Indexing mechanism

Claim 1

AN INDEXING MECHANISM COMPRISING A BASE PLATE, AN INDEXING PLATE POSITIONED IN OPPOSED RELATION WITH THE BASE PLATE AND ROTATABLE RELATIVELY TO THE LATTER ABOUT A CENTRAL AXIS AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE TWO PLATES, SAID BASE AND INDEXING PLATES BEING RELATIVELY MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION BETWEEN PROXIMATE AND REMOTE POSITIONS, MEANS ON EACH OF THE OPPOSED FACES OF THE PLATES DEFINING A CIRCULAR CHANNEL IN CONCENTRIC RELATION WITH SAID AXIS, THE RADII OF CURVATURE OF THE TWO CHANNELS BEING EQUAL WHEREBY THE CHANNELS ARE IN REGISTER THROUGHOUT, AN ARCUATE MAJOR CIRCLE SECTOR ROW OF HARD SPHERICAL BALLS DISPOSED IN EACH CHANNEL, ALL OF SAID BALLS BEING OF EQUAL DIAMETER AND THE BALLS OF EACH ROW BEING EQUAL IN NUMBER, THE ADJACENT BALLS OF EACH ROW BEING IN MUTUAL TANGENTIAL CONTACT, THE ROWS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO PLATES BEING ADAPTED TO INTERFIT WITH EACH OTHER WHEN THE PLATES ARE IN THEIR PROXIMATE POSITIONS WITH THE BALLS THEREOF IN MUTUAL CONTACT IN A COMMON PLANE, AND A REACTION POST INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE TWO BALLS OF EACH ROW WHICH ARE DISPOSED AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE ARCUATE ROW, SAID REACTION POST MAKING TANGENTIAL CONTACT WITH EACH OF SAID TWO BALLS AND HAVING A PORTION THEREOF FIXEDLY ANCHORED TO THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE RESPECTIVE CHANNEL WITHIN WHICH THE ROW OF BALLS IS DISPOSED.