JP2003335274A - Coreless elastic crawler - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a slip is caused by an improper earth discharge property between lugs, an insufficient tractive force and the clogging of mud during traveling on a soft ground. <P>SOLUTION: A tensile body 4 is buried in a rubber crawler body 2 formed into an endless belt shape having the lugs 3 projectingly provided on an outer peripheral side and provided with a driving projection 7 on an inner peripheral surface along the peripheral direction. A width direction reinforcing layer 5 is provided on at least one side of a thickness direction by making the tensile body 4 as a reference. When a peripheral direction dimension at a projecting end of each lug 3 and peripheral direction pitch of each lug 3 are taken as d and P, respectively, 0.05≤d/P≤0.2 is set. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coreless elastic crawler.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A crawler traveling device mounted on an automobile or the like is known, and various elastic crawlers used in this type of crawler traveling device have been proposed (for example,
(See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-142503). This type of coreless elastic crawler has a rubber crawler body formed in an endless band shape, a lug is provided on the outer peripheral side thereof, and a drive projection is provided on the inner peripheral side thereof. Further, a tensile body is embedded inside the rubber crawler main body along the circumferential direction thereof.

This rubber crawler main body has no core metal so that it can be used for high speed running, but in order to compensate for insufficient rigidity of the above-mentioned tensile body alone, this tensile body is used as a standard. The width direction reinforcing layer is provided on at least one side (the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side of the endless) in the thickness direction. The tensile body is generally formed of a steel cord or the like, and the widthwise reinforcing layer is formed of a bias cord or the like. By the way, such a coreless elastic crawler was sometimes targeted for traveling on snowy roads, ice buns, etc., but in many cases, it is assumed that it will be used on a relatively hard road surface such as a paved road surface. It was made.

[0004]

Nowadays, it is considered to increase the versatility of the conventional coreless elastic crawler so that it can be used even in soft ground. However, when running on soft ground etc. with this coreless elastic crawler, it is difficult to remove soil from between the lugs, sufficient traction force can not be obtained, and if it is severe, slip due to clogging of mud It is difficult to travel on soft ground or the like with this coreless elastic crawler as it is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coreless elastic crawler capable of traveling on soft ground and improving its versatility. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following means. That is, the coreless elastic crawler according to the present invention resists the rubber crawler main body, which is formed in the shape of an endless belt, has the lug protruding on the outer peripheral side and the drive protrusion on the inner peripheral surface, along the circumferential direction. The tension body is embedded, and a width direction reinforcing layer is provided on at least one side in the thickness direction based on the tension body. Further, the protrusion height of the lug with respect to the rubber crawler main body is increased, thereby making it possible to travel on soft ground and the like, thereby enhancing the versatility of the coreless elastic crawler.

As a degree of increasing the lug height, it is preferable that 1.8b ≦ a with reference to the b dimension when the wall thickness dimension of the rubber crawler body is b and the lug height is a. . When 1.8b> a, it is difficult to obtain sufficient traction force. However, when the circumferential pitch of the lugs is P, it is preferable that a ≦ 0.6P with reference to this P. Even if a> 0.6P, no significant effect is obtained with respect to traction force and the like, which is not only wasteful in material cost, but also may have adverse effects on noise, vibration, lug strength, and the like.

As a means for ensuring the lug height, the following structure can be adopted. That is, in the rubber crawler main body, an inclined portion that is inclined in the direction of floating from the ground road surface is provided in a portion that is on the outer side in the width direction with respect to the portion where the end of the width direction reinforcing layer is positioned in the width direction. By doing this, even if the lug height at the widthwise central portion of the rubber crawler body is the same as the conventional one, the amount of protrusion of the lugs in the widthwise outer side of the rubber crawler body (the area where the inclined portion is provided) is set. Is increased, and as a result, the lug height can be increased.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, the rug density on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber crawler main body is made rough to improve the soil discharging performance
This allows the vehicle to run on soft ground and the like, and thus includes a core bar-less elastic crawler with improved versatility. As a degree of roughening the lug density, it is preferable that 0.05 ≦ d / P ≦ 0.2, where d is the circumferential dimension at the tip of the lug and P is the circumferential pitch of the lug. . If d / P> 0.2, the density is too high, and it is difficult to obtain sufficient earth scavenging ability. If the earth scavenging ability is deteriorated, traction performance may be deteriorated and slipping property may be deteriorated. Further, if 0.05> d / P, the density is too coarse, which may adversely affect noise, vibration, lug strength, etc. Needless to say, traction performance and slipperiness are also suitable due to the coarse lug density. Does not mean

