Patent ID: 8500582

Claim:
A plate-link chain for a motor vehicle drive system, said chain comprising: a plurality of link plates having openings and pivotally connected by a plurality of rocker members that extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of the plate-link chain and are positioned in the link plate openings; curved contact surfaces located on a first side of each of the rocker members and on sides of the link plate openings, along which contact surfaces the rocker members and link plates bear against each other to transmit power; curved rolling surfaces formed on a second side of the rocker members, along which pairs of the rocker members roll against each other during curved movement of the chain; wherein in a rocker member cross section plane extending in the longitudinal direction of the plate-link chain and passing through centers of mass of the rocker members a rolling surface contact point between two adjacent rocker members during relative rolling contact extends into an upper contact area above the cross section plane when the chain is in a curved condition as it moves in a curved path about an axis of rotation, and the rolling surface contact point between two adiacent rocker members during relative rolling contact extends into a lower contact area below the cross section plane when the chain is in an extended condition, and wherein the ratio of a first distance from an upper end of the upper contact area to the center of mass and a second distance from a lower end of the lower contact area to the center of mass is in a range of from about 1.1 to about 2, whereby pressure loading at upper and lower contact surfaces between the rocker members and the sides of the link plate openings is substantially uniform.