Bridgestone Corporation

Bridgestone Tire Company Limited

Bridgestone/firestone, Inc.

Tateo Muramatsu

Yasushi Enami

Masaru Ishibashi

Harumichi Yamazaki

Mamoru Kurihara

Satoshi Tagomori

Hideaki Saito

Yoshihiro Sato

Masaru Kaneko

Mamoru Takasaki

Kuninori Aramaki

Haruo Takahashi

Sumio Togashi

Shoji Naito

Toshio Fukai

There is provided an internal pressure regulating system in which when a flexible bag body used for a collapsible dam is excessively pressurized, gas within the bag body is discharged. The system includes a flexible bag body which can be inflated with gas, and a pipe having opposite ends, with one end connected to an exhaust opening in the bag body, and the other end introduced into the upstream region of a watercourse.

Internal pressure regulating system for flexible bag body, flexible membrane dam using the same, and method for regulating internal pressure in the flexible membrane dam

A flexible membrane dam is provided which can be installed easily and in which a concentration of stress at a time the dam is made to stand is less than in conventional structures. Mounting hardware for the dam is also provided. When a fluid such as air is supplied to an interior of a flexible membrane, the flexible membrane inflates and stands, and tension acts on the flexible membrane . At inclined surface portions, a vicinity of an outer peripheral edge of the flexible membrane is, in a convex and concave shape, nipped and fixed between an upper pressing hardware and a lower pressing hardware . At the upper pressing hardware, a ratio (AE1/AE1&prime;)&times;100 of a length AE1 from a point E1 of a concave portion to a point A, to a length AE1&prime; from a point E1&prime; of a convex portion to the point A, is 85 or more. Namely, the length AE1&prime; is close to the length AE1. Thus, at an inflated main body side of the flexible membrane, local drawing up of the flexible membrane by the upper pressing hardware is suppressed, i.e., a concentration of stress at the flexible membrane when inflated is suppressed. The flexible membrane can be stand up in a planar shape from end portions of the upper pressing hardware.

Mounting member and flexible membrane dam

A flexible film, of which a flexible film weir is composed, has a two-dimensional configuration when expanded, and the total length of the periphery of the flexible film is set longer than the mounting length of mounting faces (a river bed and faces of slopes). Weights are attached on the flexible film at appropriate intervals. Portions left redundant when the flexible film is mounted on the mounting faces are folded and fixed at toes of the slopes in such a way that they are overlapped. The two-dimensional configuration of the flexible film simplifies the structure. Further, as the weights prevents the weir from floating up, there is no need for forming irregularities on the river bed, thereby simplifying the construction.

Flexible film weir

A flexible membrane inflating structural body is fixed to a structure such as a bed and slope sides of a waterway by using a mounting metal fitting comprising a first metal fitting and a second metal fitting. The flexible membrane inflating structural body is erected by supplying a fluid to an interior of a flexible membrane, and is deflated by discharging the fluid within the flexible membrane. The first metal fitting is disposed at a side of the structure at which the flexible membrane inflating structural body is provided and contacts one surface of the flexible membrane. The second metal fitting contacts another surface of the flexible membrane and, together with the first metal fitting, sandwiches a portion of the flexible membrane in a vicinity of an outer peripheral edge of the flexible membrane. The first and second metal fittings, which form the mounting metal fitting, each include at least one convex portion which bends the flexible membrane while the flexible membrane is in a held state. Corner portions of each convex portion of the mounting metal fitting are each chamfered so as to form a radius of curvature, and respective radii of curvature of the chamfered corner portions are set so as to be gradually made smaller toward the outer peripheral edge of the flexible membrane.

Flexible membrane mounting metal fitting and flexible membrane inflating structural body

A positive drive endless rubber track system for the undercarriage of a vehicle, the rubber track including spaced guide lugs projecting inwardly therefrom, the undercarriage including a drive wheel having spaced sprocket pins thereon, idler wheels, and tension adapting wheels around which the endless rubber track is guided and driven by the driving wheel, the drive wheel being attached to the vehicle and having an up-ratio in the range of about 0.5% to about 4.0%.

Positive drive rubber track

A rubber sheet is formed in a bag shape, and a seam portion of the bag-shaped rubber sheet is fixed to a summit portion of an overflow dam. When the bag-shaped rubber sheet is expanded, a rubber dam is raised, thereby damming up water and adjusting the amount of running water. Next, when the bag-shaped rubber sheet which has been expanded is contracted and collapsed, the rubber sheet is supported by pipes, which extend substantially horizontally from the summit portion of the overflow dam toward the downstream side at a predetermined distance from each other. For this reason, the rubber sheet hangs down with its own weight and with the weight of water running downstream so as to droop down between the pipes. As a result, a rubber dam that does not bulge at the downstream side is obtained.

