Patent ID: 8177209

Claim:
A clamp comprising: a support comprising a rear receptacle; a front fixed jaw carrier disposed on the support and comprising an eccentric guide member, a first jaw, and a guide slot; an intermediate moveable jaw carrier disposed on the support and comprising a second jaw; a forward pivotal handle having one end matingly urged against the guide member and comprising a slide sleeve slidably retained in one end of the guide slot in a standby position of the clamp or in the other end of the guide slot in an operating position of the clamp; a slide bar having one end fastened in the slide sleeve and the other end being spring-actuated and retained in the receptacle, a portion of the slide bar between both ends passing through the guide member and the moveable jaw carrier; and a locking assembly disposed in the moveable jaw carrier between the second jaw and the receptacle, the locking assembly comprising a hollow seat including a funnel shaped channel; a spring-actuated hollow slide member threadedly fastened in the seat and including a funnel shaped member having two opposite through holes and a projection projecting out of the channel; two steel balls rotatably disposed in the through holes; and a release lever having one end retained in bottom of the moveable jaw carrier, the release lever including a tunnel and a biasing member put on the projection and biased between the seat and the release lever, wherein the slide bar passes through the tunnel and the slide member; wherein a portion of the release lever around the tunnel is in a tilted position relative to the slide bar and causes the slide bar to be locked by the tunnel in the standby position of the clamp; and wherein the steel balls are lockingly urged against both the channel and the slide bar in the standby position of the clamp.