Delay latch for a door
Provided is a latch assembly for a door. The latch assembly includes a housing defining a cavity, a handle movable relative to the housing, a latch disposed in the cavity, the latch having bolt movable between a locked and an unlocked position and a damping mechanism for delaying movement of the latch, wherein the handle is biased in a first position abutting the bolt to hold the bolt in the locked position, and the handle is movable to a second position away from the bolt allowing for movement of the bolt to the unlocked position.
1 . A latch assembly including:
a housing defining a cavity and including a projection in the cavity;
a handle movable relative to the housing;
a latch disposed in the cavity, the latch having a bolt movable between a locked and an unlocked position and a damping mechanism for delaying movement of the bolt from the locked position to the unlocked position for a predetermined amount of time;
a cam shaft including a cam arm, a pinion portion, and a hook; and
a rack coupled to a wheel by a pin to roll on the surface of the latch,
wherein the handle is biased in a first position abutting the bolt to hold the bolt in the locked position, and the handle is movable to a second position away from the bolt allowing for movement of the bolt to the unlocked position.
2 . The latch assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the bolt includes a body, a first projection extending from the body configured to contact a striker frame in the locked position, and a second projection extending from the body abutted by the cam arm in the locked position.
3 . The latch assembly according to claim 1 , further including a resilient member biasing the handle in the first position.
4 . The latch assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the resilient member is an extension spring having a first end coupled to the housing and a second end coupled to the handle.
5 . The latch assembly according to claim 3 , further including a second resilient member biasing the bolt in the unlocked position, wherein a force of the resilient member is greater than a force of the second resilient member such that the second resilient member will not move the bolt toward the unlocked position until the handle is in the second position.
6 . The latch assembly according claim 1 in combination with a striker assembly, the striker assembly including a catch coupled to a striker frame to hold the bolt in the locked position, a release shaft biased to hold the striker frame in a latched position, and a release lever for moving the release shaft allowing movement of the catch to an unlatched position.
7 . The combination according to claim 6 , wherein the release lever includes an arm movable by a user and a pair of spaced legs that abut the release shaft to move the release shaft.
8 . The combination according to claim 6 , wherein the catch is biased in the latched position and includes a body having an angled surface over which the bolt moves when moving to the locked position.
9 . The latch assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the latch further includes a timing block positioned in the cavity and a resilient member seated against the projection and the timing block, wherein the bolt surrounds the timing block, and wherein the damping mechanism abuts the timing block and extends through the projection in the housing.
10 . A latch assembly for delaying opening of a door in an aircraft, the latch assembly including:
a housing defining a cavity;
a latch disposed in the cavity, the latch having a bolt movable between a locked and an unlocked position and a damping mechanism for delaying movement of the bolt from the locked position to the unlocked position; and
a handle assembly including at least one handle, a rack disposed in the cavity, and a cam shaft movable with the handle, the cam shaft including a pinion portion that engages the rack,
wherein the handle is movable from a first position holding the bolt in the locked position to a second position allowing for movement of the bolt to the unlocked position to allow for opening of the door.
11 . The latch assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the cam shaft additionally includes a cam arm for holding the bolt in the first position.
12 . The latch assembly according to claim 11 , wherein the cam shaft additionally includes a hook coupled to a resilient member, the resilient member biasing the handle in the first position.
13 . The latch assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the rack is configured to prevent movement of the bolt from the unlocked position when the handle is in the second position.
14 . A latch assembly including:
a housing defining a cavity and including a projection in the cavity;
a handle assembly including a handle movable relative to the housing and a cam shaft, the cam shaft including a cam arm, a pinion portion, and a hook; and
a latch disposed in the cavity, the latch having a timing block positioned in the cavity, a bolt positioned in the cavity surrounding the timing block and being movable between a locked and an unlocked position, a damping mechanism abutting the timing block and extending through the projection of the housing for delaying movement of the bolt, and a resilient member seated against the projection and the timing block, the timing block including a timing block body, a first opening that receives the damping mechanism and the resilient member, a timing block projection extending from a bottom of the timing block body through the bottom of a bolt for engaging with the cam arm on the handle assembly, an second opening that aligns with the bolt, and a third opening that aligns with the housing,
wherein the handle is biased in a first position abutting the bolt to hold the bolt in the locked position, and the handle is movable to a second position away from the bolt allowing for movement of the bolt to the unlocked position.