Tsubakimoto Chain Company

Akihiko Utaki

Shoichiro Komiya

Masaaki Ikeda

Kazuhiro Tsutsumi

Takayuki Matsuda

Yoshinori Iwasaki

Toru Wada

Katsuhide Yamashita

Hirokazu Sano

Kazunori Nakayama

Provided is a chain that can reduce friction resistance between the running chain and a chain guide with a simple structure. The chainis formed of a plurality of platesincluding sliding platesthat are slidably guided by a chain guide G, the plates being coupled together with connecting pinssuch that the chain is bendable. The sliding plateseach include a guide-side end face, and the guide-side end faceincludes a recessed sectionformed by cutting away part of the guide-side end face, and a guide sliding sectionlocated on a front side in a chain running direction of the recessed section. The recessed sectionincludes a negative pressure canceling surfaceat a front end thereof in the chain running direction.

Chain

An object of the present invention is to provide a guide shoe that can prevent a shortage of lubricating oil and supply the lubricating oil onto a sliding surface of the shoe in a favorable manner. To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a guide shoethat has a shoe surfacefor slidably guiding a running chain CH. An oil guide partwith a pair of guide wallsis provided in the shoe surface. The pair of guide wallsare each formed such as to face a rear side in a chain running direction D and converge to each other toward a front side in the chain running direction D.

Guide shoe

An object of the present invention is to provide a guide shoe that can prevent a shortage of lubricating oil and supply the lubricating oil onto a sliding surface of the shoe in a favorable manner. To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a guide shoe that has a shoe surface for slidably guiding a running chain CH. A plate guide groove extending along a chain running direction D and guiding link plates L of the chain CH is provide in the shoe surface. An oil guide part having a pair of guide walls is provided in the bottom surface of the plate guide groove. The pair of guide walls are each formed such as to face a rear side in the chain running direction D and converge to each other toward a front side in the chain running direction D.

A cable protection and guide device in which wear damage in mounting portions of a mounting bracket is avoided and the mounting bracket is reliably and strongly mounted so that the cable is smoothly protected and guided. The mounting operation of the bracket is easy. A cable protection and guide device includes a mounting bracket having a mounting hole which surrounds and accommodates a tap bolt. A threaded portionof the tap bolt includes a metallic bushand the length Hof the metallic bushin a bolt inserting direction is shorter than the length Hof the mounting holein a bolt inserting direction.

Cable protection and guide device

A general purpose mounting bracket of a specific length which can be easily mounted onto a cable protection and guide device. The cable protection and guide device includes a fine setting of the entire length can be made without increasing the number of parts. A bracket joint includes a coupling portion () at one end of the bracket joint and a male connecting plate () or a female connecting plate () at the other end thereof. The mounting brackets positioned at a mounting fixed end and a mounting movable end engage the coupling portion () which exists at one end of the bracket joint, from a cable accommodating space side so as to be fitted to the coupling portion () by a snap-fit mechanism.

A cable protection and guide device includes comb teeth-shaped connecting link units. A plurality of side plates of each unit are interconnected through coupling portions. Stopper links of an opposing unit fit between adjacent side plates and interengage the coupling portions. Stopper links limit the bending angle. Connecting arms are integrally molded with the side plates and reside on the bending inner circumferential side of the device opening/closing arms are integrally molded with one of the side plates and reside on the bending outer circumferential side. The comb teeth-shaped connecting link units are opposed to each other.

A cable protection and guide device is disclosed in which connection strength of the side plate portions is improved. The strength of connecting portions is improved and large scale assembly of the device is possible. Side plate portions () each have a link module () with integrally molded side plates () of a predetermined number interconnected by coupling portions (). Each coupling portion includes flexible coupling arms () extended from the coupling portions (). Stopper links () each being engaged between the adjacent side plates from a cable accommodating space side and are assembled to the coupling portion by a snap-fit mechanism. The link module has a male connecting plate () and a female connecting plate (), which are respectively connected to link modules, which are reside at respective ends of the male connecting plate and the female connecting plate. The male connecting plate and the female connecting plate are each formed in the same outer shape as that of the side plate when connected to a female connecting plate and a male connecting plate of the adjacent link module.

