Wheel substitutes for land vehicles – Combined or convertible
Patent
1993-04-29
1994-12-20
Stormer, Russell D.
Wheel substitutes for land vehicles
Combined or convertible
305 14, 305 59, B62D 55092
Patent
active
053741153
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a national phase application corresponding to PCT/DE91/00883 filed Nov. 11, 1991 and based in turn, upon a German application P4039095.0 filed Dec. 7, 1990 under the International Convention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a sealing arrangement for hinges of track chains wherein the hinge includes of a bolt and a bushing, the outer chain links are secured to the bolt and the inner chain links are secured to the bushing, whereby the bolt has a reservoir which can be filled with lubricant and is connected particularly via a cross-channel with the lubrication gap between the bushing and the bolt, the ends of which are sealed off with seals which are sealingly supported on the outer chain links on one side and on the bushing ends on the other side, whereby between each bushing end and each outer chain link a dimensionally stable support element is arranged.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such a sealing arrangement is known for instance from DE 31 27 104 C2. In the known sealing arrangement a support ring is arranged on the bolt with play between the bushing ends in a corresponding recess of the outer chain links, the actual elastic seal being supported on the outside of this ring. The seal rests with its sealing elements or wings on parts of the outer chain links on the one side and on the frontal side of the bushings on the other. In crawlers and the like where the track chains are subject to heavy loads it becomes necessary to lubricate the hinges, which, according to the state of the art, is done by feeding lubricants to a bushing/bolt combination, whereby due to a support ring--seal connection between the bushing, bolt and chain link a lubricant chamber is created in the link area. The drawback of the heretofore known solutions is that the vertical and horizontal forces generated in the hinges between the bushing-support ring-chain link, bushing-support ring-bolt or also between chain link-support ring-bolt produce inner stress, which can have disadvantageous effects on the sealing of the hinge. For instance, it can result in support ring breakages or in heavy wear of the sealing material.
The above-described sealing arrangement where the lubricants are introduced as flowable lubricants, as well as sealing arrangements where the lubricant reservoir is formed by the chamber wherein the seal is arranged, are known to the state of the art. Thereby grease or similar materials with low flowability are used. In this known construction the lubrication gap between the bushing and the bolt is also filled with grease, as is the chamber containing the seal, namely in the area facing the lubrication gap. In such constructions the lubricant reservoir in the bolt proper is eliminated, so that the bolt can be a solid part without hollow portions.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is the principle object of the invention to provide a sealing arrangement of the generic kind, wherein the action of the forces generated in the hinge is basically limited only to a connection between the bushing and the chain link.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a generic hinge having components assembled either into a unlubricated, seal-free arrangement or into a lubricated track chain provided with sealing arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve this problem, the invention proposes that the support element be formed as an integral part of the bushing ends and the lubricating gap be connected to the receiving space for the seals by lubricating grooves or channels, formed in the frontal surface of the shaped supporting element and/or in the bushing body, and/or lubrication passages or channels be provided, through which the lubrication gap is connected with the sealing space.
Due to this construction it is possible to arrange the seal directly between the bushing and the outer chain link, without having to provide an additional support ring and other comparable elements in the hinge space, which could cause frictional locking. In
REFERENCES:
patent: 3309864 (1967-03-01), Arndt et al.
patent: 3409336 (1968-11-01), Dadds
patent: 3958836 (1976-05-01), Brown et al.
patent: 3975028 (1976-08-01), Satsumabayashi et al.
patent: 4007972 (1977-02-01), Baylor
Dubno Herbert
Intertractor Aktiengesellschaft
Stormer Russell D.
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