Patent ID: 8898862
Filing Date: 2014-12-02
Classification: E05D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A push-button, locking hinge assembly comprising, in combination: a) a base element comprising: a solid cast geometric end comprising an internal recess sized to receive a resilient spring member; a cylindrical length comprising an external side and an internal side; a central longitudinal axis; a cylindrical recess defined by the cylindrical length internal sides; an open end; a plurality of uniform cogs evenly spaced along the cylindrical length internal side from the open end so that each cog length is disposed equidistant from and parallel to the central longitudinal axis, and the cogs are sized to fit and receive cogs along a push-button cylindrical body external side; and an annular groove around the cylindrical length external side, the annular groove defining a plane transverse to the central longitudinal axis; b) a push-button element comprising: a cylindrical body comprising an external side and an internal side; a central longitudinal axis; an actuating end comprising a solid circular external surface and an internal surface; an open cylindrical end; a cylindrical recess defined by the cylindrical body internal sides; a plurality of cogs evenly spaced along the cylindrical body external side so that each cog length is disposed equidistant from and parallel to the cylindrical body central longitudinal axis; and an internal recess sized to receive a resilient spring member; c) a cap element comprising: a solid cast geometric end comprising a central opening on the end sized to receive the push button actuating end; a cylindrical length comprising an external side and an internal side; a central longitudinal axis; a cylindrical recess defined by the cylindrical length internal sides; an open end sized to receive and hold the base open end; a plurality of uniform cogs evenly spaced along the cylindrical length internal side from the cap element end comprising a central opening to receive the push button actuating end so that each cog length is disposed equidistant from and parallel to the central longitudinal axis, and the cogs are sized to fit and receive the cogs along the push-button cylindrical body external side; and an annular groove around the cylindrical length internal side, the annular groove defining a plane transverse to the base central longitudinal axis and sized to receive and hold the O-ring received within the annular groove around the cylindrical length external side; d) an O-ring sized to be received within (i) the annular groove around the base cylindrical length external side, and (ii) the annular groove around the cap cylindrical length internal side, the O-ring serving to provide a pivot surface between the base element and the cap element; and e) a resilient spring longitudinally disposed around the central longitudinal axes of the push-button, base and cap, and sized to be received by and engage the base internal recess and to be received by and engage the push-button internal recess, thus implementing restorative force to the push-button position after a depression force on the push-button actuating end external surface is released; wherein the push-button, locking hinge assembly provides a locking feature when a push-button element actuating surface is in a disengaged, neutral position and the push-button element cogs simultaneously engage the base element cogs and the cap element cogs preventing any pivot between the base element and the cap element about the central longitudinal; axis; wherein the push-button, locking hinge assembly provides a 360 degree pivot feature around the O-ring between the cap element and the base element, the pivot action being along a plane transverse to the central longitudinal axis and about the central longitudinal axis, when the push-button actuating end external surface is depressed inward by a pressure applied to the push-button element actuating end solid circular external surface disengaging the push-button element cogs from the cap element cogs and unlocking the push-button, locking hinge assembly; and wherein once the push-button element actuating end external surface returns to a neutral position by the action of the undepressed resilient spring when the pressure is withdrawn from the push-button element actuating end solid circular external surface, the push-button element cogs re-engage the cap element cogs and lock the push-button, locking hinge assembly into the adjusted pivoted position between the base element and the cap element about the central longitudinal axis.