US1485103A - Track belt and unit therefor - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 26 1924., T 1,485,103-

* R.f1.vvHrrE TRACK BELT AND UNIT THEREFOR .Filed July 17. 1920 INVENTORn ATTORNEY:

Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

ROLLILI H. WHITE, CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO ,THE CLEVELAND TRACTOR COMPANY, OF EUCLID, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TRACK anni' AND UNIT THEREFOR.

Application illedJuly 17, 1920. Serial No. 396,955.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at `Cleveland Heights,- in the county of Cuyahoga -and,.State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Track Belts and Units Therefor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descript-ion.

The object of this invention is to produce, fromsuitable pressed steel links or units, t1ack-\belts capable of being advantageously used as parts of track laying tractors. Y,

The invention consists in the links `or units substantially ashereinafter described and 'inf the descrlbed combination of'these units to form a trackbelt.

In the drawing, Fig. yl is a top plan View of two pivoted together track belt units constructed according to this invention; F ig. 2 is a side elevation of said two track'cbelt units; Fig-,3 is a, front end view of one of Each unit ismade of two pieces of pressed.

metal, to wit, a bottom plate 10, and a rail member 20, which is secured upon the bottom plate. And a track belt consists of a plurality of these units, the pins by which they are pivotally connected, and, preferably also, certain rollers which rotatably embrace certain outwardly projecting sleeves at the front ends of the track belt units,-

whichlsleeves are so'located that they may be engaged by the 4,teeth of the double sprocket. I

The bottom plate 10 has preferably its front end bent downwardly to vform the `ground grippinggrouser 12. In the completed unit this bottom plate inclines upward very slightly with respect to the hori- Zontal from the front to the rear end thereof, so that it may overla the front edge of the bottom plate ofthe hnk behind it.

The rail member 20 is formed from va fiat blank of sheet metal so shaped and bent as to have the integral parts now to be specied. The middle part of the blank between the front'and rear ends thereof serves as a rail plate23 for, the track'wheels carried by the tractorto run one(t.hese track wheels, being shown by dotted lines'in Fig. 2).

Along the sides of this rail plate are longi'- tudinally extended upwardly bent ribs 24' whose/outer edgesare extended downward in parallel vertical positions to form the rail sides 21. The lower edges of these rail sides are secured to the bottom platel 10 in any suitable way, but preferably by means of downwardly projecting' lugs 22 which go through holes in the bottom plate and have their downwardly projecting lower ends upset against thelower face of said bottomplate. At the rear end of eachf rail plate and below the same, is a transversely extended sleeve 25,-which is produced by bending a tonguewhich is integral with and extends rearward from the rail plate. This tongue is bent downward and forward and upward again into contact with the lower face of the rail plate', to which it is secured by welding cr other suitable means. The lower part of tliis sleeye rests upon, and is secured to the bottom platel 10 by means of an integral lug 26 which isvpres'sed out from )the metal of which the'sleeve is formed, and is passed through the hole in the bottom plate, and has its lower end upset against said bottom plate. This sleeve'25 forms an el'ectivesupport for the rear end of the rail late 23, and` it/also embraces and fits vtight y a spacing sleeve 31, whose length is substantially equal to the distance between the two rail sides.

. The downturned rail sides 21 of the rail member project in front of the rail plate 23 j.

in the form of ears 27. Each of these ears is formed with an integra-l outwardly projecting tubular cylindrical boss 28, saidl bosses ,being in axial alignment with each other, and beingl produced byv drawing the metal outward into the form shown.

To pivot together two of these links, in

the process of yforming a track belt, the

sleeve 25 at the rcar end of one link containing the spacing sleeve 31, is passed between the two ears 27 at the front end of the next link, and said sleeve is brought into axial alignment with the two tubular lugs 28. A pivot pin 40 is then passed endwisethrrough one oi the tubular lugs 28 at t-he front end of one ofthe units, then through the sleeves 25 and 31 at the rear end of the other unit,

has at,k its front end a forwardly projecting y tongue 38 of such width that itnlay' pass through and t loosely in Vthe hole 37 through the sleeve of the adjacent unit, and this tongue at its front end is curved down so as to engage and follow the curvature o the sleeve. These tongues aid in providingv a track belt formed of the described units with a substantially continuous track surface for the track wheels of the tractor to roll upon.

rlhere will be used with ,a track belt formed. of units vwhich are constructed and connected as described a double sprocket, i. e., a sprocket having two circumferential rows of teeth, said rows being separated such a distance that one set of teeth will engage one of the rollers 33 while the other set of teeth will engage the other' rollers 33. The track wheels (shown in dotted lines on Fig. 2) mounted yon the tractor will engage and be supported by the rail plates 23, and will be guided so that their engagement with these rail lates will be .maintained by the upwardly extended longitudinal ribs 24 at the sides of the rail plate. e i

lt is to be described means for connecting together the rail member and the bottom late are those which are preferred, neverthe ess these parts may be connected together in the described relation to each other by an tother means suitable for nthe purpose. e construction shown in the drawing is the best form known to me in which the invention understood that although thev tenemos? said ribs, the lower edges of the side members being secured lto the bottom plate.

2. A track belt unit comprising, in com-v integral rail sides which are spaced apart and which engage with and are secured to the bottom plate; said rail member having vat its rear end an integral sleeve which rests upon and is secured to the bottom plate, and the rail sides of the rail memberbeing extended forward `in the form of cars,and said ears having outwardly extended integral cylindrical tubularV lugs which are disposed in transverse alignment, and rollers rotatably mounted -upon `said lugs.

3. A track` belt unit comprising, a combination, a bottom plate and a rail member secured thereon said rail member having a centrally disposed longitudinally extended rail plate and downwardly extended integral rail sides which are spaced apart and which engage with andare secured to the bottom plate, vsaid rail member having at its rear end an integral sleeve which rests upon and is secured tothe bottom plate, and the rail sides of the rail member being extended `forward in the form'of ears, and said rail member alongeits sides having upwrdly pressed longitudinally extended r1 s.

4. A track belt made up of a plurality of pivoted together -units each comprising a shoe and a rail member, said rail member comprising downwardlyv extendinv side portions which are secured to saidD shoe, an elevated longitudinally extending track plate which has a notch at one end and a tongue at the other end, and ears extendingl from one endo'f the ends of the side portions of the rail members, the said tongue lying intermediate said ears and exthe adjacent unit.

5. A track belt unit comprising a bottom l plate, .and a rail member vsecured thereto', said rail member being formedof a single sheet of pressed metal' bent to form a substantially horizontal railwplate having roller` guide ribs bent up longitudinally therefrom, and rail sides depending from the upper "end of said ribs and secured to said bottom plate to support `the rail member.

thereon.

ln testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature. i

ROLLIN H. W'HITE.

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