Patent ID: 8550505

Claim:
An armrest for a motor-vehicle interior, the armrest comprising: a base element fixed on the vehicle and defining an axis; an armrest part pivotal on the base element about the axis, the armrest part having a first counter surface turned radially toward a second counter surface of the base element, one of the counter surfaces being radially inwardly concave and the other of the counter surfaces being radially outwardly convex; at least one wedge-shaped sprag slidable between the to counter surfaces generally angularly of the axis between a locking position in which the armrest part is arrested relative to the base element and a release position in which pivoting of the armrest part with respect to the base element is possible, the sprag being provided with a first contact face cooperating with the first counter surface of the armrest part and a second contact face cooperating with the second counter surface of the base element, the first counter surface and the second counter surface extending nonparallel to each other and forming a wedge-shaped clamping gap receiving the sprag and clamping the sprag in the locking position; biasing means for urging the sprag into the locking position to lock the armrest against rotation; release means for moving the sprag into the release position to allow rotation of the armrest; and an actuator that can manually actuate the release means.