The Gates Corporation

Arthur Jack Clarke

Jonathan Andrew Kneeshaw

John W Black

Jing Yuan

Joseph R Duke, Jr

Karlheinz Nicolai

William W L Wu

Kevin John Francis Whitfield

Richard Bell

Joseph R Duke

Robert David Parnell

William WL Wu

A belt and chain drive for vehicles or for use in drive technology with an input shaft and an output shaft supported on a frame, the input shaft and the output shaft project out of the frame, with the following features: a) gear transmissions with gear wheels, which are embodied as belt and chain drives, are located between the input shaft and the output shaft, b) all of the gear wheels are constantly in rotation during operation, c) the gear transmissions located between the input shaft and the output shaft are embodied as belt and chain drives with toothed belts as traction mechanisms and with pulleys as gear wheels, d) the traction mechanism are reinforced with aramide, Kevlar, carbon fibers or other fibrous materials, is characterized in that e) the traction mechanism is pressed into a kidney-like shape onto the pulleys by at least one component during no-load rotation, and that under the effect of load this component does not touch the traction mechanism, and f) the kidney-like shape of the traction mechanism during no-load rotation is formed by a convex curvature of the driving side and by a concave curvature of the slack side, and g) the kidney-like shape of the traction mechanisms under load is formed by a straight shape of the driving side and by an intensified concave curvature of the slack side.

Belt and chain drive with kidney-shaped traction mechanism

A debris ejecting sprocket comprising a body (), a plurality of teeth () projecting from the body, a plurality of grooves () in alternating arrangement with the teeth, each groove receives a belt tooth, a cavity () disposed radially inward from each groove and communicating with the groove, the cavity further comprises a land () for supporting the belt, the land disposed between the groove and the cavity, and the cavity comprising a surface () disposed at an angle (&#x3b8;) with respect to an axial direction (A-A).

Debris ejecting sprocket and system

A shaft coupling with a flexible annular sleeve, a driver end piece, and a driven end piece. The end pieces have a plurality of axially projecting prongs arranged so that the driver prongs loosely interlock in the spaces between the driven prongs with a gap between each pair of prongs. The sleeve fits snugly around the periphery of the loosely interlocked prongs. Each prong has at least one prong groove in its outer periphery. Each of two peripheral edges may be shaped to form a groove flank, and each set of two adjacent groove flanks on adjacent prongs may form a gap groove. The sleeve has a plurality of inner teeth including a plurality of groove teeth in alternating arrangement with a plurality of gap teeth. The prong grooves and groove teeth mesh, and the gap grooves and gap teeth mesh. Groove teeth may be bigger than gap teeth.

Sleeve and sleeve-type flexible shaft coupling

A flexible shaft coupling sleeve comprising a sleeve shaped body having a central annular portion and a coupling receiving portion at each of two opposing sleeve ends, and a coupling device incorporating such sleeve. The sleeve's coupling receiving portions include axially extending teeth on their inner surfaces. The flexible shaft coupling sleeve is formed of a polyurethane elastomer composition.

Flexible coupling sleeve and a flexible shaft coupling incorporating same

Pronged sleeve-type flexible shaft coupling

Sprocket

A flexible shaft coupling element comprising a sleeve shaped body having a central annular portion and a coupling receiving portion at each of two opposing sleeve ends. The coupling receiving portions include axially extending teeth on their inner surfaces. The flexible shaft coupling element is characterized in that the annular portion possesses a torsional shear capacity and the area defining the axially extending teeth possesses a shear capacity, and the tooth shear capacity exceeds the annular portion torsional shear capacity.

Flexible shaft coupling element and flexible couplings incorporating same

Growing community of inventors

Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom

Arthur Jack Clarke