JP2006069417A - Elastic crawler - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an elastic crawler having excellent durability and excellent behavior stability. <P>SOLUTION: A lug group 9 is constituted of main lugs 91 which are arranged on both sides in the strip width direction in a dividing manner and arranged in the circumferential direction in a staggered manner with the phase deviation, and support lugs 92 having the area of a top face 92a smaller than the area of a top face 91a of the main lug 91 and arranged between the main lugs 91 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction, and also arranged in a roller passing area A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an elastic crawler mounted on various crawler traveling devices.

Conventionally, elastic crawlers have been widely used in various crawler traveling devices such as agricultural machines and construction machines (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The elastic crawler described in Patent Document 1 includes an endless belt-like crawler main body made of a rubber-like elastic body in which a plurality of drive projections arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction are integrally projected from an inner peripheral surface; And a lug group formed in a predetermined lug pattern on the outer peripheral surface of the crawler body.
In the lug group, lugs extending in the band width direction of the crawler main body are arranged on both sides of the band width direction and arranged in a staggered manner with a phase shifted in the circumferential direction.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-216991 (FIG. 8)

However, in the conventional elastic crawler, the distance between the lugs arranged in the circumferential direction is large, and even if one wheel constituting the straddling wheel is on the lug, the other wheel falls between the lugs. This drop of the wheel is the same as that of the elastic crawler without a cored bar in which the width direction reinforcing body such as the cored bar is embedded in the crawler body or the lug pattern of the elastic crawler mounted on the left and right of the traveling device. It becomes more prominent when they are in phase. For this reason, vibrations in the vertical direction are generated on the wheels, and the vibrations of the wheels are a cause of vibrations generated in the crawler traveling device.
Further, since the gap between the lugs arranged in the circumferential direction is large, the outer peripheral surface of the crawler main body is easily in direct contact with the road surface. For this reason, the crawler body is easily damaged by protrusions such as stones, and the durability of the elastic crawler may be lowered.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an elastic crawler having low vibration and excellent durability.

The elastic crawler of the present invention includes an endless belt-like crawler body made of a rubber-like elastic body in which a plurality of drive protrusions arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction are integrally projected from an inner circumferential surface, and an outer circumference of the crawler body An elastic crawler comprising: a lug group formed on a surface with a predetermined lug pattern; and a tensile body embedded in the crawler body along a circumferential direction to reinforce the crawler body. The group is arranged on both sides in the band width direction, and has a main lug arranged in a staggered manner with a phase shift in the circumferential direction, and a top surface area smaller than the top surface area of the main lug. An auxiliary lug is provided between the main lugs adjacent to each other in a direction and in a wheel passing region of the crawler body.
According to the present invention, since the auxiliary lug is disposed between the main lugs adjacent in the circumferential direction and in the wheel passing region of the crawler body, one wheel of the wheel is between the lugs as in the conventional elastic crawler. Can be prevented as much as possible. Moreover, the outer peripheral surface of the crawler main body between the main lugs is protected by the auxiliary lugs. Therefore, damage to the crawler main body caused by contact of protrusions such as stones with the outer peripheral surface of the crawler main body can be further reduced.

In the above-mentioned elastic crawler, it is preferable that a shallow groove for facilitating bending is formed on the top surface of the main lug.
In this case, since the shallow groove is formed on the top surface of the main lug, the rigidity of the lug is reduced. Therefore, the flexibility of the elastic crawler is improved.

Furthermore, in the above-described elastic crawler, it is preferable that inclined portions for improving soil removal properties are provided at both ends in the circumferential direction of the main lug and the auxiliary lug.
In this case, the traction property of the elastic crawler is improved by providing the inclined portion for improving the soil removal property.

