Latch arrangement

1 . A latch comprising:

a chassis;

a release mechanism including a release link, a lock/unlock lever pivotally connected to the chassis and a connector, the release link having an abutment operable to move a latch release element, and with the connector operatively connecting the lock/unlock lever to the release link;

a release lever permanently and pivotally connected to the chassis, wherein the release link is operatively movable by the release lever; and

the latch is operable to releasably retain a striker in use;

the release mechanism is capable of being moved by the release lever from a rest position through an unlocked position to a release position wherein it unlatches the latch; and

a control mechanism that includes a locked condition at which actuation of the release lever does not cause unlatching of the latch and an unlocked condition at which during an initial movement of the release lever, the release mechanism achieves the unlocked position and during subsequent movement of the release lever, the release mechanism achieves an unlatched position.

2 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the connector is pivotally connected to the release link.

3 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the connector is pivotally connected to the lock/unlock lever.

4 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which when the control mechanism is in the locked position, actuation of the release lever moves the abutment, without the abutment moving the latch release element.

5 . The latch as defined in claim 4 in which the abutment is mis-aligned with the latch release element in the rest condition.

6 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the lock/unlock lever is retained in a first position by the control mechanism to provide for the locked condition.

7 . The latch as defined in claim 6 in which the lock/unlock lever is retained by magnetic attraction.

8 . The latch as defined in claim 6 in which the lock/unlock lever is retained by a control pawl.

9 . The latch as defined in claim 7 in which the lock/unlock lever is retained by a control pawl.

10 . The latch as defined in claim 6 in which the lock/unlock lever is allowed to move to a second position when the control mechanism is in the unlocked condition.

11 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the lock/unlock lever and connector substantially move in unison during said initial movement of the release lever.

12 . The latch as defined in claim 11 in which the lock/unlock lever is pivotally connected to the chassis by a lock/unlock lever pivot and the lock/unlock lever and connector rotate about the lock/unlock lever pivot during said initial movement.

13 . The latch as defined in claim 12 in which the lock/unlock lever remains stationary during said subsequent movement of the release lever.

14 . The latch arrangement as defined in claim 1 in which the release mechanism returns to the rest position from the release position upon release of the release lever.

15 . The latch as defined in claim 14 in which the release mechanism is biased to the rest position by a resilient device.

16 . The latch as defined in claim 15 in which a first resilient device biases the release mechanism to the unlocked position from the released position and a second resilient device biases the release mechanism to the rest position from the unlock position.

17 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the latch is further movable between a latched and released position by a powered released actuator.

18 . The latch as defined in claim 1 in which the control mechanism is movable between the locked and unlocked conditions by manual operation of a coded security device.

19 . A latch comprising:

a chassis;

a release mechanism including a release link and a lock/unlock lever, the release link including an abutment operable to move a latch release element and the lock/unlock lever being pivotally connected to the chassis and operatively connected to the release link;

a release lever permanently and pivotally connected to the chassis;

the latch being operable to releasably retain a striker in use;

the release link is operatively movable by the release lever;

the release mechanism being capable of being moved by the release lever from a rest position through an unlocked position to a release position wherein the release mechanism unlatches the latch; and

a control mechanism that includes a locked condition at which actuation of the release lever does not cause unlatching of the latch and an unlocked condition at which during an initial movement of the release lever, the release mechanism achieves the unlocked position and during subsequent movement of the release lever, the release mechanism achieves an unlatched position.

20 . A latch arrangement comprising:

a latch having a chassis;

a release mechanism including a release link, a lock/unlock lever and a connector, the release link including an abutment operable to move a latch release element and is operatively movable by a release lever;

a manually actuable element;

wherein the lock/unlock lever is pivotally connected to the chassis, and the connector operatively connects the lock/unlock lever to the release link;

the latch being operable to releasably retain a striker in use;

the release mechanism being capable of being moved by the manually actuable element from a rest position through an unlocked position to a release position wherein the release mechanism unlatches the latch; and

a control mechanism including a locked condition at which actuation of the manually actuable element does not cause unlatching of the latch and an unlocked condition at which during an initial movement of the manually actuable element, the release mechanism achieves the unlocked position and during subsequent movement of the manually actuable element, the release mechanism achieves an unlatched position.

21 . The latch arrangement as defined in claim 20 mounted on a door wherein the manually actuable element is permanently pivotally connected to the door.