Breakaway control levers

A breakaway control lever comprising,

• a lever arm,
• a load-transmitting means attached to said lever arm for transmitting a controlling force to a mechanism, and
• a pivot defining a pivot axis, said pivot having a two-pronged fork element and a central element, one of said elements being fixed, the other of said elements being linked to said lever arm, said two-pronged fork element and said central element being movably connected to each other by a pair of impact dislocating joints, said joints defining a first normal range of lever arm motion perpendicular to said pivot axis, said load-transmitting means attached to said lever arm to define at least one extremity of said first normal range of lever are motion, each of said impact dislocating joints being a cylindrical rod in one of said elements engaging a socket and a socket lip in the other of said elements, each of said sockets having structure defining a cavity and a cavity opening and each of said cylindrical rods having a hemispherical engagement end, each of said cavities being shaped to receive a portion of an engagement end of an associated cylindrical rod, the cavity opening of each of said sockets being partially surrounded by said socket lips, said socket lip extending a distance beyond the cavity opening toward said one element, said joint also having at least one biasing means for pushing said cylindrical rods into engagement with said sockets, said socket and said socket lip permitting mechanical play to define a second normal range of lever arm motion substantially parallel said pivot axis, said joints self-actingly and nondestructively dislocating upon an impact causing a movement of said lever arm beyond a normal range of lever arm motion.