In the above-described elastic crawler, the land-sea ratio of the land area represented by the total area of the top surfaces of the main lug and the auxiliary lug to the sea area represented by the area of the outer peripheral surface of the crawler body is: It is preferably 30% or more and 60% or less.
When the land-sea ratio is less than 30%, the land area is too small relative to the sea area, and projections such as stones are more likely to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the crawler body. For this reason, the crawler body is easily damaged. Further, the rigidity of the lug itself is reduced, and it is easily damaged when used under adverse conditions, and the lug may be lost.
On the other hand, when the land-sea ratio exceeds 60%, the land area is excessively large with respect to the sea area, and the flexibility of the elastic crawler is greatly lowered, and the traction property in soft ground is lowered. Therefore, by setting the land-sea ratio to 30% or more and 60% or less, the durability, the flexibility and the traction of the elastic crawler can be satisfactorily maintained.

In the above-described elastic crawler, the ratio of the area of the top surface of the auxiliary lug to the area of the top surface of the main lug is preferably 30% to 70%.
If the ratio of the contact area is less than 30%, the area of the top surface of the auxiliary lug is too small with respect to the area of the top surface of the main lug, and the effect of reducing the vibration of the wheel is reduced. It becomes easy to contact an outer peripheral surface. When the area ratio exceeds 70%, the area of the top surface of the auxiliary lug becomes too large with respect to the area of the top surface of the main lug, and the flexibility of the elastic crawler is significantly impaired.

  According to the present invention, one of the wheels can be prevented from falling between the lugs as much as possible, and the crawler main body can be further prevented from being damaged. An elastic crawler can be constructed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 shows the crawler traveling device 2 to which the elastic crawler 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is attached. A part of the elastic crawler 1 in the drawing is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 2, the crawler traveling device 2 is used for an agricultural machine, a civil engineering work machine, and the like, and includes a sprocket 3 as a drive wheel provided on the front side in the traveling direction of the crawler traveling device 2, and the crawler traveling device 2. And an idler 4 provided on the rear side in the traveling direction, and a plurality of rolling wheels 5 arranged in a row between the sprocket 3 and the idler 4. The elastic crawler 1 is wound around the outer periphery of the sprocket 3, the idler 4 and the wheel 5.

Fig.1 (a) has shown the plane which looked at the elastic crawler 1 concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention from the outer peripheral side, (b) has shown the cross section.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the elastic crawler 1 includes a crawler main body 8 in which a plurality of drive projections 7 arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction are integrally projected from an inner peripheral surface 8a, and the crawler A lug group 9 formed in a predetermined lug pattern on the outer peripheral surface 8b of the main body 8 and a tensile body 10 embedded in the crawler main body 8 inside 8c along the circumferential direction are provided. The elastic crawler 1 shown in the present embodiment is a core-less type in which a width direction reinforcing body such as a core metal is not provided inside the crawler body 8.

The crawler body 8 is made of a rubber-like elastic body and is formed in an endless belt shape having a substantially constant thickness. The driving projection 7 made of a rubber-like elastic body having the same quality as that of the crawler main body 8 or having a high rubber hardness is provided on the central portion 8d of the inner peripheral surface 8a of the crawler main body 8.
The drive protrusions 7 are provided over the entire circumference of the crawler body 8 at a constant interval in the circumferential direction. The elastic crawler 1 can be driven along the circumferential direction by engaging the sprocket 3 with the driving protrusion 7.

The wheel 5 of the crawler traveling device 2 is composed of a straddling wheel having a pair of left and right circular wheels 5W, 5W connected coaxially at a certain interval in the band width direction of the crawler main body 8. Yes. Both wheels 5W and 5W of the roller wheel 5 are in contact with the inner peripheral surface 8a of the crawler body 8 in a state where the driving projection 7 is straddled between the wheels 5W and 5W. A hard resin or metal reinforcing member may be embedded in the drive protrusion 7.
The tensile body 10 reinforces the crawler body 8 in the circumferential direction, and is configured by arranging tensile strength cords such as steel cords extending along the circumferential direction in parallel.
Further, the hardness of the rubber constituting the elastic crawler 1 is 60 to 75 ° (JIS-A) on the outer peripheral side of the tensile body 10 in the crawler body 8, and the inner peripheral side of the tensile body 10 in the crawler main body 8. Is adjusted to 73 to 83 ° (JIS-A), and the driving projection 7 and the lug group 9 are adjusted to 82 to 92 ° (JIS-A).

