pawl
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ratchet and pawl
ratchet and pawl, mechanical device that permits motion in one direction only. The ratchet is usually a wheel with slanting teeth. The pawl is a lever tangential to the wheel with one end resting on the teeth. When the wheel rotates one way, the pawl slides over the teeth; when the wheel rotates the other way, the pawl catches in the teeth.
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pawl
[pȯl] (mechanical engineering)
The driving link or holding link of a ratchet mechanism, permits motion in one direction only.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
pawl
a pivoted lever shaped to engage with a ratchet wheel to prevent motion in a particular direction
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005