Tsubakimoto Chain Company

Nobuto Kozakura

Tsutomu Haginoya

Katsuya Nakakubo

Toyonaga Saito

Kouichi Ichikawa

Koichi Ichikawa

Masao Maruyama

Masaaki Matsumoto

Norio Harada

Toyonaga Saitou

Makoto Kanehira

Shigekazu Fukuda

Masatoshi Sonoda

Hiroshi Horie

Takayuki Funamoto

Kazumasa Matsuno

Kenshi Suzuki

Yoshinori Iwasaki

Yoshiaki Sugimoto

Toshifumi Sato

Nobuhiro Odai

Takero Nakagawa

Kazumi Ohmura

Nobuo Okamoto

Tadahiro Kitaori

Hisaharu Terajima

In a double-sided meshing type silent chain, guide plates each having a flat back face formed on one side thereof and a pair of pin-accommodation holes formed therein are disposed at opposite widthwise ends of the chain with the pin-accommodation holes press-fit with connecting pins which are each adapted to articulately connect two adjacent rows of link plates with each other in an interleaved fashion. The guide plates do not take part in meshing engagement with a sprocket but operate to guide the travel of the chain stably without causing flattering or vibration. The guide plates further serves as a strengthening member of the chain.

Double-sided meshing type silent chain

Each link plate of a low noise silent chain has an inside meshing surface formed on the inside flank of each link tooth. The inside meshing surface includes a convexly arcuate mesh start portion disposed on a tip side of each link tooth, and a convexly arcuate mesh guide portion disposed on a root side of each link tooth. The arcuate mesh guide portion has a radius of curvature and a circular arc length which are greater than a radius of curvature and a circular arc length, respectively, of the convexly arcuate mesh start portion. When the silent chain engages a sprocket, the engagement proceeds smoothly and continuously from the inside meshing surface to the outside meshing surface. This contributes to the reduction of the noise level of the silent chain as a whole through suppression of meshing sound of the outside meshing surface and vibratory chain noise.

Low noise silent chain

A double-meshing-type silent chain includes link plates having the identical side profile. Each link plate has two meshing teeth and a flat back face formed opposite to the meshing teeth. Two kinds of links are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction of the chain, while the adjacent links are connected by pins. In one kind of link, an odd number of the link plates are disposed in the width direction of the chain. In the other kind of link, an even number of the link plates are disposed in the width direction of the chain. In each link, the link plates are oriented such that the meshing teeth of link plates located at widthwise opposite ends project outwardly with respect to the chain and the meshing teeth of the remaining link plates project inwardly with respect to the chain.

Double-meshing type silent chain and sprocket for meshing with the chain along outer circumference thereof

A double-meshing-type silent chain of a silent chain drive includes link plates having the identical side profile. Each link plate has two meshing teeth and a flat back face formed opposite to the meshing teeth. Two kinds of links are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction of the chain, while the adjacent links are connected by pins. In one kind of link, an odd number of the link plates are disposed in the width direction of the chain. In the other kind of link, an even number of the link plates are disposed in the width direction of the chain. In each link, the link plates are oriented such that the meshing teeth of link plates located at widthwise opposite ends project outwardly with respect to the chain and the meshing teeth of the remaining link plates project inwardly with respect to the chain. Various types of sprockets used for meshing with the double-meshing-type silent chain are also disclosed.

Double-meshing-type silent chain drive and sprocket used therein

Double-meshing-type silent chain and sprocket for meshing with the chain

A silent-chain transmission apparatus includes a silent chain and a sprocket. The silent chain is formed of a plurality of plates, each of which has a pair of link teeth each having an inner crotch and an outer flank. The plates are connected through use of connection pins. The sprocket has sprocket teeth that come into meshing engagement with the link teeth of the silent chain. Each of the inner crotches has a projection that is formed on a tooth tip side with respect to a working pitch line and has a straightly profiled portion.

Silent-chain transmission apparatus

A silent chain is provided which has reduced elongation based on wear and which is capable of maintaining a high accuracy over a long period of time in use. The inner surfaces of pin holes formed in at least joint trains of plates have been subjected to shaving, and a hard layer of at least one hard metal carbide selected from a group including CrC, TiC, VC and NbC, is formed on the surface of each pin. By shaving the inner surface of each pin hole, the surface pressure applied between the pin hole inner surface and the pin inserted therein becomes lower, whereby the wear of the pin and the pin hole is diminished. Further, since the hard layer on the pin surface is very hard and is chemically stable, the affinity of each plate for the inner surface of each pin hole formed therein is small. Thus, even under the condition of boundary lubrication, it is difficult for adhesion to occur between the pin hole inner surface and the pin inserted therein. Consequently, the amount of pin wear is lessened so that it becomes possible to minimize the elongation of the chain based on wear.

