With Integral Grouser Patents (Class 305/178)
  • Patent number: 6109705
    Abstract: A snowmobile drive track for travelling on various surfaces including icy surfaces, hardened snow surfaces and semi-hardened surfaces comprises an endless body having, on its ground engaging outer side, projecting profiles having peaks of different height. The first highest peaks bear on icy surfaces, while, on hardened snow surfaces, the second highest peaks also engage the ground; on semi-hardened snow surfaces, all peaks engage the ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Camoplast, Inc.
    Inventor: Denis Courtemanche
  • Patent number: 6079802
    Abstract: In a rubber crawler, lags are generally are formed on the outer surface of an endless belt-like elastomer, and rubber projections for transmission of driving force and prevention of the rubber crawler from coming of off from a wheel are formed on the inner surface of the elastomer at regular pitches. Rein forcing cord layers are embedded in the elastomer along its longitudinal direction. An abrasion resistant member is embedded in the rubber projection along the width direction of the rubber crawler. Its both end portions are exposed at the sides of the rubber projection. The abrasion-resistant member has a central portion having a small diameter and a pair of end portions connected to the ends of the central portion and having a large diameter. In the exposed portion of the end portion which is exposed at the side surface of the rubber projection, its most interior portion in the radial direction is positioned above the base portion of the rubber projection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Naoki Nishimura, Eiji Tsuru
  • Patent number: 6068354
    Abstract: A track (10) for a vehicle is typically carried by a plurality of wheels (12, 14, 16). Tread-wheel vibration is created when the track (10) passes between a wheel and the ground over which the vehicle is traveling. A track (10) includes a plurality of external lugs (32) that engage the ground when the track (10) is in use. Each external lug (32) has a tread angle (a) indicating the angle at which the lug is disposed to the longitudinal axis (34) of the track (10), a tread pitch (P) and a lug width (H). A wheel (16) contacting the interior of the track (10) has a width (B). A tread design that minimizes tread-wheel vibration has the pitch (P) of the lugs (32) substantially equal to the wheel width (B) multiplied by the tangent of the tread angle (a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Akiyama, Matthew J. Beatty, Louis F. Agocs, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6017103
    Abstract: In the operation of a track type machine in highly abrasive material, premature wear of the track shoes has been a common occurrence. The present invention provides a track shoe that has a grouser that defines a plurality of grooves that extend in a direction that is substantially the same as that of the grouser. The grooves are formed on both the leading and trailing sides of the grouser and are filled with an abrasion resistant material. The grooves are arranged such that the strips of abrasion resistant material on the first side are aligned with the spaces between the strips on the opposite side and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2000
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventor: Jean F. Villard
  • Patent number: 6000766
    Abstract: A crawler belt apparatus includes a drive wheel having engaging teeth, a crawler belt having engaging projections engageable with the engaging teeth, and a plurality of discharge passages formed between root bottoms defined by the engaging projections, and top ends of the engaging teeth, for discharging foreign substances such as dirt and sand entered between the root bottoms and the top ends. The foreign substances passing through the discharge passages are not compressed by the drive wheel and hence do not become a solid mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Takeuchi, Masayuki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 5730510
    Abstract: A snowmobile drive track includes an endless body having a ground engaging outer side on which is displayed, on every three successive crossbar receiving areas, a tread pattern which is repeated over the entire outer side. This profile configuration allows for a reduction of rubber material on the track and, therefore, a reduction of noise produced by the track as it rotates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Camoplast Inc.
    Inventor: Denis Courtemanche
  • Patent number: 5709440
    Abstract: The noise generated by a snowmobile track in operation can be reduced and attenuated by arranging for the track elements such as the drive lugs and ground-engaging lugs to have a degree of non-uniformity in their repeating pattern and thus to avoid the generation of peak noise levels at particular frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1998
    Assignee: Bombardier Inc.
    Inventor: Gaetan Lecours
  • Patent number: 5676436
    Abstract: A positive drive endless rubber belted track is adapted to be attached to track links of an endless track link assembly. The particular construction of the core and grousers of the belted track permit the rubber belted track to stretch as it passes over the driving mechanism and idler of the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1997
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventor: Cullen P. Hart
  • Patent number: 5632537
    Abstract: A crawler belt for use on a crawler motor vehicle has an elongate belt body drivable in a predetermined direction, and a plurality of ridges mounted on a ground contact side of the belt body, each of the ridges having at least one sipe defined in a free end thereof for allowing the ridge to be flexibly deformable in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. Each of the ridges has a plurality of sipes defined therein and extending longitudinally thereof or substantially perpendicularly to the predetermined direction. The ridges comprise a plurality of chevron-shaped ridges pointing toward the predetermined direction and succesively arranged at predetermined spaced intervals in the predetermined direction. The ridges are divided into a plurality of groups each including a plurality of ridges by grooves extending transversely of the belt body, and divided into a plurality of segments by at least one longitudinal groove extending longitudinally of the belt body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 27, 1997
    Assignees: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, The Ohtsu Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hajime Yoshimura, Kouichi Uchibaba, Takahiro Yamamoto, Koichi Matsumoto, Yoshio Ueno, Kenichi Sakai