Patent ID: 7406905

Claim:
A subsea system for driving a wire loop cutting element, comprising: a. a frame comprising a lower plate comprising right and left arms defining a lower central gripping region, said frame further comprising a bracket connected to the lower plate, and an upper plate connected to the bracket, said upper plate comprising two pulley slots, a right arm comprising a first drive wheel axle opening, and a left arm opposite the right arm, comprising a second drive wheel axle opening, said right and left arms defining an upper central gripping region in substantial longitudinal alignment with the lower central gripping region; b. a first drive wheel axle rotatably mounted in the first drive wheel axle opening; c. a first drive wheel coupled to the first drive wheel axle; d. a second drive wheel axle rotatably mounted in the second drive wheel axle opening; e. a second drive wheel coupled to the second drive wheel axle; f. a first drive wheel motor attached to the frame and operatively coupled to the first drive wheel axle; g. a second drive wheel motor attached to the frame and operatively coupled to the second drive wheel axle; h. a clamping device attached to the frame and positioned such that it can clamp objects to be cut in a fixed position in the central gripping regions; i. a first pulley comprising a first pulley axle mounted in the first pulley slot; j. a second pulley comprising a second pulley axle mounted in the second pulley slot; and k. a pulley positioning system attached to the first and second pulleys for varying the separation distance between the first and second pulleys.