Spring latches, commonly located on doors and hinged panels, make use of a tightly coiled spring to fasten two ordinarily separated components. The spring in these latches applies constant pressure to a pin which is fastened to one surface and rests in the notch of an adjacent panel.
Spring latches are among the most common type of latch and are made up of a bracket on one surface with a notched plate on the adjacent surface which is then joined to the bracket by a pin. Latches are mechanical devices used to join two separate components to prevent movement or opening. They are designed to be opened and closed with regularity and some ease, but also to provide a secure and fairly strong closure when in place. Spring latches are one of the most commonly used type of industrial latches because of their simplicity and ease of operation. They are found in almost every household, office, commercial and industrial building with door latches. Fabricated from materials such as steel, stainless steel, brass and aluminum, spring latches are often in high visibility and high traffic areas due to the frequency of their use. The materials are required to be high strength and durable, and in some cases corrosion resistant. Stainless steel latches are the most resistant to corrosion but latches from other metals may be coated with chrome or black powder in order to improve their strength and protection.
There are two main types of spring latch, the spring bolt latch and the spring loaded latch. The more simplistic version, the spring bolt latch, consists of a bracket attached to one surface and an adjacent notched plate on the other surface to be joined. The bracket houses a spring attached to a pin which it holds in place. The pin then fits into the adjacent notch and consequently fastens the two surfaces together. The latch is released when the pin is pulled back, recoiling the spring. This type of spring latch is most commonly used in hinged surfaces such as trailers and truck tailgates. The spring loaded latch is more common in home and office doors, but functions in much the same way. Rather than pull directly on the pin, however, these latches have a knob or lever that operates the mechanism and hides much of the hardware within the door. The knob or lever comes in a wide variety of styles which lends to the versatility of this latch in home and office environments. The internal components of the spring latch are stamped from metal and are then spot welded together. The external knobs and levers can be manufactured in many ways, such as casting or forging, depending upon the style.
