2. Background of the Invention There are various ways of accomplishing latching through the use of an actuator and a pawl. Generally, an actuator is provided to be lifted, swung, or pressed. The moving of the actuator, in turn, ultimately acts to displace a pawl from a first position to a second position where latching or unlatching occurs.

For example, some latches have an actuating member which is partially enclosed in a housing, and can be retracted or extended relative to the housing. In these types of designs, the latch is often mounted by providing threads on the housing, and inserting the housing through a panel bore, and securing the housing with a matingly threaded nut.

This type of mounting arrangement requires access to the rear surface of the panel when installing, repairing or replacing the latch. For example, where an unauthorized user has tampered with a latch which has been installed in a finished panel, and causes the latch to need replacement, it is sometimes very difficult and time-consuming to remove the broken latch from the panel and replace it with a new one, or to repair the damaged components.

For example, in some applications, a latch may be installed onto a panel and the panel then attached to a mounting cabinet. Space may be minimal, and access to the rear of a latch, in order to mount the latch, and the use of additional mounting members, such as, for example, a nut, may be difficult to do.

Furthermore, often latches are used in connection with vehicle storage and compartment panels. Therefore, in many cases, other panels and finishing materials must be first removed before the latch can be installed or removed.

In addition, where molded, one-piece compartments are utilized, it is often impossible to remove panels, and generally the latch must be installed in the confines of the space provided.

A need therefore exists for a latch which can be used for mounting in situations where it may be difficult, or even impossible, to access the rear portion of the latch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A push lock assembly having a housing with mounting means for mounting the assembly to a mounting surface, a pawl which is retractable to engage and disengage with a keeper or other element, a cam member which is regulated with a lock plug to engage a pawl, and an actuation member which can be operated by a user to cause the pawl to release from the keeper. The present push lock provides a snap-in mounting feature which enables it to be installed in a panel opening from a single side.

The push lock of the present invention is provided for use with commercially available lock plug inserts, including, for example, lock plug inserts which have a push-in type operation. With these lockplugs, the present push lock provides a cam feature which interacts with the lock plug when the actuator knob is depressed.

The push lock of the present invention can be used in connection with automobiles, including, for example, ignition, door, trunk, and glove box compartments.

An object of the present invention is to provide a push lock which is useful for regulating the positioning of a pawl for engagement with a keeper or other member.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a push lock which can be installed completely from a single side of a panel or member to which it is to be mounted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a push lock which can be used with a commercially available lock plug.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an interactive element which engages with a locking element of a lock plug.

Another object of the present invention is to provide mounting elements which can be compressed for insertion into a panel aperture and which can return to a position which grips a surface of a panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a push lock which can seal over a panel opening.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent when taken into consideration with the following description and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES Fig. 1 is a parallel perspective view of a push lock according to the present invention, viewed from the front of the lock, shown installed in a panel.

Fig. 2 is a parallel perspective view of the push lock of Fig. 1, viewed from the back, shown installed in a panel.

Fig. 3 is a parallel perspective view of the push lock of Fig. 1, viewed from the top.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a panel prepared for receipt of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a separate side elevation view of a knob member of the push lock of Fig.

1.

Fig. 6 is a separate parallel perspective view of the knob member of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a right side sectional view of the push lock of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a separate parallel perspective view of a cam member of the push lock of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a separate parallel perspective view of a lock plug and cam member of the push lock of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a separate front elevation view of a housing of the push lock of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view of the knob member of Figs. 5-6.

Fig. 12 is a bottom plan view of the knob member and cam member of the push lock of Fig. 1.

Fig. 13 is a side view of a second alternate embodiment of a push lock according to the present invention, showing the knob, cam member, and lock plug assembled (the housing, pawl, and springs not being shown).

Fig. 14 is a side perspective view of the second alternate embodiment of a push lock showing the housing in a sectional view with the cam member received in the housing.

Fig. 15 is a side perspective view of the second alternate embodiment of a push lock showing the housing in a sectional view with the cam member received in the housing in the plunged position showing the stop of the housing sleeve being disposed in a recess of the cam member house portion.

Fig. 16 is a side perspective view of the second alternate embodiment of a push lock showing the housing in a sectional view with the cam member received in the housing showing the cam member arm engaging the stop of the housing.

Fig. 17 is a top plan view of the housing of the second alternate embodiment of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a front elevation view of a cam member of the second alternate embodiment of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a top plan view of a cam member of the second alternate embodiment of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a bottom plan view of a cam member of the second alternate embodiment of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a bottom plan view of the knob of the second alternate embodiment of the push lock according to the present invention.

Fig 22 is a top plan view of the knob shown in fig. 21.

Fig. 23 is a parallel perspective view of the knob shown in Figs. 21 and 22.

