US 12,421,741 B2
Inboard-mounted safety latch mechanism for preventing a walkway platform flip door from being raised without a guardrail installed
Don J. Russell, Arlington, WA (US); and Brennan J. Dunlap, Snohomish, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Jul. 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/369,566.
Prior Publication US 2023/0010425 A1, Jan. 12, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. E04G 1/15 (2006.01); E04G 5/00 (2006.01); E04G 5/14 (2006.01); E05C 3/00 (2006.01); E05C 3/14 (2006.01)
CPC E04G 1/15 (2013.01) [E04G 5/006 (2013.01); E04G 5/14 (2013.01); E05C 3/14 (2013.01); E04G 2001/157 (2013.01); E05C 3/006 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for preventing a flip door from being raised without a guardrail installed, the system comprising:
a guardrail comprising a post, the post having a post dog;
a latch eye configured to be coupled to a flip door; and
a safety latch mechanism configured to be coupled to a fixed structure, the safety latch mechanism comprising:
a body,
a socket configured to receive the post, and
a door latch rotatably coupled to the body and biased in a latched position that is configured to engage with the latch eye and thereby retain the flip door in a lowered position,
wherein based on the post being inserted into the socket of the safety latch mechanism, the post dog engages with and rotates the door latch from the latched position to an unlatched position, thereby allowing the flip door to be raised from the lowered position to a raised position.