Patent ID: 8136752

Claim:
A pawl assembly comprising a pawl held in a floating engagement with a support structure, the support structure having an abutment portion, wherein the pawl comprises a tip, to engage with teeth of a ratchet; and a base, to engage with the abutment portion, wherein the base of the pawl comprises a substantially cylindrical portion and a lug extending therefrom, and the abutment portion comprises a profiled surface having a cylindrical bearing portion of substantially the same radius as the cylindrical portion of the base of the pawl; and a step to contact the lug, wherein: in a first phase, on initial contact with the ratchet, the pawl remains in the floating engagement and is operable to move into a second phase, in which the pawl is operable to contact the abutment portion, to rotate the pawl towards full engagement with the ratchet, configured such that, during the transition from the first phase to the second phase, the lug contacts the step, causing a rotation of the pawl about the step, which in turn causes the cylindrical portion of the pawl to be seated in the cylindrical bearing portion of the support structure, urging the tip of the pawl into full engagement with the ratchet.