Patent ID: 9482313
Filing Date: 2016-11-01
CPC Classification: B66F,F16G,F16H,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. An interlocking chain unit comprising a pair of interlocking chains, wherein each interlocking chain is formed by connecting, with pairs of front and rear coupling pins, a plurality of inner tooth plates and a plurality of outer tooth plates in a chain longitudinal direction, the outer tooth plates are arranged to be adjacent to outer sides of the inner tooth plates and have partial overlap regions with the inner tooth plates, and the interlocking chains are configured to become interlocked with each other to integrally become rigid in a rigid chain forward and backward movement direction and to become disengaged from each other to bifurcate, wherein when the pair of interlocking chains are interlocked with each other, hook-shaped interlocking end faces of at least two inner tooth plates interlock with each other to form plate overlap regions when the pair of interlocking chains are seen in a plate normal direction, which is orthogonal to plate main faces of the inner tooth plates and the outer tooth plates, respective buckling restricting end faces of at least two outer tooth plates come in contact with each other in a diagonal direction with respect to the rigid chain forward and backward movement direction, the plate overlap regions are formed by outlines of two plate overlap portions of adjacent inner tooth plates, the plate overlap portions comprising outer edges defined by contact portion faces, where the hook-shaped interlocking end faces of the at least two inner tooth plates are in contact with each other, and flat buckling restricting end faces of the at least two outer tooth plates are in contact with each other, wherein the outlines of the two plate overlap portions are point-symmetric about a point of intersection between the hook-shaped interlocking end faces and the buckling restricting end faces, and at least one of the inner tooth plates, the outer tooth plates, and the coupling pins are elastically deformed to make the pair of interlocking chains rigid and to remove play between parts in forming the plate overlap regions.