Fig. 24 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of housing of a push lock according to the present invention.

Fig. 25 is a bottom plan view of an alternate embodiment of a cam member for use with the housing shown in Fig. 24.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing figures, there is shown in Fig. 1, a push lock 10 according to the present invention, having a housing 11, and a pawl member 15, shown with a lock plug 100, which can comprise a standard commercially available lock plug.

The housing 11 has an outer flange 12, a pawl carrier portion 13, a body portion 14, and mounting means for mounting the push lock 10 onto a mounting surface, such as, for example, the panel 200. The mounting means is shown preferably comprising a pair of spring leg members 20,21 which are connected to the housing body portion 14 at one end thereof, and which have a free end 22,23, respectively, for gripping the panel 200.

Preferably, the free end of each leg member 22,23 includes gripping means for gripping a panel surface and for facilitating retention of the push lock 10 into the panel against tampering or unauthorized attempts to gain access to the locked item. The gripping means preferably can comprise ridged surface portions 28,29 provided on each free end 22,23, respectively, of the push lock 10 (Fig. 3).

Referring to Fig. 3, the housing 11 has a notched portion 25 provided in the housing body 14 in front of the pawl member 15, to provide clearance for the pawl.

Alignment means is provided to align the push lock 10 with respect to a mounting aperture 202 provided in the panel 200. The alignment means preferably comprises a raised locating element 27 disposed on the housing body 14. For example, the mounting aperture 202 has an indented section 203 (see Fig. 2) which corresponds with the raised locating element 27. As shown in Fig. 4, preferably, the panel aperture 202 has a pair of opposing notches 205,206 in which the spring leg members 20,21 respectively, are inserted for installation. When the spring leg members 20,21 have cleared the panel thickness 204, they return to their original position and locate beyond the diameter of the notches 205,206.

Referring again to Fig. 3, the push lock 10 has a knob member 30 which receives a lock plug 100 therein and which is inserted within the housing 11 and is connected thereto. The knob member 30 is shown in Fig. 5 having connecting means for connecting with the housing 11. The connecting means is shown comprising a snap leg member 31 disposed on the knob body portion 32. Positioning elements 33,34 are disposed on the body portion 32, on opposite sides of the snap leg member 31. An aperture 35 is disposed in the knob body portion 32 for permitting access to the lock plug 100 to release the lock plug 100 from the knob member 30, should it be necessary to do so.

Referring to Fig. 6, the knob member 30 has a longitudinal groove 36 disposed thereon. This groove mates with a boss on the inner surface of the housing 11 to retain the knob member 30 against rotation relative to the housing 11. A circumferential ledge portion 37 is provided on the interior of the knob member 30 to facilitate retention of a cam member 40 (Fig. 7). The cam member 40 is shown in Fig. 8 having a head 41 and a post 42 extending therefrom. A collar 43 is provided at the top of the post 42 for facilitating engagement with a compression spring 50 (Fig. 7).

Cam positioning means is provided to facilitate the positioning of the cam member 40 relative to the housing 11 and knob 30. The cam member positioning means comprises a arm 44 disposed axially along a portion of the post 42, and a first notch 45 and a second notch 46 provided in the head 41 of the cam member 40. A window 47 is disposed in the outer circumference of the head 41 of the cam member 40 for accommodating the tooth 102 of the lock plug 100, as shown in Fig. 9. A boss 48 is provided on the surface of the head 41 for facilitating alignment with a recess 101 of the lock plug 100.

The cam member post 42 is provided to extend through the rear wall 60 of the housing 11 (Fig. 10), by passing through the aperture 61 disposed therein. A notch 62 extends the aperture 61 to permit alignment of the cam member 40 relative to the housing 11. The notch 62 receives the arm 44 of the post 42 to orient the cam member 40 for operation within the push lock assembly 10. A knob member retaining feature is provided on the housing 11. Preferably, the knob member retaining means comprises a ridge 63 disposed on the housing 11 which aligns with the groove 36 of the knob member 30 to hold the knob member 30 against rotation relative to the housing 11.

Referring again to Fig. 7, the carrier portion 13 of the housing 11 is shown with the pawl member 15 carried therein. A spring mounting post 65 is disposed on the floor 66 of the pawl-carrying portion 13 of the housing 11. A compression spring 67 biases the pawl 15 into its extended position, as shown in Fig. 7. The pawl member 15 has a groove 70 disposed therein formed in part by a sloped surface 71. The end 72 of the post 42 engages with the sloped surface 71 of the pawl member 15 when the push lock knob member 30 is depressed. As the knob member 30 is depressed, the post 42 is moved toward the pawl member 15 and draws the pawl member inwardly from the housing 11..

The push lock 10 preferably is configured to receive a lock plug, such as that 100.

