JP3280312B2 - Chain with excellent lubrication oil retention - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chain capable of retaining lubricating oil between a pin and a bush and between a bush and a roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional chains, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No.
The roller chain for power transmission described in Japanese Patent No. 71545 discloses an inner link assembly having a pair of inner plates spaced apart in parallel, and a hollow cylindrical bush press-fitted at the front and rear ends thereof. And an outer link assembly having a pair of outer plates and pins pressed into front and rear ends thereof, which are alternately connected to each other. Further, a roller that meshes with the sprocket is provided around each bush. In such a chain, there is a sliding contact between the bush and the pin. In addition, sliding contact occurs between the bush and the roller. Therefore, lubricating oil is applied or filled between the bush and the pin and between the bush and the roller. If the lubricating oil leaks out during operation of the chain, abrupt wear occurs between the bush and the pin and between the bush and the roller due to insufficient lubricating oil. In the roller chain described in the above publication, an elastic O-ring is provided between the opposing surfaces of the inner plate and the outer plate so as to be in contact with the end surface of the bush. An elastic O-ring is provided between the outer surface of the bush and the inner peripheral surface or the end surface of the roller by being compressed. These O-rings prevent the lubricating oil between the bush and the pin and between the bush and the roller from leaking out.

[0003]

However, in order to retain the lubricating oil, the O-ring is compressed between the inner plate and the outer plate or between the bush and the roller. Therefore, when the compressive force of the O-ring is large, the O-ring is worn out at an early stage due to the bending motion of the chain and cannot retain the lubricating oil, so that the wear between the bush and the pin and between the bush and the roller is reduced. Progresses. On the other hand, O
When the compressive force of the ring is small, the function of retaining the lubricating oil is reduced. Therefore, lubricating oil flows between the bush and the pin, and
Leakage easily occurs between the bush and the roller, resulting in poor lubrication. In addition, when the compression force of the O-ring is large, the resistance to the bending motion of the chain and the rotational resistance of the rollers increase, and the power transmission loss during the operation of the chain increases.
Therefore, the gap between the opposing surfaces of the inner plate and the outer plate,
In addition, the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the bush and the inner peripheral surface of the roller must be strictly controlled so that an appropriate compression force is applied to the O-ring. Therefore, the dimensional accuracy of each component must be improved, and the assembly accuracy of each component must be improved.

An object of the present invention is to provide a chain that can prevent leakage of lubricating oil between a bush and a pin or between a bush and a roller, and can retain the lubricating oil. Another object of the present invention is to provide a chain capable of retaining lubricating oil between a bush and a pin or between a bush and a roller in a state where the bending motion of the chain is good.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a chain which can easily manufacture each part constituting the chain and assemble these parts, and can hold lubricating oil between a bush and a pin or between a bush and a roller. is there. Still another object of the present invention is to provide
An object of the present invention is to provide a chain capable of supplying lubricating oil between a bush and a pin or between a bush and a roller.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a chain in which a plurality of link assemblies are connected, wherein one of adjacent link assemblies is separated in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chain. A pair of plates, and a hollow cylindrical bushing press-fitted to the first pair of plates, and the other of the adjacent link assemblies is connected to the chain outside the first pair of plates. A second pair of plates spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first and second pins, and a pin that penetrates the bush and is press-fitted to the second pair of plates;
A chain provided with a hygroscopic material that holds the lubricating oil between opposing surfaces of the first plate and the second plate so as to close a leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the pin. I will provide a. The hygroscopic material is preferably a felt, a nonwoven fabric or a sponge. Thereby, the moisture absorbing material
Lubricating oil can be absorbed and supplied. In addition, these materials have a large deformability, a small restoring force, and can retain the lubricating oil in the leakage path of the lubricating oil without increasing the bending resistance of the chain even when the chain has a dimensional error. Can be. It is preferable that the hygroscopic material is previously impregnated with the lubricating oil. Thus, a large amount of lubricating oil can be held in the chain, and the lubricating oil can be supplied to the chain for a long time. It is preferable that a hygroscopic material is adhered to one of the opposed surfaces as required. By adhering the hygroscopic material to the inner plate or the outer plate in advance, the hygroscopic material can be positioned on the inner plate or the outer plate, and there is no need to assemble the hygroscopic material as a separate part, which facilitates manufacturing. The first pair of plates is an inner plate, the second pair of plates is an outer plate, and a hygroscopic material is adhered to an inner surface of the outer plate leaving a space surrounding the bush. Is preferred. Preferably, the bush is made of a sintered metal, and the bush is impregnated with a lubricating oil. In addition to impregnating the hygroscopic material with the lubricating oil, the lubricating oil is impregnated in the bush of the sintered metal, so that a larger amount of lubricating oil can be retained in the chain, and the wear life of the chain Is improved.

