Patent ID: 8211121

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a clamp comprising a clamp body and a pair of opposed clamping jaws connected to a forward end of the clamp body and extending in a forward direction, wherein the clamp body has a rearward-opening cavity including a pair of opposed recessed portions extending laterally from a forward portion of the cavity; a clamp sleeve disposed around the clamp body or proximal portions of the clamping jaws, wherein (i) the clamping jaws are urged toward one another by the clamp sleeve with the clamp sleeve in a forward position on the proximal portions of the clamping jaws and (ii) the clamping jaws can assume an open, spaced-apart arrangement with the clamp sleeve in a rearward position on the clamp body; a hollow guide rod having a pair of retaining members projecting from a forward end thereof, which retaining members are arranged (i) to be received within the clamp body cavity with the clamp mounted on the forward end of the guide rod and (ii) to engage the recessed portions of the clamp body cavity to retain the clamp on the guide rod; a retainer rod disposed within the hollow guide rod and reciprocally moveable therein, which retainer rod is arranged so that (i) the retainer rod substantially prevents disengagement of the retaining members of the guide rod from the recessed portions of the clamp body cavity with a portion of the retainer rod disposed between the retaining members and (ii) the arrangement of the retaining members of the guide rod and the recessed portions of the clamp body cavity permits disengagement of the retaining members and removal of the clamp from the guide rod with the retainer rod withdrawn from between the retaining members; a pushing sleeve disposed around the guide rod and reciprocally moveable along the guide rod, which pushing sleeve is arranged to push the clamp sleeve in the forward direction from the rearward position to the forward position, thereby urging the clamping jaws toward one another; and an actuator arranged to move the pushing sleeve in the forward direction along the guide rod.