Latch assembly with remote release

Abstract

A latch assembly connecting a leg of a table to a table top comprises a housing assembly comprising a housing and a cover, a pivot mounted on the housing and pivotable between an upright position and a pivoted position, wherein the pivot defines an upright slot and a pivoted position slot, a remote release mechanism located remote from the pivot outside the housing assembly and movable from a first position to a second position, and a slider connected to the remote release mechanism and movable in response to movement of the remote release mechanism. When the remote release mechanism is in the first position the pivot is locked with respect to the housing assembly in one of the upright position and the pivoted position, and when the remote release mechanism is moved to the second position the pivot is movable between the upright position and the pivoted position.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 833,251, filed on Apr. 27, 2004.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to improvements in latch assemblies, and more particularly to improvements in latch assemblies used with tables flippable with respect to their legs.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Tables with table tops and legs are widely used in corporate and institutional settings. The table tops of such tables often are flippable between an upright position and a pivoted position, and are particularly suitable in places where the position of the table is frequently changed, such as hotels and conference center meeting rooms. Table tops in a pivoted position are often at right angles to the upright position and therefore take up less space, reducing the area needed for storage. A latch assembly can be provided which locks the table top in either the pivoted position or upright position. One problem that has ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]From the foregoing disclosure and the following more detailed description of various preferred embodiments it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a significant advance in the technology of latch assemblies. Particu...

Problems solved by technology

One problem that has been seen with flippable table tops is that the latch assembly is less rigid than desired.

Such latch assemblies may be loose and subject to rattling and wobbling.

Moreover, latch assemblies may not be rigidly secured at both the upright and pivoted positions.

Further, access to the latch assembly allowing movement of the table top or legs between the upright and pivoted positions may be restricted or in a difficult to access position on the table top.

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