JP5925710B2 - Rubber crawler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rubber crawler.

  Some of the rubber crawlers are friction driven type that contact the outer peripheral surface of the driving wheel on the fuselage side and the inner peripheral surface of the rubber crawler, and transmit the driving force from the driving wheel to the rubber crawler by the frictional force acting between them. There is a rubber crawler. In this type of rubber crawler, rubber protrusions for guiding wheels such as driving wheels, idle wheels, and rolling wheels are provided on the inner peripheral surface at regular intervals.

  These rubber protrusions have a protrusion length in the crawler circumferential direction, a protrusion width in the crawler width direction, and a protrusion height from the inner peripheral surface of the crawler from the viewpoint of suppressing wear due to contact with the wheel and preventing wheel from coming off. It tends to increase.

  As the size of the rubber protrusions increases, the slowest point of vulcanization when the rubber crawler is vulcanized (the point where the accumulated heat received from the mold is the smallest) becomes the deep part of the rubber protrusions. In order for the rubber crawler to exhibit the prescribed rubber properties, it is necessary to continue vulcanization until the latest vulcanization point reaches the prescribed degree of vulcanization. It is necessary to vulcanize, resulting in a longer vulcanization time.

  For this reason, in the rubber crawler disclosed in Patent Document 1, the heat conductivity of the rubber protrusions is increased to shorten the vulcanization time by disposing a compounded layer in which metal fibers are mixed inside the rubber protrusions.

JP 2004-330830 A

In the rubber crawler disclosed in Patent Document 1, a compound layer mixed with metal fibers is disposed in a rubber protrusion to increase the rigidity of the rubber protrusion.
However, there is room for further improvement in increasing the rigidity of the rubber protrusion against the thrust force from the wheel.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a friction drive type rubber crawler capable of shortening the vulcanization time while suppressing problems occurring in rubber protrusions.

A rubber crawler according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an endless rubber body wound around a plurality of wheels, and a plurality of rubber crawlers formed on the rubber body at intervals in the circumferential direction of the rubber body. A rubber protrusion that protrudes to the circumferential side and restricts movement of the wheel in the rubber body width direction by contact, and is embedded in each of the rubber protrusions, and increases the rigidity of the rubber protrusion in the rubber body width direction, A plurality of metal members that are partly exposed from the rubber protrusion, extend from the top surface side of the rubber protrusion to the base side, and have one end portion in the extending direction protruding from the top surface of the rubber protrusion. doing.

The rubber crawler according to claim 2 of the present invention is the rubber crawler according to claim 1, wherein the other end portion in the extending direction is lower than half of the protruding height of the rubber protrusion. is there.

The rubber crawler according to claim 3 of the present invention is the rubber crawler according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the metal member prevents the rubber protrusion from slipping out from a portion embedded in the rubber protrusion. The omission control part for this is formed.
The rubber crawler according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the rubber crawler according to the third aspect , wherein the drop-off suppressing portion is formed by bending the base side of the metal member.

The rubber crawler according to claim 5 of the present invention is the rubber crawler according to any one of claims 2 to 4 , wherein the metal member is in a cross section along a direction orthogonal to the extending direction. The outer periphery is curved.

The rubber crawler according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the rubber crawler according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the plurality of metal members are spaced apart in the rubber body width direction from the rubber protrusion. Buried.

  As described above, the rubber crawler of the present invention can shorten the vulcanization time while suppressing the problems that occur in the rubber protrusions.

It is the side view which looked at the state which wound the rubber crawler of 1st Embodiment on the drive wheel and the idle wheel from the crawler width direction. It is the inner peripheral top view which looked at the rubber crawler of 1st Embodiment from the crawler inner peripheral side. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4X-4X in FIG. 2. (A) It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the rubber crawler of 1st Embodiment. (B) It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the state by which the rubber protrusion of 1st Embodiment was set to the mold. It is sectional drawing along the crawler circumferential direction of the rubber protrusion by which the metal member was embed | buried in the rubber crawler of 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the rubber crawler according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The endless rubber crawler 10 as an example of the rubber crawler according to the first embodiment is a so-called coreless-less type rubber crawler having no cored bar.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rubber crawler 10 is an idler that is rotatably attached to a drive wheel 100 connected to a drive shaft of a crawler vehicle as a machine body and a crawler vehicle (for example, a large agricultural machine or a paving machine). It is used by being wound around a ring 102. A plurality of rolling wheels 104 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) that are disposed between the driving wheel 100 and the idler wheel 102 and rotatably attached to the crawler wheel roll on the inner periphery of the rubber crawler 10. It has become. The driving wheel 100, the idler wheel 102, and the wheel 104 are examples of wheels according to the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the circumferential direction of the endless rubber crawler 10 ( direction of arrow S in FIG. 2) is described as “crawler circumferential direction”, and the width direction of rubber crawler 10 (in the direction of arrow W in FIG. 2) is expressed as “crawler width”. "Direction". The crawler circumferential direction and the crawler width direction are orthogonal to each other when the rubber crawler 10 is viewed from the inner circumferential side or the outer circumferential side (see FIG. 2).
Further, in the present embodiment, the inner peripheral side (the arrow IN direction side in FIG. 3) of the rubber crawler 10 that is wound around the drive wheel 100 and the idler wheel 102 is described as “crawler inner peripheral side”, and The outer peripheral side of rubber crawler 10 (the arrow OUT direction side in FIG. 3) is referred to as “crawler outer peripheral side”. Note that the arrow IN direction (annular inner direction) and the arrow OUT direction (annular outer direction) in FIG. 3 indicate the inner and outer directions of the rubber crawler 10 in the wound state.