  The elastic crawler 1 may be configured as shown in FIG. The main difference between the elastic crawler 1 and the elastic crawler 1 shown in FIG. 1B is that a reinforcing cord 11 made of a bias steel cord or the like is attached to the outer peripheral side 8b of the tensile body 10 inside the crawler body 8. It is embedded in the thickness direction so as to have two layers, and a reinforcing layer 12 made of a patch or the like is provided on the inner peripheral side 8 a of the tensile body 10.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the lug group 9 of the present embodiment includes a first lug row 9X that forms a row in the circumferential direction on one side of the crawler body 8 in the band width direction (left side in FIG. 1), and the like. And a second lug row 9Y forming a row in the circumferential direction on the side (the right side in FIG. 1).
The first lug row 9X and the second lug row 9Y are configured by combining a main lug 91 having a trapezoidal cross section and a substantially square top surface 91a and an auxiliary lug 92 having a trapezoidal cross section and a rectangular top surface 92a. ing. The auxiliary lug 92 is formed such that the area of the top surface 92 a is smaller than the area of the top surface 91 a of the main lug 91. Note that the top surfaces 91a and 92a of the main lug 91 and the auxiliary lug 92 in FIG. 1 are hatched for convenience.

  The main lugs 91 of the lug rows 9X and 9Y are arranged with a pitch P that is twice the circumferential top surface length Ba of the main lugs 91. The first lug row 9X and the second lug row 9Y are arranged in a staggered manner with a phase that is mutually coincident with the top surface length Ba and out of phase in the circumferential direction. Further, the main lug 91 extends from the vicinity of the central portion in the width direction of the crawler main body 8 to the one end portion beyond the wheel passing area A (the area where the wheel 5W of the wheel 5 contacts the crawler main body 8). Yes.

  The auxiliary lugs 92 of the lug rows 9X and 9Y are disposed between the main lugs 91 adjacent in the circumferential direction and in the wheel passing region A of the crawler body 8. More specifically, it is arranged at the center in the circumferential direction between the main lugs 91 and extends from the vicinity of the central portion in the width direction of the crawler body 8 to the one end portion over the wheel passing region A. Yes. The auxiliary lug 92 is formed so that the circumferential top surface length Bb is about half the top surface length Ba of the main lug 91, and the top surface width Bc in the belt width direction is the width of the main lug 91. It is formed slightly longer than the top surface width Bd in the width direction.

  Moreover, the elastic crawler 1 of this embodiment is represented by the area of the outer peripheral surface 8a of the crawler main body 8 of the land part area L represented by the sum total of the area of the top surfaces 91a and 92a in the main lug 91 and the auxiliary lug 92. The land-sea ratio (L / S) with respect to the sea area S is set to be 30% or more and 60% or less. When the land-sea ratio is less than 30%, the land area L is too small with respect to the sea area S, and projections such as stones are more likely to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface 8 b of the crawler body 8. For this reason, the crawler body 8 is easily damaged. Further, the rigidity of the lug itself is reduced, and it is easily damaged when used under adverse conditions, and the lug may be lost. In addition, when the land-sea ratio exceeds 60%, the land area L becomes too large with respect to the sea area S, the flexibility of the elastic crawler 1 is greatly reduced, and the traction in soft ground is reduced. descend. Therefore, by forming the land-to-sea ratio to be 30% or more and 60% or less, the durability, flexibility and traction of the elastic crawler 1 can be maintained well.

  In the elastic crawler 1 according to the present embodiment, the ratio of the area of the top surface 92a of the auxiliary lug 92 to the area of the top surface 91a of the main lug 91 is set to 30% or more and 70% or less. When the ratio of the top surface area is less than 30%, the area of the top surface 92a of the auxiliary lug 92 is too small relative to the area of the top surface 91a of the main lug 91, and the effect of reducing the vibration of the wheel 5 is reduced. A protrusion such as a stone is likely to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface 8b of the crawler body 8. When the area ratio exceeds 70%, the area of the top surface 92a of the auxiliary lug 92 becomes too large relative to the area of the top surface 91a of the main lug 91, and the flexibility of the elastic crawler 1 is significantly impaired.

