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  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
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  • 引用文献
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  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Het rubber rupsbandgeheel (14) heeft minstens één leirol (20), gekenmerkt doordat elk ervan twee op een zekere afstand van elkaar gelegen leirolwielen (40) op een as (42) bevat. De twee leirolwielen (40) hebben elk een conisch buitenoppervlak (52) die samen een conisch profiel (50) definiëren dat ervoor zorgt dat de rubber rupsband (16) zichzelf op het rubber rupsbandgeheel (14) centreert. Het conische profiel (50) van de leirol kan een paar rechte lijnen onder een kleine hoek è definiëren, een deel van een cirkel, een F,g- 5 deel van een ellips, een parabool of een hyperbool. An agricultural vehicle (10) has a chassis (32) with a power train (12) and at least one rubber track assembly (14) with a rubber track (16). The rubber crawler assembly (14) has at least one guide roller (20), characterized in that each of them comprises two guide roller wheels (40) located at a certain distance from each other on a shaft (42). The two guide roller wheels (40) each have an outer conical surface (52) which together define a conical profile (50) that causes the rubber track (16) to center itself on the rubber track assembly (14). The conical profile (50) of the guide roller can define a pair of straight lines at a small angle ε, a part of a circle, an F, a part of an ellipse, a parabola or a hyperbola.
    公开号:BE1022890B1
    申请号:E2015/0152
    申请日:2015-05-29
    公开日:2016-10-07
    发明作者:Brouwer Bart De；Patrick Piens；Jean-Pierre Vandendriessche；Carlos J. A. Verheye
    申请人:Cnh Industrial Belgium Nv；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    ROUNDED LEIL ROLLS FOR A CATERPILLAR
    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
    This invention relates to track systems for tracked vehicles, and more particularly to guide rollers of such track systems.
    Farmers use a wide variety of vehicles and farm equipment, including vehicles with powered track systems. A powered track system is a system for propelling a vehicle in which an endless tire with treads is driven by two or more wheels. This tire is usually made of modular steel plates in the case of military vehicles and construction equipment, or of rubber reinforced with steel wires in the case of agricultural vehicles or light vehicles for the construction sector. The large surface area of the track distributes the weight of the vehicle better than wheels on an equivalent vehicle, allowing the vehicle to run on tracks on soft ground with a much higher towing capacity and a lower probability of getting stuck.
    A reinforced rubber track with V-shaped treads is often used. Compared to steel tracks, rubber tracks are lighter, make less noise, cause a lower maximum ground pressure and do not damage paved roads. Generally speaking, rubber tracks are formed around a basic carcass or belt. The carcass contains an endless belt-like rubbery elastic element, a number of core bars, which may be made of metal, embedded in it and aligned with it, and extend transversely of the caterpillar. Steel cords, which serve as elements to absorb the stresses, can be incorporated in the endless elastic element to surround the core rods.
    The alignment of the mbber tracks on all mps tire vehicles is difficult. This is especially the case with combine harvesters where heavy loads are applied to the tracks. There are different solutions for the alignment of the mbber belts on all vehicles and different mps tire frames. If the alignment of the mbber belts is not done properly, this will lead to a greatly reduced lifespan of the mbber belts and possible early replacement, which is an expensive matter. Additional consequential damage can occur from a misaligned mbber belt such as defective driven rollers or guide rollers. For all existing mps belt frames, the process of aligning the mps belt belts is a very sensitive and lengthy process that requires a certain experience with the mps belt systems from the operator.
    What is required with respect to the prior art is a way to minimize the sensitivity of rubber crawler systems to misalignment and to improve the self-aligning characteristics of such rubber crawler systems that are subject to forces that cause misalignment.
    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
    This invention provides a rubber crawler system that has improved self-aligning characteristics, and thus reduces susceptibility to misalignment and the resulting damage due to such misalignment. One embodiment of the invention is directed to a rubber crawler assembly for a vehicle with a crawler chassis, at least one guide roller, and a rubber crawler. Each of the at least one guide roller comprises two guide roller wheels at a certain distance from each other on an axis. The two guide roller wheels each have a conical outer surface with a diameter on the inside D that is always larger than the diameter on the outside d. The conical outer surfaces of the two guide roller wheels together define a conical profile that causes the rubber track to center itself on the rubber track assembly.
