US1403643A - Track-belt unit - Google Patents

Description

E. H. SAVAGE.

TRACK BELT UNIT.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 17.1920.

INVENTOR I f7- gj 1 ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN H. SAVAGE, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CLEVELAND TRACTOR COMPANY, OF EUCLID, OHIO, A. CORPORATIONV OF OHIO.

TRACK-BELT UNIT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 17, 1922 Application led July 17, 1920. Serial No. 397,005.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN H. SAVAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and State of hio, have invented a. certain new and useful Improvement in Track- Belt Units, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the track belt and track belts units shown and described in the application of Rollin H. White, filed July 17, 1920, Serial No. 396,955.

The object of the invention is to produce the pressed steel track belt, suitable for use in connection with a track laying tractor, which is somewhat cheaper and possibly a little stronger than the track belt'disclosed in said White application.

The invent-ion consists in the construction and combination of parts shown in theplane of line 4-4 on Fig. 2. and Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view in the plane of line 5 5 on Fig. 2.

Each unit is made of two pieces of pressed or rolled metal, to wit, a bottom plate 10 and a rail member 2O which is secured upon the bottom plate. The bottom plate 10 is preferably cut from a rolled bar having one edge, which becomes the rear end of the bottom plate, slightly curved up ward, and having at its other edge, which becomes the front end of the bottom plate. a downwardly bent rib 12 which will serve as a ground engaging grouser. When the plate 1s connected with the rail member and the track portion of the rail member is in a substantially horizontal position. as shown. the bottom plate will incline upward from its front to its rear end slightly; and when two of these links are connected, as shown, the rear upwardly curved end of the bottom plate will lap over the lower front end of the bottom plate of the next link.

The rail member 20 is formed from a fiat bla-nk of sheet metal, preferably steel, so

shaped and bent as to have the integral parts now to be specified. The middle part of the blank serves as a track plate 23 for track wheels carried by the tractor to run on. This rail member is considerably narrower than the bottom member as appears and along both sides of the track plate, the metal is bent upward and then downward, `forming the upwardly extended inverted U-shaped ribs 24 whose outer edges are extended downward in parallel vertical positions to form the rail sides 21, the lower edges of which rest upon the upper face of the bottom plate 10. At the rear end of the track plate and below the same is the transversely extended sleeve 25, which is produced by bending a. tongue which is integral with and extends rearward from the rail plate. This tongue is bent downward and forward and upward and into contact with the lower face of the track plate to which it 1s secured by welding or other suitable means. The lower part of this sleeve rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate by means of an integral tongue 26 which is pressed out of the metal of which the sleeve is formed and is passed through a hole in the bottom plata-'the projecting lower end of said` tongue being upset against the bottom plate. This sleeve forms an eifective support for the rear end of the track plate 23. It embraces and fits tightly around a bushing 41 whose length is substantially equal to the length of the sleeve. The downturned sides 21 of the rail member project in front of the track plate 23 in the form of ears 27. The. lower edge of each of these ears and of the adjacent portion of the rail sides 21 is bent laterally outward in the forni of a foot 28 which rests upon the upper face of the bottom plate. yThe outer edge of each of these horlzontal feet at the front end thereof is bent up into vertical position to form an associated ear 29 which is parallel withbut spaced away from the nearby ear 27. Behind these ears 27 the outer edges of these feet 28 are bent down in the form of tongues 28a which go through slots in the bottom plate and have their projecting lower ends upset against said bottom plate.

The transverse length of each of the sleeves 25 at the rear end of the track plate 23 is such that a sleeve 25 on one unit may pass between the two ears 27 at the front end of the next unit. The ears 27 and 29 at both sides of the member 20 are provided with ali ned round holes which, when a sleeve 25 1s between a pair of ears 27 on the next link, will be aligned with the bushing 41 1n such sleeve. When these holes and sleeve are so aligned, the two links are pivoterl together by means of the pin 30 which passes through the. sleeve 41 and through bothears 27 and through both ears 29. This pin 1s cylindrical, and two rollers 42 are rotatably mounted thereon in the spaces between the ears 27 and their associated ears 29. l

In Fig. 1 in particular it will be noted that the sleeve 25 is slightly longer than the width of the track plate 23. At the ends of this sleeve are upwardly bent flanges 25 which are in alignment with the U-shaped grooves on the under side of the track plate 23 produced by the upwardly bent U-shaped ribs. When the two links are assembled these flanges 25n will project beneath the track plate and into these grooves substantially as shown vin Figs. 1 and 2.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A track belt unit comprising a bottom plate and a rail member, said rail member having a track late of which one end is in the form of a s eeve and two link sides depending from said track plate secured to said bottom plate, a portion of each link side being extended outward and then upward to form an ear.-

2. A pressed metal track belt unit comprising a bottom plate, and rail member secured thereto, said rail member consisting of a. single piece of sheet metal having a track plate a transverse sleeve at the rear of said track late and link sides depending from the si es of said track plate and ears which are bent up from saidsides adjacent their front ends.

The pressed metal track belt unit, comp'lslng a bottom plate, and the rail memr having a track plate and rail sides which are bent down from said track plate and four parallel ears,-of which the two inside ears are forward extensions of the two rail sides, and the two outside ears are upwardly bent parts of said forward extensions.

