Patent ID: 7124864

Claim:
A gas assist strut and coupling member for pivotally coupling an end of a gas assist strut to an associated mounting ball comprising: a gas assist strut having a movable rod extending therefrom; a body coupled to an end of said rod having a spherical socket with a pair of slots communicating with said socket for receiving a generally C-shaped spring, said body further including a recess configured to receive a cam; a cam including a cam element and control handle, said cam nestably received within said recess of said body; and a generally C-shaped spring having ends and a center section, wherein said center section has a width covering said cam element when said spring is positioned over said cam for engaging said body, wherein said ends of said C-shaped spring extend within said slots of said body for lockably engaging a ball, wherein said cam element when moved from a locking position to an unlocking position engages said center section of said spring and urges said ends of said spring at least partially out of said slots for releasing said body from an associated ball to decouple said strut from the associated ball.