Weight-reduced guide bar of solid material

Abstract

A guide bar (1) for the saw chain (2) of a motor-driven chain saw includes a longitudinal bar base body (3) of solid material having a reversal section (5) and a mounting section (8). A weight recess (11) is formed in a flat side (13) of the bar base body (3). The weight recess (11) extends essentially along the bar base body (3) and is closed by a cover plate (12). A light-weight, torsion-resistant guide bar is produced in that a longitudinal rib (14, 15) supporting the cover plate (12) is arranged in the weight recess (11) and extends in the longitudinal direction (19) of the guide bar (1).

Claims

1. A guide bar for a saw chain of a motor driven chain saw, the guide bar comprising: an elongated bar base body of solid material having a first end and a second end; a direction reversal section for said saw chain and said direction reversal section being arranged at said first end of said bar base body; a mounting section for fixating said guide bar and said mounting section being arranged at said second end; said bar base body defining an outer peripheral edge and having first and second flat sides; a guide groove formed in said outer peripheral edge of said bar base body and being configured to guide said saw chain; a hollow weight recess formed in said first flat side of said bar base body and said hollow weight recess extending along said bar base body between said mounting section and said reversal section; said hollow weight recess having a peripheral edge and being configured as a trough recess having a bottom defined by and being integral with said solid material of said bar base body; said hollow weight recess being open only to said first flat side; a cover plate for closing said hollow weight recess; said hollow weight recess having a longitudinal rib arranged therein and said longitudinal rib being formed integrally with said bar base body; said longitudinal rib extending in the longitudinal direction of said bar base body over the entire length of said hollow weight recess so as to partition said hollow weight recess into component hollow weight recesses extending in said longitudinal direction of said elongated bar base body; said longitudinal rib extending from said bottom of said hollow weight recess to said cover plate; said longitudinal rib supporting said cover plate also when force is applied from the outside; said cover plate having an edge; said edge of said cover plate being located at a distance from said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess so that said edge of said cover plate and said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess conjointly define a peripheral gap; a weld seam disposed in said gap and fixing said cover plate to said bar base body; and, said weld seam being a weld seam made of material of said peripheral edge of said weight recess and said edge of said cover plate.

2. The guide bar of claim 1, wherein said weld seam has an interruption formed therein to permit said hollow weight recess to be ventilated through said interruption.

3. A guide bar for a saw chain of a motor driven chain saw, the guide bar comprising: an elongated bar base body of solid material having a first end and a second end; a direction reversal section for said saw chain and said direction reversal section being arranged at said first end of said bar base body; a mounting section for fixating said guide bar and said mounting section being arranged at said second end; said bar base body defining an edge and having a flat side; a guide groove formed in said edge of said bar base body and being configured to guide said saw chain; a hollow weight recess formed down to a bottom thereof in said flat side of said bar base body and said hollow weight recess extending essentially along said bar base body between said mounting section and said reversal section; a cover plate for closing said hollow weight recess; said hollow weight recess having a longitudinal rib arranged therein and said longitudinal rib extending in the longitudinal direction of said bar base body; said bar base body and said cover plate conjointly defining a weld gap therebetween; a weld seam fixing said cover plate to said bar base body; said weld seam filling said gap and being a weld seam consisting of material of said bar base body and said cover plate; the material of said cover plate having a degree of hardness of 20 to 58 HRC and a carbon content between 0.25% and 1%; said material of said cover plate being a hardened and tempered steel; and, said material of said cover plate having a carbon content at least as high as the carbon content of said bar base body.

4. The guide bar of claim 3, wherein said cover plate consists essentially of 50CrMo4.

5. The guide bar of claim 3, wherein said cover plate and said bar base body are made of the same material.

6. A guide bar for a saw chain of a motor driven chain saw, the guide bar comprising: an elongated bar base body of solid material having a first end and a second end; a direction reversal section for said saw chain and said direction reversal section being arranged at said first end of said bar base body; a mounting section for fixating said guide bar and said mounting section being arranged at said second end; said bar base body defining an edge and having a flat side; a guide groove formed in said edge of said bar base body and being configured to guide said saw chain; a hollow weight recess formed down to a bottom thereof in said flat side of said bar base body and extending essentially along said bar base body between said mounting section and said reversal section; a cover plate for closing said hollow weight recess; said hollow weight recess having a longitudinal rib arranged therein for supporting said cover plate and said longitudinal rib extending in the longitudinal direction of said bar base body; said cover plate having an edge; said hollow weight recess having a peripheral edge; said edge of said cover plate being located at a distance from said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess so that said edge of said cover plate and said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess conjointly define a gap; said cover plate being fixed on said bar base body with a weld seam filling said gap; and, said weld seam being a weld seam formed with material of said peripheral edge of said weight recess and of said edge of said cover plate.

