Stepped Bicycle Chain Plate Structure for Strength in Narrow Chains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing chain plate structures for bicycles, particularly in multi-stage speed change mechanisms, suffer from insufficient strength, deformation, and noise issues due to size limitations and obstacles during gear engagement, affecting smooth operation and safety.
Innovation Solution
A high-strength chain plate structure featuring an inner and outer plate body with continuous two-step and three-step structures, including recessed waist portions and straight outer side portions, which enhance tensile strength, impact resistance, and torsion resistance while maintaining constant chain width and spacing, allowing for smooth gear engagement without noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the chain plate has a groove or concave curved surface to reduce width, then the chain width can be reduced to fit speed change mechanism, but the strength and impact resistance of the chain plate is insufficient causing deformation or breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a multi-level stepped structure that extends the chain plate geometry into additional dimensional complexity. The inner plate body includes a first waist portion with first and second steps, while the outer plate body includes a second waist portion with third and fourth steps. This multi-dimensional geometric configuration increases the effective load-bearing area and structural rigidity without increasing the overall chain width, thereby resolving the contradiction between reduced width and maintained strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The chain plate is segmented into distinct functional regions: coupling portions at the ends, waist portions in the middle, and multiple stepped sections (first step, second step, third step, fourth step) within the waist portions. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function - the coupling portions for connection, the waist portions for strength enhancement through multi-level geometry, and the stepped structures for distributing mechanical stresses. The segmentation enables the chain to maintain high strength while keeping the overall width compact.
2Ease of manufacture
If the chain plate has a straight surface or simplified structure, then the manufacturing is easier, but the strength and impact resistance are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different geometric characteristics at different locations of the chain plate. The coupling portions have circular cross-sections for rotational connection, while the waist portions feature multi-level stepped structures with varying heights and widths to enhance strength. The first and second steps in the inner plate body and third and fourth steps in the outer plate body create localized reinforcement zones exactly where mechanical stresses are highest, without complicating the entire structure. This localized geometric optimization maintains manufacturing feasibility while significantly improving strength and impact resistance.
3Volume of moving object
If the chain plate spacing is reduced to maintain chain width, then the chain fits within speed change mechanism dimensions, but the torsion resistance and strength are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for reduced plate spacing by introducing multi-level stepped structures that utilize the vertical dimension. The first waist portion includes first and second steps with different heights, and the second waist portion includes third and fourth steps with different heights. These vertical variations create additional load paths and increase the moment of inertia, thereby enhancing torsion resistance and overall reliability even when the horizontal spacing between plates is reduced to maintain compact chain width.
Solution Approach 2:
The chain link functions as a composite structure combining the inner plate body and outer plate body with their respective stepped waist portions. The interaction between the first coupling portion and second coupling portion, along with their interconnected stepped structures, creates a composite mechanical system that distributes and reinforces loads across multiple interfaces. This composite arrangement enhances the overall reliability and torsion resistance of the chain, compensating for the reduced spacing between individual plate components.
Data Source
AI summary
A high-strength chain plate structure comprises an inner plate body and an outer plate body. The inner plate body has a first waist portion provided with a first receiving portion and a first outer side portion. The first outer side portion has a first slope. The first slope and the first waist portion form a continuous two-step structure. The outer plate body has a second waist portion provided with a second receiving portion and a second outer side portion. The second outer side portion has a second slope. The second slope and the second waist portion form a continuous two-step structure. The tensile strength, impact resistance and torsion resistance of the chain can be improved.