JPH07304474A - Driving wheel of vehicle movable by caterpillar - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a drive wheel for a vehicle of crawler type excellent in engagement with the crawler track even the diameter of the wheel is small, free from stuffing in its seat part, and easy in manufacture and maintenance. CONSTITUTION: A drive wheel 1 provided with a main body 12 having a side surface from which engagement elements equally spaced from each other are projected in the axial direction, is prepared, and each engagement element 13 is provided with a center pin in which a tubular, rotary body designed to be engaged with a corresponding seat part 14 formed within an inner side surface 8a of a crawler track 6 is rotatably fitted to its upper part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a main body adapted to fit a drive shaft; held by said main body and spaced at the same angle from each other and within the track of a vehicle. A plurality of mating elements designed to engage corresponding seats formed on the
The present invention relates to a drive wheel of a vehicle that runs on an endless track.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is known, multipurpose motorized vehicles, that is, vehicles that run on soft, muddy, or snow-covered subgrades, or on other types of subgrades,
Tracks often mounted to distribute the weight of the vehicle over a wide surface reduce the contact pressure with the ground and increase the frictional force of the vehicle itself against it.

Tracks made of elastomeric materials have been widely used, especially for lightweight vehicles such as motorized sledges and the like.

When used in the above applications, the endless trajectory is
It generally consists of a rubber belt containing reinforcing fibers with a plurality of ribs on its outer surface that are equally spaced apart from each other and are designed to increase the frictional forces of the tracks themselves. The track forms a lower extension, which when activated, passes over the drive wheel and the intermediate wheel and is adapted to come into direct contact with the upper extension and the ride ground. Form a closed loop. The inner surface of the endless track has a guiding relief and, in addition, an engagement seat near the central band of said endless track for functionally receiving a meshing element radially retained therein by a drive wheel. , So that the drive wheel can set the track on itself, in motion. In other words, the drive wheel is
It is formed by wheels whose radial teeth cyclically enter a seat formed in the endless track while the vehicle is traveling and travel a predetermined, partially overlapping length. , Then out of the seat, itself.

Drive wheels of the above type have proven to be effective when used for tow vehicles moving on endless tracks, such as motorized sledges where the drive wheel has a sufficiently large diameter. There is.

On the contrary, a drive device which moves in an endless track,
And therefore small drive vehicles, such as single-seat vehicles, where the drive wheels, themselves need to have very small dimensions, especially in the radial direction, are to be manufactured. When doing so, drive wheels of the type described above exhibit some drawbacks during operation.

It is pointed out that if the drive wheel has a very small diameter, the track is forced to bend and flex significantly to accommodate the bending of the wheel. As a result, it becomes difficult to realize reliable meshing of the seat portion with the radial meshing portion of the drive wheel. Therefore, under this circumstance, unwanted backlash between the teeth of the drive wheel and the seat of the endless track and / or
Alternatively, interference may be created, which will be accompanied by mutual slip between the tooth and seat, and consequent faster wear of the endless track. In addition, imperfect meshing between the teeth and the seat facilitates the introduction of foreign material, dirt, and more often snow or water into the seat. When solidified, these materials can result in partial or complete occlusion of the seat formed in the track. As a result, undesired slippage of the drive wheel occurs, and the teeth of the wheel fail to properly engage the seat formed in the track. Occlusion of the seats can occur, even pushing one or more teeth into the seats, which will greatly affect both the integrity of the track and the correct transmission of motion.

As the teeth slip relative to the endless track, the endless track travels a non-negligible distance away from the body of the drive wheel in a radial direction, thereby causing the wheel,
It is also pointed out that there is a risk of being completely detached from itself and the intermediate wheel. The deviations described above are most likely to occur when a trackless vehicle turns a curve or is manipulated to create a lateral load on a track.

In addition, if high torque transmission is required, the teeth have sufficient structural strength to withstand the high tangential forces transmitted by the wheel, and the seat of the endless track. Current use with radial teeth to ensure an efficient and secure engagement with and in addition to efficient removal of snow, ice or other materials picked up by running tracks. The dimensions of the drive wheels being used cannot be reduced beyond the specified limits.

