Rubber Crawler Sprocket Hole Closure Using Rubber Lug
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rubber crawlers with sprocket holes face issues of earth and sand escaping, leading to insufficient compaction and reduced traction performance due to thin rubber films or elastic deformation of rubber plate-shaped portions.
Innovation Solution
A rubber crawler design with multiple cored bars embedded in an endless belt-shaped rubber body, featuring a sprocket hole bottom formed by a rubber lug, tension member layers, and a groove structure that allows for firm compaction of earth and sand by the cored bars, enhancing traction performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sprocket hole is closed by a thin rubber film between rubber lugs, then the sprocket hole can be closed to prevent earth and sand from escaping, but the rubber film is easily damaged and cannot withstand continuous use in construction machine applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a rubber plate-shaped portion instead of a thin rubber film to close the sprocket hole. This plate-shaped structure provides sufficient strength and durability to withstand construction machine applications while maintaining the flexibility needed for crawler operation. The plate serves as a robust closure that prevents earth and sand escape without being easily damaged like thin films.
Solution Approach 2:
The rubber plate-shaped portion is integrated with the endless belt-shaped rubber body to form a composite structure. This combination provides both the strength needed for durable sprocket hole closure and the flexibility required for crawler movement, resolving the contradiction between reliability and material strength.
2Strength
If the sprocket hole is closed by a rubber plate-shaped portion, then the closure is more robust and less likely to be damaged, but the rubber plate-shaped portion easily elastically deforms and presses earth and sand insufficiently, reducing traction effect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent forms the bottom portion of the sprocket hole specifically with a rubber lug, creating a localized structure that prevents both earth and sand escape and excessive elastic deformation. This localized quality improvement at the sprocket hole bottom maintains closure robustness while enabling proper compaction force transmission to the earth and sand in the groove.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention addresses the deformation issue by considering the three-dimensional structure of the sprocket hole and the position of the rubber lug within it. By properly positioning the rubber lug to form the bottom portion, the design ensures that the plate-shaped portion does not excessively deform elastically, thereby maintaining effective compaction force on the earth and sand.
3Ease of manufacture
If the sprocket hole penetrates the rubber body, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but earth and sand escape through the hole causing insufficient compaction and reduced traction performance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of leaving the sprocket hole penetrating, the patent uses a rubber plate-shaped portion to close the hole. This closure prevents earth and sand from escaping through the sprocket hole while maintaining the flexibility of the rubber body, thus preserving traction performance without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
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
The design effectively closes the sprocket hole and compacts earth and sand, increasing shear force and traction performance while ensuring robust engagement with the sprocket and preventing damage from construction machine applications.
Implementation Method 1
the cored bar can press and firmly compact the earth and sand taken into the groove between the rubber lugs when the crawler is on the ground
Implementation Method 2
the sprocket hole can be firmly closed by the rubber lug
Implementation Method 3
The teeth of the sprocket enter a sprocket hole located between the adjacent cored bars and engage with sprocket engagement portions of the cored bars to rotate the rubber crawler
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a rubber crawler containing cored bars that is capable of firmly closing a sprocket hole and firmly compacting the earth and sand taken into a groove between rubber lugs when the crawler is on the ground to enhance the traction performance.A rubber crawler (10) in which multiple cored bars (20) are embedded at regular intervals in a circumferential direction of the crawler in an endless belt-shaped rubber body (11), endless belt-shaped tension member layers (30), which extend in the crawler circumferential direction on a crawler outer circumferential side relative to the cored bars (20), are embedded in the endless belt-shaped rubber body (11) at both sides of a center in a width direction of the crawler, and a sprocket hole (15) into which teeth of a sprocket (2), around which the rubber crawler (10) is wound, enter is formed between the cored bars (20) adjacent in the crawler circumferential direction at the center in the crawler width direction of the endless belt-shaped rubber body (11), the rubber crawler being characterized in that a bottom portion of the sprocket hole (15) is formed by a rubber lug (12).