In this case, it has been proved effective that the height of the lug is 30 mm or more. On the inner peripheral surface of the rubber crawler main body, if the left and right sides of the drive protrusion are the rolling wheel passage surfaces, the outer surface of the rubber crawler body is not It is preferable that a lug having an inclination angle of 20 ° or less with respect to a widthwise base line orthogonal to the circumferential axis of the rubber crawler main body is provided over the spanned range.

By doing so, the chances that the rolling wheels run on the lug are increased, and the vibration is suppressed accordingly and the riding comfort is improved. Further, since the number of lugs that receive the load of the rolling wheels increases, the contact surface pressure due to the overall lugs decreases, so that the advantage that each lug bites into the road surface well can be expected. Further, by doing so, it is possible to improve the earth scavenging property between the lugs. The widthwise reinforcing layer is preferably 40% or more and 75% or less with respect to the entire width dimension of the rubber crawler body.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a coreless elastic crawler 1 according to the present invention. The elastic crawler 1 has a rubber crawler body 2 formed in the shape of an endless belt, and a lug 3 projecting from the outer peripheral side of the rubber crawler body 2. The upholstery body 4 is embedded.

Further, the inside of the rubber crawler main body 2 is at least one side in the thickness direction with respect to the tensile body 4 (in the illustrated example, the endless outer peripheral side (lower side in FIG. 2), but also on the inner peripheral side). The width direction reinforcing layer 5 is embedded in both the inner and outer circumferences. The tensile body 4 is formed of a steel cord or the like. The width-direction reinforcing layer 5 is formed of a bias cord or the like. This width direction reinforcement layer 5
Is provided at 0 ° or obliquely with respect to the widthwise base line W (shown in FIG. 1) orthogonal to the circumferential axis of the rubber crawler body 2.

The widthwise reinforcing layer 5 is provided so as to occupy 40% or more and 75% or less of the entire width dimension of the rubber crawler body 2. In the first embodiment, as the lugs 3, a long lug 3A having both end portions that extend over the entire width of the rubber crawler body 2 and a short lug 3B that does not reach both ends of the rubber crawler body 2 in the width direction are provided. The long lugs 3A and the short lugs 3B are provided alternately in the circumferential direction. In addition, long lug 3A and short lug 3B
Also has a substantially linear shape parallel to the widthwise base line W of the rubber crawler body 2.

The inner peripheral surface of the rubber crawler body 2 has
At the center portion in the width direction, drive protrusions 7 are provided so as to protrude at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Then, rolling wheel passage surfaces 8 are formed on both left and right sides of the drive projection 7 so as to sandwich the drive projection 7 in the middle. In the first embodiment, the protruding height of the lug 3 with respect to the rubber crawler body 2 is 1.8b based on the b dimension when the wall thickness dimension of the rubber crawler body 2 is b and the height of the lug 3 is a. ≦ a. However, when the circumferential pitch of the lugs 3 is P, a ≦ 0.6P with this P as a reference.

The density at which the lugs 3 are provided in the circumferential direction of the rubber crawler main body 2 is 0.0 with reference to the above-mentioned P dimension when the circumferential dimension at the projecting end of the lug 3 is d.
5 ≦ d / P ≦ 0.2. For example, when the thickness c of the rubber crawler body 2 is 17 mm and the circumferential pitch P of the lugs 3 is 90 mm, the protrusion height a of the lugs 3 is 35.
~ 45 mm, and the circumferential dimension d at the tip of the lug 3
May be 15 mm or the like. Since the protruding height of the lug 3 is large and the density of the lug 3 is rough as described above, a sufficient traction force can be obtained on a soft ground and the soil is easily discharged.

