Patent ID: 7506562

Claim:
A ratchet assembly comprising: a threaded rod having a longitudinal axis extending from a first end to a second end; a support collar having axial and radial directions; the support collar defining a bore in the axial direction; a portion of the threaded rod being disposed in the axial bore of the support collar; a ratchet pawl pivotably carried by the support collar between locked and unlocked positions; the ratchet pawl pivoting about a pivot axis disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the threaded rod; the ratchet pawl being biased toward the locked position; the ratchet pawl having at least one tooth that threadably engages the threaded rod when the ratchet pawl is in the locked position to allow the threaded rod to threadably rotate with respect to the support collar for fine position adjustments; the ratchet pawl automatically pivoting to the unlocked position when the threaded rod is forced in a direction from the first end toward the second end to allow for gross position adjustments between the threaded rod and the support collar; the ratchet pawl automatically pivoting to the locked position when the threaded rod is forced in a direction from the second end toward the first end to lock the gross position of the threaded rod with respect to the support collar; and the tooth of the ratchet pawl being disengaged from the threaded rod when the ratchet pawl is manually moved to the unlocked position to allow the threaded rod to be moved in a direction from the second end toward the first end of the threaded rod; a biasing element engaging the support collar to bias the ratchet pawl toward the locked position; and the biasing element including an externally threaded sleeve that is threaded into ratchet pawl such that rotation of the threaded sleeve adjusts the position of the sleeve with respect to the ratchet pawl.