The present invention further relates to a chain formed by connecting a plurality of link assemblies, wherein one of adjacent link assemblies is separated from each other in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chain. A plate, and a hollow cylindrical bushing press-fitted to the first pair of plates, the other of the adjacent link assemblies being disposed outside the first pair of plates in a longitudinal direction of the chain. A second pair of plates spaced apart in a direction orthogonal to each other;
A pin is press-fitted to the pair of plates, and a roller is provided around the bush, and inside the first pair of plates, in a state of being in contact with the roller or in a non-contact state. Provided is a chain provided with a hygroscopic material that holds the lubricating oil so as to close a leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the roller. According to this chain, the lubricating oil applied or filled between the bush and the roller can be held by the hygroscopic material. In addition, by using the lubricating oil applied or filled between the pin and the bush together with the chain in which the lubricating oil is held by the hygroscopic material, the life of the chain can be further improved. In one embodiment of the chain, the hygroscopic material is adhered to a first pair of plates and faces inside the plates. And
The hygroscopic material comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller and holds the lubricating oil between the bush and the roller. In another embodiment of the chain,
The roller has a pair of annular steps on the inner peripheral surface of its both ends,
The hygroscopic material is disposed on the annular step. The hygroscopic material comes into contact with the bush and the roller so as to close the leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the roller. Alternatively, the moisture absorbent contacts the first pair of plates and the roller so as to block the leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the roller. In particular, it is preferable to use a hygroscopic material that is thinner than the thickness of the roller, protrudes from the end surface of the roller, and contacts the inside of the first pair of plates. By doing so, the roller can be easily mounted on the bush, the lubricating oil can be reliably held, and the power transmission loss during the operation of the chain is reduced.
In the chain of this embodiment, there is no need to bond the moisture absorbent to the chain component. Therefore, the assembly of the chain is easy.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chain to which the present invention is applied. The chain 10 according to the present invention is formed by connecting a number of link assemblies in a ring shape. The chain 10 shown in FIG. 1 is formed by alternately connecting N inner link assemblies 20 and N outer link assemblies 30 except for a portion shown in a chain line. The link 40 shown in the dashed line is an offset link assembly for adjusting the entire length of the chain. In some cases, the chain is formed by connecting a plurality of offset link assemblies. The inner link assembly 20 includes a pair of inner plates 21 and 21 spaced apart in parallel.
And a hollow cylindrical bush 22, which is press-fitted to the front and rear ends thereof,
22. The outer link assembly 30 has a pair of outer plates 31, 31 spaced apart in parallel, and pins 32, 32 press-fitted at front and rear ends thereof. The pins 32 of the outer link assembly 30 pass through the bushing 22 of the inner link assembly 20, whereby the respective link assemblies are connected alternately. Also, around each bush 22,
A roller 23 meshing with the sprocket is rotatably provided. Since there is sliding contact between the pin 32 and the bush 22, and between the bush 22 and the roller 23, lubricating oil is applied or filled between them. Of these, the bush 22 is made of a sintered metal in order to keep the lubricating oil holding power good.

Further, according to the present invention, the pin 32 and the bush 2
In order to hold the lubricating oil between the two, and to hold the lubricating oil between the bush 22 and the roller 23, the hygroscopic material 11 is provided in a path from which the lubricating oil leaks. The hygroscopic material 11 shown in FIG. 2 is provided between the inner plate 21 and the outer plate 31 so as to surround the respective end faces of the bush 22 in order to retain the lubricating oil between the pin 32 and the bush 22. . The hygroscopic material 11 is provided on the inner plate 21 or the outer plate 3
1 and the inner plate 21 and the outer plate 31
And a thickness substantially equal to the gap between the two. The bush 22 protrudes from the outer side surface of the inner plate 21, so that even if the inner link assembly 20 moves between the outer link assemblies 30 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the chain 10, a gap in which the hygroscopic material 11 can exist. Is secured.

The hygroscopic material 11 is preferably made of felt. Examples of felt include wool felt and synthetic fiber felt. As the synthetic fiber felt, a nylon felt and a PTFE (Teflon) felt excellent in oil resistance and heat resistance are preferable. Also, besides felt,
A hygroscopic material having a large deformation amount and a small restoring force, such as a nonwoven fabric or a sponge, can be used. In order to adhere the felt and the like to the inner plate or the outer plate, an adhesive such as a synthetic rubber or a vinyl acetate resin emulsion is used. Among them, an adhesive having a viscosity that is relatively high and does not penetrate the felt is used. It is preferable to use it.

