Patent ID: 8641325

Claim:
A clamp assembly for a laying tower for laying continuous, elongated members in a body of water, the clamp assembly comprising: a supporting frame; and at least two clamping units arranged in series to simultaneously clamp and to simultaneously release a continuous, elongated member extending along a given axis, each clamping unit comprising: at least two opposite jaws, and self-adjusting mechanisms, each self-adjusting mechanism being interposed between a respective jaw and the supporting frame, each self-adjusting mechanism comprising at least one elastic member, and each self-adjusting mechanism being configured to allow an adjustment movement of the respective jaw with respect to the supporting frame in a direction parallel to the axis, under the weight of the continuous, elongated member, and in opposition to the elastic member, when the continuous, elongated member is gripped simultaneously by all the clamping units, wherein the self-adjusting mechanism comprises: a connecting member connected directly to the jaw and configured to form a sliding coupling with the jaw, and a thrust block located between the connecting member and the jaw to transfer the clamping force between the connecting member and the jaw, and wherein the elastic member is located between the jaw and the connecting, member to oppose sliding of the jaw, under the weight of the continuous, elongated member, with respect to the connecting member.