Air compressor having ventilated housing and motor/compressor pulley adjustment

An air compressor, comprising:

• an enclosed housing, including opposing front and rear panels, opposing right and left side panels, a top cover and a bottom frame;
• drive means for driving a pump, mounted within said housing on the bottom frame;
• a pump mounted within said housing and located vertically above said drive means;
• said pump having an air outlet connected to a conduit and fluidly communicating therethrough, said conduit projecting outwardly through said housing;
• said drive means operably connected to said pump for operating the same to provide compressed air through said conduit;
• said drive means including an operable drive shaft with a first pulley mounted thereon for rotation therewith;
• said pump including an operable drive shaft with a second pulley mounted thereon for rotation therewith;
• said drive means being operably connected to said pump by a continuous loop drive belt extending around first and second pulleys;
• adjustable tensioning means for adjustably increasing and decreasing the tension on said drive belt;
• said tensioning means including:
• a base plate having forward and rearward edges and upper and lower surfaces, pivotally connected along its rearward edge to a rearward frame member supported above said bottom frame, for pivotal movement about a generally horizontal axis;
• an adjustable length leg operably connected between the forward edge of said base plate and a forward frame member of said bottom frame, for selectively pivoting said base plate by increasing and decreasing the length of said leg;
• said pump being mounted on the upper surface of said base plate for pivotal movement therewith;
• and
• said drive means mounted separately from said base plate, such that adjustment of the adjustment leg increases and decreases the distance between the first and second pulleys;
• and
• ventilation means for circulating air into and out of said housing.