US Patent 9737997 Rotatable safety mechanism for automatic folding knife

An automatic folding knife including a locking and safety mechanism. The locking and safety mechanism includes a radially outer surface on a blade attachment ring having an arcuate blade-open locking recess and an arcuate blade-closed locking recess circumferentially spaced from each other. A generally cylindrical lock ring is selectively axially movable into and out of engagement with the locking recesses so as to selectively lock the blade in either its open position or its closed position. A rotatable “safety” push button is provided to push the lock ring out of engagement. The rotatable push button can be rotated from its “active” position to a “safe” position regardless of whether the knife blade is open or closed.