Patent ID: 8740260

Claim:
An assembly for clamping first and second flanged tubular components, the assembly comprising: a segmented clamp having a recess configured to accept the flanges of the first and second tubular components, and a hole oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the first and second tubular components; a housing surrounding an outer portion of the segmented clamp and configured for attachment to at least one of the first and second tubular components; and a drive screw that passes through the housing and is threadedly engaged with the hole of the segmented clamp, so that as the drive screw rotates it maintains a substantially fixed position relative to the housing so that it does not impede the radial clearance around the wellhead, the drive screw driving the segmented clamp perpendicularly relative to the first and second tubular components between a locked position, in which the circumferential recess engages the flanges of the first and second tubular components, and an unlocked position, in which the circumferential recess is positioned laterally out of engagement with the flanges of the first and second tubular components.