Patent ID: 7108328

Claim:
A vehicular arm rest comprising: a fixed axle extending along an axis; a primary part rotatable about the axis on the axle, axially fixed on the axle, and formed with an array of axially directed primary-part teeth; an arm-rest body fixed to the primary part and pivotable therewith about the axis in an downward direction between a raised position and a lowered position and in an opposite upward direction between the lowered position and the raised position; a secondary part at most limitedly pivotal about the axis on the axle, axially shiftable on the axle, and having an array of axially directed secondary-part teeth meshable with the primary-part teeth, the teeth of both parts being angled such that when meshed the primary-part and secondary-part teeth inhibit movement of the arm-rest body in the downward direction between the raised position and the lowered position but permit movement of the arm-rest body in the upward direction between the lowered position and the raised position; an abutment axially fixed on the axle with the secondary part between the abutment and the primary part; a spring assembly braced axially between the abutment and the secondary part and urging the secondary-part teeth into mesh with the primary-part teeth; and a controller including a control ring between the primary part and the secondary part and having a control-ring cam side turned toward one of the parts and a control-ring coupling side turned toward the other of the parts, the one part having a cam side turned toward the control-ring cam side and the other part having a coupling side turned toward the control-ring coupling side, cam formations on the cam sides, a coupling bump on one of the coupling sides and projecting toward the other of the coupling sides, a coupling recess on the other of the coupling sides open toward the one coupling side and receiving the coupling bump for pushing the secondary part away from the primary part on pivoting of the primary part in the downward direction from the raised position of the arm-rest body toward the lowered position for decoupling the primary-part teeth from the secondary-part teeth and for coupling the primary-part teeth with the secondary-part teeth and preventing further movement in the downward direction on reaching the lowered position.