Pin latch with detection device and movable catch-pin and intermediate position with automatic return mechanism
View Patent ↗A pin latch includes a guide block, a handle having a trigger, and a shear pin housed slidably within the guide block and connected to the handle. The shear pin includes a catch-pin engageable by the trigger, and is slidable between an engageable position and a disengageable position when the handle is moved from a closed position to an open position. Alternately, the pin latch includes a bracket connected to the shear pin and includes a catch-pin, and the handle is moveable to an intermediate position, such that a trigger is disengaged from the catch-pin and the shear pin engages a stop pin. A guide block spring acts on the stop pin to retain releasably the handle in its intermediate position. The guide block includes a finger and the shear pin includes a groove sized and shaped to receive the finger when the pin latch is in an unlatchable position.
1. A pin latch, comprising:
a guide block having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a tubular portion extending from the first end to the second end and having a pair of opposed sidewalls, each of which includes a slot extending proximate from the second end to a point intermediate the first and second ends, the tubular portion further including a top wall extending between the pair of opposed sidewalls and having a top slot extending from the second end to a point intermediate the first and second ends;
a handle attached pivotally to the guide block, the handle including a trigger;
a shear pin housed slidably within the tubular portion of the guide block and connected to the handle, the shear pin including a catch-pin that is slidable between an engageable position and a disengageable position, a first end, a second end opposite the first end of the shear pin, an interior portion extending from the second end of the shear pin to a point intermediate the first and second ends of the shear pin, a top slot in communication with the interior portion, a pair of opposed elongated slots, and a connecting pin housed within the pair of opposed elongated slots, and the catch-pin of the shear pin being positioned slidably and guided within the slots of the pair of opposed sidewalls of the tubular portion of the guide block; and
a link having a first end and a second end opposite the first end of the link, the first end of the link being attached pivotally to the handle and the second end of the link being attached pivotally to the shear pin proximate to the second end thereof by the connecting pin, and the second end of the link extending through the top slot of the too wall of the tubular portion of the guide block and the top slot of the shear pin,
wherein the handle is moveable between a closed position, in which the handle is retained releasably within the guide block, the shear pin is extended from the guide block, and the trigger is engaged with the catch-pin of the shear pin when the catch-pin is in its engageable position, and an open position, in which the handle is retracted from the guide block, the trigger is disengaged from the catch-pin, and the shear pin is retracted within the guide block and the catch-pin is moved to its disengageable position.
2. The pin latch of claim 1 , wherein the tubular portion of the guide block includes an aperture formed within a first end of the tubular portion, and wherein the shear pin is sized and shaped to slide through the aperture.
3. The pin latch of claim 1 , wherein the trigger includes a pair of detents each of which includes a slot that is sized and shaped to receive the catch-pin of the shear pin when the catch-pin is in its engageable position.
4. The pin latch of claim 3 , wherein the handle includes a back spring, wherein the handle is moveable from its closed position to its open position when the trigger is depressed to release the detents of the trigger from the catch-pin of the shear pin, and wherein the handle is automatically moved to its open position via the back spring.
5. The pin latch of claim 4 , wherein the trigger includes a trigger spring.
6. The pin latch of claim 4 , further comprising a compression spring positioned within the interior portion of the shear pin and acting against the second end of the link, wherein when the handle is in its closed position, the shear pin is driven against and compresses the compression spring, and wherein when the handle is in its open position, the compression spring expands and acts against the second end of the link.
7. The pin latch of claim 6 , further comprising at least one side plate that connects the guide block and the handle to one another, wherein the at least one side plate includes a first end connected to the guide block, and a second end opposite the first end of the at least one side plate, wherein the handle is connected pivotally to the second end of the at least one side plate.
8. The pin latch of claim 7 , wherein the at least one side plate includes a pair of side plates, wherein one of the pair of side plates is attached to one side of the guide block, and the other of the pair of side plates is attached to an opposite side of the guide block.
9. The pin latch of claim 1 , wherein the guide block includes a mounting block for mounting the pin latch to an external structure.
10. A pin latch, comprising:
a guide block having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a tubular portion extending from the first end to the second end and having a pair of opposed sidewalls, each of which includes a slot extending proximate from the second end to a point intermediate the first and second ends, the tubular portion further including a top wall extending between the pair of opposed sidewalls and having a top slot extending from the second end to a point intermediate the first and second ends;
a handle attached pivotally to the guide block, the handle including a back spring and a trigger having a pair of detents, each of which includes a slot;
a shear pin housed slidably within the tubular portion of the guide block and connected to the handle, the shear pin including a catch-pin that is slidable between an engageable position and a disengageable position, a first end, a second end opposite the first end of the shear pin, an interior portion extending from the second end of the shear pin to a point intermediate the first and second ends of the shear pin, a top slot in communication with the interior portion, the catch-pin of the shear pin being positioned slidably and guided within the slots of the pair of opposed sidewalls of the tubular portion of the guide block, and each of the slots of the detents of the trigger of the handle being sized and shaped to receive the catch-pin of the shear pin when the catch-pin is in its engageable position;
a link having a first end and a second end opposite the first end of the link, the first end of the link being attached pivotally to the handle and the second end of the link being attached to the shear pin, and the second end of the link extending through the top slot of the tubular portion of the guide block and the top slot of the shear pin; and
a compression spring positioned within the interior portion of the shear pin and against the second end of the link,
wherein the handle is moveable between a closed position, in which the handle is retained releasably within the guide block, the shear pin is extended from the guide block, and the trigger is engaged with the catch-pin of the shear pin when the catch-pin is in its engageable position, and an open position, in which the trigger is depressed and the detents of the trigger are disengaged from the catch-pin, the handle is retracted from the guide block, and the shear pin is retracted within the guide block, and the catch-pin is moved to its disengageable position, and the handle is automatically moved to its open position via the back spring, and
wherein when the handle is in its closed position, the shear pin is driven against and compresses the compression spring, and wherein when the handle is in its open position, the compression spring expands and acts against the second end of the link.