GB2313881A - A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains - Google Patents
A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2313881A GB2313881A GB9611917A GB9611917A GB2313881A GB 2313881 A GB2313881 A GB 2313881A GB 9611917 A GB9611917 A GB 9611917A GB 9611917 A GB9611917 A GB 9611917A GB 2313881 A GB2313881 A GB 2313881A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- face
- seal
- bushing
- side face
- sealing arrangement
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D55/00—Endless track vehicles
- B62D55/08—Endless track units; Parts thereof
- B62D55/088—Endless track units; Parts thereof with means to exclude or remove foreign matter, e.g. sealing means, self-cleaning track links or sprockets, deflector plates or scrapers
- B62D55/0887—Track-articulation sealings against dust, water, mud or the like
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D55/00—Endless track vehicles
- B62D55/08—Endless track units; Parts thereof
- B62D55/088—Endless track units; Parts thereof with means to exclude or remove foreign matter, e.g. sealing means, self-cleaning track links or sprockets, deflector plates or scrapers
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Sealing Devices (AREA)
- Sealing Of Bearings (AREA)
Abstract
A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains, comprising a pin (1) and bushing (2), an outer chain link (3) attached to the pin (1), an inner chain link (4) attached to the bushing (2), said bushing (2) defining between an end face (5) thereof and the outer chain link (3) a labyrinthine chamber (6) which is filled or can be filled with grease or similar lubricant, a ring seal (7) disposed in said labyrinthine chamber (6) , said ring seal (7) being supported axially at the end face (5) of the bushing (2) and at the bottom face (8) of the labyrinthine chamber (6) and radially at the pin (1) and at the side face of the labyrinthine chamber (6), wherein the side face of the ring seal (7) facing towards the end face of the bushing (2) includes a sealing edge (10), Fig 3.
Description
A Sealing Arranvement at Joints of Crawler chains
The present invention relates to a sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains, comprising a pin and bushing, an outer chain link attached to the pin, an inner chain link attached to the bushing, said bushing defining between an end face thereof and the outer chain link a labyrinthine chamber which is filled or can be filled with grease or similar lubricant, a ring seal disposed in said labyrinthine chamber, said ring seal being supported axially at the end face of the bushing and at the bottom face of the labyrinthine chamber and radially at the pin and at the side face of the labyrinthine chamber.
Such sealing arrangements are known in the prior art.
In known sealing arrangements for grease-lubricated chains, a crushing of the seals between the end face of the bushing and the base of the labyrinthine chamber occurs during assembly. The spring deflection of the seals is completely used up during this assembly operation, so that during the operational use of such a crawler chain any relative movements of the components of the chain can no longer be resiliently accommodated. In addition, the known seals are regularly constructed as flat seals which have a relatively large contact surface to the end face of the bushing. As a result, when the components to be sealed are tilted during the operational use of the crawler chain, the flat seals do not provide an adequate seal, and the sealing action decreases or is even removed. A further disadvantage of the prior art sealing systems is that, by virtue of the axial mobility of the bushing, the seals are greatly deformed during use by lateral forces acting on the chain, thereby resulting in leakages.
Proceeding from this prior art, the aim of the present invention is to create a sealing arrangement and seal respectively which provide improved sealing at joints in crawler chains.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains, comprising a pin and bushing, an outer chain link attached to the pin, an inner chain link attached to the bushing, said bushing defining between an end face thereof and the outer chain link a labyrinthine chamber which is filled or can be filled with grease or similar lubricant, a ring seal disposed in said labyrinthine chamber, said ring seal being supported axially at the end face of the bushing and at the bottom face of the labyrinthine chamber and radially at the pin and at the side face of the labyrinthine chamber, wherein the side face of the ring seal facing towards the end face of the bushing includes a sealing edge.
