The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 27, 1998
Filed:
May. 06, 1996
Dean Holter, Portland, OR (US);
Thomas A Leslie, Tigard, OR (US);
Freightliner Corporation, Portland, OR (US);
Abstract
A vehicle with a hood latch assembly includes a latch and latch catch having relative positions which are maintained as the hood closed position of the hood is adjusted to thereby maintain a substantially constant load on the latch assembly. The assembly may include a latch catch with a latch body having an upper hood engaging surface for engaging the hood and isolating hood vibrations. An upwardly projecting neck of the latch catch includes an enlarged head portion with a latch engaging pin. A latch mount incorporated into the latch catch is utilized for coupling the latch catch to a vehicle body. The latch mount may be slidably mounted to a flange of a mounting bracket which is fixedly mounted to the vehicle body. A stop mounted to the vehicle hood engages the upper surface of the latch catch when the hood is in the hood closed position. The latch includes a latch base, a handle pivoted thereto, and a latch hook having a pivot portion pivoted within a yoke of the handle and a hook. The hook is biased away from the latch catch by a biasing element. One surface of the latch hook is friction-enhanced to facilitate manual movement of the latch hook in opposition to the force applied by the biasing element.