Patent ID: 7713156

Claim:
A chain transmission comprising: a sprocket having sprocket teeth separated by tooth gaps having tooth gap bottoms; and a roller or bushing chain engaged with the sprocket teeth; wherein the sprocket has a hub having an outer circumferential surface, an annular peripheral part on which the sprocket teeth are formed, said annular peripheral part having an inner circumferential surface, and an annular elastic member sandwiched between, and concentric with, the hub and the annular peripheral part; wherein the elastic member is formed with a plurality of circumferentially spaced cylindrical portions and said cylindrical portions are connected by arc shaped parts and fit into opposed concave grooves formed in the outer circumferential surface of the hub and the inner circumferential surface of the annular peripheral part; wherein the tooth gap bottoms are tangent to a tooth gap bottom circle concentric with the hub, the elastic member, and the annular peripheral part; wherein the diameter of the tooth gap bottom circle is larger than the diameter df of a tooth gap bottom circle of a sprocket engaged by said roller or bushing chain and conforming to the formulae: d=p /sin(180 °/z ) df=d−d 1 d=df (for a sprocket having an even number of teeth dc=d cos(90 °/z )− d 1 (for a sprocket having an odd number of teeth) re (max)=0.12 d 1( z+ 2) r 1(min)=0.505 d 1 re (min)=0.008 d 1( z 2+180) r 1(max)=0.505 d 1+0.069( d 1) 1/3 where p is the chain pitch, d is the pitch circle diameter, d 1 is the roller outer diameter, df is the diameter of the tooth gap bottom circle (root diameter), dc is the caliper diameter of the sprocket re (max) is the maximum value of the arc of the tooth head, ri (min) is the minimum value of the radius of the arc of the tooth gap bottom, re (min) is the minimum value of the arc of the tooth head, ri (max) is the maximum value of the radius of the arc of the tooth gap bottom, and z is the number of sprocket teeth; and wherein each of said circumferentially spaced cylindrical portions is formed with a hollow central opening, and in which a pin, formed of a material having a higher rigidity than that of the elastic member is fitted into each said hollow central opening.