Toothed belt and manufacturing method therefor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toothed belt (1) containing: a belt main body (2) containing an array of a cord, a tooth portion (2b) formed on the lower side of the array of the cord and arranged at a predetermined interval along a longitudinal direction of the cord, and a back surface portion (2a) formed on the upper side of the array of the cord and having the cord buried therein, which are integrally molded with a first thermoplastic elastomer composition; and a back sheet (3) adhered to the back surface portion side of the belt main body (2) and composed of a second thermoplastic elastomer composition, in which the back sheet (3) has an uneven shape (6) in a surface on the adhesion side.

Claims

1. A toothed belt comprising: a belt main body comprising an array of a cord, a tooth portion formed on the lower side of the array of the cord and arranged at a predetermined interval along a longitudinal direction of the cord, and a back surface portion formed on the upper side of the array of the cord and having the cord buried therein, which are integrally molded with a first thermoplastic elastomer composition; and a back sheet adhered to the back surface portion side of the belt main body and composed of a second thermoplastic elastomer composition, wherein the back sheet has an uneven shape in a surface on the adhesion side, and wherein the uneven shape is formed by arranging convex and concave portions along the longitudinal direction of the cord at a predetermined interval, and the predetermined interval of the convex and concave portions is smaller than the predetermined interval of the tooth portion.

2. The toothed belt according to claim 1, wherein the second thermoplastic elastomer composition forming the back sheet has a different property from that of the first thermoplastic elastomer composition forming the belt main body.

3. A method for manufacturing the toothed belt as described in claim 1, comprising: a first step of forming the back sheet having the uneven shape, and a second step of fusion-joining the back sheet having the uneven shape and the belt main body while continuously molding the belt main body, comprising: using a belt-manufacturing apparatus including a molding drum having a tooth-molding groove formed on the outer periphery at a predetermined interval, a pressing band disposed so as to be wound around the outer periphery side of the molding drum, and an extrusion head supplying the first thermoplastic elastomer composition to a cavity formed between the molding drum and the pressing band, rotating the molding drum, and while supplying the array of the cord to the outer periphery of the molding drum, supplying the back sheet having the uneven shape on the inner periphery of the pressing band and simultaneously supplying the first thermoplastic elastomer composition heated and melted from the extrusion head to the cavity.

4. The method for manufacturing the toothed belt according to claim 3, wherein the extrusion head is disposed toward the cavity from between the molding drum and the array of the cord.

5. The method for manufacturing the toothed belt according to claim 3, wherein the back sheet having the uneven shape is continuously formed: by using a belt-manufacturing apparatus including a molding drum having an uneven groove formed on the outer periphery at a predetermined interval, a pressing band disposed so as to be wound around the outer periphery side of the molding drum, and an extrusion head supplying the second thermoplastic elastomer composition to a cavity formed between the molding drum and the pressing band, and by supplying the second thermoplastic elastomer composition heated and melted from the extrusion head to the cavity.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a side view of a toothed belt of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a manufacturing apparatus of the toothed belt of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a manufacturing apparatus of a back sheet of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic front view illustrating an application example of the toothed belt of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a shape and dimension of the toothed belt according to Example.

(7) FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a shape and dimension of the toothed belt according to Comparative Example.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(8) Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment will describe an example in which the present invention is applied to a toothed belt used in such a lifting and transporting apparatus in which the toothed belt is provided with a shaft member (fixture) for connecting a loading platform, which is inserted into a belt back portion in order to connect and fix the loading platform with the toothed belt. In this use, the belt back portion is required to be thickened.

(9) In this toothed belt, for convenience, the belt back portion side is defined as the upper side, and the tooth portion side is defined as the lower side.

(10) (Configuration of Toothed Belt)

(11) As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a toothed belt 1 of the present embodiment contains a belt main body 2 integrally formed by a thermoplastic elastomer, and a back sheet 3 which is adhered to the back surface side of the belt main body 2 and composed of a thermoplastic elastomer.

(12) The belt main body 2 containing: an array of cords (tension member) in which cords 4 are arranged at intervals; tooth portions 2b which are formed on the lower side of the array of cords and are arranged at a predetermined interval P along a longitudinal direction of the cord 4; and a back surface portion 2a which is formed on the upper side of the array of cords and in which the cords 4 are buried, which are integrally molded with a thermoplastic elastomer.

(13) The back sheet 3 is molded with a thermoplastic elastomer in advance. The lower side surface (adhesion surface) of the back sheet 3 has an uneven shape 6. The belt main body 2 is formed of a melted thermoplastic elastomer material supplied. For this reason, the back surface side of the belt main body 2 is adhered to the surface of the uneven shape 6 by thermal fusion. The uneven shape 6 is preferably formed by arranging convex and concave portions at a predetermined interval S along the longitudinal direction of the cord 4. Note that, the surface of the uneven shape 6 is thermally fused.

