Patent ID: 6733410
Filing Date: 2004-05-11
Classification: F16G

Abstract:
A wear-elongation resistant silent chain comprising:guide link rows each having a pair of guide plates and at least one guide link plate disposed between the guide plates; articular link rows each having at least two articular link plates interlaced with the guide link plate of the adjacent guide link row, the number of the articular link plates in each articular link row being one more than the number of the guide link in each guide link row; connecting pins inserted through respective pin holes of the guide plates, guide link plate and articular link plates so as to articulately join the guide link rows and the articular link rows in an alternate fashion along the length of the silent chain; and guide plate retainers each secured to one of opposite ends of each of the connecting pins to keep the guide plates in position against removal from the connecting pins; wherein the guide link plate and the articular link plates have different thicknesses so dimensioned as to balance the tensile strength of the guide link plate in one of the guide link row and the tensile strength of the articular link plates in the adjacent articular link row that are connected by one of the connecting pins; wherein each said guide plate has a pair of pin holes, each receiving a connecting pin, and each pin hole of said pair has a peripheral surface engageable by the pin therein to limit movement of said guide plate in both directions along the longitudinal direction of the guide plate, said longitudinal direction of the guide plate being parallel to the direction of travel of the chain; wherein the length (a) of each said pin hole in each guide plate, measured in said longitudinal direction of said guide plate, exceeds the transverse width (b) of said pin hole, measured in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction of the guide plate, whereby each said pin hole is elongated in said longitudinal direction, and wherein said width (b) of said pin hole is greater than or equal to the diameter of the connecting pin inserted through said pin hole, whereby said pin hole can serve as a passageway for lubricating oil while engagement of the pin hole with the pin limits movement of the guide plate in the direction of the transverse width of said pin hole; wherein the outside distance (d) between the two pin holes in each guide plate is greater than the outside distance (e) between the connecting pins received therein by an amount between 0 and 500 &mgr;m; and wherein the height of the guide links in each guide link row exceeds the height of the guide elates therein by difference (c), measured with reference to a connecting pin axis, said difference (c) being greater than or equal to the sum of the clearances (h) and (i) between each connecting in and the guide plate on opposite sides of the connecting pin, said clearances being measured in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide plate.