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:
Sep. 22, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 13, 1997
Douglas R Thompson, Hudsonville, MI (US);
David J Spykerman, Zeeland, MI (US);
Thomas S Mayr, Holland, MI (US);
Prince Corporation, Holland, MI (US);
Abstract
An armrest cover locking mechanism for an armrest having a body with a storage compartment and a cover which is pivotally mounted to the armrest body for movement between a closed position for normal use of the armrest and an open position for access to items within the storage compartment. The latching system includes a latch mounted to the forward edge of the cover and extending downwardly into the storage bin and latchably engaging a spring-loaded, push-button slide which includes a latch plate which engages the latch of the cover when in a normal position. Upon depression of a push-button actuator associated with the latch slide, the latch plate clears the cover latch allowing the cover to be opened when the armrest is in a horizontal position. The slide is slidably mounted within a housing and includes a curvilinear pendulum pivotally mounted to the slide such that when the armrest is in a horizontal position, the slide can move freely within the housing. When the armrest is moved toward a vertical position, however, the pendulum remains stationary as the slide assembly pivots with a locking post on the housing engaging the pendulum to prevent movement of the spring-loaded slide once the armrest is moved from the horizontal position.