(14) The predetermined interval S of the uneven shape 6 of the back sheet 3 is preferably smaller than the predetermined interval P of the tooth portion 2b. Specifically, P/S is preferably from 2 to 6. The area of the adhesion interface between the belt main body 2 and back sheet 3 is increased and therefore, the adhesive force can be enhanced.

(15) Furthermore, the height of the convex portion itself of the uneven shape 6 preferably has a height of from about 25% to 60% with respect to a thickness of the thick portion of the uneven shape 6 of the back sheet 3.

(16) The convex and concave portions arranged at the predetermined interval S is formed by, for example, arranging a convex portion with upward trapezoid and a concave portion with downward trapezoid alternately and regularly. This convex and concave portions are preferably formed by trapezoids, but may be a combination of a convex portion with a rectangle and a concave portion with a rectangle, a combination of a convex portion with a semicircle and a concave portion with a semicircle, or the like.

(17) The back portion 5 of the toothed belt 1 has a two-layer structure of the back surface portion 2a of the belt main body 2 and the back sheet 3. In addition, the adhesion interface between the belt main body 2 and the back sheet 3 has the uneven shape 6. Therefore, the thickness of the back portion 5 of the toothed belt 1 can be thickened while securing the bendability of the toothed belt 1.

(18) The predetermined interval P at which the tooth portions 2b are provided is, for example, from 8 to 25 mm. In contrast, the thickness of a thick portion of the uneven shape 6 of the back sheet 3 is, for example, from 2 to 5 mm. The fixture described below can be attached to a part thickened by the amount of the back sheet 3.

(19) (Constituent Materials of Back Sheet and Belt Main Body)

(20) As constituent materials of the back sheet and the belt main body, thermoplastic elastomer compositions which can fusion-join the back sheet 3 and the belt main body 2 laminated and have elasticity, are used.

(21) Examples of the thermoplastic elastomer include polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers, polyester thermoplastic elastomers, polystyrene thermoplastic elastomers, polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers, polyamide thermoplastic elastomers, vinyl chloride thermoplastic elastomers, and the like.

(22) In particular, polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers which are excellent in mechanical properties and durability and are widely used for a power-transmission belt or a conveyor belt, are preferable.

(23) As the polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer, use can be made of a polyether-type, a polyester-type, and a polycarbonate-type.

(24) Furthermore, the hardness of the thermoplastic elastomer can be selected from the range of from 80 to 95 (based on JIS K6253, measured with A type hardness tester).

(25) In addition, a melting temperature of the thermoplastic elastomer can be selected from the range of from 200 C. to 230 C.

(26) The thermoplastic elastomer composition may include conventional additives as necessary, such as a compatibilizer, an antioxidant, a vulcanization accelerator, a plasticizer, a filler, a colorant, a processing aid, and a hydrolysis inhibitor.

(27) For the back sheet 3 and the belt main body 2 to be laminated, the same materials can be used. With this, the adhesive force between the belt main body 2 and back sheet 3 can be enhanced. However, since the area of the adhesion interface between the belt main body 2 and the back sheet 3 is increased, thermoplastic elastomers having different properties, such as different materials and different melting temperatures, may be laminated.

(28) For an example of laminating thermoplastic elastomers of different properties, a polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer excellent in wear resistance and bending resistance is used for the belt main body 2 which has tooth portions; and in the case where the use in a situation where exposure with outside air is assumed or adhesion of chemicals is concerned, a vinyl chloride thermoplastic elastomer, which is excellent in ozone resistance and weather resistance and also excellent in chemical resistance, is used for the back sheet 3 to laminate.

(29) (Constituent Materials of Cord)

(30) As the cord 4, a low elongation and high strength cord made of steel fiber, aramid fiber, polyester fiber, glass fiber, or the like is used. In general, aramid fibers having properties such as high strength, heat resistance and chemical resistance, are preferable. A cord having a cord diameter of, for example, from 0.6 to 2.5 mm can be used.

(31) (Manufacturing Apparatus of Toothed Belt 1)

(32) FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a manufacturing apparatus 30 of the toothed belt 1. The manufacturing apparatus 30 includes a molding drum (mold) 31, a pressing band 32, an extrusion head 33, a cord supplying device which is not illustrated, and a back sheet supplying device which is not illustrated.

(33) The molding drum 31 is provided with: a tooth-molding groove formed at a predetermined interval P on the outer periphery of the tubular shape; a flange which is not illustrated but attached to both ends in an axial direction of the tubular shape to prevent the thermoplastic elastomer from flowing out; a heating means capable of heating the vicinity of the tooth-molding groove from normal temperature to 120 C.; and a driving means for rotatably driving the molding drum 31 in an arrow direction (counterclockwise direction).