The present invention also provides a ring seal for joints in crawler chains of the kind comprising a pin and bushing, an outer chain link attached to the pin and an inner chain link attached to the bushing, said ring seal having opposed side faces, one side face of which includes a sealing edge and is in use supported at the end face of the bushing and the other side face of which is in use supported at the outer chain link.
The seal is an annular seal, preferably manufactured in one piece from plastics (elastomeric material), with it being possible however for the seal also to consist of various components which form a composite unit. By the arrangement and design of the sealing edge which is supported at the end face of the bushing, a reduction in the contact surface between the seal and the bushing is achieved, resulting in improved sealing. Furthermore, a reduction in the contact surface also results in an increase in the pressing force, which can be compensated for by the corresponding spring deflection of the seal.
The spring deflection can be achieved by appropriate shaping of the seal or by appropriate choice of material.
In order to counteract a possible increased risk of wear in the region of the sealing edge, an appropriate choice of material for the seal may be made and where appropriate constructive measures to improve lubrication in the vicinity of the seal or in the vicinity of the sealing edge may also be realised, which is to be described hereinbelow.
Preferably, the cross section of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof, the ridge line of which forms the sealing edge. More preferably, the side face of the seal which faces the end face of the bushing is asymmetric. This ensures that the sealing edge rises virtually at an obtuse angle out of the sealing member, with the result that this sealing edge is supported by material and does not have the shape of a self-supporting lip but rather of a moulded-on edge.
Preferably, the side face of the seal disposed away from the end face of the bushing has a recess, the cross section of which is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof. More preferably, the side face of the seal disposed away from the end face of the bushing is asymmetric. By this design, a corresponding spring deflection is made available, since by virtue of the provision of the gable roof type recess the seal can resiliently deform in the axial direction of the joint.
Thus, adequate spring deflections for assembly and also for operational use are made available.
In one embodiment the inner and outer radial faces of the seal are flat and extend parallel to the centre axis of the seal, with the outer radial face being wider than the inner radial face. By these surface regions, radial inner and outer support surfaces and sealing surfaces are formed, which firstly can be supported flat at the pin and secondly flat at the side of the labyrinthine chamber facing the periphery of the pin. The wider design of the outer radial face in relation to the inner radial face is advantageous with respect to the desired supporting effect and the sealing action at the side of the labyrinthine chamber, since in this region a large surface is made available as the support surface and the sealing surface.
Preferably, the ridge line of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is disposed closer to the inner radial face than the outer radial face of the seal, and the ridge line of the recess is disposed closer to the outer radial face of the seal than the ridge line of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing. By this arrangement and design, when prestressing the seal, for example during initial assembly, and with the use-related stressing of the seal, it is ensured that when axial forces act on the seal transverse forces are increasingly built up inside the seal, so that the radial sealing faces are supported with an increasing pressing force on the corresponding bearing surfaces (i.e. the pin and the side face of the labyrinthine chamber)
In a preferred embodiment, the recess merges radially inwardly into a support edge and radially outwardly into a wide support face. This design further promotes the desired sealing action and resilience.
An advantageous further development, which is regarded as particularly inventive, is a constructive measure to increase the lubricating action in the vicinity of the sealing edge. The design is characterised in that the radially inner roof face of the gable roof type face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is provided with pusher recesses, preferably shallow pocket holes, which with a radial, preferably uniform distribution, are moulded, preferably in the centre, of the roof face on a peripheral line. By this arrangement, lubrication in the contact region between the seal and the end side of the bushing becomes more effective. The pusher recesses or pocket holes form shallow lubricant pockets1 preferably having a circular cross section, by which a transfer of the lubricant entirely from the contact region is avoided even with high pressing forces. Provided that the seal is axially stressed to a considerable extent, the radially inner roof surface adjacent to the sealing edge abuts the end face of the bushing, wherein in this roof surface the corresponding lubricant pockets are constructed, which are suitable and intended to contain lubricant grease or the like. Thus, the lubricant located in this region is prevented from being completely forced away radially or axially and the sealing action is prevented from being reduced or removed. Instead, by the provision of lubricant pockets, adequate lubrication and availability of lubricant is ensured.
