US Patent 11370088 Locking pliers release mechanism

Disclosed is a release mechanism for locking pliers. The mechanism includes a center link and release link that work together to form an over-center lock with a release lever that acts sequentially on the center link and release link. The release lever can first contact the center link at a protrusion, and then contact a release link connected to the center link to release the over-center lock. User experience is therefore improved by a sequential unlocking operation that reduces the amount of leverage required to unlock the pliers.