According to the elastic crawler 1 configured as described above, the auxiliary lug 92 is disposed between the main lugs 91 adjacent to each other in the roller passing region A and the circumferential direction of the crawler body 8. Thus, it can prevent as much as possible that one wheel 5W of the wheel 5 falls between lugs. Further, the outer peripheral surface 8 a of the crawler body 8 between the main lugs 91 is protected by the auxiliary lugs 92. Therefore, damage to the crawler body 8 caused by contact of protrusions such as stones with the outer peripheral surface 8a of the crawler body 8 can be further reduced.
Moreover, since the area of the top surface 92a of the auxiliary lug 92 is formed smaller than the area of the top surface 91a of the main lug 91, the bendability and the soil removal property of the elastic crawler 1 can be maintained well.

  Further, in the elastic crawler 1 of this embodiment, at least one of the straddling wheels 5W and 5W constituting the wheel 5 always passes on the main lug 91. Specifically, when one wheel 5W passes through the main lug 91 of the first lug row 9X and the other wheel 5W approaches the main lug 91 of the second lug row 9Y, the connection between the main lugs 91 of the wheels 5 is made. Is substantially continuous. The other wheel 5W that is not on the main lug 91 passes over the auxiliary lug 92. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rolling wheels 5 from falling between the lugs as much as possible.

FIG. 3 shows an elastic crawler 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The main difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that a shallow groove U for facilitating bending is formed on the top surface 91a of the main lug 91, and the circumferential end portions of the main lug 91 and the auxiliary lug 92 are provided. In addition, an inclined portion 20 for improving the soil removal property is formed.
Specifically, in the drawing, the shallow groove U is formed in the central portion in the circumferential direction of the main lug 91 and from the central portion in the band width direction toward the inner end in the same direction. Then, the inclined portion 20 has shorter circumferential top surface lengths Ba and Bb of the main lug 91 and the auxiliary lug 92 from the central portion in the width direction of the main lug 91 and the auxiliary lug 92 toward the outer end in the same direction. It is formed in a tapered shape.
Further, the elastic crawler 1 in the present embodiment has a circumferential top surface length Bb of the auxiliary lug 92.
The main lug 91 is formed smaller than the circumferential top surface length Ba. More specifically, the ratio of the circumferential top surface length Bb of the auxiliary lug 92 to the circumferential top surface length Ba of the main lug 91 is formed to be 30 to 75%.

  According to the elastic crawler 1 configured as described above, the shallow groove U is formed on the top surface 91a of the main lug 91, whereby the rigidity of the main lug 91 is reduced. Therefore, the flexibility of the elastic crawler 1 is improved. Moreover, since the inclined part 20 for improving the soil removal property which inclines so that the circumferential direction top surface length Ba of the main lug 91 and the auxiliary | assistant lug 92 may each become short is formed, the traction property of the elastic crawler 1 Will improve.

FIG. 4 shows a first modification of the elastic crawler 1 according to the second embodiment.
The main difference between this modification and the elastic crawler 1 of the second embodiment is that the circumferential groove width Ua of the shallow groove U is formed small, and the circumferential top surface length Bb of the auxiliary lug 92 is It is a point formed so as to be larger than the groove width Ua.

FIG. 5 shows a second modification of the elastic crawler 1 according to the second embodiment.
The main difference between this modification and the first modification is that the inclined portions 20 formed at both ends in the circumferential direction of the main lug 91 are inclined toward one side in the circumferential direction of the crawler body 8 (downward in FIG. 5). The shallow groove U has a length substantially the same as the top surface width Bd of the main lug 91 and is formed so as to extend in the band width direction of the main lug 91.

