Patent ID: 8641113

Claim:
A gripping apparatus for gripping tubular objects, the apparatus comprising: (a) a structural element; (b) an elastomeric gripping element having (i) a first end of the gripping element bonded to a first end of a first circumferential array of segmented antiextrusion end rings, wherein a second end of each antiextrusion end ring of the first array is attached to the structural element, and (ii) a second end of the gripping element bonded to a first end of a second circumferential array of segmented antiextrusion end rings, wherein a second end of each antiextrusion end ring of the second array is attached to a reciprocably movable end assembly; and (c) means for reciprocably moving the movable end assembly axially relative to a second end of the structural element to a first position, wherein the elastomeric gripping element is stretched and is selectably coaxially positionable within an internal diameter of a through bore of a tubular object to be gripped and wherein opposed adjacent faces of adjacent antiextrusion end rings of both the first and the second arrays are moved to a first relative position to each other, or a second position, wherein the elastomeric gripping element is untensioned and is biased against an interior surface of the through bore of the tubular object and wherein opposed adjacent faces of adjacent antiextrusion end rings of both the first and the second arrays are moved to a second relative position to each other.