Toothed Belt Core Embedding to Prevent Fabric Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toothed belts experience friction and wear due to exposed knitted fabric from inter-tooth portions, leading to a decrease in elastic modulus and tension maintaining properties, which complicates their use in downsized equipment with fixed shaft distances.
Innovation Solution
A toothed belt design featuring a rubber-based construction with a knitted or unwoven fabric core that extends substantially straight and is not exposed from inter-tooth portions, embedded within a rubber back portion, ensuring the core is fully covered and maintaining tension effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the knitted fabric is exposed from inter-tooth portions, then the belt can be manufactured with simpler structure, but friction occurs to make the knitted fabric wear out and cause a decrease in the elastic modulus of the belt
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by positioning the knitted fabric not only in the longitudinal direction but also controlling its depth position within the belt thickness direction. The fabric is embedded such that it does not protrude from the inter-tooth portions, effectively using the third dimension (depth) to resolve the exposure problem while maintaining the simple manufacturing structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the knitted fabric extends in a linear shape to cover the mold, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the knitted fabric may be exposed from the inter-tooth portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the position parameters of the knitted fabric within the mold. By adjusting the depth position parameter (distance from the surface of the inter-tooth portion) to be 0.5 mm or less, the fabric is properly embedded without exposure, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and structural complexity.
3Reliability
If triangle noses or support projections are formed on the inner mold, then the knitted fabric exposure is reduced, but the portions supported by these projections are necessarily exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic triangle noses or support projections from the mold structure. By removing these protruding elements that cause fabric exposure, the solution eliminates the source of the problem while maintaining the desired effect of reduced fabric exposure through proper fabric positioning and embedding depth control.
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 solution enhances the belt's elastic modulus and tension maintenance, allowing for smoother operation and longer lifespan by preventing core exposure and wear, while enabling use in a wider range of applications with fixed shaft distances, including office automation and household appliances.
Implementation Method 1
a core made of an elastic knitted or unwoven fabric and embedded in the back portion
Implementation Method 2
Both of the belt teeth and the back portion are made of rubber
Data Source
AI summary
A toothed belt includes an endless back portion, a plurality of belt teeth arranged on a face of the back portion at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal direction of the back portion; and a core made of an elastic knitted or unwoven fabric and embedded in the back portion. Both of the belt teeth and the back portion are made of rubber. The core is not exposed from inter-tooth portions which are located between the belt teeth. In the core, a difference between the position of a point that is closest to the belt teeth in a belt thickness direction and the position of a point that is closest to a back face of the belt in the belt thickness direction is limited to 0.5 mm or less.