The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 23, 2026
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2023
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Wolfsburg, DE;
Armin Fatic, Foster City, CA (US);
David Roh, San Francisco, CA (US);
Rodrigo Castaman, Walnut Creek, CA (US);
Gladys Leung, Union City, CA (US);
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Wolfsburg, DE;
Abstract
A coupling/locking mechanism, that includes a first and second coupling/locking portion, each having their respective housing that includes (i) first/second prongs comprising first/second cavities and tapered engaging ends, (ii) first/second semi-spherical ball locks configured in the cavities, and (iii) first/second openings. During engagement, the first tapered end is configured to contact a face of the second semi-spherical ball lock locking portion through the second opening, and the second tapered end is configured to contact a face of the first semi-spherical ball lock locking portion through the first opening to rotatably align the first and second semi-spherical balls along a joining plane to form a spherical ball lock in the cavity of the first prong and the cavity of the second prong. A spur gear engages with the spherical ball lock to rotatably offset the spherical ball lock from the joining plane to a configured offset plane.