US 4,320,914 AGranted

Clamping-type holder

AssigneeBeta Engineering & Development Ltd.

InventorAvi Simon

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Abstract

A clamping-type article holder is described particularly useful for clamping test tubes in a conveyor system, the holder comprising a sleeve axially movable within a housing from a first position to a second position, and a plurality of balls carried by the housing and adapted to project through openings formed in one end of the sleeve for clamping the article when the sleeve is in the first position. The latter end of the sleeve is formed with a cam surface effective, upon axial movement of the sleeve to the second position, to withdraw the balls from the opening and thereby to release the article. The holder further includes an electro-magnet effective, when energized, to retain the sleeve in the article-releasing position, which electro-magnet is incapable, when the sleeve is in the article-clamping position, of moving the sleeve to the article-releasing position.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A clamping-type article holder, comprising:

a housing including coaxial inner and outer cylinders;
a first sleeve carried by said housing and axially movable along the inner face of the first cylinder from a first position to a second position;
a plurality of balls carried by said housing and adapted to project through openings formed in one end of the first sleeve for clamping the article when the sleeve is in said first position;
a second sleeve axially movable between said inner and outer cylinders;
said second sleeve having a cam surface engageable with the balls for urging same to project through the openings in the first sleeve to clamp the article when the first sleeve is in its article-clamping position;
said one end of the first sleeve being formed with a cam surface effective, upon axial movement of the first sleeve to said second position, to withdraw the balls from the openings and thereby to release the article;
and retaining means for retaining said first sleeve in said second, article-releasing position.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.