Patent ID: 7322545

Claim:
A structural mechanism comprising: a support; a hinged surface; a hinge assembly joining the hinged surface to the support so that the hinged surface may pivot relative to the support, wherein the hinge assembly comprises at least one hinge, and wherein the at least one hinge has a center passageway; therethrough linearly aligned along a hinged-surface hinge axis; an actuation system comprising an actuator shaft lying coincident with the hinged-surface hinge axis and extending through the aligned center passageways of the at least one hinge of the hinge assembly, wherein the actuator shaft is engaged to the at least one hinge, a lock selectively operable to lock the hinged surface to the support when the actuator shaft engages the lock, wherein the lock comprises an exterior locking spline on the actuator shaft at a location remote from the actuator structure, and a compatible interior locking spline in the support, wherein the exterior locking spline is engaged to the interior locking spline when the actuator shaft is in a first shaft axial position and is not engaged to the interior locking spline when the actuator shaft is in a second shaft axial position, an actuator structure controllably operable to move the actuator shaft longitudinally along the hinge-surface hinge axis between the first shaft axial position wherein the actuator shaft engages the lock and the at least one hinge, and the second shaft axial position wherein the actuator shaft does not engage the lock but does engage the at least one hinge, and controllably operable to rotate the actuator shaft about the hinged-surface hinge axis; and an actuator controller for the actuator structure.