In any case, implementing transmission by a small diameter drive wheel with radial teeth would result in high manufacturing costs in order to obtain sufficient reliability and working efficiency. It involves very precise work when manufacturing both drive wheels and tracks.

[0011]

Under this circumstance, it is the main object of the present invention to solve substantially all the drawbacks of the known art. In particular, it has a very simple structural concept and a low production cost, but it can also be fitted with a seat that is located in the endless track and, if necessary, transmits high torque under all operating conditions. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a drive wheel with reduced dimensions that is possible.

It is possible to completely prevent all possible types of foreign matter from entering between the meshing element and the seat formed in the endless track, thus ensuring a highly reliable endless track traction. It is another object of the present invention to provide a drive wheel that does.

Another important object of the present invention is that the mutual slip between the meshing element and the endless track is greatly reduced,
It is to provide a drive wheel that minimizes track wear.

[0014]

The foregoing and other objects, which will become more apparent by the following description, have the object that the mating element is in the form of a pin and that at least one side or armpit of the main body is provided. It is substantially embodied by a drive wheel for a vehicle running on an endless track, which has a meshing element characterized in that it projects axially from.

Other characteristics and advantages are further enhanced by a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a drive wheel for a tracked vehicle of the present invention, set forth below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings. Will be understood.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the drive wheel of a tracked vehicle of the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the drive wheel is
Only its body, designated by the reference numeral 3, is operatively inserted into the traction device 2 which is arranged on one side of the vehicle, which is moving in the endless track shown.

In addition to the drive wheel 1, the traction device is spaced apart from the drive wheel and is at the rear end of the sliding element 5a which is part of the pulling device generally indicated by the reference numeral 5. It is equipped with an intermediate wheel 4 mounted so as to be rotatable. The device 5 will not be described further, as it is the object of the pending Italian patent application for the utility model to be referred for further information.

The track 6, which is preferably made of an elastomeric material, which is also described in detail in the corresponding Italian patent application for utility model, also filed on the same day in the name of the same applicant, comprises the drive wheel. 1 and intermediate wheel 4, a closed loop forming an upper extension 7 which is only partially shown in FIG. 1 and a lower extension 8 which is arranged to work in direct contact with the ground. Form. A support member 9 fixed to the vehicle body 3 and designed to distribute the weight of the vehicle on the endless track 6 comprises a lower extension 8
It operates on the inner surface 8a of the. This support member 9 is provided with a plurality of idler wheels 10 which are arranged side by side in the same direction and slidably operate in a guide race 11 formed on the endless track 6 at its lower portion.

In practice, the drive wheel 1 drives the vehicle by obtaining torque from a drive shaft (not shown) and consequently moving on a closed loop formed by the lower extension 8 and the upper extension 7. Move the endless track 6 to enable running.

The drive wheels 1 are usually disc-shaped in shape and are also distributed around the circumference and spaced at the same angle from each other and corresponding seats 14 formed in the endless track 6. There is a main body 12 having a plurality of mating elements 13 extending therefrom for extending therefrom.

According to the invention, the mating element 13 is in the form of a pin and projects axially from at least one side of the main body 12.

In this way, the meshing element 13 on its inside
The seat portion (14) in which is operated can utilize a plurality of recessed spaces formed between the reliefs (15) protruding from the inner surface of the endless track. Thanks to this measure, an imperfect meshing with said element 13 is used even when a drive wheel with a very small radial dimension is used, i.e. when the wheel bends significantly in an endless track. It cannot occur between the respective seats 14. In addition, if a high torque is required to be transmitted, the material can be efficiently picked up by the track 6 without necessarily increasing the axial and radial dimensions of the main body 12. It is sufficient to increase the axial extension of the meshing element 13 without compromising the possibility of ejection.

In particular, when the meshing elements 13 are brought out of both sides of the main body 12, the drive wheel 1 becomes perfectly symmetrical and, therefore, is itself subject to a substantially balanced force. It is pointed out that it is going to happen.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the mating element 13 is conveniently spaced from the outer peripheral edge 12a of the main body 12.

