Casket latching mechanism

Claim 1

A CASKET LATCHING MECHANISM FOR RELEASABLY RETAINING A CASKET CAP IN CLOSED POSITION AND ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH AN APERTURED LATCH PLATE, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A BODY BRACKET HAVING ONE FACE FORMING A STRIKER SURFACE AND ANOTHER FACE DEPENDING THEREFROM PIVOTALLY MOUNTING AT LEAST ONE LATCHING HOOK, SAID LATCHING HOOK HAVING A LATCHING ABUTMENT AT ITS FREE END, SAID PIVOTAL MOUNTING COMPRISING A SLOT IN SAID DEPENDING BODY BRACKET FACE NORMAL TO SAID STRIKER FACE AND A PIN FREELY ACCOMMODATED WITHIN THE SLOT AND EXTENDING FROM SAID LATCHING HOOK WHEREBY THE LATCHING HOOK MAY BE RECTILINEARLY SHIFTED WITH RELATION TO SAID STRIKER SURFACE BY DISPLACEMENT OF SAID PIN WITHIN SAID SLOT, AN ARM EXTENDING FROM SAID LATCHING HOOK HAVING AN ABUTMENT THEREON AND ADAPTED TO ROTATE THE LATCHING HOOK WITH RELATION TO SAID STRIKER SURFACE WHEN SAID ARM IS DISPLACED RECTILINEARLY WITH RELATION TO SAID STRIKER SURFACE, AND SLIDE MEMBER DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID DEPENDING FACE OF THE BODY BRACKET AND ADAPTED FOR RECTILINEAR MOTION WITH RELATION THERETO, SAID SLIDE MEMBER HAVING A FIRST GENERALLY Z-SHAPED SLOT THEREIN THROUGH WHICH SAID LATCHING HOOK MOUNTING PIN EXTENDS AND HAVING SECOND GENERALLY Z-SHAPED SLOT INTO WHICH SAID ARM ABUTMENT EXTENDS, THE ORIENTATION OF SAID SLOTS WITH RELATION TO EACH OTHER BEING SUCH THAT UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID SLIDE FROM A FIRST EXTREME POSITION TO TO SECOND EXTREME POSITION SAID PIN AND SAID ARM ABUTMENT TRAVEL SAID FIRST AND SECOND GENERALLY Z-SHAPED SLOTS RESPECTIVELY, THEREBY SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVING SAID LATCHING HOOK UPWARDLY AND ROTATING THE END OF SAID LATCHING HOOK AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF SAID BODY BRACKET, PLACING THE TIP OF SAID HOOK IN LATCHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LATCH PLATE.