Chain drive or return arrangement and chain assembly and sprocket enployed therein

Chain drive or return arrangement for chain-drawn winning or transport facilities, particularly in underground mining, for example for plow winning systems or scraper chain conveyors, with a sprocket and a chain assembly returned and possibly driven by the sprocket, with the chain assembly consisting of vertical chain links and horizontal chain links and the sprocket exhibiting a plurality of sprocket teeth arranged uniformly around its circumference and chain link pockets between each pair of adjacent teeth that are delimited by tooth flanks of the sprocket teeth and each of take up a horizontal chain link of the chain assembly, these horizontal chain links exhibiting bows that form the power transmission zone when the horizontal chain links engage in the chain link pockets of the sprocket, these bows being arrow-shaped and exhibiting bow flanks to both sides of a curved bow center section, wherein the bow flanks of the horizontal chain links have a concave trough form at least below an equatorial line and that the tooth flanks delimiting the chain link pockets have a convex crown shape matching said bow flanks, at least in the contact areas of the sprocket teeth with the horizontal chain links.