Patent ID: 7694411

Claim:
An apparatus for positioning a component, the apparatus comprising: a longitudinally extending housing; a collet supported by the housing and having a plurality of segmented gripping members that are selectively moveable relative to the housing to different longitudinal positions differentiating a first mode at a first longitudinal position, where the gripping members are radially retracted establishing a clearing disengagement from the component, and a second mode at a different second longitudinal position, where the gripping members are radially expanded establishing a contacting engagement against the component; a latch that is selectively activated to retain the gripping members in the first mode; and a bias spring responsive to deactivating the latch to impart a longitudinal force urging the gripping members to the second mode and maintaining the longitudinal force in the second mode so the longitudinal force transfers to the component via the contacting engagement of the gripping members against the component in the second mode of the gripping members.