US2321202A

US2321202A - Traction crawler shoe

Info

Publication number: US2321202A
Application number: US381905A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ferdinand H Heine
Original assignee: Koehring Co
Current assignee: Koehring Co
Priority date: 1941-03-05
Filing date: 1941-03-05
Publication date: 1943-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 1960-06-08

Description

June s, 1943. BH1-EINE 2,321,202

TRACTION CRAWLER SHOE Filed March 5, 1941 /N VEN TOR.-

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A TroRNEYs.

Patented June 8, 1943 TRACTION CRAWLER SHOE Ferdinand H. Heine, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Koehring Company, Milwaukee,' Wis., a corporation Application March 5, 1941, Serial No.v 381,905 7 claims.' (ci. goss-1o) The present invention has relation to endless n traction devices of the type known in the art as crawlers, and endless traction belts, such as are used quite commonly upon large machines, or machines carrying heavy loads requiring very considerable tractive eort for movement thereof. Traction devices of the above type may be characterized as being virtually an endless train of traction or crawler shoes, these shoes being pivotally connected together to make up the chain or belt of the traction device.

My purpose in developing the present invention has been to provide a construction of such shoes as willbe economical to manufacture and which may be made of an assembly of parts welded together and yet obtaining therefrom as much if not greater strength, ruggedness, and wear qualities, as are obtained by the present types of these shoes which are largely of cast construction.

The casting of traction shoes involves ordinarily difficult casting operations and creates an expensive mode of manufacture which is greatly reduced by my present improvements, utilizing a minimum of cast parts and a maximum of parts made from metal plates and steel tubing such that when assembled and welded together will provide a cheaper and just as elcient, if not more efficient, type of shoe than has heretofore been obtained.

My invention improves especially upon the construction of traction shoes of the class disclosed by my previous Letters Patent No. 1,474,- 967, issued on November 20, 1923.

In the accompanying drawing, one exempliilcation of my invention is illustrated, and the figures of the drawing are briefly described as follows:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a traction shoe embodying the essential features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section lookingtoward the shoe from a side thereof, having the pivot lugs projecting therefrom.

Figure 3 is a view showing two of the traction shoes of my invention combined, one illustrated in end view, and the other illustrated in cross sectional view, the pivotal connection between the two shoes being shown.

Referring to the drawing, and describing my invention specifically, A generally indicates the traction shoe which is made up of a body comprising abottom plate I, generally fiat substantially its entire length but having its ends slightly up-curved as at Ia.

Upon the bottom plate I the body of the shoe is fabricated by means of an assembly comprising two L-shaped plates 2, each equipped with a transverse vertical depending leg or web 3 at its inner end and having a down-curved flange portion A at its outer end. The lower edge of the leg or web 3 of each plate 2 is welded at 5 to the top surface of the bottom plate I, and at 6 the lower edge of the flange portion 4 is similarly welded to the adjacent or associated outer end of the bottom plate I at the extremity of the upcurved portion Ia.

Traction shoes of the type of my invention necessitate the employment of one or more driving lugs l, which lugs engage in driving and idler tumblers carried bythe machine on which the traction belt or device of the invention vis mounted. The driving lugs 1 according tothe present invention are preferably cast so as to provide the lug member and the base 'Ia thereof, the latter extending laterally and longitudinally from the lug body 1.

Thebase portions 'Ia of the lug 'I at the narrower or transverse dimension of the shoe A are disposed so as to rest upon the inner portions of the L-shaped plates 2 and just above the legs or webs 3 of the latter, whereby to obtain the greatest amount of strength and reinforcement vertically for the supporting and connecting of the lug I with the body members of the shoe. At said edge portions of the base 1a, the latter is transversely welded at the points 8 to the upper surfaces of the plates 2. The parts 1, 2 and I constitute the main parts of the body of the shoe.