7. The guide bar of claim 6, wherein said cover plate and said bar base body are made of the same material.

8. The guide bar of claim 6, wherein said bottom of said hollow weight recess is part of a back wall which has a thickness (b) equal to the thickness of said cover plate.

9. The guide bar of claim 8, wherein said guide bar has a thickness (B); and, said thickness (b) of said back wall is less than 20% of said thickness (B) of the guide bar.

10. The guide bar of claim 6, wherein the hollow weight recess is free of any insert.

11. A guide bar for a saw chain of a motor driven chain saw, the guide bar comprising: an elongated bar base body of solid material having a first end and a second end; a direction reversal section for said saw chain and said direction reversal section being arranged at said first end of said bar base body; a mounting section for fixating said guide bar and said mounting section being arranged at said second end; said bar base body defining an edge and having a flat side; a guide groove formed in said edge of said bar base body and being configured to guide said saw chain; a hollow weight recess formed down to a bottom thereof in said flat side of said bar base body and extending essentially along said bar base body between said mounting section and said reversal section; a cover plate for closing said hollow weight recess; said hollow weight recess having a longitudinal rib arranged therein for supporting said cover plate and said longitudinal rib extending in the longitudinal direction of said bar base body; said cover plate having an edge; said hollow weight recess having a peripheral edge; said edge of said cover plate and said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess conjointly defining a gap therebetween; the material of said cover plate having a degree of hardness of 20 to 58 HRC and a carbon content between 0.25% and 1%; said material of said cover plate being a hardened and tempered steel; said material of said cover plate having a carbon content at least as high as the carbon content of said bar base body; said cover plate being fixed on said bar base body with a weld seam filling said gap and said weld seam being formed of material of said cover plate and said peripheral edge of said hollow weight recess; and, wherein said weld seam has an interruption formed therein to permit said hollow weight recess to be ventilated through said interruption.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a guide bar of solid material with a weight recess and a corresponding cover plate;

(3) FIG. 2 is a section view through a guide bar with a cover plate being fixed in the weight recess via a weld seam; and,

(4) FIG. 3 is a view of the mounting section 8 with a connection seam 31 having partial interruption 99.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(5) The guide bar 1 shown in FIG. 1 serves to guide a saw chain 2 on a motor-driven chain saw. The guide bar 1 includes an elongated guide bar base body 3 having the length L with a direction reversal section 5 for the saw chain 2 provided at one end 4. In the shown embodiment, the reversal section 5 is an attachment part with a rotatable sprocket nose 6 which engages between the links of the saw chain 2 and guides these in the area of the reversal section 5. The guide bar 1 can also be a one-part member.

(6) At the other end 7 of the guide bar base body 3, a mounting section 8 is formed, which, in the shown embodiment, is provided as one piece with the guide bar base body 3.

(7) The guide bar base body 3 has a guide groove 10 (FIG. 2) in its edge 9 in which guide sections of the saw chain 2 engage. In this way, the saw chain 2 is guided and held in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar 1 in the guide groove 10. The guide groove 10 continues in the reversal section 5 in the same manner as over a partial region of the mounting section 8.

(8) The guide bar base body 3 is of solid material such as hardened and tempered steel, thus consisting of a one-part component. 50 CrMo4 is preferably used as a material. This leads to a rigid and strong guide bar 1 which is provided with a weight recess 11 in order to reduce weight. The weight recess 11 essentially extends along the guide bar base body 3 between the mounting section 8 and the reversal section 5 over more than half the length of the guide bar base body 3. In the shown embodiment, the weight recess 11 essentially extends from the mounting section 8 to the reversal section 5.

(9) The weight recess 11 is closed by a cover plate 12 which, as shown in FIG. 2, is fixed flush with a flat side 13 on the guide bar base body 3 in a countersink 22 of the flat side 13.

(10) The weight recess 11 is a trough-like recess with a rectangular cross section and is open only toward one flat side 13 of the guide bar base body 3. In order to support the cover plate 12 over its width, at least one longitudinal rib 14 is provided in the weight recess 11. In the shown embodiment, two longitudinal ribs (14, 15) are provided in the weight recess 11 and lie within the peripheral edge 26 of weight recess 11. The longitudinal ribs (14, 15) are formed integrally with the guide bar base body 3 as shown by the common hatching in FIG. 2. The two ribs (14, 15) essentially extend over the entire length of the weight recess 11 in the longitudinal direction 19 of the guide bar 1; thus, the weight recess is divided into a plurality of component recesses (16, 17, 18) extending in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar base body 3, so that a plurality of component recesses lie adjacent to each other transversely to the longitudinal direction of the guide bar base body 3. In the shown embodiment, three component recesses (16, 17, 18) are adjacent to each other.