More specifically, each of the mating elements 13 has a corresponding housing 17 formed on the side of the main body 12.
It comprises a central pin 16 having a first portion 16a engaged therein and a second portion 16b axially extending from said side surface. A rotating body 18, which is in the form of a tube and is preferably made of Teflon, is rotatably engaged on said second part of the central pin 16.

Conveniently, the rotor 18 is set to rotate upon entry into the seat 14 and its mating relief
Any possibility of relative slip on 15 surfaces is eliminated.

In addition, some foreign matter, such as snow or water, may
If landing on 14, the rotation of the rotating body 18 will facilitate the ejection of said foreign material.

The present invention embodies significant advantages.

It is clear from the above that the drive wheel in question guarantees a high reliability of the entire propulsion system. fact,
The actuating meshing elements 13 carry out constant cleaning of the seats, themselves, so that the seats 14 are protected from blockages due to the presence of snow, ice or foreign matter.

In addition, even if the slip phenomenon of the drive wheel 1 with respect to the endless track 6 occurs, there is no risk that the endless track can be separated from the wheels 1 and 4. In fact, the mating element 13 is properly positioned at a distance from the outer peripheral edge of the main body 12, so that even if the mating element rides on the relief 15, the body will always be guided by the sides of the relief. Will be induced.

It will be appreciated that the free rotation of the rotating body 18 eliminates any risk of damage to the relief 15 and / or the mating element when slipping.

It is pointed out that the drive wheel 1 is, on the other hand, adapted to transmit very large torques without requiring too large radial dimensions. In fact, it suffices to embody a suitably large axial extension of the meshing element to provide a larger mutual contact surface between the wheel 1 and the track 6.

Finally, with respect to maintenance of the propulsion system, even if one or more of the meshing elements is damaged, it is required if conventional drive wheels are used, but on the contrary, all drive wheels. Without requiring either replacement of the wheel or removal of the wheel from the track,
It / it will be much easier to replace them. As a result, the replacement of the mating element in the event of damage is very fast and cheap.

It is expressly understood that many variations and modifications can be made to the invention at the time considered, without departing from the inventive idea defined in the appended claims. To be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway perspective view of a traction device in which a drive wheel of the present invention moves in an endless track into which it is inserted.

2 a main body and 1 of the drive wheel shown in FIG.
An exploded perspective view showing three meshing elements.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Drive wheel, 2 ... Traction device, 3 ... Car body, 4 ... Intermediate wheel, 5 ... Tension device, 5a ... Sliding element, 6 ... Endless track, 7, 8 ... Extension part, 9 ... Support member, 10 ... Play Car, 11 ...
Induction race, 12 ... main body, 13 ... meshing element, 14 ... seat,
15 ... Relief, 16 ... Center pin, 16a ... First part, 16
b ... 2nd part, 17 ... Housing, 18 ... Rotating body.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A main body (12) adapted to fit on a drive shaft; -held by said main body (12) and spaced at the same angle from one another, the infinite of a vehicle Orbit (6)
A plurality of mating elements (13) formed therein and designed to engage corresponding seats (14), said mating elements (13) being in the form of a pin, said main body A drive wheel for a vehicle running on an endless track, comprising: a meshing element (13), characterized in that it projects axially from at least one side surface (side surface) of (12). 2. Drive wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that the meshing element (13) projects from both sides of the main body (12). 3. Each of said mating elements (13): a first part (16a) engaged in a corresponding housing (17) formed in said side surface of said main body (12); ,
A central pin (16) having a second part (16b) axially emerging from the same side of the main body (12);-rotating on said second part (16b) of the mating element (13); Tubular shaped rotating body (18), possibly engaged:
The drive wheel according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. Drive wheel according to claim 3, characterized in that the rotating body (18) is made of Teflon. 5. The main body (12) comprises the meshing means (13).
Drive wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that it is arranged at a distance from the outer peripheral edge (12a).