  Further, the crawler traveling device 90 (see FIG. 1) as a traveling unit of the crawler vehicle is configured by the driving wheel 100, the idler wheel 102, the rolling wheel 104, and the rubber crawler 10 wound around the driving wheel 100 and the idler wheel 102. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drive wheel 100 has a pair of disk-shaped wheel parts 100A connected to the drive shaft of the crawler wheel. The ring portion 100A rolls while the outer peripheral surface 100B comes into contact with a wheel rolling surface 16 of a rubber crawler 10 described later. The driving wheel 100 causes the rubber crawler 10 to circulate between the driving wheel 100 and the idler wheel 102 by applying a driving force from the crawler wheel to the rubber crawler 10 (details will be described later). The idler wheel 102 also has a ring portion 102A, and the outer peripheral surface 102B comes into contact with the wheel rolling surface 16 of the rubber crawler 10 and rolls. Similarly, the rolling wheel 104 has a ring portion 104A, and the outer peripheral surface 104B comes into contact with the wheel rolling surface 16 of the rubber crawler 10 to roll.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rubber crawler 10 has a rubber belt 12 in which a rubber material is formed in an endless belt shape. The rubber belt 12 of the present embodiment is an example of an endless rubber body of the present invention. In addition, the circumferential direction, the width direction, the inner circumferential side, and the outer circumferential side of the rubber belt 12 of the present embodiment coincide with the crawler circumferential direction, the crawler width direction, the crawler inner circumferential side, and the crawler outer circumferential side, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of rubber protrusions 14 projecting toward the inner peripheral side of the crawler are formed on the inner periphery of the rubber belt 12 at intervals in the crawler peripheral direction. The rubber protrusion 14 is disposed at the center of the rubber belt 12 in the crawler width direction, and abuts against movement in the crawler width direction of a wheel (roller wheel 104 in FIG. 3) rolling on a wheel rolling surface 16 described later. It has come to be limited by. Specifically, the side surface of the wheel comes into contact with the side wall surface 14B of the rubber protrusion 14 in the crawler width direction. Further, the rubber protrusion 14 is formed of the same rubber material as the rubber belt 12 or a harder rubber material than the rubber belt 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion height H0 of the rubber protrusion 14 is set to a value larger than the thickness T of the rubber belt 12 corresponding to the rubber protrusion 14. Note that the protrusion height H0 of the rubber protrusion 14 and the thickness T of the rubber belt 12 are both values measured along the crawler inside / outside direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, wheel rolling surfaces 16 extending along the crawler circumferential direction are formed on both sides in the crawler width direction across the rubber protrusion 14 of the rubber belt 12.
In addition, in this embodiment, it is set as the structure which makes the wheel rolling surface 16 and its outer part the same surface in the inner periphery of the rubber belt 12, However, This invention is not limited to this structure, The wheel rolling surface 16 is crawler. It is good also as a structure raised to the inner peripheral side.

  A plurality of lugs 18 that are in contact with the ground are formed on the outer periphery of the rubber belt 12. Furthermore, an endless belt-like belt layer 20 extending along the crawler circumferential direction is embedded in the rubber belt 12. Note that the belt layer 20 of the present embodiment is constituted by a plurality of belt plies.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a metal member 32 in which a metal material (for example, iron, aluminum, etc.) excellent in thermal conductivity is formed in a rod shape is embedded in the rubber protrusion 14. The metal member 32 extends from the top surface 14A side of the rubber protrusion 14 to the root side. In this way, by embedding (extending) the metal member 32 in the crawler inward / outward direction, the rigidity (for example, bending rigidity) of the rubber protrusion 14 in the crawler circumferential direction and the crawler width direction can be increased. A part of the metal member 32 is exposed from the rubber protrusion 14. The metal member 32 is an example of the metal member of the present invention.