By providing such a hygroscopic material in the path from which the lubricating oil leaks, for example, the lubricating oil between the pin 32 and the bush 22 may leak to the outside from between the inner plate 21 and the outer plate 31. Then, the lubricating oil is absorbed by the hygroscopic material 11 and is prevented from leaking out of the chain. By providing the hygroscopic material in the path through which the lubricating oil leaks out, the hygroscopic material not only retains the lubricating oil inside but also prevents foreign substances from entering the sliding contact portion from the outside. When the chain is used in a poor atmosphere with a lot of dust, the life of the chain can be improved by the sealing function of the hygroscopic material. In addition, by using a compressible fiber such as felt, the bending resistance of the chain can be kept low in addition to the function of absorbing the lubricating oil. That is, the felt has a function of retaining the lubricating oil without compressing the felt, and also has a small restoring force, so that the felt does not adversely affect the bending resistance of the chain. Therefore, O
Compared to the case of using a ring or the like to hold the lubricating oil, the tolerance of the gap between the inner plate 21 and the outer plate 31 is larger, and each part of the chain can be manufactured with higher precision than necessary, or with high precision. The lubricating oil can be held in a necessary part without assembling.

It is preferable that the moisture absorbent 11 is impregnated with a lubricating oil in advance. Hygroscopic material impregnated with lubricating oil 11
Functions to replenish impregnated lubricating oil between the pin 32 and the bushing 22 when shortage of lubricating oil occurs between the pin 32 and the bushing 22. Suppress. In particular, when the bushing 22 is made of a sintered metal, lubricating oil can be supplied to the bushing 22 from the hygroscopic material 11, and wear of the chain due to running out of lubricating oil can be suppressed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment in which a hygroscopic material is provided on the outer plate, for example. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the hygroscopic material 11 is adhered to the outer plate 31 concentrically with the pin hole 33. When the chain is assembled, the moisture absorbent 1
Reference numeral 1 surrounds the periphery of the bush and closes a leakage path of lubricating oil applied or filled between the pin and the bush. FIG. 4 shows an example in which one sheet of the hygroscopic material 12 leaving a space in which the bush is arranged is bonded to the outer plate 31. Similar to the moisture absorbing material of FIG. 3,
The hygroscopic material 12 of FIG. 5 also blocks the leakage path of the lubricating oil applied or filled between the pin and the bush, but the hygroscopic material of FIG. 4 has a smaller number of parts and is excellent in moldability and assemblability. I have. By adhering the hygroscopic material to the inner plate or the outer plate in a state before assembling the chain, there is no need to assemble the chain while positioning the hygroscopic material, thereby improving the assemblability of the chain.

FIG. 5 shows a structure in which the inner surface of the inner plate 21 is covered with a moisture absorbing material 13 so as to surround the respective end surfaces of the rollers 23 in order to retain the lubricating oil between the bushing 22 and the rollers 23.
Are adhered so as to protrude from each other. The hygroscopic material 13
A pair of hygroscopic materials may be used, each of which surrounds the roller 23 independently at both ends of the inner plate 21, and is adhered to the entire inner side surface of the inner plate 21, and a single sheet of suction material leaving a space in which the roller 23 is disposed. It may be a material. Hygroscopic material 13
Is in a non-contact state with the roller 23, and when the lubricating oil leaks from between the bush 22 and the roller 23, the lubricating oil reaching between the outer peripheral surface of the roller 23 and the inner peripheral surface of the hygroscopic material 13 13 to be retained. Also, a resilient hygroscopic material such as made of felt is adhered to both end surfaces of the roller 23,
A resilient hygroscopic material made of felt or the like may be adhered to the inner surface of the inner plate 21 facing the both end surfaces of the roller.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment for retaining the lubricating oil between the bush 22 'and the roller 23'.
The roller 23 ′ has an annular step portion 24 for storing all or a part of the hygroscopic material 14 on the inner peripheral surface at both ends. The hygroscopic material 14 has substantially the same cross-sectional shape as the space defined by the inner plate 21 ', the bush 22', and the roller 23 ', and is in contact with each member. Then, the chain can be assembled simply by disposing the hygroscopic material 14 on the annular step portion 24 without adhering the hygroscopic material 14 to any member. In addition, the hygroscopic material 14 is
It is preferable to contact the inner plate 21 'while holding the roller 23' without contacting the inner plate 21 '. Further, it is preferable that the roller 23 ′ is shorter than the interval between the inner plates 21 ′, and the hygroscopic material 14 is projected from the end face of the roller 23 ′. By doing so, the roller 23 '
Even if is moved in the axial direction, the end surface of the roller 23 'is in contact with the inner surface of the inner plate 21', so that the moisture absorbent 14 does not enter the annular step portion 24 and is not greatly deformed. Further, since the hygroscopic material 14 contacts the inner plate 21 'in the axial direction, the transmission loss due to friction is minimized, and the transmission loss of the chain is significantly reduced.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the moisture absorbing material is provided between the inner plate and the outer plate and the example in which the moisture absorbing material is provided inside the inner plate have been described. In order to hold the lubricating oil during the period, it is preferable to provide both the chain with the hygroscopic material illustrated in FIGS.

