Skylight and safety device

Claim 1

An emergency-releasable latch mechanism for the hingedcover of a skylight, wherein the cover is heavily biased to open position relative to an access opening but is normally restrained in closed position by said latch mechanism, said mechanism comprising a mounting bracket for supporting said mechanism adjacent an unhinged edge of The cover, a first lever pivotally secured at one end to said bracket for swinging movement in a plane generally perpendicular to that of the access opening, a second lever pivotally secured at one end to said first lever intermediate the ends thereof, said second lever having at said one end a tooth for locking engagement with an edge part of said cover and being swingable into and out of cover-locking position, a fusible third lever connecting the other ends of said first and second levers and normally restraining said second lever in cover-locking position, said third lever being actuable to free said second lever for pivotal movement to release said cover, spring means biasing said first lever about its pivot on said bracket in a direction resiliently to urge said tooth into engagement with said edge part of said cover, and manually operable means connected to said first lever and able to pivot said first lever in a direction to bring said tooth out of engagement with said edge part of said cover.