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:
Mar. 19, 2002
Filed:
Dec. 13, 1999
Richard E. Bernier, Mebane, NC (US);
Gilbert A. Soares, Mebane, NC (US);
James H. Cook, Wilmington, NC (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A door latch for latching a door of an electrical equipment enclosure includes a latch body and a latch rod rotatable between locked and unlocked conditions. The latch rod includes a stem with a first end rotatably coupled to the latch body, an extension rod with a first end coupled to a second end of the stem, and a hook coupled to a second end of the extension rod. The extension rod is dimensioned to contact a portion of the electrical equipment enclosure when the latch rod is in the locked condition. The hook is separated from the portion of the electrical equipment enclosure by a clearance distance “x” during a quiescent condition within the electrical enclosure. The hook contacts the portion of the electrical equipment enclosure during a pressurized condition within the electrical equipment enclosure. The clearance distance “x” is selected to provide a clearance distance “y” between the door and the enclosure to allow pressurized gas to escape the enclosure during the pressurized condition.