Lightweight Segmented Drive Wheel for Track Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle track-module systems face challenges with heavy drive wheels, cumbersome track installation and removal, difficulty in accommodating varying vehicle horsepower ratings, mud and debris accumulation, and excessive track wear due to pitch diameter variations.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight drive wheel design featuring a circular main plate with circumferentially-spaced drive members and a rigidity ring, allowing for easy weight adjustment and reduced pitch diameter differences, along with lug support members to facilitate track installation and reduce wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional heavy drive wheel configurations are used to meet operational requirements, then reliability and strength are improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive wheel is divided into separate functional components: a lightweight main plate, removable wheel weights, and a track. This segmentation allows the base structure to be lightweight while operational weights can be added or removed based on specific needs, resolving the contradiction between light weight and operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive wheel configuration is made dynamic through removable wheel weights that can be adjusted based on vehicle horsepower ratings and operational conditions. This allows the same drive wheel structure to adapt to different power requirements without being permanently heavy, addressing both weight reduction and reliability needs.
2Strength
If drive wheels with outer bands and side structure are used, then structural strength is improved, but pitch diameter variations cause excessive track wear
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the outer band and interfering side structure from the drive wheel design. The main plate has a simple circular configuration without protruding bands, ensuring that the pitch diameter remains consistent throughout rotation. This eliminates the pitch diameter variations that cause track wear while maintaining sufficient strength through the plate and drive member configuration.
3Ease of operation
If traditional drive wheel configurations are used, then operational requirements are met, but track installation and removal become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The drive wheel is segmented into a main plate and removable wheel weights that can be easily added or removed. This segmentation, combined with the absence of an outer band, allows the track to be installed and removed more easily as there are no interfering structures, directly improving ease of operation.
4Stability of the object's composition
If closed drive wheel structures are used, then structural integrity is improved, but mud and debris accumulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the outer band and enclosed side structures that trap mud and debris. The open configuration of the main plate with circumferentially spaced drive members allows mud and debris to be thrown clear during rotation, eliminating the harmful accumulation effect while maintaining structural integrity through the plate and drive member arrangement.
5Weight of moving object
If lightweight drive wheel designs are used, then weight is reduced, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The drive wheel is segmented into a lightweight main plate and separate wheel weights. The main plate provides the essential structural function with minimal weight, while wheel weights can be added or removed based on operational requirements. This segmentation allows optimization of both weight and strength for different applications.
Solution Approach 2:
Strength is concentrated where needed: the main plate provides structural integrity, drive members provide track engagement strength, and wheel weights can be strategically positioned to enhance strength or balance based on specific operational requirements. This local quality approach ensures strength is provided only where necessary, minimizing overall weight.
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle track-module (10) including an upper drive wheel, a plurality of idler (14A and 14B) and bogey wheels (15A and 15B), and an endless rubber track (16) with spaced lugs (20) which extends around the wheels and is driven by the drive wheel (12), which has: a middle main plate (22) with a outer edge (40B) of first diameter and inward and outward sides (28A and 28B) forming the exposed inward and outward surfaces of the drive wheel; drive members axially across and projecting radially beyond the main-plate edge (26) to a second diameter.