Patent ID: 6840492

Claim:
A slide clamp for use with a tube having a fluid passageway, the slide clamp comprising: a plate having a longitudinal length and a transverse width; and a slot disposed within the plate, the slot having a width; the slot comprising a flow section in which the width of the slot is dimensioned to allow free flow of fluid through the fluid passageway when the tube is located in the flow section and an occlusion section in which the width of the slot is dimensioned to prevent free flow of fluid through the fluid passageway when the tube is located in the occlusion section; the slot also comprising a pinch zone interconnecting the flow section and the occlusion section in which the width of the slot has a narrow configuration at which the width of the slot is less than the width in the occlusion section, the pinch zone thereby resisting movement of the tube from either the flow section or the occlusion section to another section, the slot of the pinch zone also having an expanded configuration at which the width of the slot expands to permit movement of the tube through the pinch zone upon application of a threshold force to the tube in the desired direction of movement of the tube, the pinch zone being bi-directional in that the tube may be moved through the pinch zone from either the flow section or the occlusion section.