Therefore, this elastic crawler 1 can be used not only for automobiles (for paved road surfaces, etc.) but also for agricultural machinery such as combine harvesters and tractors, or for construction machinery and civil engineering machinery on soft roads. Has become. Needless to say, the widthwise dimension and the circumferential length of the rubber crawler main body 2 may be appropriately set according to the side of the crawler traveling device (not shown) to be mounted. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the elastic crawler 1 according to the present invention.

In the elastic crawler 1 of the second embodiment,
This is different from the first embodiment described above in that all the lugs 3 are short lugs 3B, and two parallel portions and one independent portion alternate in the circumferential direction. Short lug 3B
In the portion where the two are arranged, a portion 10 in which no lug is provided is formed in the widthwise central portion of the rubber crawler main body 2. Other configurations and operational effects are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. 7 and 8 show an elastic crawler 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the elastic crawler 1 of the third embodiment,
The lug 3 is provided with an inclination angle θ of 20 ° or less with respect to the widthwise base line W of the rubber crawler body 2 over a range extending over the left and right wheel passing surfaces 8. Also, each rug 3
One end of the rubber crawler body 2 does not reach the end of the rubber crawler body 2 in the width direction.
A flexible region 15 is left at the end in the width direction. In order that the flexible regions 15 are arranged in a staggered manner in the circumferential direction of the rubber crawler body 2, the ends of the lugs 3 that do not reach the widthwise end of the rubber crawler body 2 are set in opposite directions. ing.

In addition, the rubber crawler body 2 in the lug 3
The portion extending to the end in the width direction of the
The shallower angle (by letting it lie down) improves traction. By adopting such an end shape of the lug 3, a space in which a lug interval is opened by 1 pitch or more at both widthwise end portions (left and right side edge portions) of the rubber crawler main body 2 (the flexible space). 15) will be formed, which will contribute to the mud drainage performance. Thus, at the end of the lug 3,
Has traction and soil removal functions.

Although one end of the lug 3 does not reach the end of the rubber crawler main body 2 in the width direction, the lug 3 is arranged to secure a range extending over the left and right rolling wheel passage surfaces 8. Is provided. From this, this third book
In the elastic crawler 1 of the embodiment, the chances of the rolling wheels (not shown) traveling on the lug 3 are increased, and the vibration is suppressed to that extent and the riding comfort is improved. Also,
Since the total contact surface pressure by the lugs 3 decreases due to the increase in the number of lugs that receive the load of the rolling wheels, there is an advantage that each lug 3 easily bites into the road surface. Further, there is also an advantage that the soil scavenging property between the lugs 3 is good.

9 and 10 show a fourth embodiment of the elastic crawler according to the present invention. The elastic crawler 1 of the fourth embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4) described above, but only the rubber crawler main body 2 is provided.
The difference is that the inclined portions 17 are provided on both sides in the width direction. The inclined portion 17 is formed by the rubber crawler body 2
It is provided so as to avoid the portion in which the width direction reinforcing layer 5 is embedded, and is inclined so as to float above the ground road surface outside the portion where the end of the width direction reinforcing layer 5 is located in the width direction. is doing.

Needless to say, it is preferable that the inclined portion 17 should be designed so as not to interfere with the wheel passing surface 8. By providing this inclined portion 17,
The short lug 3B has the same height as in the case of the first embodiment, but the long lug 3A projects in the width direction outer side portion of the rubber crawler main body 2 according to the inclination amount (lifting amount) of the inclined portion 17. The quantity is also increasing. Therefore, the lug height can be increased more than in the case of the first embodiment. In other words, even if the lug height remains the same as the conventional one, it is possible to obtain a necessary and sufficient amount of lug height (equivalent to the first embodiment) by forming the inclined portion 17.

