GB576417A - Tractor and tank traps - Google Patents

Abstract

576,417. Endless tracks for vehicles. WINGFOOT CORPORATION. March 11, 1943, No. 4018. Convention date, July 15, 1942. [Class 79 (i)] An endless track for tanks and vehicles comprises a plurality of parallel, laterally. spaced belts 20 and a plurality of transverse metal shoes 22, 24 secured to the cables, each belt being formed by a single rubber-covered wire or cable 26 wound helical-fashion so that each turn extends lengthwise of the belt. In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, four belts 20 are each enclosed in a rubber cover 28 ; an outer rubberized fabric cover 30 may also be provided. The cables 26 are preferably brass-coated and the rubber 28 is vulcanized thereto. The ends of the cables are clipped or otherwise secured to adjacent cables to hold them in place. Two or more belts 20 may be used to form a track ; as shown, four are used, and they are connected together by main shoes 22 extending right across the track and subsidiary or link shoes 24 leaving a gap 69 for engagement with the teeth of a driving sprocket 58. Each shoe 22 is made in two parts 34, 36 secured together by rivets 38 so as to clamp the belts 20 in recesses 39 formed in the parts. Pins 42 embedded in recesses at each end of the shoe parts serve to align the parts and are prevented from end movement by adjacent rivets 38 which engage grooves in the pins. The shoes 24 are similarly made in two parts 62, 64 riveted together at 66. The recesses formed in the shoes for the reception of the belts 20 are flared as shown at 56, 67 to facilitate the bending of the track around the supporting and driving wheels. The abutting ends of the shoes are curved also to facilitate the bending of the track. Central guide members 46 are secured to the main shoes 22 by rivets 48. In a modification, Figs. 6 and 7 (not shown), rubber collars or washers 70 surround the belts 20 between the ends of the shoes 22, 24 and seal the recesses 39, 65 in which the belts are clamped. In another modification, Figs. 10 and 11, the belts 20 are replaced by single cables 80 or 82, each cable passing several times round the whole length of the track and having its ends secured at 130 to one of the shoes. Each cable is rubbercovered and passes through cylindrical grooves formed in the shoes 84, 86 when the two parts thereof are riveted together. The grooves in the shoes near the ends of the cables are inclined as shown in Fig. 10, but in the remainder of the shoes they are parallel to the length of the track. The main shoes 84 are formed with recesses 120 co-operating with semi-cylindrical parts on the link shoes 86 to form a hinge joint to prevent grit from working into the track.