    An advantage of this invention is that it makes the rubber caterpillar of a rubber caterpillar assembly to a large extent self-centering and thus less sensitive to initial erroneous alignment upon installation or subsequent erroneous alignment caused by lateral forces encountered during operation.
    Another advantage is that this invention minimizes unfavorable wear on the rubber track and on the non-driven rollers, bogies and drive cog of the rubber track assembly, thereby minimizing expensive repair and replacement of these parts.
    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
    The above and other features and advantages of this invention and the way to achieve them will become more apparent and the invention may be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention, together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
    Figure 1 is an isometric view of an agricultural vehicle with rubber track assemblies;
    Figure 2 is an isometric view of a rubber track assembly;
    Figure 3 is a front view of a rubber track assembly;
    Figure 4 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a rubber track assembly;
    Figure 5 is a sectional view of a pair of guide roller wheels of the rubber track assembly;
    Figure 6 is an isometric view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 7 is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 8 is an isometric view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 9A is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 9B is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 9C is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 10A is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers;
    Figure 10B is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers
    Figure IOC is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers; and
    Figure 10D is a sectional view of a wheel of the guide rollers.
    Corresponding references (numbers and / or letters) indicate corresponding parts throughout all the different views. The example set forth herein illustrates one embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such example should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.
    DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
    Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, there is shown an embodiment of a rubber-coated track assembly 14 in use by an agricultural vehicle 10. Agricultural vehicle 10 has a chassis 32 with a drive line 12 that includes a drive gear 18 containing the rubber caterpillar track 16 of the rubber track assembly 14. The function of the guide rollers 20 is to define both the geometry of the rubber caterpillar assembly 14 and to apply tension to the rubber caterpillar assembly 16. The drive gear 18 and the guide rollers 20 are mounted on the chassis 34 of the caterpillar assembly.
    Well, also referring to Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a rubber track assembly 14 with a rubber track assembly 16 that engages a drive gear 18 and two guide rollers 20 supported by the chassis 34 of the track assembly. The rubber track 16 is driven by the drive cog 18 and is kept under tension by the two guide rollers 20, which are pushed out with the aid of hydraulic clamping cylinders 26. Two sets of 2x2 bogies 22 provide vertical support to the rubber track assembly 14 by passing along the inner surface of the rubber track 16. This vertical support provided by the two sets of 2x2 bogies 22 is transferred to the rubber track assembly 14 by hydraulic suspension cylinders 24 which are attached to the suspension arms 30 to which the 2x2 bogies 22 are connected. Two sets of 2x2 bogies 22 are shown, but more or fewer such bogies 22 can be used. Moreover, it is also possible that the 2x2 bogies 22 are not used at all. Instead, separately suspended rolls can be used, or a series of rolls on a single roll bar. It is also possible that no hydraulic suspension cylinders 24 are used. Alternative suspension types that can be used instead are, for example, but are not limited to, rubber suspensions, suspensions with steel springs and air spring suspensions.
    The rubber caterpillar track 16 has protrusions 28 in its center which engage with the gear cog 18 such as the teeth of a gear wheel and prevent slipping between the drive gear 18 and the rubber caterpillar track 16. The central protrusions 28 also provide a certain resistance to misalignment of the rubber track 16 relative to the provided centered position relative to the drive cog 18 and the guide rollers 20, or to lateral movement and full release from the rubber track assembly 14.
    Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a rubber crawler assembly 14 with a crawler chassis 34. In this embodiment, no separate drive gear 18 is provided. Instead, one guide roller 20 is a combination of guide roller and drive gear 18/20, which can drive the rubber track 16 by a gear-like engagement in the central protrusions 28, or the rubber track 16 can simply drive through frictional contact. The alternative embodiment of rubber crawler assembly 14 is again shown with 2x2 bogies 22, but as before, may instead be equipped with individual individually suspended rollers or multiple rollers on a single roller beam.
