Retractable safety latch for cases

Claim 1

A retractable safety latch for use on a case, which includes a bottom shell having an edge extrusion and a top shell having a mating edge extrusion, that comprises: a base member mounted on said bottom edge extrusion; a perpendicular base wall mounted perpendicularly to said base member; a draw bar guide having U-shaped flanges along its longitudinal edges attached to said base member by a hinge; a draw bar having an arcuate hook on one end and an eccentrically positioned oblong hole in the other end slidably mounted between said U-shaped flanges on said draw bar guide; a rotatable shaft mounted on said draw bar guide and having an eccentrically mounted pin extending through said eccentrically positioned oblong hole in said draw bar for driving said draw bar and retaining said draw bar in said draw bar guide and whereby said eccentrically mounted pin and said eccentrically positioned oblong hole operate together to allow said rotatable shaft to rotate through only about 180 degrees with 0 degrees rotation corresponding to an open position for said retractable safety latch with said draw bar fully extended and 180 degrees rotation corresponding to a closed position for said retractable safety latch with said draw bar retracted; a handle pivotably mounted on said rotatable shaft; and a first spring between said handle and said rotatable shaft that biases said pivotably mounted handle always in one direction with respect to said rotatable shaft so that when said retractable safety latch is in a closed position with said arcuate hook attached to said mating edge extrusion, said handle is biased to be in contact with and resting on said perpendicular base wall, and so that when said retractable safety latch is in an open position, said handle is biased in the same direction with respect to said rotatable shaft and is in contact with said draw bar.