Patent ID: 8348311

Claim:
A lever mechanism ( 11 ) suitable for holding an escape hatch on a surface of a vehicle ( 11 g ), the escape hatch having a topside and an underside, with the topside to be mounted on the vehicle facing outward away from the inside of the vehicle, the lever mechanism comprising: a base ( 11 a ) having a distal edge and a proximal edge, and means for rigidly affixing the base to the underside of the escape hatch ( 11 m ); a clamp ( 11 b ) having an attached end and a surface clamping end; two spaced apart collinear clamp pivot pins ( 11 d ) inserted into both the base and into the clamp; a handle ( 11 c ), the handle further comprising a handle grip ( 11 i ), and means for pivotally attaching the handle to the clamp; and two spaced apart handle-based linkage assemblies ( 11 f ), at least one of the two spaced apart handle-based linkage assemblies further comprising a simple link ( 11 k ), wherein the handle is pivotally coupled to the base by the two spaced apart handle-based linkage assemblies ( 11 f ); and wherein the attached end of the clamp is pivotally coupled to the base by the two spaced apart collinear clamp pivot pins ( 11 d ); whereby a user pushing the handle towards the underside of the escape hatch pivotally moves the clamp against the vehicle surface ( 11 g ) and causes the lever mechanism to move into an engaged position, wherein in the engaged position the surface clamping end of the clamp extends past the distal edge of the base and the handle grip ( 11 i ) extends past the proximal edge of the base, and the user pulling on the handle pivotally moves the clamp away from the vehicle surface and causes the lever mechanism to move into a disengaged position, wherein in the disengaged position the surface clamping end is oriented a distance away from the vehicle surface so that the surface clamping end is repositioned over the distal edge of the base, and the handle grip ( 11 i ) is oriented a distance away from the underside of the escape hatch so that the handle grip ( 11 i ) is repositioned over the proximal edge of the base.