Rubber dam and method of application thereof

A rubber track assembly comprising a driving wheel, an idler wheel, an endless rubber track extending around the driving wheel and the idler wheel and having a plurality of rubber lugs formed on its outer circumference and a plurality of rubber guide projections formed on its inner surface, and a plurality of roller wheels arranged in contact with inner surface of the rubber track in a ground contact region thereof, each of the wheels has a pair of wheel portions formed at its opposite sides and spaced apart to be disposed at opposite sides of the guide projection for engaging the inner surface of the rubber track at the opposite sides of the guide projection. The rubber guide projection is provided with at least one low friction surface having a coefficient of friction lower than that of the rubber material of the rubber guide projection.

Rubber track assembly

The present invention provides novel apparatus and a novel method for manufacturing an endless rubber track for large vehicles such as tractors or earth-moving machines. A plurality of sprocket-engaging core bar inserts are disposed in the inner portion or inner diameter of the endless rubber track to engage the power drive mechanism of the vehicle. Rubber tread is disposed on the outer portion or external diameter of the rubber track. Although the rubber track is made in segments, it is completely vulcanized, and does not have discontinuous, unvulcanized regions between vulcanized segments. Rubber track is formed using at least two different mold assemblies. In the first mold assembly, the interior and exterior portions of the rubber track are molded onto a green belt to form a first segment, and a central portion of the segment is vulcanized. In the second mold assembly, the interior and exterior portions of the rubber track are molded onto an adjacent section of the green belt to form a second belt segment, and the second segment along with the adjacent unvulcanized first segment is vulcanized.

Apparatus and method for curing endless rubber track

An annular elastic track having sprocket-driven protrusions on the inner circumference and lugs on the outer circumference. The annular elastic track comprises a plurality of annular thin plates spaced radially from one another with a predetermined interval and embedded in layers in the track in its circumferential direction. The annular thin plates are a plurality of concentric annular plates having different diameters or a spirally formed single thin plate. Such an annular elastic track is used for vehicles as well as a monocycle comprising a flat plate-shaped cross-section, at least two external rollers arranged outside the annular elastic track for applying a load onto it, at least one internal roller arranged inside the annular elastic track to hold the track by these internal and external rollers therebetween, and crank device including pedals provided inside the annular elastic track for driving one of said external and internal rollers.

Annular elastic track

A core bar for a rubber track includes wings on both sides to be embedded in an elastic member of the rubber track, a bridging center for connecting the wings, and driving protrusions provided on both sides of the bridging center and projecting from the inner circumferential surface of the rubber track. The bridging center has at least one projection projecting from the wings in a longitudinal direction of the rubber track. Projections of the core bars embedded in the elastic member overlap with each other to form a continuous passage for a track roller. As an alternative, the core bar includes a driving center protrusion provided at the center of the core bar and adapted to engage a sprocket wheel for driving the rubber track and track roller traveling surfaces extending along the driving center protrusion on both sides thereof. Sprockets for driving the rubber track is formed in the circumference with opened recesses alternately positioned in its both surfaces and engaged with the driving center protrusions of the core bars.

Core bar for rubber track and rubber track traveling device

A flexible sheet dam is secured to the riverbed along two securing lines at upstream and downstream sides. In this dam, at least one concave and/or convex region is made in the plane of the riverbed between the two securing lines in a direction parallel to the securing lines, whereby the complete deflation of the dam can be attained without trouble.

Flexible sheet dams

A flexible membraneous weir is disclosed. When air once filled in an air type flexible membrane weir is discharged in order to cause it to collapse, its membraneous wall is deformed in a V-shape at one portion in the river width direction, and a stream concentrates into this portion. However, the portion where the V-deformation will be formed is not certain. Therefore, it is required to reinforce the whole area of the river-bed and the river wall at the down stream side. In view of the foregoing, means is provided for starting V-deformation onto a bag-shaped member as a main body of the weir in a predetermined portion at a time when the bag-shaped member is collapse from its erected state. With this arrangement, the stream can be concentrated on the predetermined portion only. Therefore reinforcement is required only for a river-bed portion corresponding to this portion.

Flexible membraneous weir

A collapsible rubber dam secured to a riverbed portion and slope portions of both riverbanks is inflated and deflated by supply and discharge of a fluid. A pipe for supply and discharge of a fluid is communicated with the inside of the rubber dam from the shape portion of at least one riverbank except the riverbed portion securing the rubber dam. Preferably, the pipe for supply and discharge of the fluid is located in a region defined by a top end of the rubber dam located in the slope portion, a line connecting the top end of the rubber dam to substantially a middle position of a deflated width of the rubber dam at a toe of the slope portion, and a securing position of the rubber dam at the toe of the slope portion.

Collapsible rubber dam

A collapsible rubber dam installation comprising a rubber dam built across a watercourse such as a river or the like and operative to be raised by supplying fluid such as air, water or the like. The dam is collapsed by discharging the fluid therein into atmosphere. A fluid supply and discharge conduit have one end connected to the inside of the rubber dam at a position which is higher than at least a level of drain collected therein and have the other end extending substantially upwardly with an ascending inclination.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Tateo Muramatsu