    While the central protrusions 28 provide a part of such resistance of the rubber caterpillar track 16 against erroneous alignment or against the complete release of the rubber caterpillar assembly 14, the rubber caterpillar track 16 is susceptible to erroneous alignment and susceptible to adverse wear should certain parts of the rubber track completely misaligned. To minimize this susceptibility to misalignment and adverse wear that ensues therefrom, the present invention provides guide roller wheels 40 with the conical outer surfaces 52, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows a sectional view of a guide roller 20 consisting of two guide roller wheels 40 and a non-driven guide rollers 42. The two guide roller wheels 40 rotate on the hubs 44, which rotate around guide rails 42 via guide roller bearings 46. The space between the guide roller wheels 40 serves as a gap 54 for allowing the protrusions 28 of the rubber track 16 (not shown in Figure 5) to pass and guide. To help the central projections 28 enter the gap 54 between the guide rollers 54, the guide rollers include a centering ramp 56 for the protrusions. Note that the embodiment of the guide roller 20 shown in Figure 5 shows the guide roller hubs 44 rotating the guide roller bearings 46 around the guide rollers 42. In an alternative embodiment, the guide roller bars 44 may be mounted directly on the guide rollers 42, the guide rollers 42 rotating in bearings in the rubber track assembly 14, i.e., the guide roller wheels 40 rotate fixedly relative to each other.
    This invention provides a guide roller conical profile 50 defined by the outer conical surface 52 of the guide roller wheel tires 48. This conical guide roller profile 50 can form a light arc, of which each conical outer surface of the guide roller wheels 52 defines a portion. The center of this light arc can be on a line that runs through the center of the guide rails 40 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the guide rails 40, and thus symmetrical with respect to the two guide roller wheels 40, as shown in Figure 10A. Alternatively, the center of the light arc can be on a plane that is not in the same plane as the center of the guide rollers 40 or centered between the two guide rollers 40, as shown in Figure 10B, to account for a shift of the guide roller 20 relative to the center of the rubber track assembly 14. In that case, one guide roller wheel 40 may be thinner than the other, or one wheel tire 48 of the guide roller may have a profile different from the other wheel tire. The asymmetry described may further be arranged to account for a certain bias or built-in asymmetry of the rubber track 16. The light arc of the conical profile 50 of the guide roller may be a part of a circle, as shown in Figure 9A. Alternatively, the conical profile 50 of the light arc of the guide roller may be a part of an ellipse, a parabola, or a hyperbola, as shown in Figure 9B. In another alternative, the conical profile 50 of the guide roller may be a pair of straight lines at a small angle zoals, as shown in Figure 9C, so that the conical outer surface 52 of each guide roller wheel 40 of the guide roller represents a slightly conically laterally flattened segment. In a further alternative, the light arc of the conical profile 50 of the guide roller may be discontinuous, so that two light arcs are described, one for each guide roller wheel 40, as shown in Figure IOC. In this case, the center of each light arc may be in a plane that is closer to the guide roller 40 defining the light arc, or may be in a plane that is closer to the other guide roller. In a further alternative, the light arc of the conical profile 50 of the guide roller may be discontinuous, so that two or more parts of the arc with different rays are defined by each guide roller wheel 40, as shown in Figure 10D.
    When the light arc or arcs of the conical guide roller profile 50 of which each conical outer surface 52 of the guide roller defines a portion, has a center or centers in the direction towards the center of the guide rollers 40 from each guide roller wheel 40, then the light arc or arcs define of the conical guide roller profile 50 thus the conical outer surfaces 52 of the guide roller in a manner that the inside diameter "D" is always greater than the outside diameter "d" of each guide roller wheel 40 of each guide roller 20. This results in a self-centering effect of the rubber track 16 when it runs over the guide rollers 20. In this way, the sensitivity of the rubber band 16 with respect to an initial erroneous alignment upon installation on the rubber caterpillar assembly 14, or with a subsequent erroneous alignment due to lateral forces encountered during operation is minimized. The contact and the resulting wear is also minimized between the central protrusions 28 of the rubber track 16 and the inner surfaces of the guide rollers 40, or between the central protrusions 28 and the analog inner surfaces of the drive cog 18 or the 2x2 bogies 22. Moreover, the rubber track 16 of the rubber track unit 14 has an inner surface that has a curved profile to match the light arc or arcs of the conical profile 50 of the guide roller. In addition, each of the drive gear 18 and the wheels of the 2x2 bogies 22 may also have at least partially curved outer surfaces defining conical profiles that are similar to the described conical profile 50 of the guide roller.
