Patent ID: 7658225

Claim:
A polish rod clamp apparatus for attachment to a polish rod, the apparatus comprising: a body defining a lower rod aperture in a bottom end thereof, and defining a tapered body recess with walls sloping inward toward the bottom end thereof; a cap defining an upper rod aperture in a top end thereof and defining a tapered cap recess with walls sloping inward toward the top end thereof; threads defined on lower inner walls of the cap configured to engage corresponding threads on an outer surface of the body; and a plurality of tapered gripper dies, each die having lower outer surfaces sloping inward from a central portion thereof and upper outer surfaces sloping inward from the central portion thereof, and inner surfaces configured to bear against the polish rod; wherein the tapered gripper dies are configured to be installed in the tapered body recess such that the inner surfaces of the gripper dies bear against an outer surface of a polish rod passing through the body, and the lower outer surfaces of the gripper dies bear against the walls of the tapered body recess; wherein the gripper dies engage the body such that the gripper dies are movable up and down with respect to the body and such that the gripper dies are prevented from rotating with respect to the body; wherein the cap can be threaded onto the body such that the upper outer surfaces of the gripper dies bear against the walls of the tapered cap recess; and wherein threading the cap onto the body forces the gripper dies against the outer surface of the polish rod passing through the body.