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US 12,586,436 B2Granted
Actuator with locking mechanism
AssigneeFasteners for Retail, Inc.
InventorsYun Hua, Michael Eric Liedtke
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A product-dispensing device comprises an actuator, a locking gear, and a button which are all supported by a housing. The actuator for rotation about the first axis. The locking gear for the rotation between a first position and a second position about a second axis, the locking gear also includes a locking arm to inhibit rotation of the actuator in the second direction about the first axis when the locking arm is in the second position. The button is operably coupled to the locking gear and configured to rotate the locking gear between the first position and the second position.
Claims17
A product-dispensing device comprising:
- a housing;
- an outer knob section supported by the housing for rotation about a knob axis in a first direction and a second direction;
- a locking gear supported by the housing for rotation between an unlocked configuration and a locked configuration about a locking gear axis, the locking gear including (i) a projection including a first side and a second side opposite the first side and (ii) a locking arm configured to inhibit rotation of the outer knob section in the second direction about the knob axis when the locking arm is in the locked configuration;
- and
- a button supported by the housing for translation between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration, the button including an upper protrusion selectively engageable with the first side of the projection and a lower protrusion selectively engageable with the second side of the projection, the button being operable to rotate the locking gear between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration upon translation between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration.
2 more elements
A product-dispensing device, comprising:
- a locking gear rotatable between an unlocked configuration and a locked configuration and including a locking arm configured to inhibit rotation of an actuator in the locked configuration;
- a button configured to translate between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration, the button operable to rotate the locking gear between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration upon translation between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration;
- and
- a biasing gear coupled to the locking gear and configured to bias the locking gear toward the locked configuration
- a biasing spring coupled to the biasing gear, and wherein the biasing gear is rotatable between the unlocked configuration where the locking gear is in the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration where the locking gear is in the locked configuration, the biasing spring is configured to bias the biasing gear toward the unlocked configuration;
- and
- a catch configured to retain the button in the unlocked configuration;
- and
- wherein rotation of the biasing gear from the unlocked configuration to the locked configuration causes (i) the locking gear to rotate from the unlocked configuration to the locked configuration, (ii) the button to disengage from the catch, and (iii) the button to translate from the unlocked configuration to the locked configuration.
6 more elements
A product-dispensing device comprising:
- an outer knob section rotatable about a knob axis;
- a dispensing coil selectively engaged with the outer knob section for rotation about a coil axis;
- a time delay mechanism configured to selectively interrupt the engagement between the outer knob section and the dispensing coil;
- a locking gear including (i) a main body rotatable about a locking gear axis between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration and (ii) a locking arm extending from the main body and operable to selectively engage the outer knob section in the locked configuration to prevent rotation of the outer knob section;
- and
- a biasing gear including a main body rotatable about a biasing gear axis and a series of teeth extending from the main body and engaged with each of the time delay mechanism and the locking gear, the biasing gear operable to bias the locking gear toward the locked configuration.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.