For supporting the lug members 'I at their base portions near the front and rear edges of the shoe, I avail of curved plates or sections 9 that form bridge pieces between the base portions of the lugs 'I and theV front and rear edges 0f the plates I. Each curved plate 9 is welded at I0 to the plate I at its adjacent edge, and the upper edge of the plate 9 engaging beneath the front or rear edge of the lug member 1, as the case may be, supports the lug at this point.

Each plate 9 forms a closure for the space between the front or 'the rear edge of the lug member and the bottom plate I. At the front and rear edges of the body A of the shoe there are providedA the pivot members II in which are received the pins or pintle connections I2 by which adjacent shoes are connected pivotally to one another.

`The pivot members I I, as shown best in Figure 8, are made of pieces of steel tubing and each of them is held in place fitting snugly in the concave side oi the curved plates S by means of the upper welds I3 and the lower welds Il previously referred to as connecting-the plates 8 to the bottom plates I.

By the above mentioned construction of my shoe, I obtain a body which is exceedingly rigid, which is made up largely oi' fabricated plates and tubing, as purchased from the manufacturer,

and which is found to be less expensive in production cost than shoes which are largely made of cast bodies, as previously proposed in l'the art.

The only cast part of my shoe is the member "I, and under some conditions, it is possible to produce the member 'l from pressed sheet metal instead -of a casting, under which circumstances the entire shoe body A may be made up of structural shoe metal and tubular parts.

The member 1 may also be a forging.

If desired, I may also weld to the upper surface of the plate I, one` or more reinforcing webs or bars I4, attached as at I5, the number depending upon the size of the shoe or tread member. The same will assist in rigidly supporting the lug member l and plates 2. 'I'he legs 3 of the plates 2- may be slotted so the parts Il may pass therethrough and beneath plates 2 as at Ma.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

` 1. As a new article of manufacture, a traction shoe comprising a bottom plate, L-shaped-plates disposed upon the bottom plate at the ends thereof with the leg of the L-shaped plate disposed toward the center of the bottom plate and depending from the body of the L-shaped 'bined with generally vertically disposed plates connecting the front and rear portions of the bottom plate with the front and rear portions of the base of the drive lug member, and having welded connectionA with the drive lug member and the bottom plate.

3. A traction shoe as claimed in claim 1, combined with generally vertically disposed plates connecting the front and rear portions of the bottom plate with the front and rear portions of the base of the drive lug member, and having welded connection with the drive lug member and the bottom plate, the generally vertically disposed plates at the front and rearl of the shoe being curved so as to provide concave o uter sides, and tubular pivot pin members 'welded to the drive lug member and the bottom plate and fitting in the concave sides of said generally vertically disposed plates.

4. A traction shoe as claimed in claim l, combined with generally vertically disposed plates connecting the front and rear portions of the bottom plate with the front and rear portions of the base of the drive lug member, and having welded connections with the drive lug member and the bottom plate, and tubular pivot pin receiving lugs welded to the driving lug member and bottom plate and itting against the said generally vertically disposed plates at the front and rear portions of said parts.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a traction shoe comprising a bottom plate, an L-shaped plate at each end of the bottom plate and mounted at its upper surface, said L-shaped plate having its main leg innermost and disposed intermediate the ends of the bottom plate and depending therefrom and welded tothe bottom plate, the outer end of the L-shaped plate being welded to the adjacent end of the bottom plate, a drive lug member bridging the space between the inner ends of the L-shaped plate and having a base portion contacting with the latter at a point above the said leg thereof and welded thereto, curved generally vertically disposed plates intermediate the front and rear edge portions of the drive lug member and the front and rear edges of the bottom plate so that the curved portions are outermost to provide concave seats. and tubular sections forming pivot receiving lugs seated in the concave seat portions of said curved plates and welded to the latter and to the driving lug member and the bottom plate.

6. A traction shoe as claimed in claim 1, combined with a bar extending longitudinally of the shoe between the driving lug and bottom plate.

7. A traction shoe as claimed in claim 1, come bined with a bar extending longitudinally of the shoe between the driving lug and bottom plate and between the undersides of the L-shaped plates and the bottom plate.

FERDINAND H. HEINE.