RUBBER TRACK

Abstract

A rubber track, in particular for a road paver or a feeder vehicle, comprising at least one drive wheel and at least one guide wheel, which are placed on a carrier together with wheels arranged in pairs and a rubber track, wherein the wheels have rims, and wherein on a circumferential surface of the rims of the wheels a rubber lining is attached, wherein a guide cam is provided on an inner side of the rubber track, which guide cam is configured to penetrate into an intermediate space between two wheels located next to each other, wherein a contact surface of the wheels facing the guide cam has an insert detachably attached to the rims.

Claims

1. A rubber track assembly for a road paver or a feeder vehicle, the rubber track assembly comprising: a pair of drive wheels and a pair of guide wheels placed on a carrier together with support wheels arranged in pairs and a rubber track, the wheels having rims, and a rubber coating disposed on a circumferential surface of the rims of the wheels, a guide cam disposed on an inner side of the rubber track, the guide cam being configured to penetrate into a gap between two adjacent wheels, wherein a contact surface of the wheels facing the guide cam has an insert detachably attached to the respective rim.

2. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert is detachably attached to the rim without tools.

3. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert is rotatable about the axis of the wheel relative to the rim.

4. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert extends radially beyond the circumferential surface of the rim.

5. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert includes a plastic material.

6. The rubber track assembly according to claim 5, wherein a Shore B hardness of the plastic material is at least 50.

7. The rubber track assembly according to claim 5, wherein the plastic material is substantially harder than the rubber track.

8. The rubber track assembly according to claim 5, wherein the plastic material is substantially harder than the rubber coating of the wheels.

9. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert is formed of a material having a lower coefficient of thermal conductivity than cast iron.

10. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert includes a stainless steel material.

11. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert includes lubrication.

12. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert comprises a self-lubrication.

13. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein the insert comprises graphite.

14. The rubber track assembly according to claim 1, wherein a material layer is provided between the insert and the rim, the material layer being formed of a material having a lower coefficient of thermal conductivity than the insert or than cast iron.

15. The rubber track assembly according to claim 9, wherein the insert is formed of a material having a coefficient of thermal conductivity of 25-60 Wm.sup.−1K.sup.−1.

16. The rubber track assembly according to claim 14, wherein the material layer has a coefficient of thermal conductivity of 0.1-55 Wm.sup.−1K.sup.−1.

17. A construction machine in the form of a road paver or in the form of a feeder vehicle, comprising a rubber track assembly according to claim 1.

18. A rubber track assembly for a road paver or a feeder vehicle, the rubber track assembly comprising: a carrier; support wheels arranged in pairs; a rubber track; a pair of drive wheels; and a pair of guide wheels, the pair of drive wheels and the pair of guide wheels disposed on the carrier together with the support wheels and the rubber track, the wheels have rims, and a rubber coating disposed on a circumferential surface of the rims of the wheels, a guide cam disposed on an inner side of the rubber track, the guide cam penetrating into a gap between two adjacent wheels, wherein a contact surface of the wheels facing the guide cam has an insert detachably attached to the respective rim.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In the following, embodiments of the disclosure are described in more detail with reference to the figures.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a road paver with a rubber track;

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a feeder vehicle with a rubber track;

[0019] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a rubber track;

[0020] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a portion of the rubber track;

[0021] FIG. 5 shows a side view of a wheel of the rubber track with an insert extending beyond the circumferential surface of a rim;

[0022] FIG. 6 shows a side view of a wheel of the rubber track with an insert extending beyond the circumferential surface of a rim in the form of a freely rotatable ring;

[0023] FIG. 7 shows a side view of a wheel of the rubber track with an insert extending beyond the circumferential surface of a rim and extended; and

