at least one detent ball is aligned with said relief groove in said center post; moving said at least one detent ball into said relief groove as said pressing step continues; passing said internal ring past said at least one detent ball to allow said compression spring to force said at least one detent ball out of said relief groove and to move said sleeve back into said uppermost position; and trapping said internal ring in a locked position beneath said at least one detent ball by the movement of said at least one detent ball into a bypass groove in said pusher member while said sleeve is in said uppermost position. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A latching mechanism for detachably connecting two objects, comprising:
-
a base member mounted with a first object, said base member including a retainer; an upright center post projecting upwardly from said base member and being formed with a head and a relief groove below said head; a release button coupled to said center post; a slidable sleeve surrounding said center post and being vertically movable relative to said center post, said sleeve being biased into an uppermost position by a compression spring captured by said retainer between said sleeve and said release button, said sleeve being movable into a lowermost position by compressing said compression spring; a pair of detent balls carried by said sleeve and being laterally movable between an outward lock position when aligned with said head of said center post and an inward release position when aligned with said relief groove; a pusher member being secured to a second object and being formed with an internal ring that is engagable with said detent balls when in said outward lock position, said pusher member being sized to surround said slidable sleeve. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
-
Specification