  In the metal member 32, one end portion 32 </ b> A in the extending direction is exposed from the top surface 14 </ b> A, and the other end portion 32 </ b> B in the extending direction is disposed at a position lower than half of the protruding height H <b> 0 of the rubber protrusion 14. One end 32 </ b> A of the metal member 32 protrudes from the top surface 14 </ b> A of the rubber protrusion 14. The protrusion amount H1 (see FIG. 3) from the top surface 14A of the one end 32A of the metal member 32 is preferably set within a range of 0 to 15 mm. On the other hand, the other end 32B of the metal member 32 has a protrusion height H0 / 2 ≦ L ≦ ((projection height H0 + rubber belt 12), where L is the distance from the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 to the other end 32B. Thickness T) / 2) +10 mm.

  The metal member 32 has a curved outer periphery in a cross section (hereinafter, simply referred to as “orthogonal cross section”) along a direction orthogonal to the extending direction. That is, the metal member 32 of the present embodiment has a rod shape with a circular cross section, that is, a columnar shape. Note that the present invention may have any shape as long as the outer periphery of the metal member 32 is curved in the orthogonal cross section. For example, a polygonal shape in which the cross-sectional shape is elliptical and the corners are arcuate may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of metal members 32 (four in this embodiment) are embedded in the rubber protrusions 14, and several of them (two in this embodiment) are crawler widths in the rubber protrusions 14. It is arranged at intervals in the direction.

Further, when the length in the crawler circumferential direction of the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 is SL and the width in the crawler width direction of the top surface 14A is WL, the metal member 32 is 1/4 and 3 of the top surface length SL. It is preferable that they are arranged at a position of / 4 and at a position of 1/4 and 3/4 of the top surface width WL (a total of four are arranged).
When only one metal member 32 is embedded in the rubber protrusion 14, the metal member 32 is disposed at the center of the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 (the center in the crawler circumferential direction and the center in the crawler width direction). It is preferable to do.
Further, the number of the metal members 32 embedded in the rubber protrusion 14 is not particularly limited, and if the progressing speed of vulcanization of the rubber protrusion 14 and the rubber belt 12 to be described later is approximately the same speed, what the rubber protrusion 14 has This may be buried.

Next, the manufacturing method of the rubber crawler 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 4, the rubber crawler 10 is manufactured by using an upper mold 50 in which a recess 50A corresponding to the rubber protrusion 14 is formed and a lower mold 52 in which a recess 52A corresponding to the lug 18 is formed. 12, rubber protrusion 14 and lug 18 are integrally vulcanized. A concave groove 50C is formed at a position corresponding to the one end portion 32A of the metal member 32 in the concave bottom surface 50B constituting the concave portion 50A of the upper mold 50.

  At the time of vulcanization molding, an unvulcanized rubber lump 18G that becomes the lug 18 is set in the concave portion 52A of the lower mold 52, and an unvulcanized rubber sheet 12G that becomes the outer peripheral portion of the rubber belt 12 and a belt layer thereon A plurality of unvulcanized belt plies 20 </ b> G and an unvulcanized rubber sheet 12 </ b> H serving as an inner peripheral portion of the rubber belt 12 are sequentially laminated.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, one end of the metal member 32 is obtained by embedding a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) metal members 32 in the unvulcanized rubber lump 14G to be the rubber protrusions 14. The part 32A is positioned so as to be fitted in the concave groove 50C and set in the concave part 50A of the upper mold 50. Thereafter, the upper mold 50 and the lower mold 52 are closed, and vulcanization processing is performed at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. When the vulcanization process is completed, the rubber crawler 10 of this embodiment is completed.

Next, the effect of the rubber crawler 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In the rubber crawler 10, since the metal member 32 is embedded in the rubber protrusion 14 and a part of the metal member 32 is exposed from the rubber protrusion 14, the upper mold 50 is interposed via the metal member 32 during vulcanization molding. This heat can be transmitted to the deep part (deep part) of the rubber protrusion 14. As a result, the vulcanization speed of the rubber belt 12 and the rubber protrusion 14 can be made close to each other, so that high-temperature vulcanization is possible and the vulcanization time can be shortened.
In particular, in a large agricultural machine or a paving machine such as the rubber crawler 10, the size of the rubber protrusion 14 is large (for example, the protrusion height H0 of the rubber protrusion 14 is larger than the thickness T of the rubber belt 12). Therefore, the vulcanization time tends to be long, but the vulcanization time can be shortened by embedding the metal member 32 in the rubber protrusion 14 as described above.

