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US 7,093,321 B2Granted
Lockable hinge
AssigneeCosco Management, Inc.
InventorsPhilip W. Burbrink, Trevor S. Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lockable hinge includes a first and second hinge member, a lock, and an actuator. The lockable hinge is coupled to a pair of ladder-leg sections and is arranged to allow the ladder-leg sections to move among closed, trestle-ladder, and straight-ladder positions. The lock is used to lock the hinge members to cause the ladder-leg sections to lock in the closed, trestle-ladder and straight-ladder positions.
Claims19
A lockable hinge comprising
- first and second hinge members coupled together for rotation about a common axis,
- a lock coupled to the second hinge member, the first hinge member being formed to include a lock-receiving space,
- a knob having a connector post coupled to the lock and arranged for movement in a first direction about the common axis wherein the lock is arranged for radial movement away from the common axis and wherein a portion of the lock is received in the lock-receiving space to block movement of the first and second hinge members relative to one another about the common axis, and wherein the knob is further arranged for movement in a second direction about the common axis wherein the lock is arranged for radial movement toward the common axis and wherein the lock portion withdraws from the lock-receiving space to allow movement of the first and second hinge members relative to one another about the common axis,
- wherein the lock includes a mounting plate coupled to the knob for rotation therewith about the common axis, and a cam having the tab coupled to the mounting plate wherein, when the knob is rotated in the first direction, the cam moves radially outwardly relative to the common axis to cause the tab to enter the lock-receiving space to lock the hinge members, and wherein, when the knob is rotated in the second direction, the cam moves radially inwardly relative to the common axis to cause the tab to withdraw from the lock-receiving space to unlock the hinge members, and
- wherein the mounting plate is formed to include a pair of mounting apertures and a central axis bore coupled to a pair of generally L-shaped cams formed to include an annular aperture and an oblong aperture, a pair of links formed to include a distal aperture and a proximal aperture, and a helical spring.
2 more elements
A lockable hinge comprising
- first and second hinge members coupled together for rotation about a common axis,
- a cam having a tab coupled to the second hinge member, the first hinge member having a tab-receiving space,
- an actuator,
- means for coupling the actuator to the cam so that, when the actuator is moved in a first direction, the cam moves radially outwardly relative to the common axis to cause the tab to enter the tab-receiving space to lock the hinge members, and so that, when the actuator is moved in a second direction, the cam moves radially inwardly relative to the common axis to cause the tab to withdraw from the tab-receiving space to unlock the hinge members, and
- wherein the means for coupling the actuator to the cam further includes a link having one end pivotably coupled to the mounting plate and a second end pivotably coupled to the cam.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.