    Well, also with reference to Figures 6 to 8, an embodiment of a guide roller wheel 40 of the guide roller 20 is shown in different views. Figure 6 is an isometric view at a small angle, Figure 7 is a sectional view and Figure 6 is an isometric view at a larger angle. Each guide roller wheel 40 again comprises a guide roller wheel belt 48 with a conical outer surface 52 of the guide roller, and a centering ramp 56.
    权利要求:
    Claims (13)
    [1]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10), comprising: a caterpillar chassis (34); at least one guide roller (20); and a rubber caterpillar (16); characterized in that: each guide roller (20) comprises two guide roller wheels (40) located at a certain distance from each other on a shaft (42), the two guide roller wheels (40) each having an outer conical surface (52) with a diameter on the inside ( D) which is always larger than the diameter on the outside (d), the diameter (D) on the inside being larger than the diameter (d) on the outside, and wherein the conical outer surfaces (52) of the two guide roller wheels ( 40) together define a conical profile (50) that causes the rubber track (16) to center itself (14) on the rubber track assembly.
    [2]
    Rubber (14) track assembly for a vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the conical outer surfaces (52) of the two guide roller wheels (40) define in cross section the conical profile (50) formed by one of the following elements: a few straight lines at a slight angle (è), a part of a circle, a part of an ellipse, a parabola and a hyperbola.
    [3]
    A rubber crawler assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the conical profile (50) is symmetrical with respect to a point on a line intersecting the center of the axis of the guide roller (20) in a plane halfway between the two guide roller wheels (40) and perpendicular to the axis of the guide roller (20), and characterized in that the conical outer surfaces (52) of the two guide roller wheels (40) thus have an identical profile.
    [4]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the conical profile (50) is symmetrical with respect to a point on a line intersecting the axis of the guide roller (20) in a plane which is not halfway between the two guide rollers (40), but is perpendicular to the axis of the guide roll (20), and the conical outer surfaces (52) of the two guide rollers (40) therefore have a different profile.
    [5]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the conical profile (50) does not run continuously, so that each conical outer surface (52) of each of the two guide roller wheels (40) has a separate conical profile (50) defines, namely one of a circle, part of an ellipse, or of a parabola, and a hyperbole, characterized in that each individual conical profile (50) is symmetrical with respect to a point on a line that is the axis of the guide roller (20) intersects in a separate plane not halfway between the two guide roller wheels (40), but perpendicular to the axis of the guide roller (20),
    [6]
    Rubber track assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conical profile (50) does not run continuously, so that at least one conical outer surfaces (52) of at least one of the two guide roller wheels ( 40) has at least two arc parts with a different radius.
    [7]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, further comprising: a guide roller tire (48) attached to each guide roller wheel (40), characterized in that the tire (48) of the guide roller includes an outer conical surface (52) defining the conical profile (50).
    [8]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rubber caterpillar assembly (16) has an inner surface that has a conical profile corresponding to the conical profile (50) defined through the conical outer surface (52) of the two guide roller wheels (40).
    [9]
    Rubber track assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one guide roller (20) further comprises two guide roller wheels (40).
    [10]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to claims 1 and 9, characterized in that the two guide roller wheels (40) have hubs (44) that rotate on the shaft (42) via bearings (46).
    [11]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to claims 1 and 9, characterized in that the two guide roller wheels (40) are mounted on the shaft (42), and the shaft (42) rotates on bearings (46) which is mounted are on the at least one rubber track assembly (14) so that the guide rollers (40) rotate tightly relative to each other.
    [12]
    A rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, further comprising: a drive gear (18) and at least one bogie (22), characterized in that at least one of the drive gear (18) and the at least one bogie (22) further includes an outer conical surface defining a conical profile similar to the conical outer surfaces (52) defining the conical profile (50) of the guide roller wheels (40) of the at least one guide roller (20) .
    [13]
    The rubber caterpillar assembly (14) for a vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that one of the at least two guide rollers (20) further acts as a driving gear (18).
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    US15/577,877| US10710652B2|2015-05-29|2016-05-29|Rounded track idlers|
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