  Further, in the rubber crawler 10, since the metal member 32 is embedded in the rubber protrusion 14, the rigidity (bending rigidity) of the rubber protrusion 14 in at least the crawler width direction is increased. Accordingly, even when the rubber protrusion 14 receives a thrust force from the wheels (the driving wheel 100, the idler wheel 102, and the wheel 104) during traveling (for example, during turning), the rubber protrusion 14 is difficult to bend. That is, the elastic deformation of the rubber protrusion 14 due to the thrust force from the wheel can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the wheels from colliding with the vicinity of the corners of the rubber protrusions 14 during traveling, and to suppress problems (such as missing rubber) that occur in the rubber protrusions 14.

From the above, according to the rubber crawler 10, it is possible to shorten the vulcanization time while suppressing problems occurring in the rubber protrusion 14.
In this way, the durability of the rubber crawler 10 is improved by suppressing the problems that occur in the rubber protrusions 14.
Further, by shortening the vulcanization time, the amount of electricity used can be reduced, and the production cost of the rubber crawler can be reduced.

  In the rubber crawler 10, since the one end portion 32A of the metal member 32 is exposed on the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 which is a portion that does not contact the wheel during traveling, the wheel contacts the metal member 32 and the metal member 32 It is possible to suppress a problem that a crack or the like is generated at the interface with the rubber protrusion 14.

  Further, since the other end 32B of the metal member 32 is disposed at a position lower than half of the protruding height H0 of the rubber protrusion 14, the heat of the upper mold 50 can be transmitted to a deeper portion of the rubber protrusion 14. it can.

  Further, since the metal member 32 extends from the top surface 14A side to the root side of the rubber protrusion 14 and the other end portion 32B is disposed at a position lower than half of the protrusion height H0 of the rubber protrusion 14, the rubber protrusion The bending rigidity of 14 is further increased.

  Furthermore, since the one end portion 32A of the metal member 32 protrudes from the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14, the metal member 32 is positioned in the upper mold 50 by fitting the one end portion 32A into the concave groove 50C of the upper mold 50. (See FIG. 4B), and the displacement of the metal member 32 due to the rubber flow during vulcanization molding can be prevented.

  Further, since the outer periphery of the metal member 32 is curved in the orthogonal cross section, it is possible to suppress the strain from being concentrated on the outer periphery of the metal member 32.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of metal members 32 are embedded in the rubber protrusions 14 at intervals in the crawler width direction, the metal members 32 that are adjacent to each other in the crawler width direction support each other via rubber therebetween. The rigidity of the rubber protrusion 14 in the rubber body width direction can be further improved.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the metal member 32 due to the rubber flow during vulcanization molding is configured by projecting the one end portion 32 </ b> A of the metal member 32 from the top surface 14 </ b> A of the rubber protrusion 14. Although the displacement is prevented, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the end portion 32A of the metal member 32 and the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 may be flush with each other. According to this configuration, the aesthetic appearance of the top surface 14A of the rubber protrusion 14 can be improved.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, one end portion 32 </ b> A of the metal member 32 is exposed from the top surface 14 </ b> A of the rubber protrusion 14, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The one end portion 32 </ b> A side may be bent toward the circumferential wall surface in the crawler circumferential direction so that the one end portion 32 </ b> A is exposed from the circumferential wall surface of the rubber protrusion 14. Since the peripheral wall surface of the rubber projection 14 does not contact the wheel during normal running, the wheel does not come into linear contact with the one end portion 32A of the metal member 32 even if the one end portion 32A is exposed from the peripheral wall surface.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the substantially cylindrical metal member 32 is embedded in the rubber protrusion 14. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure, and the metal embedded in the rubber protrusion 14. The shape of the member 32 may be any shape, for example, a rectangular plate shape. Thus, by forming the metal member 32 in a rectangular plate shape, the bending rigidity in the plate thickness direction of the metal member 32 in the rubber protrusion 14 can be improved .

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a rubber crawler according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structure as 1st Embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. As shown in FIG. 5, the rubber crawler 60 of this embodiment has the same configuration as the rubber crawler 10 of the first embodiment except for the configuration of the metal member 62 embedded in the rubber protrusion 14. For this reason, below, the structure of the metal member 62 is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the metal member 62 extends from the top surface 14A side of the rubber protrusion 14 to the root side, and one end portion 62A in the extending direction protrudes from the top surface 14A. In addition, the metal member 62 is formed with a protruding portion 64 as a pull-out suppressing portion (so-called anchor portion) for suppressing the pull-out from the rubber protrusion 14 at a portion embedded in the rubber protrusion 14. The overhanging portion 64 has a substantially spherical shape and is formed at the other end portion in the extending direction of the metal member 62.

