Opener for a corvette rear-seat storage compartment cover

Claim 1

In a Corvette motor car having: at least one rear-seat storage compartment including an annular compartment frame having first and second sides; a cover including a cover frame having first and second sides, the first side of the cover frame being pivotally connected to the first side of the compartment frame and rotatable between open and closed positions, the closed position occurring when the second side of the cover frame engages the second side of the compartment frame, a bracket having an edge constituting a keeper mounted on the second side of the compartment frame; a latch housing mounted in a clearance aperture in the cover adjacent the second side of the cover frame and having a top portion on the top side of the cover and a bottom portion extending downwardly away from the underside of the cover, a manually depressible push button mounted in the top portion of the latch housing for reciprocating motion in and out of the latch housing, a latch finger mounted on the bottom portion of the latch housing for reciprocating motion in and out of the latch housing, mechanism inside of the latch housing connected to the push button and to the latch finger and including spring means effective to cause the latch finger to move into the housing when the push button is manually depressed and to move outwardly of the housing when the manual force on the push button is released; the finger, when the cover is in the closed position and the manual force depressing the push button is relieved, engaging said keeper to hold the cover in the closed position; improved means for moving the cover away from the closed position when the push button is manually depressed and the latch finger disengages from the keeper edge, the improved means comprising: spring means one end being connected to said bracket and the opposite end slidingly engaging the bottom of said latch housing and arranged when the cover is in the closed position to develop an opening force urging the cover and latch housing in a direction away from the closed position and the opening force, after the latch finger is disengaged from the keeper edge and after the force depressing the push button is removed causing the cover and latch housing to rotate upwardly away from the closed position and the opening force rotating the cover and latch housing upwardly at a rate great enough to prevent the latch finger form re-engaging the keeper edge and the opening force also causing the cover and latch housing to rotate upwardly away from the closed position a distance sufficient so that the cover frame can be grasped by the fingers.