Crawler Inner Surface Design for Snaking Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crawlers with entirely inclined inner circumferential surfaces experience localized stress and pressure issues when interacting with drive or idler wheels, leading to potential snaking and damage during operation on uneven terrain.
Innovation Solution
A crawler design featuring a crawler body with an elastic structure, guide projections, a flat face, and an inclined face, where the flat face is positioned further outward than the guide projections, and the inclined face is angled to increase thickness towards the outer side, allowing for tension distribution that aligns the crawler body with the wheel's center, reducing snaking and localized force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the entire inner circumferential surface of the crawler is inclined to suppress snaking, then the ability to hold a straight line is improved, but localized flexural stress and pressing force are concentrated on the inner circumferential surface
Solution Approach 1:
The inner circumferential surface is divided into two distinct regions: a flat face region and an inclined face region. The flat face (where rollers contact) has substantially constant thickness, while the inclined face (where the rotating wheel contacts) has thickness that gradually increases toward the circumferential inner side. This segmentation allows each region to serve its specific function without suffering from localized stress concentration.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the crawler body are given different structural properties: the flat face region has uniform thickness for even load distribution during roller contact, while the inclined face region has variable thickness to generate tension differential for suppressing snaking during rotating wheel contact. This local differentiation of structural quality resolves the contradiction between straight line holding and stress concentration.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the entire inner circumferential surface is inclined to suppress snaking, then crawler stability is improved, but the crawler body may become damaged due to concentrated force
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface is segmented into flat face and inclined face regions, each with appropriate thickness characteristics. The flat face region with constant thickness prevents stress concentration during roller contact, while the inclined face region with increasing thickness toward the inner side provides the necessary tension differential for stability without compromising overall durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The crawler body is designed with locally differentiated thickness: uniform thickness at the flat face for durability during roller contact, and gradually increasing thickness toward the circumferential inner side at the inclined face for stability during rotating wheel contact. This local quality differentiation simultaneously achieves stability and durability.
3Stress or pressure
If a flat face is positioned outward from guide projections with an inclined face, then localized force is alleviated, but the complexity of the crawler structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flat face and inclined face are merged into a single continuous inner circumferential surface of the crawler body, forming an integrated structure without separate components. This merging achieves even load distribution and snaking suppression while avoiding the complexity of additional parts or assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the crawler body is varied continuously: constant thickness in the flat face region and gradually increasing thickness toward the circumferential inner side in the inclined face region. This parameter change creates the desired stress distribution and stability effects through the crawler body's geometry alone, without adding structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively suppresses snaking and alleviates localized force on the crawler, reducing damage by aligning the crawler body with the wheel's center and distributing tension, while maintaining even load distribution across the flat and inclined faces.
Implementation Method 1
The crawler body is formed by an elastic body shaped into an endless loop. When the crawler is about to snake, the relative positions of the rotating wheel and the crawler body shift in the crawler body width direction, and the rotating wheel presses the inclined face formed on one crawler width direction side of the inner circumferential surface of the crawler body toward the crawler circumferential outer side. When this occurs, the elastic body on the crawler body circumferential outer side of the inclined face presses on the tensile body such that tension is generated in the tensile body on the one crawler body width direction side (the pressed side) and a difference in tension to the other crawler body width direction side of the tensile body arises.
Data Source
AI summary
A crawler includes crawler body formed by an elastic body shaped into an endless loop, a tensile body embedded in the crawler body and wound around a circumferential direction of the crawler body, guide projections formed at an inner circumferential surface of a width direction central portion of the crawler body and spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the crawler body, a flat face, upon which a rotating wheel provided at a vehicle rolls, forming an inner circumferential surface further toward a width direction outer side of the crawler body than the guide projections and an inclined face, upon which the rotating wheel rolls, inclined from an outer side end portion of the flat face in a crawler body width direction such that a thickness of the crawler body gradually increases toward the width direction outer side and circumferential inner side of the crawler body.