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US 2003/0147688 A1Published application
Ball joint with detent action
OwnerClarence Eduard Hathawayinventor
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OwnerClarence Eduard Hathawayinventor
Estimating the term…
A ball and socket joint incorporating a detent mechanism that provides positive biasing toward a desired position. The ball and socket joint can be used in flexible supports that hold and support items such as lamps, tools and faucets. The detent mechanism comprises two corresponding parts, one in the ball portion and the second in the socket portion of the joint. The first detent part is a protrusion of some type and the second detent part is a groove or indentation that is adapted to accept and engage the protrusion. If the ball contains the detent protrusion, then the socket contains the detent indentation. And conversely, if the socket contains the detent protrusion, then the ball contains the detent indentation. The detent tensioning force can be provided by a spring, a spring band, the characteristics of the material from which the joint is made, or by some other similar tensioning device.
A flexible multi-jointed support for holding items such as lamps and tools, wherein the support is comprised of multiple segments that are joined end to end, each joining of two segments thereby forming the joints, and at least one of the joints is a ball and socket joint that is capable of being biased in a desired orientation, wherein each ball and socket joint comprises:
A method for supporting items, such as lamps and tools, wherein a support arm with multiple joints is used to support the item, and one or more ball and socket joints are used in the support arm, wherein the ball and socket joints can be placed in at least one biased position, the method comprising the steps of:
A flexible multi-jointed support for holding items such as lamps and tools, wherein the support is comprised of multiple segments that are joined end to end each joining of two segments thereby forming the joints, and at least one of the joints is a ball and socket joint that is capable of being biased in a desired orientation, wherein at least one ball and socket joint comprises:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.