Silent chain

A both-side meshing type silent chain is provided which not only permits improvement in durability of a tensioner and a chain guide, but also permits a high-speed and smooth transfer of power. The both-side meshing type silent chain has a high durability and includes a plurality of articular train plates and a plurality of guide train plates. Each of the plurality of articular train plates and the plurality of guide train plates have main teeth for engagement with a sprocket disposed on an inner peripheral side of a chain. The plurality of articular train plates are alternately connected to the plurality of guide train plates with pins. Guide plates, which are guided by side faces of the teeth of the sprocket, are disposed on both outer sides of each of the plurality of guide train plates. Rear faces of the guide plates, which constitute a part of each of the plurality of articular train plates, the plurality of guide train plates, and the guide plates, and which are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the chain, are formed as flat faces. The rear faces, of a remainder of the plurality of articular train plates and plurality of guide train plates, are formed with sub-teeth for engagement with a sprocket located on an outer peripheral side of the chain.

Both-side meshing type silent chain

A silent chain can prevent the link plates from rupturing and stretching in the longitudinal direction to the chain. The silent chain is formed such that the thickness of both the outer link plates of the joint link row having fewer plates on the connecting pin is made larger than any of thicknesses of the guide plates and the thicknesses of the other link plates.

A double-sided meshing type silent chain which permits improvement in service life of the shoe of a chain guide for example, also permits a smooth and high-speed transmission of power, and which has a high durability. A plurality of articular train plates and a plurality of guide train plates are alternately connected together with pins, the plates being formed on the front side with main teeth for engagement with a sprocket located on an inner peripheral side of the chain, and guide plates, whose inner faces are abutted against and guided by side faces of the teeth of the sprocket, are disposed on both outer sides of the plural guide train plates. The rear faces of the plates which constitute at least a part of the trains of plates arranged in the longitudinal direction of the chain are formed with sub-teeth for engagement with a sprocket disposed on an outer peripheral side of the chain, while the rear faces of the remaining train of plates and the rear faces of the guide plates are formed as flat faces which lie substantially in the same plane as the plates adjacent to each other longitudinally of the chain in a stretched state of the chain.

In a fluid tensioner of the piston and cylinder type an annular element is provided either on the piston or on the wall of the cylinder. In the case of an annular element on the wall of the piston, the annular element has a coefficient of linear expansion greater than that of the wall of the cylinder. In the case of an annular element on the wall of the cylinder, the annular element has a coefficient of linear expansion less than that of the piston material. In both cases, the annular element provides compensation for changes in hydraulic fluid viscosity to maintain a constant leak-down rate, allows for flexibility in the choice of piston, rod and cylinder materials.

Temperature compensated tensioner

A hydraulic fluid tensioner for a toothed belt, having a piston with a piston-carried ball and seat check valve, utilizes a ball pressing spring having a spring force more than 30 times the weight of the ball and less than 60% of force resulting from the hydraulic pressure acting on the ball and urging the check valve open as the piston moves in the projecting direction. The spring force prevents rapid accelerating movement of the piston, or vibrations of the tensioner, from causing irregular piston movements resulting in noise and vibration.

Tensioner for a toothed belt

In a hydraulic tensioner, shock absorber or lash adjuster having a plunger in a cylinder filled with hydraulic fluid, and having a coiled compression spring acting on the plunger in a pressure chamber on one side of the plunger, air scavenging through the restricted space between the plunger and the cylinder wall is improved by providing radial grooves either on a face of the plunger contacted by the spring, or on the spring-contacting face of a plug which is located between the spring and the plunger. The radial grooves enable air to escape from the interior of the coil spring and move toward the cylinder wall. The grooves increase in depth proceeding from the interior of the spring toward the exterior thereof.

Hydraulic pressure apparatus with air scavenging

In a fluid tensioner for a camshaft drive belt, a piston rod is sealed by a flexible diaphragm having an enlarged inner end clamped in a conforming groove in the piston rod by a spring clamp. This maintains the inner end of the diaphragm at a fixed position on the piston rod, and provides a labyrinthine seal preventing leakage of fluid. A flattened portion of the piston rod fits a D-shaped opening in a cap to prevent rotation of the piston rod and premature failure of the seal. A dust seal located on the cap also has a D-shaped hole, aligned with the D-shaped hole in the cap, and conforming to the flattened part of the piston rod.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama-ken, Japan

Nobuto Kozakura