Paper feed tractor with compensating pulley assembly utilizing cantable insert

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent and end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicular to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• and
• C. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage extending therethrough and a cantable insert having a body portion disposed within said body passage, said pulley body passage and said insert body portion cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within the body portion and to effect driving engagement between said insert and said pulley body, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicularly to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• and
• C. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage extending therethrough along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert with an elongated body portion disposed within said body passage and a collar at one end of said body portion, said pulley body passage and said insert body portion being cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within the body portion and to effect driving engagement between said insert and said pulley body, said pulley body including a recess in one end thereof seating said cantable insert collar, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicular to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• C. means for clamping said chassis on an associated support shaft to maintain original spacing between the associated support and drive shaft and to relieve torque therebetween produced as a result of said clamping action on the associated support shaft, said clamping means being disposed in the other of said chassis apertures and having its axis extending parallel to the axis of the associated drive shaft;
• and
• D. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage extending therethrough along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert having a body portion disposed within said body passage and cantable in said pulley body passage, said body passage and said insert body portion being cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within the body portion and to effect driving engagement between said insert and said pulley body, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley, said portion of said shaft receiving passage provided by said insert passage being configured and dimensioned to grip the associated drive shaft at all times, whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicularly to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• C. means for clamping said chassis on an associated support shaft to maintain original spacing between the associated support and drive shaft and to relieve torque therebetween produced as a result of said clamping action on the associated support shaft, said clamping means being disposed in the other of said chassis apertures and having its axis extending parallel to the axis of the associated drive shaft;
• and
• D. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage extending therethrough along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert with an elongated body portion disposed within said body passage and cantable in said pulley body passage, said body passage and said insert body portion being cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within the body portion and to effect driving engagement between said insert and said pulley body, said cantable insert having a collar at one end of said body portion and said pulley body including a recess in one end thereof seating said cantable insert collar, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicularly to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• and
• C. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage therethrough extending along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert received within said body passage and cantable in said body passage relative to said body, said cantable insert having a body portion disposed within said pulley body passage, in said pulley body passage and said insert body portion being cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within said body passage, said spacing between said insert body portion and said body passage increasing from one end of said insert body portion to the other end thereof said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicularly to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• and
• C. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage therethrough extending along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert received within said body passage and cantable in said body passage relative to said body, said cantable insert including an elongated body portion and a collar at one end of said body portion, said pulley body including a recess in one end thereof seating said collar, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.

In a drive tractor for web material, the combination comprising:

• A. a chassis having a pair of spaced transversely extending apertures therein, at least one of said apertures being adjacent an end thereof;
• B. a flexible endless belt extending about said chassis generally perpendicularly to the axes of said apertures, said belt defining a closed path of travel thereabout and having an outer driving surface to engage the web material and an inner driven surface;
• and
• C. a pulley rotatably mounted in said one of said chassis apertures for rotation within said one chassis aperture with its peripheral surface portion in engagement with said driven surface of said belt, said pulley having a passage therethrough for receiving a drive shaft to effect rotation of said pulley and thereby said belt, said pulley having a body with a passage extending therethrough along an axis perpendicular to the radius defining said peripheral surface portion of said pulley and substantially coaxial with said one chassis aperture, said pulley also having a cantable insert having a body portion disposed within said body passage, said pulley body passage and said insert body portion being cooperatively dimensioned to provide spacing therebetween to permit canting of said insert within the body portion and to effect driving engagement between said insert and said pulley body, said spacing between said insert body portion and said body passage increasing from one end of said insert body portion to the other end thereof, said insert having a passage therethrough providing at least a portion of said shaft receiving passage extending through said pulley whereby the associated drive shaft may produce canting of said cantable insert within said body passage to accommodate irregularities in the associated drive shaft and variations in spacing between the axes of the associated shafts during operation of the tractor, the radius of the peripheral surface portion of said pulley being substantially perpendicular to the closed path of travel of said belt during rotation of said pulley.