Patent ID: 7658690

Claim:
A plate link chain for a motor vehicle drive system, said chain comprising: a plurality of link plates hingedly connected with each other by rocker members that extend transversely to a longitudinal direction of the plate link chain, curved contact surfaces located on each of the rocker members and link plates along which the rocker members and link plates are in contact with each other to transmit power, curved pitch surfaces on the rocker members that are opposite from the rocker member curved contact surfaces that contact the curved contact surfaces of the link plates and along which the rocker members roll against each other to transmit power and having a pitch surface radius of curvature such that a pitch surface contact point between contacting rocker members moves from a first position located below a plane that bisects the rocker member height when the plate link chain is straight, to a second position above the bisecting plane when the plate link chain moves from a straight condition to a curved condition, wherein the rocker members are shaped asymmetrically in a height direction of the rocker members and about a cross section plane extending in the longitudinal direction of the plate link chain, wherein the contact surfaces of the rocker members and link plates are located on an upper and a lower contact surface area in the height direction of the rocker members and wherein in the longitudinal direction of the plate link chain the rocker members are wider at the upper contact surface area than they are at the lower contact surface area, and wherein a concave region is provided between the upper and lower contact surfaces of the rocker members.