Patent ID: 7726161

Claim:
A key comprising a retractable shaft which is mounted pivotably with respect to a case forming an operating head of the key, between a retracted position in which the shaft extends in a substantially longitudinal direction inside a housing of the case, and a deployed operating position in which the shaft extends outside the case, wherein the shaft has a first end forming a heel by means of which the shaft is pivoted with respect to the case about a vertical pivot axis orthogonal to the axis of the shaft, wherein the key further comprises a drive mechanism for driving the shaft toward the retracted position or toward the deployed operating position, wherein the drive mechanism comprises an operating element which extends partly outside the case, and which interacts with the heel of the shaft to cause the manual pivoting of the shaft from the retracted position, or from the deployed position, at least up to a predetermined position, wherein the operating element is mounted movably inside a complementary housing of the case so that it can slide in a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the shaft in its retracted position, and wherein the drive mechanism comprises a resiliently deformable element, which exerts a resilient force on the shaft to return the shaft toward its retracted or deployed position, according to the angular position of the shaft with respect to the predetermined position of the shaft which is intermediate between the deployed position and the retracted position.