(11) The weight recess 11 of the guide bar base body 3 is hollow and clear of fillings, inserts or the like. As FIG. 2 shows, each of the component recesses (16, 17, 18) of the weight recess 11 is hollow and clear of fillings, inserts or the like. The component recesses (16, 17, 18) closed by the cover plate 12 remain hollow. Only air is present in the closed weight recesses (16, 17, 18). The height H of the component recesses (16, 17, 18) is greater than 50% of the overall thickness B of the guide bar 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the height H is selected to be approximately 70% of the thickness B of the guide bar 1.

(12) As FIG. 1 shows, the component recesses 16 and 18 have approximately the same length and the same size while the component recess 17 formed between the longitudinal ribs 14 and 15 is shorter and smaller. The longitudinal ribs 14 and 15 merge before the end 20 of the weight recess 11 at the mounting section 8 into a joint support section 21. This is advantageous for force transmission in the area of the mounting section 8.

(13) As FIG. 2 shows, the edge 28 of the weight recess 11 is reduced by the thickness (d) of the cover plate 12, so that the cover plate 12 lies in a countersink 22 and the outer side 23 of the cover plate 12 and the flat side 13 of the guide bar base body 3 define a common plane 24. As FIG. 2 shows, the longitudinal ribs 14 and 15 vertically extend from the bottom 25 of the weight recess 11 to the cover plate 12, so that a support of the cover plate 12 is also ensured when force is applied from outside.

(14) As FIG. 2 further shows, the back wall 40 defining the bottom 25 has a thickness (b) and the cover plate 12 has a thickness (d). The guide bar is so configured that the thickness (b) of the back wall 40 corresponds to the thickness (d) of the cover plate 12. The guide bar has a thickness B between the first outer side 33 and the second outer side 23.

(15) As also shown by FIG. 2, the thickness (b) of the back wall 40 and the thickness (d) of the cover plate 12 correspond to less than 20% of the thickness B of the guide bar. In the embodiment shown, the thickness (b) of the back wall 40 and the thickness (d) of the cover plate 12 are selected to be 15% of the overall thickness B of the guide bar 1.

(16) The edge 28 of the cover plate 12 is located in the countersink 22 of the guide bar base body 3 at a distance S from the peripheral edge 26 of the weight recess 11, so that there results a peripheral gap 27 between the edge 28 of the cover plate 12 and the peripheral edge 26 of the countersink 22. The supporting surface 29 of the cover plate 12 in the countersink 22 is larger transversely to the longitudinal direction 19 of the guide bar base body 3 than the width S of the gap 27, so that complete covering of the component recesses 16, 17 and 18 is invariably ensured independently of the position of the cover plate 12 in the countersink 22. The hollow spaces created by the weight recess 11 are ventilated; this can be provided by ventilating openings 30 or by a partially interrupted connecting seam 31 by which the cover plate 12 is fixed in the countersink 22 of the guide bar base body 3. The connecting seam is interrupted as shown in FIG. 3 by the interruptions indicated by reference numeral 99. The ventilation is preferably closed upon completion of the guide bar 1, for example, by a plug or the like.

(17) Ventilating bores are also provided in the guide bar base body and are indicated by dots 30 near the longitudinal center line 19. One of these openings 30 is shown in section in FIG. 2.

(18) The bore 30 formed in the bar base body 3 communicates with the hollow weight recess 18 via the interface between cover 12 and ribs 15 for venting the hollow weight recess.

(19) The bore 30 has a bore width measured in the direction from the first end of the guide bar to the second end thereof and the hollow weight recess 18 has a weight recess length L measured in a direction from the first end of the guide bar to the second end thereof. The bore width is less than 5% of the weight recess length as can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(20) As FIG. 2 shows, the connecting seam 31 fills the gap 27 almost completely. The connecting seam can be formed by hard soldering, adhesive bonding, welding, or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the connecting seam is produced by laser welding. Bifocal laser welding as disclosed in DE 20 2004 017 854 U1 is particularly suited for this. A good connection without warping can be produced by this method. The laser beams liquefy the peripheral edge 28 of the cover plate 12 as well as the edge 26 of the countersink 22, whereby the welding seam fills and/or bridges the peripheral gap 27. As FIG. 2 shows, a welding seam 31 forms in the gap 27 and is thicker than the depth of the countersink 22. The thickness T of the welding seam 31 preferably corresponds to about twice to three times the thickness (d) of the cover plate 12. The cover plate 12 has a thickness (d) of about 0.5 mm to 1 mm, preferably 0.75 mm.

(21) The guide bar base body 3 is a high-quality hardened and tempered steel, preferably 50CrMo4. The cover plate 12 is made of steel having a degree of hardness of 20 to 58 HRC Rockwell hardness number; the material preferably has a carbon content in the range of 0.25% to 1%. In a further embodiment of the invention, the cover plate 12 is made of hardened and tempered steel which, according to the invention, has a higher carbon content than the guide bar base body 3. In particular, the cover plate 12 consists of a hardened and tempered steel 50CrMo4. It can be practical to design the cover plate of the same material as the guide bar base body.

(22) It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the preferred embodiments of the invention and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.