I always assumed that Brampton hinge is protected by patent. However, after little of googling, it appears that it was first filed in 1979 so perhaps it's expired?
As far as using titanium for frame - it's hard to machine and 20x more expensive than aluminum so it's probably not the way to go. Also considering how different it is from steel or aluminum current frame designs most likely would not make the best use of it's properties.
Last edited by bbmike; 04-17-12 at 03:11 PM.