The present invention further extends to crawler chains incorporating the above-mentioned sealing arrangements or seals.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described hereinbelow by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a crawler chain in plan view, partially in section;
Figure 2 shows in detail a cross-sectional view of a sealing arrangement in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the seal employed in the arrangement of Figure 2, which seal is in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention relates both to a sealing arrangement and a seal for crawler chains, and extends to a crawler chain incorporating the same. The sealing arrangement of the present invention particularly relates to the joints of a crawler chain as shown in Figure 1.
Each joint consists of a pin 1 and a bushing 2, with the respective outer chain link 3 being force-fitted to the pin 1 and the respective inner chain link 4 being forcefitted to the bushing 2. The chain links 3, 4 each have a hole into which the pin 1 and the bushing 2 are respectively pressed. In this embodiment a labyrinthine chamber 6, which is filled with grease or similar lubricant, is formed between an end face 5 of the bushing 2 and the outer chain link 3 fixed to the pin 1.
A ring seal 7 is disposed in the labyrinthine chamber 6 and supported axially at the end face 5 of the bushing 2 and at the bottom face 8 of the labyrinthine chamber 6.
The seal 7 is supported radially on the periphery of the pin 1 and on the side face 9 of the labyrinthine chamber 6.
As can be seen in particular from the detailed representation shown in Figure 3, the seal 7 has a sealing edge 10 which protrudes from one side face thereof and is supported at the end face 5 of the bushing 2 in the fitted position. In this embodiment the side face of the seal 7 which faces towards the end face 5 of the bushing 2 has a cross section shaped substantially in the manner of a, preferably asymmetric, gable roof. The ridge line of this roof surface is the sealing edge 10. The other side face of the seal 7, which faces away from the end face 5 of the bushing 2, has a recess 11 which is also substantially formed in the manner of a gable roof and preferably has an asymmetric cross sect ion, by which adequate resilience is achieved. The asymmetric design additionally ensures that when axial forces occur an increased pressing force is transmitted via the lateral faces of the seal 7 to the corresponding components.
The inner and outer radial faces 13, 12 of the seal 7 each have a flat construction and are directed parallel to the centre axis of the seal. The outer radial face 12 is wider than the inner radial face 13, which can be seen in particular from Figure 3.
The ridge line (sealing edge 10) of the side face of the seal 7 which faces towards the end face 5 of the bushing 2 is disposed off-centre and is located closer to the inner radial face 13 (i.e. towards the centre axis of the seal 7) than the outer radial face 12. In comparison, the ridge line of the recess 11 is offset slightly further outwardly toward the outer radial face 12.
The recess 11 merges radially inwardly into a support edge 14 and radially outwardly into a relatively wide support face 15.
The radially inner roof face 16 of the gable roof type side face of the seal 7 which faces towards the end face 5 of the bushing 2 is provided with pusher recesses 17 which form small lubricant pockets in which lubricant can be retained, especially if the side face disposed towards the end face 5 of the bushing 2 is pressed flat by virtue of axial forces or assembly conditions. The pusher recesses 17 are preferably shallow pocket holes. In this embodiment the inner roof face covered with pusher recesses 17 abuts the end face 5 of the bushing 2. The pusher recesses 17 then form grease stores, in which lubricating grease is kept and is made available for lubrication.
It will be understood that the present invention is not restricted to the exemplified embodiment, but can be modified in many different ways within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims (29)
1. A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains, comprising a pin and bushing, an outer chain link attached to the pin, an inner chain link attached to the bushing, said bushing defining between an end face thereof and the outer chain link a labyrinthine chamber which is filled or can be filled with grease or similar lubricant, a ring seal disposed in said labyrinthine chamber, said ring seal being supported axially at the end face of the bushing and at the bottom face of the labyrinthine chamber and radially at the pin and at the side face of the labyrinthine chamber, wherein the side face of the ring seal facing towards the end face of the bushing includes a sealing edge.
