DE9210349U1 - Anti-skid chain - Google Patents

Description

DIPL-ING. DIETER JANDER DR.-ING. MANFRED BONING

PATENT ATTORNEYS
European Patent Attorneys

LEISTIKOWSTRASSE 2 1000 BERLIN 19 Telephone 030/305 10 29 Fax 030/304 31 91

31.07.1992 280/21 590 EN

Registration

the company

RUD chain factory

Rieger & Diet GmbH u. Co.

7080 Aalen-1

Anti-skid chain

The invention relates to an anti-skid chain for vehicle wheels with a running network of track crosses, the track pieces of which are oriented essentially in the wheel circumferential direction and are connected to lateral brackets outside the running surface of the vehicle wheel by connecting pieces oriented essentially transversely to the wheel circumferential direction in such a way that when the vehicle wheel provided with them rolls, changes in the distance between the road surface and the axis of rotation of the vehicle wheel occur.

Anti-skid chains of the above type are known in a wide variety of designs. Their running network represents a kind of compromise, through which one tries to meet the requirements for good tracking on the one hand and the requirements for sufficient traction properties on the other, whereby for certain road conditions a direct contact between the road and the tire tread is also considered desirable. In particular, the fulfillment

Postgiroamt Berlin. Account 174351100. ELZ 100 100 10 Be-Ilner Sank AG, Account 01 10921900. BLZ 10020000

DIPL-ING. DIElfcR JANDtR Oi?.-ING. MANFRED BONING

PATENT ATTORNEYS

The latter requirement means that there are certain limits to the smooth running of vehicle wheels equipped with known anti-skid chains. In addition, resonance phenomena with the chassis or body of the vehicle in question can occur, particularly when using such chains for passenger cars at certain speeds. Efforts have been made to overcome the problem mentioned above by reducing the number of track-cross-free running net sections or by providing additional running net parts oriented in the direction of the wheel circumference, depending on the type of vehicle. However, this not only impairs the propulsion forces in the snow, but also increases the weight and price of the anti-skid chain.

The invention is based on the object of designing an anti-skid chain of the type under consideration in such a way that it reduces the risk of resonance phenomena occurring on the vehicle to a minimum without affecting the balance of its anti-skid properties for different road conditions. This object is achieved according to the invention in that the sections of the running network causing the changes in distance, each consisting of a track-cross-free zone and a track cross, are distributed over the circumference of the vehicle wheel in such a way that at least the intervals within which two such running network sections pass the road surface one after the other are unequal in size.

The anti-skid chain according to the invention reduces the risk of resonance phenomena not only in a surprisingly simple but also no less sustainable way, even if two consecutive running network sections formed from a track cross and a track-free part are configured differently, whereby this is

DIPL-ING, DIETER JANDER DR.-ING. MANFRED BONING

PARENT LAWYER

The simplest and most effective way to achieve this is to vary the length of the track pieces of the track crosses.

The invention is explained in more detail below using two embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing. They show:

Fig. 1 a first anti-skid chain with track crosses, the track pieces of which are of different lengths, and

Fig. 2 a second anti-skid chain with unequal track crossings and unequal sized track crossing-free sections.

The running network of the anti-skid chain shown in Figure 1 and mounted on a vehicle wheel 1 has track crosses 2 and 3 and track cross-free sections 4 arranged between them. The track crosses 2 and 3 consist of track pieces 5 and 6 of different lengths and of connecting pieces 7,8,9,10 of equal length, which connect the track pieces 5 and 6 with side brackets, of which only the outer bracket 11 can be seen in the drawing. A tensioning chain 12 is used to tension the outer bracket 11, which is equipped with a hook 13 at its end, which can be hooked into a link of the outer bracket 11 formed by a side chain. By using track pieces 5,6 of unequal length, resonance phenomena in the area of the vehicle are successfully suppressed even when the unequal length track pieces 5,6 follow one another in even alternation. It is therefore not absolutely necessary, but nevertheless possible and advantageous, to use more than two track sections of different lengths and to have them follow one another in irregular alternation.

In the anti-skid chain according to Figure 2, not only track crosses 2 and 3 are provided with different length track pieces 5 and

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PATENT ATTORNEYS

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used, but here one also operates with different sized track cross-free sections 4 and 14, whereby the enlargement of the sections 14 is achieved by allowing the connecting pieces 7 and 10 as well as 8 and 9 of two consecutive track crosses 3 to engage at a distance from each other on the lateral brackets of the anti-skid chain.

Claims (7)

DIPL.-ING. DIETER JANDER DR.-ING. MANFRED BONING PATENT ATTORNEYS Claims: 1. Anti-skid chain for vehicle wheels with a running network of track crosses, the track pieces of which are oriented essentially in the wheel circumferential direction and are connected to lateral brackets outside the running surface of the vehicle wheel by connecting pieces oriented essentially transversely to the wheel circumferential direction in such a way that when the vehicle wheel provided with them rolls, changes in the distance between the road surface and the axis of rotation of the vehicle wheel occur, characterized in that the sections of the running network causing the changes in distance, each formed from a track cross-free zone and a track cross (2,3), are distributed over the circumference of the vehicle wheel (1) in such a way that at least the intervals within which two such running network sections pass the road surface one after the other are unequal in size. 2. Anti-skid chain according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of the track pieces (5,6) of the successive track crosses (2,3) in the wheel circumferential direction is unequal. 3. Anti-skid chain according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the track pieces of the track crosses have at least three different lengths. 4. Anti-skid chain according to claim 3, characterized in that track crosses with track pieces of unequal length are distributed in an irregular sequence over the wheel circumference. 5. Anti-skid chain according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the track-cross-free sections (4, 14) of the chain mesh which follow one another in the wheel circumferential direction are of unequal size. DIPL-ING. DIETER JANDER DR.-ING. MANFRED BONING PATENT ATTORNEYS 6. Anti-skid chain according to claim 5, characterized in that the track-cross-free sections have at least three different sizes. 7. Anti-skid chain according to claim 6, characterized in that the track-cross-free sections of unequal size are distributed in an irregular order around the wheel circumference.