A cable protection and guide device in which the number of parts used is reduced and assembly is simplified. Dust generation and bending fatigue is suppressed so that the cable protection and guide device exhibits excellent form stability of the cable accommodating space. Side plate portions and coupling portions are integrally molded from polyamide fatigue resistant resin into the form of a connecting link module. A polyacetal resin stopper link, which holds and limits the linear position and the bending position by engagement with the connecting link module, is inter-fitted with a coupling portion of the connecting link module by a snap-fit mechanism from the cable accommodating space side.

A cable protection and guide device having a connected link module enables quick assembly and reduces the number or parts and parts management necessary to form the cable The cable protection and guide device includes a plurality of side plate portions formed by connected link modules each integrally molded with coupling portions. Stopper links each incorporated with the coupling portions on the cable accommodating space side by a snap-fit mechanism limit the flexional angles of motion. Connecting arms interengage the stopper links on the outer and inner flexion inner circumferential sides.

A cable protection and guide device in which contact impact noise between adjacent side plates is dispersed. The noise is liable to occur at the time of linear position holding and at the time of flexional position restriction when cables accommodated therein are transmitted or moved from a mounting fixed end toward a mounting movable end. A number of pairs of right and left side plate units () are connected from a mounting fixed end to a mounting movable end and side plate unit comprises a side plate front portion () which is connected to a preceding side plate unit (), a side plate rear portion () which is connected to a subsequent side plate unit (), and a flexible coupling portion () integrally intervened between the side plate front portion () and the side plate rear portion (). The side plate unitincludes an outer circumferential side linear position holding mechanism Xo and an outer circumferential side flexional position restricting mechanism Yo at a side plate front portion () on a flexional outer circumferential side rather than the coupling portion (). The side plate also includes an inner circumferential side flexional position restricting mechanism Yi and an inner circumferential side linear position holding mechanism Xi at a side plate rear portion () on a flexional inner circumferential side rather than the coupling portion ().

Cable protection and guide devices are susceptible to the generation of wear powders from friction between the cable and front and rear end portions of the connecting plates. The generation of wear powders and damage or disconnection of the cable is prevented and abrasion loss and impact noise due to contact between the side plate units is suppressed. Connecting platesare symmetric such that the inner surface thereof includes small curvature portions, large curvature portions, and a flat surface or approximately flat surface having a radius of curvature which is larger than the large curvature portions.

A cable protection and guide device includes an engagement mechanism for securing connecting plates in a bridged arrangement over flexional inner and outer circumferential sides of side plates of the device. The connecting plates are not inadvertently disengaged because the engagement mechanism includes several features for securing the connecting plates to the side plates. The connecting plate engagement mechanism has a louver body and a louver type connecting plate which pivots about a pair of right and left supporting shafts which are formed at both ends of the louver type connecting plate. The louver type connecting plate is attachably fitted onto the pair of right and left side plates.

Cable or the like protection and guide device

A cable or the like protection and guide device can be applied to various conditions at a mounting fixed end and a mounting movable end. A cable or the like protection and guide device () in which mounting brackets () are detachably connected to a pair of right and left side plate units () adjacent to the mounting fixed end through fixed end side adaptors () respectively, and mounting brackets are detachably connected to a pair of right and left side plate units () adjacent to the mounting movable end through movable end side adaptors, (), respectively.

A cable or the like protection and guide device is disclosed which prevents inadvertent disconnection due to repeated flexure. Excellent fatigue resistance is exhibited. A cable or the like protection and guide device in which pairs of side plates are respectively formed of a highly-rigid resin front side plate portion connected to a preceding side plate and a highly-rigid resin rear side plate portion is connected to a subsequent side plate. A flexible fatigue resistant resin coupling portion is interposed between the front side plate portion and the rear side plate portion in an integrated manner by using a using two-color molding.

A cable or the like protection and guide device is disclosed in which inadvertent disconnection in a coupling portion of a side plate due to the repetition of flexional movements is avoided. Stress concentration is reduced in a flexion portion during restriction of flexional movements whereby excellent endurance on repeated flexion fatigue can be exhibited and in which the number of parts and the assembly operation can be reduced. Plates disposed in a right and left pair are integrally formed by a front side plate portion, a rear side plate portion, and a flexible coupling portioninterposed between the front side plate portionand the rear side plate portion. The coupling portionincludes a thin plate-shaped central flexion allowable regionand base end continuous regionswith gradually increased plate thickness from the central flexion allowable regionside toward the front side plate portionand rear side portion, respectively.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Akihiko Utaki