[0016]

As described above, by using a hygroscopic material such as felt to block the lubricating oil leakage path in the chain, when the lubricating oil leaks out, the hygroscopic material absorbs the lubricating oil. For example, the lubricating oil is held between the pin and the bush to maintain the bending motion of the chain for a long time. When the lubricating oil between the pin and bush is about to run out,
Lubricating oil is replenished from the hygroscopic material, and rapid wear between the pin and the bush can be prevented. By using a hygroscopic material that has a large deformation amount and a small restoring force like felt, strict gap management between the inner and outer plates is not required, and the felt shrinks even if there is some manufacturing error in each part of the chain. To block the leakage path of the lubricating oil. Further, since the felt has a small restoring force even when the felt is compressed, the bending resistance of the chain does not increase, and the transmission loss of the chain is small. Since the felt itself is porous and has a function of absorbing the lubricating oil, even if the felt is provided on the inner plate or the outer plate in a non-contact state, the lubricating oil is absorbed by the felt just by touching the felt. And by pre-impregnating the felt with lubricating oil, a large amount of lubricating oil can be supplied to the chain as compared to the case where lubricating oil is simply applied or filled between the pin and the bush, greatly reducing the wear life. Can be improved. Further, when the bush is made of a sintered metal, lubricating oil can be supplied between the pin and the bush from the hygroscopic material through the bush.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a chain to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view including a center line of a pin in an assembled chain.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an outer plate to which a hygroscopic material is adhered.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an outer plate to which another hygroscopic material is adhered.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view including a center line of a pin in another assembled chain.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view including a center line of a pin in yet another assembled chain.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Chain 11,12,13,14 Hygroscopic material 20 Inner link assembly 21,21 'Inner plate 22,22' Bush 23,23 'Roller 24 Annular step part 30 Outer link assembly 31 Outer plate 32 Pin 33 Pin hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (73) Patent holder 595164202 301 Marquardt Drive, Wheeling, IL 60090, U.S.A. S. A. (72) Inventor Leon Douscherme, Massachusetts, USA 01040-1308 Central Park Drive, Holy Oak 166 (56) References JP-A-63-125842 (JP, A) JP-A-52-129857 (JP) JP-A-57-76168 (JP, A) JP-A-53-46552 (JP, A) JP-A-58-8847 (JP, A) JP-A-1-98352 (JP, U) JP-A 64-49768 (JP, U) Fully open 1987-8463 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16G 13/00-17/00 F16J 15/00-15 / 56

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A chain formed by connecting a plurality of link assemblies, wherein one of adjacent link assemblies is separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the chain by a first pair of plates; A hollow cylindrical bushing press-fitted to a first pair of plates, the other of the adjacent link assemblies being in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chain outside the first pair of plates. A second pair of plates separated from each other, and a pin penetrating through the bush and press-fitted to the second pair of plates, between a facing surface of the first plate and the second plate; A hygroscopic material that holds the lubricating oil is disposed so as to close a leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the pin.
chain. 2. A chain comprising a plurality of link assemblies connected to each other, wherein one of adjacent link assemblies is separated from each other in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the chain. A hollow cylindrical bushing press-fitted to a first pair of plates, the other of the adjacent link assemblies being in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the chain outside the first pair of plates. A second pair of plates separated from each other, and a pin penetrating through the bush and pressed into the second pair of plates; a roller is provided around the bush; A chain, wherein a hygroscopic material for holding the lubricating oil is disposed inside the plate to block a leakage path of the lubricating oil between the bush and the roller. 3. The chain according to claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic material is felt. 4. The chain according to claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic material is impregnated with a lubricating oil in advance. 5. The chain according to claim 1, wherein the bush is made of a sintered metal, and the bush is impregnated with a lubricating oil.