Patent ID: 8240727

Claim:
A hook comprising: a) a load bearing portion including a main body portion and a handle portion defining an aperture therebetween, wherein the aperture includes a lock recess bounded by a face of the main body portion and a face of the handle portion, and at least one of the face of the main body portion and the face of the handle portion supports a trapezoid guide adapted to slidably engage a trapezoid groove formed in a face of a slidably mounted actuator; b) an arm portion pivotally coupled to the load-bearing portion, such that the arm portion is pivotable relative to the load-bearing portion between a closed configuration, in which the load-bearing portion and the arm portion together define a substantially continuous boundary, and an open configuration, in which the arm portion and the load-bearing portion together define a discontinuous boundary; c) a side-mounted locking mechanism, comprising a lock slide mechanism including the slidably mounted actuator, wherein the slidably mounted actuator is adapted to lock the arm portion with respect to the load-bearing portion in the open configuration of the hook, and wherein the lock slide mechanism is contained within the lock recess of the aperture between the main body portion and the handle portion of the load bearing portion by an end stop plate such that the lock recess of the aperture is a separate region from a second portion of the aperture between the main body portion and the handle portion of the load bearing portion.