The pgessed metal track belt unit, comprislng a 4ttom plate, and the rail member having a track plate and rail sides which are bent down from said track plate and four parallel ears,-of`which the two inside ears are forward extensions of the two rail sides, andthe two outside ears are upwardly bent parts of said forward extensions, and said track plate being bent down at its rear end to forma horzontal transversely extended sleeve.

5. A track belt made up of a plurality of ivoted together units, each com rising a tom plate, and a. rail member aving a track plate and sides which are bent down from said track plate and four horizontal ears of which the two inside ears are forward extensions of the two rail sides, and the two outside earsv are formed by bending upward parts of said forward extensions, and said track plate being bent down at its rear end into the form of a horizontal transversely extended sleeve, the sleeve of each unit being located between the two inside ears of the adjacent unit, a pivot pin which passes through `each sleeve and through the four ears of the adjacent unit, and rollers loosely mountedv on said pivot pin between ears.

6. A track belt unit comprising, in combination, a bottom plate, and a rail member secured thereon,-said rail member having a centrally disposed longitudinally extended track plate, the side edges of which are bent upward and then downward to form inverted U-shaped ribs and rail sides whose lower edges rest upon the bottom plate, said rail member having at its rear end an integral transverse sleeve which rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate, and the front ends of said rail sides being extended forward of the track plate in the form of ears, the lower edges of said ears and adjacent parts of the rail sides being bent laterally outward to form feet which rest upon and are secured to the bottom plate, the outer edges of said feet being bent upward to form ears`which lie outside of and parallel with the ears which are forward continuations of the rail sides.

7. A track belt unit comprising, in combination,'a bottom plate, and a rail member secured thereon,-said rail member having a centrally disposed longitudinally extended track plate, the side edges of which are bent upward and then downward to form inverted U-shaped ribs and rail sides whose lower edges rest upon the bottom plate,said rail member having at its rear end an integral transverse sleeve which rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate, and the front ends of said rail sides being extended forward of the track plate in the form or ears, the lower edges of said ears and adjacent parts of the rail sides being bent laterally outward to form feet which rest upon and are secured to the bottom plate, the outer edges of said feet being bent upward to form ears which lie outside of and parallel with the ears which are forward contnuations of the rail sides, the transverse sleeve having at its ends outwardly yextended flanges which are aligned with the U- slliaped grooves at the edges of the. track ate.

p 8. A track belt made of similar units, each of which com rises, in combination, a bottom plate, an a rail member secured thereon,--said rail member having la centrally disposed longitudinallyextended track plate the side edges of which are bent upward and then downward to form inverted U-shaped ribs and rail sides whose lower edges rest upon the bottom plata-said rail member having at its rear end an integral transverse sleeve which rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate, and the front ends of said rail sides being extended forward of the track plate in the form of ears the lower edges, of said ears and adjacent parts of the rail sides being bent laterally outward to form feet which rest upon and are secured to the bottom plate,the outer edges of said feet being bent upward to form ears which lie outside of and parallel with the ears which are forward continuations of thev rail sides, the transverse sleeve at the rear end of each link being disposed between the ears a-t the front ends of adjacent link sides, a transverse pivot pin passing through the four ears at the front end of each link and the associated sleeve at the rear end of the adjacent link.

9. A track belt made of similar units, each of which comprises, in combination, a bottom plate, and a rail member secured thereon,said rail member having' a centrally disposed longitudinally extended track plate the side edges of which are bent upward and then downward to form inverted U-shaped ribs and rail sides whose lower edges rest upon the bottom plate,-said rail member having at its rear end an integral transverse sleeve which rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate, and the front ends of said rail sides being extended forward of the track plate in the form of ears the lower edges of said ears and adjacent parts of the rail sides being bent laterally outward to form feet which rest upon and are secured to the bottom plate,the outer edges of said feet being bent upward to form ears which lie outside of and parallel with the ears which are for man ear,

forward continuations of the rail sides, the depending sleeve at the rear end of each link being disposed between the ears at the front ends of adjacent links, a transverse pivot pin passing through the four ears at the 'front end of each link and the associated sleeve at the rearend of the adjacent link, and rollers rotatably mounted upon said pivot pin located respectively between the two pairs of ears at each side of the unit.

10. A track belt unit comprising a bottom plate, and a rail member, said rail member having a track plate and link sides 'depending from said track plate secured to said bottom plate, a portion of each link side -being extended outwardly and then upward to form an ear.

l1. A track belt unit comprising a bottom plate and a rail member, said rail member consisting of a single piece of sheet metal bent to form a track plate, link sides depending from said track plate and ears which extend upward from said sides adjacent their front ends.

12. A track belt unit comprising a bottom plate and a rail member, said rail member having a track plate and link sides depending from said track plate, a ortion of each link side being extended ou wardly and secured to said bottom pla-te and then upward to form an ear.

13. A track belt unit comprising a bottom plate having openings therein and a rail member, said rail member having a track plate and link sides depending from said track plate, a portion of each link side being extended outwardly and then upward to said ear having a tongue bent down and extending through an opening in said bottom plate and secured thereto.

. In testimony whereof, I hereunto aix my signature.

EDWIN H. SAVAGE.

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