The widthwise reinforcing layer 5 may be embedded in the inclined portion 17 to some extent (about one layer). Similarly, in the second embodiment (see FIGS. 5 and 6) and the third embodiment (see FIGS. 7 and 8) described above, the rubber crawler main body 2 is inclined at both sides in the width direction. A section 17 can be provided. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified as appropriate according to the embodiments.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, in the coreless elastic crawler according to the present invention, the lug height is substantially or relatively increased (by forming the inclined portion),
Alternatively, by roughening the lug density, it is possible to improve the traction force and the soil discharging property, and it is possible to run on soft ground, so that the versatility as a coreless elastic crawler can be enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of an elastic crawler according to the present invention from the outer peripheral surface side thereof.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of an elastic crawler according to the present invention from the outer peripheral surface side thereof.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of an elastic crawler according to the present invention from the outer peripheral surface side thereof.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment of an elastic crawler according to the present invention from the outer peripheral surface side thereof.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 elastic crawler 2 Rubber crawler body 3 rugs 4 Tensile body 5 Width direction reinforcement layer 8 Wheel passing surface 15 Flexible area 17 Inclined part a Rug height b Thickness of rubber crawler body d Circumferential dimension at the tip of lug Circumferential pitch of P lug W Rubber crawler body width direction baseline θ lag tilt angle

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A rubber crawler main body (2) having an endless belt-like shape, a lug (3) protruding on the outer peripheral side, and a drive projection (7) provided on the inner peripheral surface, is stretched along its circumferential direction. A coreless elastic crawler in which a body (4) is embedded and a widthwise reinforcing layer (5) is provided on at least one side in the thickness direction with respect to the tensile body (4), wherein a rubber crawler is used. The thickness of the body (2) is b, and the lug (3)
An elastic crawler without a core, wherein when the height is a, the dimension b is 1.8b.ltoreq.a. 2. The coreless elastic according to claim 1, wherein, when the circumferential pitch of the lugs (3) is P, a ≦ 0.6P with reference to this P. Crawler. 3. A rubber crawler main body (2) having an endless belt shape, a lug (3) projecting on the outer peripheral side, and a drive projection (7) provided on the inner peripheral surface, is stretched along its circumferential direction. A coreless elastic crawler in which a body (4) is embedded and a widthwise reinforcing layer (5) is provided on at least one side in the thickness direction with reference to the tensile body (4), wherein The crawler main body (2) is provided with an inclined portion (17) inclined in a direction in which the crawler main body (2) floats from the ground road surface in a widthwise outer side than a portion where the end of the widthwise reinforcement layer (5) is positioned in the widthwise direction. A coreless elastic crawler. 4. A rubber crawler main body (2) having an endless belt shape, a lug (3) protruding on the outer peripheral side, and a drive projection (7) provided on the inner peripheral surface, is stretched along the circumferential direction thereof. In a coreless elastic crawler in which a body (4) is embedded and a width direction reinforcing layer (5) is provided on at least one side in the thickness direction based on the tensile body (4),
When the circumferential dimension at the tip of the lug (3) is d and the circumferential pitch of the lug (3) is P, 0.05 ≦ d / P ≦ 0.2 Goldless elastic crawler. 5. The coreless elastic crawler according to claim 4, wherein the height of the lug (3) is 30 mm or more. 6. A rubber crawler main body (2) having an endless belt shape and provided with a driving projection (7) on the inner peripheral surface thereof, along with a tensile body (4) embedded along the circumferential direction thereof. A width direction reinforcing layer (5) is provided on at least one side in the thickness direction with respect to the tensile body (4), and both left and right sides of the drive protrusion (7) on the inner peripheral surface of the rubber crawler main body (2). In a coreless elastic crawler used as a rolling wheel passage surface (8), a rubber crawler main body (2) is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the rubber crawler body (2) over a range extending over the left and right rolling wheel passage surfaces (8). ) The core-less elastic crawler is provided with a lug (3) having an inclination angle (θ) of 20 ° or less with respect to a widthwise base line (W) orthogonal to the circumferential axis of (1). 7. The width-direction reinforcing layer (5) is 40% or more and 75% or less with respect to the entire width dimension of the rubber crawler body (2). The coreless elastic crawler according to any one of the above.