Multilayered flexible drive sprocket
AssigneeJeff A. Greene
InventorThomas E. Oertley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A drive sprocket assembly for driving an endless chain assembly for propelling a vehicle has multilayered flexible teeth in which each layer is separately deflectable upon impact by a bushing of the endless chain assembly. The independent flexibility of each tooth in the multilayered structure is less than that of a single wide monolithic tooth and, as a result of expected variance due to acceptable manufacturing tolerances in tooth profiles and web shapes, the impacts of the track bushing do not occur simultaneously. The track bushing first engages one or more of the teeth in the multilayered tooth structure, whereupon the first impacted teeth absorb at least a portion of the kinetic energy prior to the bushing impacting the remaining teeth in the multilayered structure.
Claims14
A drive tooth sprocket assembly adapted for rotation about an axis thereof and comprising:
- a housing having a circular hub portion concentrically disposed about said axis;
- and
- at least one drive tooth structure having a plurality of adjacently disposed curved segments axially arranged along said axis of the drive sprocket assembly, each of said segments having a base portion with a curved surface adapted to mate with a radially outer surface of said hub portion of the housing and at least one resilient tooth portion capable of limited deflection extending radially outwardly from said base portion.
A drive sprocket assembly for a track-type vehicle, said vehicle having an endless track assembly, and said sprocket assembly being adapted to transfer power from the vehicle to the track assembly, said drive sprocket assembly comprising:
- a housing having a circular hub portion;
- and
- a plurality of segments disposed in side-by-side relationship on said hub portion, each of said segments having at least one drive tooth portion adapted to engage a predefined portion of said endless track assembly.
A multilayered sprocket tooth adapted for mounting on a hub of a drive sprocket, said multilayered sprocket tooth comprising a plurality of segments disposed in side-by-side relationship and having at least one flexible tooth portion provided thereon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.