For example, the lock plug 100 can be of the type which can be rotated a predetermined amount after insertion into the knob member 30, to secure the lock plug 100 thereto. This can be accomplished wherein a locking wafer (not shown) of the lock plug 100 moves into position to prevent the lock plug 100 from being rotated to a releasing position relative to the knob member 30 in which it is installed.

Referring to Fig. 11, the knob member 30 is shown having alignment and orienting means which further comprise stop means. The alignment and orienting means are shown comprising longitudinal bosses 73,74 disposed on the inner surface of the knob member 30. As shown in Fig. 12, wherein the cam member 40 is installed in the knob member 30, the longitudinal bosses associate with the corresponding first notch 45 and second notch 46 of the cam member 40. When the cam member 40 is installed, as shown in Fig. 12, the window 47 aligns with the recess 75 of the knob member 30 to accommodate the tooth 102 of the lock plug 100.

The cam member 40, when installed, is biased by the compression spring 50 to engage the bosses 73,74 of the knob member 30. The lock plug 100 can then be inserted to engage the cam member head 41 and depress the cam member 40 against the bias of the spring 50 so that the cam member 40 and lock plug 100 associated therewith can rotate together relative to the knob member 30. Preferably, a shelf portion 78 extends around the inner surface of the knob member 30 against which the cam member head 41 is biased with the spring 50.

As shown in Fig. 11, the second boss 74 operates as a stop to regulate the rotation of the lock plug 100. The tooth 102 of the lock plug 100 limits the further rotation of the lock plug 100 and cam member 40 when it engages the second boss 74. The lock plug is provided with a locking wafer (not shown) which is selectively extended from the lock plug 100 for positioning in one or the other of a first notch 80 and a second notch 81.

Reference now being made to Fig. 13, a second alternate embodiment of a push lock 110 for use with the lock plug 100 described above is shown. The push lock 110 is shown being of similar construction to the first push lock embodiment 10, described above, in that the push lock 110 has a housing 111, a knob 130, a pawl 115, and a cam member 140 and received a lock plug too. The pawl 15 described above in connection with the first embodiment 10 is used with the second alternate push lock embodiment 110, as the pawl carrying portion 113 and spring remain the same in both the first and second embodiments described herein. The housing 111 has an outer flange 112, a pawl carrier portion 113, a body portion 114, and mounting means for mounting the push lock 110 onto a mounting surface, such as, for example, the panel 200 shown in Fig. 4 and described herein. The mounting means is shown comprising a pair of spring leg members 120,121 each having a free end 122,123, respectively, for gripping the panel 200.

Referring to Figs. 14 through 17, the housing means 111 differs from the first embodiment 11 in that there is provided a stop means for regulating the rotational movement of the cam member 140 relative thereto. The stop means is shown comprising a sleeve 180 extending upwardly from the floor 179 of the housing 111. The sleeve 180 is provided to partially surround the post 142 of the cam member 140, and, as shown best in Fig. 17, has two openings 181,182, which permit the axial arm 144 of the cam member 140 to pass therethrough when the cam member 140 is depressed to engage the pawl 15 and release the pawl 15 from engagement with a keeper member.

As shown in Fig. 17, the first housing opening 181 permits the lowering of the cam post 144 to actuate the pawl member 15 and retract it. The second housing opening 182 permits the lock plug 100 to be installed and with the latch in the unlocked position so the pawl can be released. However, once the lock plug 100 is installed and then rotated counterclockwise a quarter turn, the cam member 140 cannot return to a position where the cam post arm 144 aligns with the second slot 182, and thus the push lock 110 can only be operated when the cam post arm 144 is aligned with the first opening 181.

The sleeve 180 comprises three taller segments 183,184,185 (Fig. 17). The taller segments 183,184,185 serve as stops to regulate the rotation of the cam member 140 by providing a surface against which the cam post arm portion 144 engages. The lower segments 186,187 of the sleeve 180 are provided to regulate the depression of the cam member 140 so that the cam member 140 can only be depressed (and the pawl 15 released) when in a position in which the cam post arm 144 aligns with an opening 181, 182 of the housing floor 179, said openings 181,182 interrupting the continuity of the sleeve 180.

Referring to Figs. 18-20, the cam member 140 is shown having a head 141, a post 142 extending therefrom, and an arm 144 disposed axially along a portion of said post 142. The cam member 140 has a boss 148 on the head, similar to that 48 described above in relation to the first embodiment for aligning with a recess 101 of the lock plug 100, to position the lock plug 100 relative to the cam member 140. A window 147 is disposed on the outer circumference of the head 141 of the cam member 140 to operate in the same manner as the window 47 provided in the cam member 40 of the first embodiment.

