My Sears, bought about 3 years ago, works as follows. When you pull
down on the release cord, it pulls the small plastic arm vertical and
it then locks in the disengaged position. I think this is a good idea,
as it prevents it from re-engaging if you need to open/close the door a
few times. To re-engage, you pull the cord frontwards or backwards on
an angle and then release it.