Patent ID: 7478735

Claim:
A removable gripping device for a container, comprising: two members forming a gripper mounted on a gripping body in which one of the members forming the gripper is mobile and free to move in translation with respect to the gripping body along a direction approximately parallel to a longitudinal direction of the gripping body between an open position and a closed position in which the members forming the gripper are adapted to grip an edge of the container, displacement means for displacing the members forming the gripper with respect to each other, said displacement means comprising a lever free to move in rotation with respect to the gripping body between an extended position and a retracted position in which the mobile member forming the gripper is in a closed position, and a transmission means extending between the lever and the mobile member forming the gripper for displacing the mobile member forming the gripper in translation when the lever is pivoted, said displacement means being shaped such that the lever is in a stable equilibrium position when in the extended position and when in the retracted position, and the lever passes through an unstable equilibrium position when passing from one of these two stable equilibrium positions to the other, and locking means for preventing said lever from moving from said retracted position to said unstable equilibrium position, said locking means being separate from said displacement means and said mobile member, said locking means having a portion which engages said lever when said lever is in said retracted position and which disengages from said lever when said locking means is moved into an active position, thereby allowing said lever to move from said retracted position to said extended position, and an activation button for moving said locking means into said active position, said activation button being separate from said lever, and said activation button is seated on an exterior surface of the gripping body opposite a surface on which the lever is hinged.