FIG. 6 shows a third modification of the elastic crawler 1 according to the second embodiment.
The main difference between this modification and the second modification is that the shallow groove U has a length approximately half the top surface width Bd of the main lug 91 and is formed outside the main lug 91 in the band width direction. This is because the shallow groove U makes the planar shape of the main lug 91 U-shaped.

In addition, the elastic crawler 1 concerning above-mentioned embodiment may be mounted | worn with the crawler traveling apparatus 2 as shown to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the crawler traveling device 2 includes a non-drive idler 21 disposed at the front and rear of the device frame 20, a sprocket 22 as a drive wheel disposed at the top of the device frame 20, and front and rear idlers. And a plurality of non-driven rollers 23 arranged between the two. And the elastic crawler 1 is wound around the outer periphery of these idlers 21, sprockets 22, and rolling wheels 23, and has a substantially isosceles triangle shape in a side view.
The crawler traveling device 2 shown in FIG. 9 is different from the crawler traveling device 2 shown in FIG. 7 in that the position of the sprocket 22 is shifted to one side in the front-rear direction of the device 2 and the sprocket 22 and one idler 21 are arranged. The guide wheel 24 is provided between the two. The elastic crawler 1 is wound around the outer periphery of the idler 21, sprocket 22, rolling wheel 23 and tension wheel 24, and has a substantially right triangle shape when viewed from the side.

In addition, the said embodiment is an illustration of this invention and does not restrict | limit the range. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and all modifications within the scope equivalent to the configurations described therein are also included in the present invention.
For example, the present invention can also be applied to the elastic crawler 1 in which a width direction reinforcing body such as a cored bar is embedded in the crawler main body 8.

It is a side view which shows typically the crawler traveling device equipped with the elastic crawler of a 1st embodiment. (A) is the top view which looked at the elastic crawler concerning 1st Embodiment from the outer peripheral side, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the crawler. It is the top view which looked at the elastic crawler concerning 2nd Embodiment from the outer peripheral side. It is a top view which shows the 1st modification of the elastic crawler concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the 2nd modification of the elastic crawler concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the 3rd modification of the elastic crawler concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the elastic crawler according to the first embodiment. It is a side view which shows typically an example of the crawler travel device with which an elastic crawler is mounted | worn. It is a side view which shows typically the other example of the crawler traveling device with which an elastic crawler is mounted | worn.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Elastic crawler 7 Drive protrusion 8 Crawler main body 8a (Crawler main body) inner peripheral surface 8b (Crawler main body) outer peripheral surface 9 Lug group 10 Tensile body 20 Inclined part 91 Main lug 91a (Main lug) top surface 92 Auxiliary lug 92a ( Top surface of auxiliary lug U Shallow groove Ba Top surface length in circumferential direction L Land area S Sea area

Claims (5)

A plurality of drive protrusions arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction are endless belt-like crawler bodies made of a rubber-like elastic body integrally projecting from the inner circumferential surface, and a predetermined lug pattern on the outer circumferential surface of the crawler body An elastic crawler comprising a formed lug group and a tensile body embedded in the crawler body along the circumferential direction to reinforce the crawler body,
The lug group is arranged and arranged on both sides in the band width direction, and main lugs arranged in a staggered manner with a phase shift in the circumferential direction;
An auxiliary lug having an area of the top surface smaller than the area of the top surface of the main lug and disposed between the main lugs adjacent in the circumferential direction and in a wheel passing region of the crawler body. A featured elastic crawler.   The elastic crawler according to claim 1, wherein a shallow groove for facilitating bending is formed on a top surface of the main lug.   2. The elastic crawler according to claim 1, wherein inclined portions for improving soil removal properties are provided at both ends in the circumferential direction of the main lug and the auxiliary lug.   The land-sea ratio of the land area represented by the total area of the top surfaces of the main lugs and the auxiliary lugs to the sea area represented by the area of the outer peripheral surface of the crawler body is 30% or more and 60% or less. The elastic crawler according to claim 1.   2. The elastic crawler according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the area of the top surface of the auxiliary lug to the area of the top surface of the main lug is 30% or more and 70% or less.

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