Chain drive or return arrangement and chain assembly and sprocket employed therein
AssigneeCaterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH
InventorsAdam Klabisch, Gerhard Merten
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Chain return arrangement and sprocket and chain assembly employed therein with the bow flanks of the horizontal chain links (1) of the chain assembly (10) exhibiting a concave trough at least below an equatorial line (7) and the chain link pockets (52) of the sprocket (50) that receive the horizontal chain links at their tooth flanks (53) in the contact areas (55) to the chain links (1) having a convex crown shape to match the troughed bow flank. This significantly reduces the surface pressures between the two parts.
Claims12
Chain assembly for plow systems in underground mining, the chain assembly comprising:
- vertical chain links;
- and
- horizontal chain links comprising two chain legs linked at first and second head ends by arrow-shaped bows that in operative use of the chain assembly form power transmission zones with sprockets, the bows each including bow flanks linearly tapered towards each other in a first plane, wherein the first plane is defined by an equatorial line at which the horizontal chain links are symmetrical above and below the equatorial line, the bow flanks being on opposite sides of a curved bow center section and comprising flank surfaces facing outwards,
- wherein the bow flanks of the horizontal chain links have concave troughs in the flank surfaces in a second plane, the second plane being orthogonal to the first plane, the concave trough being at least below the equatorial line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.