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AssigneeDayco Corporation
InventorsRobert E. Wetzel, Wayne C. Fieler, Gerald C. Hollaway
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for making toothed belts and toothed belt made using such method and apparatus are provided wherein the belt is made primarily of polymeric material and is comprised of at least parts of a plurality of successive turns of a single helically wound toothed strip wherein the turns are bonded together in adjoining side-by-side relation and the toothed belt has improved teeth comprised of teeth initially provided in the single toothed strip by compressed, displaced, and reshaped portions of hot strip means of substantially self-supporting quadrilateral cross-sectional configuration employed to define such single strip.
In a method of making toothed endless power transmission belts each having a particular thickness and comprising the steps of, forming a polymeric material to define an elongate toothed belt element, helically wrapping said toothed belt element on cylinder means with successive helical turns in adjoining side-by-side relation and with each tooth of each turn in substantial axial alignment with associated teeth of other helical turns, bonding said adjoining helical turns together to define a toothed belt sleeve, and cutting said sleeve to define a plurality of said toothed belts, the improvement wherein said forming step comprises the steps of defining hot strip means of said polymeric material with said strip means having an overall substantially self-supporting quadrilateral cross-sectional configuration throughout the length thereof and a thickness throughout the length thereof roughly equal to said particular thickness, disposing load-carrying means in said hot strip means with said load-carrying means comprising at least one elongate flexible member that forms a corresponding helically wound load-carrying means in said endless belts, and thereafter working said self-supporting quadrilateral cross-sectional configured strip means to define said toothed belt element with a thickness at the teeth thereof roughly equal to said particular thickness and prior to said step of helically wrapping said toothed belt element on said cylinder means, said disposing step comprising the step of disposing said flexible member axially along and within said hot strip means prior to said working step so that said hot strip means engages said flexible member substantially completely around the same throughout substantially the entire length thereof that is disposed within said hot strip means, said working step comprising the step of working a portion of said hot strip means along its entire length while keeping said flexible member substantially intact to define said toothed belt element having said flexible member extending in a rectilinear path along its full length.
In an apparatus for making toothed endless power transmission belts each having a particular thickness and comprising means for forming a polymeric material to define an elongate toothed belt element, means for helically wrapping said toothed belt element on cylinder means with successive helical turns in adjoining side-by-side relation and with each tooth of each turn in substantial axial alignment with associated teeth of other helical turns, a device for bonding said adjoining helical turns together to define a toothed belt sleeve, and a cutting apparatus for cutting said sleeve to define a plurality of said toothed belts, the improvement wherein said forming means comprises means defining hot strip means of said polymeric material with said strip means having an overall substantially self-supporting quadrilateral cross-sectional configuration throughout the length thereof and a thickness throughout the length thereof roughly equal to said particular thickness, means for disposing at least one elongate flexible load-carrying member in said hot strip means to define a corresponding load-carrying member in said endless belts, and cooperating working rollers for thereafter working said self-supporting quadrilateral cross-sectional configured strip means to define said toothed belt element with a thickness at the teeth thereof roughly equal to said particular thickness and in advance of said cylinder means, said disposing means being adapted to dispose said flexible member axially along and within said hot strip means prior to movement thereof through said cooperating working rollers so that said hot strip means engages said flexible member substantially completely around the same throughout substantially the entire length thereof that is disposed within said hot strip means, said working rollers cooperating to work a portion of said strip means along its entire length while keeping said flexible member substantially intact to define said toothed belt element having said flexible member extending in a rectilinear path along its full length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.