CAM tightened universal joint clamp

Claim 1

A clamping apparatus for use in a surgical retractor, the apparatus comprising: a shaft having a first end and a second end; a stop member at the second end of the shaft; a first clamp carried by the shaft, the first clamp having legs movable toward and away from each other between a clamping and a non-clamping position; a second clamp carried by the shaft, the second clamp having legs movable toward and away from each other between a clamping and a non-clamping position; the first clamp rotatable about an axis of the shaft relative to the second clamp; a cam member pivotally attached to the first end of the shaft for rotation about a pivot axis perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, the cam member having a cam with an eccentric outer surface of incrementally increasing radius from the pivot axis whereby smaller radii are associated with the non-clamping position and larger radii are associated with the clamping position rotation of the cam member about the pivot axis generates a clamping force urging the legs of the first and second clamps between the clamping and non-clamping positions, the cam member rotatable with the shaft 360 degrees about the axis of the shaft whereby the cam member may be placed at any position about the axis of the shaft for rotation into the clamping positions; the cam member further having a lever arm connected to the cam to facilitate the rotation of the cam member between the clamping and the non-clamping positions.