Ball detent

A ball detent is a simple mechanical arrangement used to hold a moving part in a temporarily fixed position relative to another part. Usually the moving parts slide with respect to each other, or one part rotates within the other.

The ball is a single, usually metal sphere, sliding within a bored cylinder, against the pressure of a spring, which pushes the ball against the other part of the mechanism, which carries the detent - which can be as simple as a hole of smaller diameter than the ball. When the hole is in line with the cylinder, the ball is partially pushed into the hole under spring pressure, holding the parts at that position. Additional force applied to the moving parts will compress the spring, causing the ball to be depressed back into its cylinder, and allowing the parts to move to another position.

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