Patent ID: 8720542

Claim:
A gripping tool in the form of a body having a longitudinal axis and formed by a plurality of sleeves connected end to end, each sleeve including a frusto-conical bore centered on said longitudinal axis; a clamp member in each sleeve formed by clamp-segments, each having side faces, end faces, a frusto-conical exterior surface adapted to match said frusto-conical bore, and a cylindrical interior surface; cage-segments connected to said interior surface and having a plurality of windows partially closing recesses in said interior surface, which each recess is elongate in said longitudinal direction, houses a roller and has a base inclined in said longitudinal direction so that, at a lower end of each recess the roller protrudes through said window and at an upper end thereof the roller protrudes less or not at all; and connection means between axially adjacent clamp segments so that they move together when one is moved axially, wherein each roller is a ball and each recess has a semi-circular base of diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the ball.