a brockbank etal

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR USE IN SUBMARINE CABLE-LAYING MECHANISM, AND INCLUDING A HUB MEMBER, MEANS FOR COUPLING THE HUB MEMBER TO ROTARY-DRIVING AND BRAKING MECHANISM, A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF SPOKES, EACH SPOKE PREDISTORTED FROM A STRAIGHTENED CONDITION, ALL THE SPOKES BEING ANGULARLY SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER, SECURED TO AND EXTENDING IN GENERALLY RADIAL DIRECTIONS FROM THE HUB MEMBER, EACH SPOKE BEING CAPABLE OF FLEXURAL MOVEMENT IN A PLANE NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE HUB MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF RIGID ELEMENTS HAVING ARCUATE OUTER SURFACES, THE RIGID ELEMENTS SECURED TO AND BETWEEN THE OUTER ENDS OF RESPECTIVE PAIRS OF SPOKES WHEREBY THE RIGID ELEMENTS ARE HELD BY THE SPOKES IN SPACED RADIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HUB MEMBERS SO THAT THE ARCUATE OUTER SURFACES OF THE RIGID ELEMENTS TOGETHER DEFINE A CABLE RECEIVING SURFACE HAVING A CIRCULAR CONTOUR COAXIAL WITH THE HUB MEMBER, THE RIGID ELEMENTS ALSO BEING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER, BIASING MEANS FOR THE RESPECTIVE PARTS OF SPOKES AND OPERABLE TO DISPLACE THE SPOKES IN A DIRECTION SUCH THAT THEY MOVE TOWARDS A STRAIGHTENED CONDITION, WHEREBY THE SPOKES ARE PRELOADED BY A FORCE DEPENDENT UPON THE DISPLACEMENT, THE BIASING MEANS PERMITTING OF LIMITED CIRCUMFERENTIAL MOVEMENT OF THE RIGID ELEMENTS IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SAID DISPLACEMENT, WHICH LIMITED MOVEMENT OF A RIGID ELEMENT COMMENCES WHEN THE ELEMENT IS ACTED ON BY A FORCE SUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME THE PRELOADING OF THE PAIR OF SPOKES TO WHICH THAT ELEMENT IS CONNECTED, IN USE OF THE APPARATUS THE SAID FORCE BEING DUR TO SHEAR STRESS BETWEEN A CABLE BEING LAID AND THAT ELEMENT.