Patent ID: 8210580

Claim:
A detent assembly comprising: a first sub-assembly and a second sub-assembly mutually displaceable sub-assemblies, at least one of the first and second sub-assemblies being rotationally displaceable with respect to the other sub-assembly, each of the first and second sub-assemblies including an outer surface, the first and second sub-assemblies being arranged and configured such that the outer surfaces of the first and second sub-assemblies are adjacent one another; the first sub-assembly defining at least one guide; the second sub-assembly defining at least one disk recess in its outer surface, the recess being defined by boundaries; at least one detent element located within the at least one guide said detent element being biased towards the outer surface of the second sub-assembly and tending to project at least partially out of the at least one guide when the disk recess is in communication with the at least one guide, thereby tending to retain the at least one recess in communication with the at least one guide, wherein the at least one guide is configured such that one side of the at least one detent element contacts a single portion of the at least one disk recess and the other side of the at least one detent element contacts a rest site defined by the at least one guide when the at least one guide is in communication with the at least one disk recess, wherein, said detent assembly is configured to interface with an actuation mechanism for one of a door and a window; wherein, the at least one detent element is a ball which is loaded in its guide by a compression spring and wherein when the detent element is in a detent interlocked configuration the at least one detent element is excentrically offset from the recess boundary; wherein, the at least one disk recess defines an oblique rest edge which is configured obliquely away from a boundary of the at least one disk recess, said rest edge being a notch flank that supports the at least one detent element, the at least one detent element configured not to make contact with the boundary of said recess when said at least one detent element is configured in the detent interlocked configuration; wherein, the second sub-assembly is configured to couple to a rotatable body and rotatable about an axis and wherein the second sub-assembly is fitted at or near its circumference with at least one disk recess comprising a rest rim, said disk recess being configured to receive the detent element retained in the associated first sub-assembly as the second sub-assembly is rotated about the axis by a handle coupled to the second sub-assembly, said detent element being urged by the spring towards the recess and being excentrically offset by the at least one guide in the first sub-assembly from the rest edge; and wherein, the second sub-assembly configured as a disk comprise at least one pair of diametrically opposite disk recesses, inhibiting rotation of the second sub-assembly when the detent assembly is in the interlocked configuration.