Baler door latch

Claim 2

A latch for a door vertically hinged in a doorway comprising an elongated vertical strike carried by the doorway and a latch mechanism carried by the free edge of the door, said latch mechanism comprising, in combination: a latch bar member having an elongated lip; vertical spaced means pivotally mounting said bar member on said door, for rotation about a first vertical axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of the bar member, from a locking position in whcih the inner surface of said lip engages behind said strike; and over-center means for rotating said bar member into and out of said locking position, and for maintaining said bar member in said locking position in the presence of forces on said door tending to rotate said bar.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the last-named means includes a vertically extending shaft carrying a roller; spaced pivot means carried by said bar member and having a second vertical axis; means mounting said shaft for revolution parallel to itself about said second axis of said pivot means, at a predetermined radius therefrom, out of a position parallel to and adjacent said door when said bar member is in said normal position; a control lever extending horizontally from said shaft to normally lie substantially parallel with the door, so that anGular displacement of said lever horizontally causes said revolution of said shaft, the predetermined radius being such that said roller becomes substantially tangent to said door after a first portion of said rotation; and means preventing reverse displacement of said roller in response to rotational forces applied to said bar and therethrough to said pivot means.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the last-named means comprises a vertically extending shaft carrying a roller; spaced pivot means carried by said bar member and having a second vertical axis; means mounting said shaft for revolution, parallel to itself, about said second axis of said pivot means, at a predetermined radius therefrom, out of a position parallel to and adjacent said door when said bar member is in said normal position; a control lever extending horizontally from said shaft to normally lie substantially parallel with the door, so that angular displacement of said lever horizontally causes said revolution of said shaft, the predetermined radius being such that said roller becomes substantially tangent to said door after a first over-center portion of said rotation; and abutment means carried by said door for engagement by said roller whereupon further displacement of said lever causes pivotal movement of said bar member on said door to disengage said bar from said strike, thereby permitting said door to be opened.