Patent ID: 8057336

Claim:
A guide device for guiding an endless torque-transmitting means, said guide device comprising: at least two corresponding elongated guide tongues defining opposed parallel and linear upper and lower guide surfaces that guide and engage respective upper and lower surfaces of the endless torque-transmitting means, wherein the upper and lower guide surfaces are spaced from each other at a predetermined distance to define therebetween a guide passageway between which a straight strand section of the endless torque-transmitting means is at least partially guided linearly for minimizing strand vibrations of the endless torque-transmitting means, wherein the guide tongues are each formed from a first material having a predetermined first coefficient of thermal expansion and are held so that their respective guide surfaces are at the predetermined distance from each other by an integrally-formed connection region of the first material that is positioned at a center region of the elongated guide tongues intermediate longitudinally outermost ends of each of the respective guide tongues, wherein the connection region is of substantially channel-like cross section having end sections integrally formed with respective ones of the guide tongues, wherein the connection region of the guide device includes a connecting component in the form of a U-shaped metal strap having a pair of spaced and substantially parallel legs that extend from a body region of the strap that is in contact with the connection region of the guide device, wherein the legs of the strap are connected to respective ones of the guide tongues, the metal strap having a predetermined second coefficient of thermal expansion that is lower than the first coefficient of thermal expansion of the first material for maintaining the guide surfaces of the guide device at the predetermined distance from each other so that during temperature changes the distance between the guide surfaces of the guide tongues is maintained substantially constant at the predetermined distance because of the lower coefficient of thermal expansion of the U-shaped metal strap, to thereby minimize reduction of the predetermined distance between the guide surfaces at low temperatures to minimize jamming of the endless torque-transmitting means between the respective guide surfaces of the guide device at low temperatures, and to minimize enlargement of the predetermined distance between the guide surfaces at high temperatures to minimize strand vibrations of the endless torque-transmitting means in directions toward and away from the respective upper and lower guide surfaces at high temperatures.