[0024] FIG. 8 shows a side view of a wheel of the rubber track with an insert extending beyond the circumferential surface of a rim and a material layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a road paver 2 for producing a road surface. The road paver 2 comprises a rubber track 1.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a feeder vehicle 3 that can feed an asphalt mix or other material to be applied to the road to the material hopper B of a road paver 2 via an endless conveyor belt E. The feeder vehicle 3 also has a rubber track 1.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows the rubber track 1. The rubber track 1 includes drive wheels 4 and guide wheels 5. A rubber track 7 is clamped onto the drive wheels 4 and the guide wheels 5. The rubber track 1 further comprises a carrier 8, by means of which the rubber track 1 is attached to the road paver 2 or to the feeder vehicle 3. FIG. 3 further shows support wheels 6 arranged laterally one behind the other, which are located between the drive wheel 4 and the guide wheel 5 in order to support the running of the rubber track 7. The drive wheels 4, the guide wheels 5 and the support wheels 6 are arranged in pairs on a rocker 13 (see FIG. 4).

[0028] Each wheel 4, 5, 6 has a machined rim 9 on which a rubber coating G is mounted on which the wheels 4, 5, 6 roll. It is possible that the rubber material of the rubber track 7 and the rubber coating G of the wheels 4, 5, 6 include the same type of rubber. It is also possible that the rubber material of the rubber track 7 and the rubber coating G of the wheels 4, 5, 6 include different types of rubber and have different material properties.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a part of the rubber track 1 with drive wheels 4 and support wheels 6.

[0030] According to the prior art, the rims 9 of the wheels 6 may be made of cast iron in a one-piece construction and a space Z is provided between two support wheels 6. A guide cam 10 of the rubber track 7 penetrates into this intermediate space Z, which is arranged on the inner side I of the rubber track 7. The support wheels 6 have contact surfaces A facing the guide cam 10, which form a friction pair with the rubber track 7.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a vertical section of a wheel 4, 5, 6 according to the disclosure and guide cams 10 of the rubber track 7 on its inner side I. An insert 11 is provided on the rims 9 on the contact surface A of the wheels 4, 5, 6 facing the guide cams 10. The insert 11 is detachably attached to the rims 9. The insert 11 can be screwed to the rims. It is also possible to attach the insert 11 to the rims 9 without tools.

[0032] In an alternative embodiment, the insert 11 is rotatable about the axis 13 of the wheel 4, 5, 6 and relative to the respective rim. As shown in FIG. 6, the insert 11 in this embodiment can be formed as a freely rotatable ring. It is also possible to apply a sliding material 15 between the rim 9 and the insert 11. In particular, materials with a relatively low coefficient of thermal conductivity, for instance 0.1-55 Wm.sup.−1K.sup.−1, with respect to the rim 9 and/or the insert 11 can be used for the sliding material 15 to form a temperature decoupling between the insert 11 and the rim 9. The sliding material 15 also has the function of reducing temperature and friction induced heat between the rim and the insert 11. In particular, plastic materials such as polyamide or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) may be used for the sliding material 15.

[0033] The insert 11 may include plastic material to form a better friction pair with the rubber track 7. In particular, hard plastic materials may be used for the insert 11. The plastic material of the insert 11 may have at least a Shore B hardness 50. Furthermore, the plastic material of the insert 11 preferably has substantially minimum the same hardness as the rubber material of the rubber track 7 or as the rubber coating G of the wheels 4, 5, 6. It is also possible that the insert 11 includes stainless steel material. The insert material may have a lower coefficient of thermal conductivity than cast iron, for instance 25-60 Wm.sup.−1K.sup.−1. In order to form a low-friction material pairing between the rubber track 7 and the wheels 4, 5, 6, it is also possible to lubricate the insert 11 with a lubricant, in particular a dry lubricant, or a lubricating varnish of polytetrafluoroethylene or graphite.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 7, the insert 11 can be extended beyond the circumferential surface U of the rim 9 to the guide surface F of the rubber track 7. This extension may be formed integrally with the insert 11, or may be attached to the insert 11 as an insert module 12. The insert 11 and the insert module 12 may include the same as well as different materials.

[0035] Alternatively, it is possible to apply a layer of material 14 between the insert 11 and the rim 9. This is illustrated in FIG. 8. The material layer 14 can be a stainless steel ring. It is also possible to form the material layer from a material having a lower thermal conductivity coefficient than the insert 11 and/or than cast iron.