Patent ID: 8875348

Claim:
A friction hinge system comprising: a housing having an outer surface and having an inner surface that defines a substantially cylindrical opening and a longitudinal slot along a longitudinal axis defining slot ends; and a torque element assembly comprising a shaft and at least one torque element stacked along and frictionally engaged with the shaft and configured substantially within the opening of the housing such that the at least one torque element is substantially contained within the opening; the at least one torque element comprising arms and feet and configured such that at least a portion of the feet extend through the slot in the housing so that the housing engages at least some portion of the at least one torque element thereby securing the at least one torque element relative to the housing; characterized in that the outer and inner surfaces of the housing are joined at the longitudinal slot ends such that there is no fully closed portion of the housing along the longitudinal axis such that a force applied to the outer surface on the housing toward the at least one torque element applies a pinching force by the slot ends on the at least one torque element.