Patent ID: 6997492

Claim:
A manual lifting device for clamping on and lifting objects, including shaped containers comprising: (a) a pair of opposed jaw shapes connected to converge and diverge for capturing and releasing an object, each jaw shape having a pair of spaced jaw extensions; (b) a pair of spaced, generally parallel handle rods, each handle rod carrying one of said jaw shapes connected through openings near the ends of said spaced jaw extensions; (c) a pair of spaced independent linking plates each linking plate connecting one of said spaced jaw extensions from each of said jaw shapes between said handle rods in a manner that causes said jaw shapes to be disposed in spaced opposed fashion, each presenting a generally, continuously concave surface shaped to generally conform to a partial periphery of a convex-shaped object when the object is captured between said clamping jaw shapes; and (d) wherein said linking plates are connected to said jaw extensions in a manner that allows a limited amount of pivotal motion that enables said jaw shapes to converge and diverge relative to each other to thereby close about and grab an object when said handle rods are lifted, and release said object when said handle rods are lowered, such that upon placement over and lifting, an object is captured therebetween and retained by its own weight during lifting.