2. A sealing arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof, the ridge line of which forms the sealing edge.
3. A sealing arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the side face of the seal which faces the end face of the bushing is asymmetric.
4. A sealing arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the side face of the seal disposed away from the end face of the bushing has a recess, the cross section of which is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof.
5. A sealing arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the side face of the seal disposed away from the end face of the bushing is asymmetric.
6. A sealing arrangement according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the recess merges radially inwardly into a support edge and radially outwardly into a wide support face.
7. A sealing arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the inner and outer radial faces of the seal are flat and extend parallel to the centre axis of the seal, with the outer radial face being wider than the inner radial face.
8. A sealing arrangement according to any of claims 4 to 7 when appendant upon claim 2, wherein the ridge line of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is disposed closer to the inner radial face than the outer radial face of the seal, and the ridge line of the recess is disposed closer to the outer radial face of the seal than the ridge line of the side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing.
9. A sealing arrangement according to any of claims 3 to 8 when appendant upon claim 2, wherein the radially inner roof face of the gable roof type side face of the seal which faces towards the end face of the bushing is provided with pusher recesses which are moulded with a circumferential distribution on a peripheral line.
10. A sealing arrangement according to claim 9, wherein said pusher recesses are uniformly circumferentially disposed.
11. A sealing arrangement according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the pusher recesses are disposed along the centre line of the radially inner roof face of the seal.
12. A sealing arrangement according to any of claims 9 to 11, wherein said pusher recesses comprise shallow pocket holes.
13. A ring seal for joints in crawler chains of the kind comprising a pin and bushing, an outer chain link attached to the pin and an inner chain link attached to the bushing, said ring seal having opposed side faces, one side face of which includes a sealing edge and is in use supported at the end face of the bushing and the other side face of which is in use supported at the outer chain link.
14. A ring seal according to claim 13, wherein the cross section of the side face of the seal which in use faces towards the end face of the bushing is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof, the ridge line of which forms the sealing edge.
15. A ring seal according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the side face of the seal which in use faces the end face of the bushing is asymmetric.
16. A ring seal according to any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the side face of the seal disposed in use away from the end face of the bushing has a recess, the cross section of which is formed substantially in the manner of a gable roof.
17. A ring seal according to claim 16, wherein the side face of the seal disposed in use away from the end face of the bushing is asymmetric.
18. A ring seal according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the recess merges radially inwardly into a support edge and radially outwardly into a wide support face.
19. A ring seal according to any of claims 13 to 18, wherein the inner and outer radial faces of the seal are flat and extend parallel to the centre axis of the seal, with the outer radial face being wider than the inner radial face.
20. A ring seal according to any of claims 16 to 19 when appendant upon claim 14, wherein the ridge line of the side face of the seal which in use faces towards the end face of the bushing is disposed closer to the inner radial face than the outer radial face of the seal, and the ridge line of the recess is disposed closer to the outer radial face of the seal than the ridge line of the side face of the seal which in use faces towards the end face of the bushing.
21. A ring seal according to any of claims 15 to 20 when appendant upon claim 14, wherein the radially inner roof face of the gable roof type side face of the seal which in use faces towards the end face of the bushing is provided with pusher recesses which are moulded with a circumferential distribution on a peripheral line.
22. A ring seal according to claim 21, wherein said pusher recesses are uniformly circumferentially disposed.
23. A ring seal according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the pusher recesses are disposed along the centre line of the radially inner roof face of the seal.
