ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 20 -- United States Patent no. 12,392,370, issued on Aug. 19, was assigned to Medos International Sarl (Le Locle, Switzerland).
"Selectively lockable ball and socket joint" was invented by Keanan R. Smith (Quincy, Mass.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A ball and socket joint assembly is disclosed that includes a body defining a cavity, a collet disposed in the cavity to receive a ball of a connector, and an actuator shaft coupled to the collet for rotating and translating the collet in the cavity. The cavity has a distal opening to accept the ball and an engagement feature extending into the cavity. The collet has an outer diameter larger than the opening in the body when...