Tapered Drive Lug Surfaces for Vehicle Track Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endless rubber tracks for agricultural or industrial vehicles experience excessive wear at the points of contact between drive bars and drive lugs due to recurring contact, leading to increased maintenance and replacement needs, especially under high power and speed conditions.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of drive lugs with tapered surfaces, which extend laterally over a significant portion of the lug's lateral surface, enhances durability and power transmission while reducing wear, allowing for more efficient power delivery without damaging the track.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional flat drive lugs are used, then the track structure is simple, but excessive wear occurs at contact points between drive bars and drive lugs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a tapered surface configuration specifically at the drive faces of the lugs, while the rest of the track structure remains conventional. The tapered surfaces concentrate the contact area at specific regions, improving wear resistance locally without requiring complex changes throughout the entire track structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved tapered surfaces on the drive lugs instead of flat planes. This curvature distributes contact stresses more effectively and reduces wear by creating a more favorable contact geometry between the drive bars and lugs, while maintaining relatively simple overall structure.
2Productivity
If higher power levels are transmitted, then productivity increases, but wear on drive lugs increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the drive lugs by introducing tapered surfaces with specific angles and dimensions. This parameter modification allows the track to handle higher power levels by distributing the increased loads more effectively across the tapered contact surfaces, thereby maintaining durability while improving productivity.
3Power
If flat drive lugs are used, then manufacturing is simple, but the track cannot handle high power levels without damage
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered surfaces are applied only to the drive faces of the lugs, which is a localized feature that can be manufactured using standard forming or machining processes. This local modification enables high power handling without requiring complex manufacturing throughout the entire track structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
The tracks (20) of the present invention have drive faces (17,19) which are tapered surfaces, such as a convex tapered surface which extends laterally over the drive surface of the lugs (16). The utilization of lugs having tapered drive faces improves the performance and durability of the track. The tracks having the drive face design of this invention also allow for more power to be delivered without damaging the track or causing excessive wear. The present invention more specifically discloses an endless vehicle track comprising a body (30) formed of an elastomeric material having an outer surface displaying a series of ground engaging profiles (24) longitudinally spaced along said surface and an inner surface displaying a series of longitudinally spaced drive lugs (16) adapted to be engaged by drive sprockets on said vehicle for retaining said track on said vehicle and for driving said vehicle, said drive lugs having a given width and height, said drive lugs having drive faces with tapered surfaces, wherein the tapered surfaces extend laterally over at least 15 percent of the lateral surface of the lug.