Next, the effect of the rubber crawler 60 of 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. In addition, about the effect similar to 1st Embodiment among the effects of this embodiment, the description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.
In the rubber crawler 60, a protruding portion 64 as a detachment suppressing portion for suppressing detachment from the rubber protrusion 14 is formed in a portion embedded in the rubber protrusion 14 of the metal member 62. The metal member 62 can be prevented from coming out of the rubber protrusion 14 that receives the thrust force from a plurality of wheels.
Moreover, since the substantially spherical overhang | projection part 64 is formed in the other end part of the extending direction of the metal member 62, it can suppress that distortion concentrates on the other end part (overhang | projection part 64). .
Furthermore, since the overhanging portion 64 (the other end portion in the extending direction) that is the overhanging portion of the metal member 62 is disposed in the deep portion of the rubber protrusion 14, vulcanization of the rubber protrusion 14 is promoted.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the overhanging portion 64 of the metal member 62 has a substantially spherical shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. It may be a triangular pyramid shape or a substantially cylindrical shape.

  Further, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, an overhanging portion 64 is formed in the portion embedded in the rubber protrusion 14 of the metal member 62 as a disengagement suppressing portion for suppressing the disengagement from the rubber protrusion 14. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and for example, the other end portion in the extending direction of the metal member 62 may be bent, and the bent portion may be used as a pull-out suppressing portion.

  In the first embodiment, the metal member 32 has a substantially columnar shape, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the metal member 32 may have a substantially cylindrical shape. In this case, it is preferable that a rubber material constituting the rubber protrusion 14 is packed inside the substantially cylindrical metal member. By comprising in this way, the heat of a mold at the time of manufacture can be efficiently transmitted to the unvulcanized rubber material packed in the hollow part. Further, by forming the metal member 32 in a cylindrical shape, it is possible to secure a secondary moment of section without increasing the weight of the metal member 32, and it is possible to increase the rigidity of the rubber protrusion 14 in the crawler width direction. Moreover, the metal member 32 is good also as a shape which divided | segmented a cylindrical part, ie, C shape.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, these embodiments are merely examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that the scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  10, 60 ·· Rubber crawler, 12 · · Rubber belt (endless rubber body), 14 · · Rubber protrusion, 14A · · Top surface, 32, 62 · · Metal member, 32A, 62A · · one end, 32B ·・ Other end part 64 ・ ・ Overhang part (disengagement suppressing part), 100 ・ ・ Driving wheel (wheel), 102 ・ ・ Idle wheel (wheel), 104 ・ ・ Rolling wheel (wheel), CL ・ ・ Central line, H ・ ・ Projection height, H1 ・ ・ Projection amount, S ・ ・ Crawler circumferential direction (Rubber body circumferential direction), W ・ ・ Crawler width direction (Rubber body width direction), IN ・ ・ Crawler inner circumferential side (Rubber body Inner circumference side), OUT ·· Crawler outer circumference side (outer circumference side of rubber)

Claims (6)

An endless rubber body wound around a plurality of wheels;
A plurality of rubber protrusions formed in the rubber body in the circumferential direction of the rubber body, projecting toward the inner peripheral side of the rubber body, and restricting movement of the wheel in the rubber body width direction by contact; and
The rubber protrusion is embedded in each of the rubber protrusions to increase the rigidity of the rubber protrusion in the width direction of the rubber body, and a part of the rubber protrusion is exposed from the rubber protrusion and extends from the top surface side to the root side of the rubber protrusion. A plurality of metal members in which one end in the direction of the protrusion protrudes from the top surface of the rubber protrusion ;
Rubber crawler with. The rubber crawler according to claim 1, wherein the other end portion in the extending direction of the metal member is at a position lower than half of the protruding height of the rubber protrusion. 3. The rubber crawler according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member is formed with a pull-out suppressing portion for suppressing a slip-out from the rubber protrusion at a portion embedded in the rubber protrusion. The rubber crawler according to claim 3, wherein the drop-off suppressing portion is formed by bending a base side of the metal member. The rubber crawler according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the metal member has a curved outer periphery in a cross section along a direction orthogonal to the extending direction. The rubber crawler according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the metal members are embedded in the rubber protrusions at intervals in the rubber body width direction.

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