Harvesters – Tobacco
Patent
1990-10-30
1992-07-21
Bui, Thuy M.
Harvesters
Tobacco
474205, 474268, F16G 108
Patent
active
051312158
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to endless belt constructions particularly for use in a track support system for agricultural and horticultural machines and the like. The invention also relates to a method of producing such endless belts and to the use of such belts in the support and transport mechanisms of agricultural and horticultural machinery.
The present invention has been developed for use in tea harvesting equipment, however it will be apparent that the inventive concepts disclosed herein are not limited to tea harvesting equipment alone. Many tea plantations have been established in relatively wet zones where the ground cannot satisfactorily withstand high loads. Moreover, tea plants are susceptible to roof damage from the passage of heavy agricultural machinery such as harvesting equipment. Often wheeled machinery, such as tractors and the like will become bogged or will damage plant roots and as a result their use in many tea plantations is difficult or impossible. As a result, there has been a need to provide light low cost machinery for use in tea plantations, particularly for harvesting tea. Endless track systems to support such machinery for movement through an agricultural growing area will of course distribute ground contact loads more evenly than wheels, however, conventional metal tracks, while being robust, are too heavy for use in most agricultural situations and certainly are too heavy for use in tea plantations. Endless track of this type have therefore, in the past, been produced using belts produced from moulded rubber with reinforcing members arranged therein, the belt being produced by cutting a desired length of reinforced rubber, boring the reinforcing material and overlaying the reinforcing material ends, and moulding and vulcanising rubber to join the ends of the belt around the overlapped ends of the reinforcing material. Commonly, metal track cleats were attached to these belts by drilling bolt holes through the belt and connecting the metal track cleats to the belt by appropriate bolts. These track constructions often failed prematurely at the join of the belt ends or alternatively at the bolt holes which often not only drilled through the rubber but also severed the reinforcing members.
The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a belt construction and a method of producing same that will provide a strong and durable belt for an endless track support system. A further preferred objective of the present invention is to provide a belt construction and a method of producing same that avoids the aforementioned problems of the known belt construction and method of producing same discussed above.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a belt construction comprising at least one reinforcing member in a single length of metal cable passed through the belt construction arranged in a plurality of loops, each said loop being arranged adjacent to but spaced from an adjacent said loop, and polyurethane moulded about said reinforcing member (or members) in a single piece to form said belt construction.
In accordance with a second aspect, the present invention also provides a method or producing an endless belt construction, said method of producing an endless belt construction, said method comprising providing a mould defining an endless belt shape, locating a plurality of members within said mould at spaced locations, said members forming part of said belt construction, each of said members defining location means for retaining an elongated reinforcing member in a desired position, locating an elongated reinforcing member within said mould in an arrangement of a plurality of loops held by said location means, said loops being adjacent to but spaced from one another, and introducing a mouldable synthetic resin into said mound to form said belt construction.
According to a still further aspect, the present invention provides a belt construction for use on a belt construction for use in a moving track support system of a vehicle, said belt construction comprising
REFERENCES:
patent: 3582154 (1971-06-01), Russ
patent: 3773394 (1973-11-01), Grawey
patent: 4846771 (1989-07-01), Kozachevsky et al.
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