Travel latch for retractable awning

Abstract

A retractable awning for mounting to a wall such as the side of a recreational vehicle. The awning includes a roller, a flexible canopy having an inner edge connected to the wall and an outer edge secured to the roller, a pair of arm assemblies supporting opposite ends of the roller and operable to move the roller between a retracted position adjacent the wall and an extended position spaced from the wall, and a travel latch for securing the arm assemblies in the retracted position. Each of the arm assemblies includes a vertically extending base arm connected to the wall, a bottom arm having a first end pivotally connected to the base arm, an extended arm having a first end pivotally connected to the bottom arm and a second end connected to and supporting the roller, and a top arm having a first end pivotally connected to the base arm above the bottom arm and a second end pivotally connected to the extended arm. The base arm and the extended arm each have a main wall and a pair of side walls extending from opposite edges of the main wall to form a channel. The channels of the base and extended arms facing each other in the retracted position to form a storage cavity for the top and bottom arms. At least one of the side walls of the base arm has a lip for cooperating with the travel latch. The latch is comprised of a resilient polymer and is secured to one of the extended arms. The latch has an angled ramp which engages the lip to releasably secure the extended arm to the base arm with spring tension when the awning is in the retracted position.