(34) The pressing band 32 is an endless metal band wound around pulleys 32a and 32b, which are closely arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the molding drum 31, and a pulley 32c, which is disposed at a position separated from the pulleys 32a and 32b. This metal band is wound around about half of the outer periphery of the not-illustrated flange at both ends of the molding drum 31. The pulley 32c applies a predetermined tension to the pressing band 32 by being moved in the left direction of the drawing. A molding cavity is formed between the pressing band 32 and the molding drum 31.

(35) The extrusion head 33 is disposed in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the molding drum 31 in front of the entrance of the cavity and causes the melted thermoplastic elastomer to flow out toward the cavity. The extrusion head 33 is preferably disposed toward the cavity from between the molding drum and the array of cords. This is because the melted thermoplastic elastomer can be sufficiently supplied to the tooth-molding groove.

(36) The cord supplying device continuously supplies the array of cords, which contains the cords 4 arranged in the axial direction of the molding drum 31 with an interval provided therebetween, to the outer periphery of the molding drum 31.

(37) The back sheet supplying device continuously supplies the back sheet 3 to the outer peripheral side of the pressing band 32 in a direction in which the uneven shape 6 faces the cord 4.

(38) (Manufacturing Apparatus of Back Sheet 3)

(39) FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a manufacturing apparatus 40 of the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape 6. The manufacturing apparatus of the toothed belt 1 illustrated in FIG. 3 can be partially changed and diverted. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 are attached to diverted parts, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(40) Changed parts are the outer peripheral shape of the molding drum 41 and that the cord supplying device and the back sheet supplying device, which are not illustrated, are not used.

(41) The molding drum 41 having an uneven-molding groove formed at the predetermined interval S on the outer periphery of the tubular shape is used. Also a flange, which is not illustrated, having a height matching the thickness of the back sheet is used. The change may be made only on the outer peripheral side or on the whole of the molding drum 41.

(42) By using this molding drum 41, without supplying the cords and the back sheet, only the melted thermoplastic elastomer material is supplied and continuously solidified, whereby a back sheet having an uneven shape can be manufactured. In addition, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified by diverting most of the apparatus as in this way.

(43) (Method of Manufacturing Toothed Belt 1)

(44) The method of manufacturing a two-layer toothed belt 1 according to the present invention will be described.

(45) First, the back sheet 3 having an uneven shape is molded (first step).

(46) Next, while supplying the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape, the melted material to be the belt main body 2 is supplied from the extrusion head (die) 33 of the extruder and laminated so as to form a two-layer toothed belt 1 (second step).

(47) Details will be described below.

(48) (First Step)

(49) When a thermoplastic elastomer heated and melted is supplied from the extrusion head 33 of the extruder while rotatably driving the molding drum (mold) 41 in the arrow direction in FIG. 4, the thermoplastic elastomer is caught in the cavity between the molding drum 41 and the pressing band 32 in accordance with the rotation of the molding drum 41.

(50) The thermoplastic elastomer is filled in the uneven-molding groove of the molding drum 41 by the pressure from the pressing band 32, whereby the uneven shape 6 of the back sheet 3 is molded and simultaneously, the back surface of the back sheet 3 is molded. The back sheet 3 having the uneven shape can be manufactured by continuously cooling and solidifying the thermoplastic elastomer naturally while molding in this manner.

(51) Manufacturing conditions are, for example, as follows: melting temperature of thermoplastic elastomer: from 200 to 230 C., temperature of molding drum: from normal temperature to 120 C., and feeding speed of molding drum 41: from 0.1 to 1.0 m/min.

(52) (Second Step)

(53) While rotatably driving the molding drum (mold) 31 in the arrow direction in FIG. 3, an array of cords in which a predetermined number of cords 4 are arranged in parallel is supplied to the outer periphery of the molding drum 31 and at the same time, the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape is supplied to the outer peripheral side of the pressing band 32 between the pulley 32a and the molding drum 31.

(54) When a thermoplastic elastomer heated and melted is supplied from the extrusion head 33 of the extruder at the same time as the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape and the cords 4 are caught in between the pulley 32a and the molding drum 31, the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape, the cords 4, and the thermoplastic elastomer are caught in the cavity between the molding drum 31 and the pressing band 32 in accordance with the rotation of the molding drum 31.

(55) The thermoplastic elastomer is filled in the tooth-molding groove of the molding drum 31 by the pressure from the pressing band 32, whereby the tooth portion 2b of the toothed belt 1 is molded and simultaneously, the belt main body 2 of the toothed belt 1 having the cords 4 buried between the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape and the outer periphery of the molding drum 31 is molded. A two-layer toothed belt 1 with an end in which the back sheet 3 having the uneven shape and the belt main body 2 of the toothed belt are integrally fusion-joined can be manufactured by continuously cooling and solidifying the thermoplastic elastomer naturally while molding in this manner. This fusion-joining is performed on the surface of the uneven shape of the back sheet 3, and the uneven shape thereof is maintained.