24. A ring seal according to any of claims 21 to 23, wherein said pusher recesses comprise shallow pocket holes.
25. A crawler chain having sealing arrangements according to any of claims 1 to 13.
26. A crawler chain having ring seals according to any of claims 14 to 24.
27. A sealing arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, optionally taken in combination with Figure 1.
28. A seal substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, optionally taken in combination with Figure 1.
29. A crawler chain substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611917A GB2313881B (en) | 1996-06-07 | 1996-06-07 | A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains |
| FR9607256A FR2749637B1 (en) | 1996-06-07 | 1996-06-07 | SEALING DEVICE ON TRACK HINGE JOINTS |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611917A GB2313881B (en) | 1996-06-07 | 1996-06-07 | A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains |
| FR9607256A FR2749637B1 (en) | 1996-06-07 | 1996-06-07 | SEALING DEVICE ON TRACK HINGE JOINTS |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9611917D0 GB9611917D0 (en) | 1996-08-07 |
| GB2313881A true GB2313881A (en) | 1997-12-10 |
| GB2313881B GB2313881B (en) | 2000-05-03 |
Family
ID=26232755
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9611917A Expired - Fee Related GB2313881B (en) | 1996-06-07 | 1996-06-07 | A sealing arrangement at joints of crawler chains |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| FR (1) | FR2749637B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2313881B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2014176253A1 (en) * | 2013-04-24 | 2014-10-30 | Caterpillar Inc. | Seal assembly for track joint assembly of undercarriage |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB671601A (en) * | 1949-05-11 | 1952-05-07 | Abington Textile Mach Works | Improvements in method and apparatus for salvaging air-borne fibres |
| GB1539261A (en) * | 1975-11-15 | 1979-01-31 | Daimler Benz Ag | Cover-sealing arrangement |
| EP0179995A1 (en) * | 1984-09-12 | 1986-05-07 | KSA Dichtsysteme GmbH & Co. KG | Sealing |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2509151A (en) * | 1945-05-10 | 1950-05-23 | Renniks Company | Pressure-sealing means |
| GB1025704A (en) * | 1962-03-13 | 1966-04-14 | Dowty Seals Ltd | Improvements in sealing devices |
| SE300075B (en) * | 1967-03-07 | 1968-04-01 | Stefa Industri Ab | |
| US4209204A (en) * | 1978-08-08 | 1980-06-24 | Deere & Company | Two-piece seal for track chain joints |
| FR2600741A1 (en) * | 1986-06-24 | 1987-12-31 | Jade Sa | Sealing gasket for pins and pivots |
| US5127661A (en) * | 1991-04-25 | 1992-07-07 | Parker Hannifin Corporation | Fluid seal |
-
1996
- 1996-06-07 FR FR9607256A patent/FR2749637B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1996-06-07 GB GB9611917A patent/GB2313881B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB671601A (en) * | 1949-05-11 | 1952-05-07 | Abington Textile Mach Works | Improvements in method and apparatus for salvaging air-borne fibres |
| GB1539261A (en) * | 1975-11-15 | 1979-01-31 | Daimler Benz Ag | Cover-sealing arrangement |
| EP0179995A1 (en) * | 1984-09-12 | 1986-05-07 | KSA Dichtsysteme GmbH & Co. KG | Sealing |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2014176253A1 (en) * | 2013-04-24 | 2014-10-30 | Caterpillar Inc. | Seal assembly for track joint assembly of undercarriage |
| CN105143024A (en) * | 2013-04-24 | 2015-12-09 | 卡特彼勒公司 | Seal assembly for track joint assembly of undercarriage |
| US9409612B2 (en) | 2013-04-24 | 2016-08-09 | Caterpillar Inc. | Seal assembly for track joint assembly of undercarriage |
| CN105143024B (en) * | 2013-04-24 | 2017-09-12 | 卡特彼勒公司 | Seal assembly for the track connector component on chassis |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2313881B (en) | 2000-05-03 |
| FR2749637B1 (en) | 1999-10-22 |
| FR2749637A1 (en) | 1997-12-12 |
| GB9611917D0 (en) | 1996-08-07 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20050607 |