Aligning means for aligning the cam member 140 with the lock plug 100 is provided.

Preferably, the aligning means comprises a plurality of teeth 150,151,152,153 provided around the outer periphery of the cam member head 141 and extend upwardly therefrom.

The teeth include two teeth of a first width 150,151 and two teeth of a second width 152, 153. The teeth 151, and 153 extend further from the cam head 141 and are therefore taller than the shorter teeth 150,152.

As shown in Figs. 21-23, the knob 130 preferably has a first recess 174 to engage with the taller, wide tooth 153 and a second recess 175 to engage with the taller, narrower tooth 151. The shorter teeth 150,152 engage with the rim portion 178 in which the recesses 174,175 are disposed. The cam member 140 is thereby supported against the knob 130 through the biasing action of the cam spring 50, so that the cam post 142 will be slightly extended to engage the pawl 15 and maintain the pawl 15 and pawl spring 67 in the push lock assembly 110.

A collared portion comprising a plurality of segments 143 is shown at the top of the post 142 for facilitating engagement with the comparison spring 50. The push lock 110 can be assembled by connecting the components together, namely, the pawl 15, pawl spring 67, cam member 140, cam spring 50, knob 130 and housing 111. The push lock 110 can then receive a lock plug 100. The lock plug 100 can be installed by insertion into the knob 130. The insertion of the lock plug 100 is facilitated by the configuration of the knob 130 to receive the lock plug in a particular orientation so that the tooth 102 of the lock plug 100 will align with the window 147 of the cam member 140. A recess 170 (Fig. 21) is provided for the window 147 of the cam member 140 to align with and for accommodating the tooth 102 of the lock plug 100 when the lock plug 100 is installed in the knob 130. When the lock plug 100 is installed, the cam member teeth 150,151,152, 153, disengage from their supporting positions on the knob rim 178 and from the knob recesses 174,175, and the cam member 140 and the lock plug 100 can be selectively rotated as a unit, between locked and unlocked positions, respectively, including a first position where the knob 130 of the push lock 110 is not depressible and a second position where the knob 130 is depressible. The lock plug 100, as described above, has a locking wafer (not shown) which is selectively extended from the lock plug 100 for positioning in one or the other of a first notch 18 la and a second notch 181b, to regulate the positioning of the cam member 140 with respect to the locked and unlocked positions.

Referring to Fig. 15, the cam member 140 is shown in the depressed position.

While the pawl 15 is not shown, the cam member 140 would effectively withdraw the pawl 15 from a keeper in this position. The cam member 140 has a recess or notch 190 disposed in the underside of the head 141 over a partial arc around the cam post 142.

This permits the tall segment 185 to be partially accommodated in the cam member 140 to permit a further depression of the cam member post 142.

The knob 130 includes the same connecting means for connecting to the housing 111, as are shown and described above in relation to the knob 30 and housing 11 of the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1-12. Likewise, the housing 111 includes mounting means and can be mounted to a panel, such as that 200 shown in Fig. 4 and described above. The knob 130 differs from the knob 30 in that instead of having teeth for corresponding with matingly associated windows of the cam member head, the knob 130 is configured with recesses 174,175 (Fig. 21) and the cam member head 141 has teeth 150,151,152,153 extending upwardly therefrom, as shown best in Figs. 18 and 19.

An alternate embodiment of a housing 311 and a cam member 340 for use in connection with the push lock 110 is shown in figs. 24 and 25, respectively. The housing 311 includes a larger sleeve wall segment 391 and the cam member 340 includes a corresponding window 385. The housing 311 and cam member 340 are provided to function with the components described and shown in relation to the second alternate embodiment of the push lock 110 of Figs. 13-23. A pawl member 15, springs 50 and 67, knob 130, and lock plug 100 can be those shown and described above in connection with the second alternate embodiment. The housing 311 and cam member 340 are modified in the alternate embodiments shown in figs. 24 and 25 and have corresponding parts, including the raised sleeve portion, 385 of the housing 311, which is provided to be selectively received within the windowed recess 391 of the cam member 340. The sleeve portion 385 functions similarly to those sleeve portions 185 and 183 shown and described in the housing 111. The cam window recess 391 functions similarly to the cam window portions 191 and 190. The alternate embodiments of the housing 311 and cam member 340 shown respectively, in Figs. 24 and 25 improve stability, for example, when the latched components are made for a smaller size latch.

Other modifications to the above description can be made consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed herein. In addition, it will be understood that the present handle assembly can be employed in conjunction with other panels and closure members, including, for example, lift-off panels, sliding panels, joining panels, folding panels, and the like. These and other advantages of the present invention can be made consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the Summary of the Invention, the Brief Description of the Drawing Figures, and the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments. While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is subject to modification, variation and change, without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the present invention.