Patent ID: 7121166

Claim:
A tong assembly comprising: a body; a center member slidable relative to said body, wherein said center member comprises a center portion disposed between two slider guides disposed on said body; a pair of clamping arms rotatably connected to said body at a pivot connection, wherein said clamping arms are connected to said center member such that as said center member slides relative to said body, said clamping arms rotate relative to said body; a pair of connecting links, wherein each of connecting link is pivotally coupled to said center member at first pin connection outside of the slider guides and to one of said clamping arms at a second pin connection, wherein the distance from the second pin connection to said pivot connection is equal to the distance from said pivot connection to a center of said die assembly; a pair of actuators operable to slide said center member relative to said body, wherein one end of each actuator contacts said center member at a location between the center portion and the first pin connection; and a plurality of die assemblies, wherein at least one die assembly is mounted to each clamping arm and at least one die assembly is mounted to said center member.