Pulley apparatus

Claim 1

SELF-COMPENSATING TORQUE TRANSMITTING PULLEY APPARATUS HAVING COMPENSATING MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY COMPENSATING FOR LENGTHENING OF BELT-TYPE DRIVING MEANS, SAID COMPENSATING MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INSERTS FABRICATED OF A PLASTICIZED SUBSTANCE, EACH OF WHICH IS MOLDINGLY INCORPORATED WITH A CORRESPONDING ONE OF A PLURALITY OF SHEAVE HALVES, SAID INSERTS, BEING SO CONSTITUTED AND ARRANGED AS TO BE THREADABLY ROTATABLY MUTUALLY COOPERATIVELY ENGAGEABLE WITH ONE ANOTHER, THE IMPROVED COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: CLUTCH MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SUBSTANTIALLY PERMEANENTLY MAINTAINING SAID COMPENSATING MEANS IN ANY ONE OF A SUBSTANTIALLY INFINITE PLURALITY OF COMPENSATED POSITIONS, SAID CLUTCH MEANS COMPRISING: A PLATE OF GENERALLY ANNULAR CONFIGURATION DISPOSED TO COMPLETELY ANNULARLY ENCOMPASS ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF INSERTS; SAID PLATE BEING FIXEDLY STRUCTURALLY CONNECTED TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF SHEAVE HALVES, AND BEING DISPOSED AXIALLY GENERALLY MEDIALLY THEREOF, SAID PLATE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF GROOVES EQUALLY ANNULARLY SPACED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF; A PLURALITY OF CLUTCH FINGERS STRUCTURALLY DISPOSED IN SAID GROOVES, SAID CLUTCH FINGERS COMPRISING: A BASE DISPOSED FIXEDLY IN ONE WALL OF A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF GROOVES, ENABLING SAID FINGERS TO EXTEND GENERALLY RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID ANNULAR PLATE IN GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT THERETO; A PLURALITY OF LEGS INTEGRAL WITH ONE ANOTHER; AT LEAST ONE OF SAID LEGS BEING INHERENTLY RESILIENT AND BEING OF GREATER LONGITUDINAL DIMENSIONAL EXTENT THAN THE OTHER OF SAID LEGS, ENABLING SAID ONE LEG TO BE DISPOSED IN CONTINUOUS FRICTIONAL MUTUAL COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PERIPHERY OF ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF INSERTS; ANOTHER OF SAID LEGS BEING INTEGRAL WITH SAID BASE; SAID LEGS BEING DISPOSED IN ANNULAR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER DEFINING AN ABUTTING RIDGE AT THE APEX THEREOF EXTENDING GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY OF EACH OF SAID CLUTCH FINGERS; SAID ABUTTING RIDGE BEING PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED IN ABUTTING MUTUAL COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BASE, ENABLING SAID ONE INSERT TO BE ROTATABLY MOVEABLE RELATIVE TO ANOTHER OF SAID PLURALITY OF INSERTS IN ONE OF A PLURALITY OF DIRECTIONS ONLY, AND TO BE PRECLUDED FROM ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT IN ANOTHER OF SAID PLURALITY OF DIRECTIONS; AND A FLANGE INTEGRAL WITH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID LEGS AND EXTENDING LATERALLY THEREFROM; EACH SAID FLANGE BEING PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO EXTEND WITHIN AND THROUGH A CORRESPONDING ONE OF A PLURALITY OF APERTURES IN SAID ONE SHEAVE HALF AND OUTWARDLY THEREOF; SAID APERTURES BEING DISPOSED GENERALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID GROOVES AND CORRESPONDING GENERALLY IN NUMBER THERETO; ENABLING SAID INSERTS TO BE ROTATABLY MOVEABLE RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER IN SAID OTHER OF SAID PLURALITY OF DIRECTIONS.