EP-4735210-A1 - A UTILITY MODULE AND A LATCH ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A utility module and a latch assembly (100) for releasably coupling a lid (10) with a body (11) of the utility module, the latch assembly comprising: a latch member (20) defined with an elastic tongue (14) and a pair of locking protrusions (36, 37); and a locking unit (16) including a pair of locking tabs (18, 19) defining a gap (21) therebetween, wherein, when the lid (10) is operated from an open position to a closing position, the pair of locking protrusions (36, 37) being configured to slidably engage with one of the pair of locking tabs (18) and reside in the gap (21), temporarily locking the lid (10) with the body (11) in a first locking condition, and wherein, when a force is applied on the lid (10), the pair of locking protrusions (36, 37) being configured to slidably engage with the other one of the pair of locking tabs (19) and reside below the other one of the pair of locking tabs (19), securely locking the lid (10) in a second locking condition with the body (11).

Inventors

• BRUNNER, YARON
• PARIZER, URI

Assignees

• Keter Home and Garden Products Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240625

Claims (20)

1. 1. A latch assembly for releasably coupling a lid with a body of a utility module, the latch assembly comprising: at least one latch member pivotally connectable to the lid, the at least one latch member being configured to be operated between a locked position and an unlocked position, and the at least one latch member defined with an elastic tongue and a pair of locking protrusions, each protruding in a rearward direction from a major surface of the at least one latch member facing the lid; and a locking unit defined in a locking portion of the body of the utility module, the locking unit includes at least a pair of locking tabs defining a gap therebetween, wherein, when the lid is operated from an open position to a closing position, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with at least one of the pair of locking tabs and reside in the gap, and wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of at least one of the pair of locking tabs, temporarily locking the lid with the body in a first locking condition, and wherein, when a force is applied on the lid, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with other one of the pair of locking tabs and reside below the other one of the pair of locking tabs, wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of the other one of the pair of locking tabs, and wherein the at least one latch member is operable from the unlocked position to the locked position securely locking the lid in a second locking condition with the body.
2. 2. The latch assembly of claim 1, wherein the pair of locking tabs includes: a first locking tab extending outwardly from a top surface of the body, the first locking tab defined with a first inclined portion and a first vertical portion; and a second locking tab extending outwardly below and along a vertical axis of the first locking tab, the second locking tab defined with a second inclined portion and a second vertical portion.
3. 3. The latch assembly of claim 2, wherein the first locking tab and the second locking tab have different protruding lengths, and wherein the protruding length of the first locking tab is shorter than protruding length of the second locking tab.
4. 4. The latch assembly of claim 1, wherein the lid being configured to be in partial engagement with the body in the first locking condition defining an angular gap between the lid and the body, at a front portion of the utility module.
5. 5. The latch assembly of claim 1, wherein the lid being configured to be in full engagement with the body in the second locking condition, with a bottom edge of the lid being in parallel engagement with a top edge of the utility module.
6. 6. The latch assembly of claim 5, wherein in the second locking condition, the bottom edge of the lid rests on the top edge of the utility module.
7. 7. The latch assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one latch member comprises an upper portion pivotally connectable to the lid, a lower portion engageable with the body, and an intermediate portion connecting the upper portion and the lower portion.
8. 8. The latch assembly of claim 7, wherein the elastic tongue and the pair of locking protrusions is configured to extend rearwardly from the lower portion of the at least one latch member.
9. 9. The latch assembly of claim 7, wherein the elastic tongue and the pair of locking protrusions is configured to extend rearwardly from the intermediate portion of the at least one latch member.
10. 10. The latch assembly of claim 8 or 9, wherein the pair of locking protrusions extend substantially parallel to the elastic tongue, and wherein one of the pair of locking protrusions is configured to be positioned on either side of the elastic tongue.
11. 11. The latch assembly of claim 10, wherein each of the pair of locking protrusions is defined with an inwardly slanted portion being configured to be slidable over the first inclined portion of the first locking tab and the second inclined portion of the second locking tab.
12. 12. The latch assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one latch member is configured to be biased momentarily away from the body of the utility module, during sliding of the inwardly slanted portion of the pair of locking protrusions over the pair of locking tabs.
13. 13. The latch assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one latch member is configured to be accommodated in the locking portion, in the second locking condition.
14. 14. The latch assembly of claim 1, wherein the elastic tongue is biased against the lower surface of the second locking tab, in the second locking condition.
15. 15. A latch assembly for releasably coupling a lid with a body of a utility module, the latch assembly comprising: a latching unit pivotally connectable to the lid, the latching unit comprising: a plurality of latch members pivotally connectable to the lid of the utility module, the plurality of latch members being configured to be operated between a locked position and an unlocked position, and each of the plurality of latch members defined with an elastic tongue and a pair of locking protrusions, each protruding in a rearward direction from a major surface of the plurality of latch members facing the lid; and a connecting rod coupled to each of the plurality of latch members, the connecting rod configured to simultaneously bias the plurality of latch members between the locked position and the unlocked position, upon biasing of at least one of the plurality of latch members; and a releasable locking unit defined in a locking portion of the body of the utility module, the releasable locking unit includes at least a pair of locking tabs defining a gap therebetween, wherein, when the lid is operated from an open position to a closing position, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with at least one of the pair of locking tabs and reside in the gap, wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of at least one of the pair of locking tabs, temporarily locking the lid with the body in a first locking condition, and wherein, when a force is applied on the lid, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with other one of the pair of locking tabs and reside below the other one of the pair of locking tabs, wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of the other one of the pair of locking tabs, and wherein the plurality of latch members being operable from the unlocked position to the locked position securely locking the lid in a second locking condition with the body.
16. 16. The latch assembly of claim 15, wherein the pair of locking tabs comprise: a first locking tab extending from a top surface of the body, the first locking tab defined with a first inclined portion and a first vertical portion; and a second locking tab extending outwardly below and along a vertical axis of the first locking tab, the second locking tab defined with a second inclined portion and a second vertical portion.
17. 17. The latch assembly of claim 16, wherein the first locking tab and the second locking tab have different protruding lengths, and wherein the protruding length of the first locking tab is shorter than protruding length than the second locking tab.
18. 18. The latch assembly of claim 15, comprises a handle coupled to the connecting rod, the handle being configured to rotate the connecting rod by a predetermined angle, to correspondingly bias each of the plurality of latch members between the locked position and the unlocked position.
19. 19. The latch assembly of claim 15, wherein the lid being configured to be in partial engagement with the body in the first locking condition defining an angular gap between the lid and the body, at a front portion of the utility module.
20. 20. The latch assembly of claim 15, wherein the lid being configured to be in full engagement with the body in the second locking condition, with a bottom edge of the lid being in parallel engagement with a top edge of the utility module.

