Gripping or locating devices

Claim 1

In a device for gripping or locating an elongated member, which device comprises the combination of a pair of jaws made at least partly of resilient plastics material, said pair of jaws including resilient means joining respective first ends of the jaws, whereby respective second ends of the jaws are able to flex resiliently away from one another, each of said jaws further including an inwardly-facing surface and an outwardly-facing surface, the inwardly-facing surfaces of the two jaws confronting one another, and a camming means including a pair of spaced-apart inwardly-facing surfaces between which the pair of jaws is insertable, with said first ends of the jaws first, for the purpose of engaging said outwardly-facing surfaces of the pair of jaws with said inwardly-facing surfaces of said camming means so that the jaws are urged towards one another in order to grip or locate an elongated member disposed in said gap intermediate the first and second ends of the jaws and substantially parallel to said ends, the improvement wherein the confronting, inwardly-facing surfaces of the jaws define a gap which increases in width in the direction from the first ends of the jaws towards the second ends thereof, and said jaws and said camming means are shaped so that, when the pair of jaws is inserted into said camming means between said inwardly-facing surfaces thereof with no elongated member in said gap, there exists a gap between the outwardly-facing surface of one of the jaws and the adjacent inwardly-facing surface of the camming means in a region extending from the second end of said one jaw towards the first end thereof, whereby urging together of the jaws takes place by engagement of a limited area of the outwardly-facing surface of said one of the jaws and the adjacent inwardly-facing surface of the camming means.