Patent ID: 8099845

Claim:
A method of handling an article such as a helical spring, the method being characterized in that the following steps are performed: (a) providing a handling device having a body with an internal housing suitable for containing said article, said housing presenting at least one open end and a constriction zone suitable, in a stable state in which said constriction zone presents a reduced dimension that is reduced in a first direction, for retaining said article inside the body, and for being deformed to adopt a deformed configuration enabling said article to be introduced into the housing or enabling said article to be extracted from the housing; (b) deforming the constriction zone so that it adopts its deformed configuration; (c) inserting the article into the body while the constriction zone is in its deformed configuration; and (d) causing the constriction zone to return to its stable state in which the article is held inside the body.