Description

A UTILITY MODULE AND A LATCH ASSEMBLY TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD The present disclosure is directed to a container and more specifically to a utility module comprising a body and a lid pivotally connectable to the body. The disclosure is further directed to a latch assembly for releasably coupling the lid to the body of the utility module. The term 'utility module ' is used in the present disclosure in its broad meaning and is meant to denote a variety of articles, such as storage containers, travel luggage, tool boxes, organizers, compacted work benches, cable storage, tools (e.g. hand tools, power generators and power sources), communication modules, carrying platforms, locomotion platforms, etc., of any shape and size, and wherein the utility module includes a latch assembly for releasably coupling the lid to the body of the utility module. The term 'latch assembly' as used herein denotes a set of components of the utility module for releasably coupling the lid to the body of the utility module. BACKGROUND WO2017191628 relates to a utility module and a utility assembly including more than one utility module. The utility module includes a body, lid pivotally coupled to the body and locking latch disposed in register with a locking latch arresting location. The locking latch is arrested by corresponding locking latch arresting location, in a locked condition. The locking latch and the locking latch arresting location are disposed at a front portion of the respective utility module. The locking latch is configured for displacement in a direction substantially normal to a respective face of a utility module. Furthermore, the locking latch is spring biased and configured for normally projecting from a face of the utility module. The document further relates to a coupling mechanism for detachably attaching two or more utility modules to one another, utility assembles, mobile carriers and other attachable modules and articles. GENERAL DESCRIPTION A first aspect of the disclosure concerns a latch assembly for releasably coupling a lid with a body of a utility module. The latch assembly includes at least one latch member pivotally connectable to the lid. The at least one latch member being configured to be operated between a locked position and an unlocked position. The at least one latch member is defined with an elastic tongue and a pair of locking protrusions, each protruding in a rearward direction from a major surface of the at least one latch member facing the lid. The latch assembly further includes a locking unit defined in a locking portion of the body of the utility module. The locking unit includes at least a pair of locking tabs defining a gap therebetween. When the lid is operated from an open position to a closing position, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with at least one of the pair of locking tabs and reside in the gap, and wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of at least one of the pair of locking tabs, temporarily locking the lid with the body in a first locking condition. When a force is applied on the lid, the pair of locking protrusions being configured to slidably engage with other one of the pair of locking tabs and reside below the other one of the pair of locking tabs, wherein the elastic tongue is biased against a lower surface of the other one of the pair of locking tabs, and wherein the at least one latch member is operable from the unlocked position to the locked position securely locking the lid in a second locking condition with the body. According to a configuration of the first aspect, the pair of locking tabs include a first locking tab extending outwardly from a top surface of the body, the first locking tab defined with a first inclined portion and a first vertical portion; and a second locking tab extending outwardly below and along a vertical axis of the first locking tab, the second locking tab defined with a second inclined portion and a second vertical portion. According to a configuration of the first aspect, the first locking tab and the second locking tab have different protruding lengths, and wherein the protruding length of the first locking tab is shorter than protruding length of the second locking tab. According to a configuration of the first aspect, the lid being configured to be in partial engagement with the body in the first locking condition defining an angular gap between the lid and the body, at a front portion of the utility module. According to a configuration of the first aspect, the lid being configured to be in full engagement with the body in the second locking condition, with a bottom edge of the lid being in parallel engagement with a top edge of the utility module. According to a configuration of the first aspect, in the second locking condition, the bottom edge of the lid rests on the top edge of the utility module. According to a configuration of the first aspect, the at least one latch m