GB415829A - Improvements in or relating to the suspension of endless track vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

415,829. Endless - track vehicles. VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS, Ltd., Broadway, Westminster, and CARDEN, SIR J. V., Tomlins Cottage, Chobham Road, Frimley, Surrey. March 17, 1933, No. 8200. [Class 79 (i).] An endless-track vehicle has supporting rollers, such as 9, 10, Figs. 1 and 3, carried by rocker arms 11 pivoted at 12 on the chassis, the rocker arms being connected together at one end by an equalizing lever 18, and the arrangement of the supporting rollers being such that the portions of the endless tracks beneath the pivots 12 are free to flex or to move towards the pivots 12. This freedom of flexure is obtained either by leaving the tracks free below the pivots as in Fig. 4, in which a supporting roller 23 is mounted at each end of the arm 11, or by mounting a roller or rollers on each rocker arm so as to be capable of a rocking movement independently of the other roller or rollers on the same rocker arm. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a pair of rollers 10 are mounted on the ends of a lever or spring 13 pivoted at 14 on one end of the arm 11, a single roller 9 being mounted at the other end. The ends of the two arms 11 are connected to a lever 18, pivoted at 20 on the chassis, by flexible or universal joints comprising rubber discs 20 and bolts 21. The movements of the rocker arms and the lever 18 may be limited by stops. The pivot 15 of the idler roller 9 is carried by an arm 16 pivoted to the arm 11 and is adjustable, to tension the track, by means of an adjusting rod 17. In the construction shown in Fig. 7, the supporting rollers 30, 31 are carried by frames 32, 33 pivoted to the ends of the arms 11. Other frames may be pivoted to the frames 32, 33, the supporting rollers being pivoted to the ends of these additional frames. The loading on the rollers may be distributed equally or in any desired proportion. Spring may be used as the pivoted frames 32, 33.