(56) Manufacturing conditions are, for example, as follows: melting temperature of thermoplastic elastomer: from 200 to 230 C., temperature of molding drum: from normal temperature to 120 C., and feeding speed of cord and belt: from 0.1 to 1.0 m/min.

APPLICATION EXAMPLES

(57) Examples of using such a toothed belt 1 include a lifting and transporting apparatus 50 that reciprocates in a certain range as illustrated in FIG. 5.

(58) In this lifting and transporting apparatus, toothed belts 55 and 56, which are meshed with toothed pulleys 51 and 53 and toothed pulleys 52 and 54 arranged on the upper side and the lower side, are used. The toothed pulley 52 on the lower left side, which is a driving pulley, is rotated/reversely rotated. The other toothed pulleys 51, 53, and 54 are synchronously driven via the toothed belts 55 and 56. As a result, the power is transmitted to the belt mechanism, and a transported object W placed on the loading platform 57 fixed to the two belt mechanisms moves up and down.

(59) For the toothed belts 55 and 56, the toothed belt 1 with an end manufactured as described above is used by being cut into a predetermined width and a predetermined length, and joining both end portions in the length direction to be endless.

(60) A fixture 58 for fixing the loading platform 57 is attached to the toothed belts 55 and 56. An example of this fixture 58 is one in which, as illustrated in FIG. 1 of JP-A 2015-3821, a shaft member and a back plate are arranged and are fixed with screws so as to interpose the belt back portion at between a tooth portion and a tooth portion. Another example of the fixture 58 is one in which, as illustrated in FIG. 6 of JP-A 2009-112217, a through hole is provided in the width direction of the tooth portion, a shaft member is inserted into the through hole, and a nut is screwed into the tip end screw of the shaft member to fix it.

(61) In either example, the back portion of the toothed belt 1 is formed to be thick, and thus it has sufficient mounting strength. In addition, the thickness is increased with the adhesion interface of the uneven shape, and thus there is little possibility of causing peeling at the adhesion interface.

(62) Still another example may be one in which a through hole is provided in the back portion of the toothed belt 1, a shaft member is inserted into the through hole, and a nut is screwed into the tip end screw of the shaft member to fix it.

(63) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, specific configurations should be construed as not being limited to these embodiments and examples. The scope of the present invention is indicated not only by the embodiments described above and by descriptions of examples which will be described later but also by the scope of claims, and includes meaning equivalent to claims and all changes within the scope.

EXAMPLES

(64) In accordance with the above-described manufacturing method, two-layer toothed belt according to Example and Comparative Example having the following sizes were manufactured.

Example

(65) This is a two-layer toothed belt having the shape and dimension as illustrated in FIG. 6.

(66) Belt width: 25 mm, thickness of back sheet having uneven shape: 2.5 mm, tooth pitch: 25 mm, total belt thickness: 14 mm, constituent material: thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (both back sheet and belt main body), and cord diameter: 1.9 mm (para-aramid fiber TOWARON (registered trademark)).

Comparative Example

(67) This is a two-layer toothed belt having the shape and dimension as illustrated in FIG. 7.

(68) Belt width: 25 mm, back flat sheet thickness: 2.0 mm, belt tooth pitch: 25 mm, total belt thickness: 14 mm, constituent material and cord diameter: the same as those in Example.

(69) (Test Method)

(70) A test specimen having a length of 125 mm was taken from the manufactured belt and a tensile test (tensile speed: 100 mm/min) was carried out by using a tensile tester (Autograph), and the adhesive force until the sheet was peeled off was compared.

(71) The results are shown in Table 1 below.

(72) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Example Comparative Example Sheet with uneven shape Flat sheet Sheet adhesive 555N 437N force

(73) In the case of the back sheet having an uneven shape, the sheet adhesive force was improved by 27% as compared to the case where the back sheet was a flat sheet.

(74) In addition, in the completed two-layer toothed belt, the interface between the back sheet having the uneven shape and the belt main body was perfectly adhered by fusion-joining in a state where it could not be recognized visually.

(75) The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-104344 filed on May 25, 2016 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-097103 filed on May 16, 2017, and the contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(76) 1 TOOTHED BELT 2 BELT MAIN BODY 2a TOOTH PORTION 2b BACK SURFACE PORTION 3 BACK SHEET 4 CORD 5 BACK PORTION 6 UNEVEN SHAPE 31 MOLDING DRUM 32 PRESSING BAND 33 EXTRUSION HEAD