Patent ID: 7906749

Claim:
A mechanical deployment and actuation system, said system comprising: a rotation module configured to couple to a housing, wherein the rotation module is configured to at least partially rotate about the principal axis of the rotation module relative to the housing; a pinion module that has a pinion surface, configured to couple to the rotation module, wherein the pinion module is configured to selectively rotate about the principal axis of the pinion module relative to the rotation module; a rack module that has a rack body with a rack surface, configured to dynamically couple to the pinion module, with the rack surface engaging the pinion surface, wherein the rack module is configured to translate along the principal axis of the rack module in response to rotation of the pinion module; and a bevel module configured to couple to the rotation module, wherein the bevel module is configured to selectively rotate the rotation module, wherein such rotation of the bevel module at least partially rotates about the principal axis of the rotation module, the rack module and the pinion module, wherein the system is configured for at least one of deployment in response to rack module translation and actuation in response to bevel module rotation; and wherein the pinion surface and the rack surface include either or both of 1) corresponding gear teeth and 2) corresponding high friction surfaces.