GB2331259A

GB2331259A - Base for chain-guiding shoe

Info

Publication number: GB2331259A
Application number: GB9901060A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Atsushi Kumakura
Original assignee: Tsubakimoto Chain Co
Current assignee: Tsubakimoto Chain Co
Priority date: 1996-09-17
Filing date: 1997-09-10
Publication date: 1999-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 2017-09-10
Also published as: GB9901060D0; GB2331259B

Abstract

A base 1 for a chain-guiding shoe, the base comprising a base plate formed integrally with a mounting seat 3, 4 which is bent about a bend line at an edge of the base plate; wherein substantially semi-circular or U-shaped relief portions 9 extend towards one another into the opposite edges of the mounting seat substantially in alignment with the bend line.

Description

1 BASE FOR CHAIN-GUIDING SHOE r_ 2331259 In a conventional chain drive,

used to transmit rotation of a crank shaft of an engine to a cam shaft, as shown in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings, a chain 17 is passed over and between a drive sprocket 12 secured to a crank shaft 11 and driven sprockets 15, 16 secured to cam shafts 13, 14, respectively. A tensioner lever 20 is supported pivotally around a support shaft 18 secured on the engine side and biased toward the chain 17 by means of a tensioner 19. The tensioner lever 20 is arranged along the outer periphery of. the chain 17 between the drive sprocket 12 and the driven sprocket 15. The chain 17 is pressed from the side by a shoe 21 of the tensioner lever 20 to prevent looseness thereof and vibrations during running.

Further, a chain guide 22 for preventing vibrations during running of the chain 17 is arranged along the outer periphery of the chain 17 between the drive sprocket 12 and the driven sprocket 16.

The chain guide 22 is composed of a shoe 23 in sliding contact with the chain 17 and a base plate 24 mounted on the shoe 23, and the base plate 24 is secured to a mounting surface on the engine side by two mounting seats 25, 26 spaced in the longitudinal direction of the chain. The base plate and seats form a base for the shoe.

In the process of manufacturing the base of the chain guide described above, metal plate stock is externally punched and after this the mounting seats are subjected to bending. However, in the case where two mounting seats are bent in opposite directions with respect to the longitudinal direction of the plate base, as shown in Fig.

6, at both ends of the bend line of one mounting seat, the rupture surface caused by the punching is positioned externally in the bending direction. Theref ore, cracks sometimes occur external - ly in the bending direction, during 2 the bending of the mounting seats, resulting from fine cracks included in the rupture surface.

Further, since the chain guide is incorporated into a narrow space internally of the engine, when a height h f rom the bottom of the mounting seat 25 (26) to a bottom edge 24B of a shoe support portion 24A of the base plate 24 is low, as shown in Fig. 7, a relief portion internally in the bending direction disappears when the mounting seats 25, 26 are subjected to bending, posing a problem in that cracks occur in the bend portion and the accuracy lowers.

on the other hand, a proposal has been made to solve the above problem by an arrangement wherein for securing the aforementioned relief, a slitlike relief portion G is formed at both edges widthwise of the mounting seat 251 is (261) into a shoe support portion 24'A of a plate base 241, as shown in Fig. 8, af ter which bending is carried out. In this proposal, however, stress tends to be concentrated on the relief portion G extending into the shoe support portion 24', lowering the strength of the base plate 241 and posing a practical problem.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the problems noted above with respect to prior art and provide a base of a guide for a chain drive which is free f rom occurrence of cracks in both edges of a bent portion when bending, and which can be manufactured compactly without lowering accuracy and strength.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a base f or a chain-guiding shoe, the base being formed by punching f rom sheet material a blank, which has, as a result of the punching, a rupture surface at the edge of one surface and a shear surface at the edge of the other surface, and which provides a base plate formed integrally with mounting seats, and bending the seats in opposite directions about bend lines at an edge of the base plate; wherein prior to bending that mounting seat, which is to be bent in the direction such that the rupture surface at the end of the bend line would be at the outside of the bend, the blank is subjected to a secondary punching to reverse the rupture and shear surfaces at the ends of that bend line, and bending that mounting seat about the bend line with the shear surface at the ends of the bend line at the outside of the bend.

Preferably, the secondary punching forms substantially semi-circular or Ushaped relief portions extending towards one another into the opposite edges of the mounting seat substantially in alignment with the bend line.

In the base of a gu. ide for a chain drive according to the present invention, the ends of the bend lines of both mounting seats have a smooth shear surface externally in the bending direction thereof by the secondary punching. Therefore, even if the bending radius is made small when bending, no crack occurs. Further, a substantially semicircular or U-shaped relief portion is formed inwardly from both edges of the mounting seats, it is possible to prevent an occurrence of cracks caused by stress concentrated on the bend during bending. Further, the strength of the shoe support portion of the base caused by formation of the relief portions is not lowered.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a base of a guide for a chain drive showing an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of a base of a guide f or a chain drive according to the present invention; Fig - 3 shows one mounting seat as viewed from the line A-A in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows the other mounting seat 4 as viewed from the direction of line B-B in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view showing the process for manufacturing a base of a guide for a chain drive of the present invention, (A) showing a state immediately af ter a contour was punched from a metal plate stock, (B) showing a state immediately after secondary punching, and (C) being a state in which bending has been completed; 9 il-1, 4 is Fig. 6 is a plan showing one example of a chain drive in which a conventional chain guide is used; Fig. 7 is a partial side view showing one example of a bent portion of a conventional plate base; and Fig. 8 is a partial side view showing another example of a bent portion of a conventional plate base.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a base 1 has a shoe support plate portion 2 on which a shoe not shown is mounted. and mounting seats 3, 4 punched integrally with the shoe support portion 2 and connected to a side edge thereof through bends parallel with a bottom edge 2A of the shoe support portion 2. The mounting seats 3, 4 have bolt holes St 6 for securing to the engine side, and are bent in opposite directions.

Fig. 3 shows how one mounting seat 3 has a shear surface S positioned externally in a bending direction at both ends of the bend 7, and a rupture surface B is positioned internally. The shear surface S and the rupture surf ace B are produced when an external contour of the base 1 is punched from metal plate stock. Even if the bend 7 is subjected to bending immediately after the punching, the mounting seat 3 involves no problem of occurrence of crack because the surface externally in a bending direction on which tensile stress acts when bending is a smooth shear surface S.

on the other hand, Fig. 4 shows the other mounting seat 4. A rupture surface B is formed externally in a bending direction of a bend 8 in a side edge 4A of the mounting seat 4, and a shear surface S is formed internally, but only a relief portion 9 forming both ends of the bend 8 is formed with a shear surface S externally in a bending direction similar to the bend 7 of the mounting seat 3 as mentioned above.

Fig. 5 shows the process for forming the bend 8.

Fig. 5 (A) is a partial view showing the state immediately after an external contour of the base 1 is punched from a metal plate stock. Immediately after punching, the mounting seat 4 is developed. The shear surf ace S and the rupture surface B formed in the side edge 4A of the mounting scat are also continuously formed at both edge portions 8A adjacent to the ends of the bend 8 without modification.

Incidentally, when the mounting seat is subjected to bending without modification, the rupture surface B is positioned externally in a bending direction in Fig. 4 at both edges 8A. Therefore, the fine cracks which are present in the rupture surface B are likely to develop into large cracks.

Thus, as shown in Fig. 5 (B), both edge portions widthwise of its seat,. at the ends of the bend 8 are subjected to secondary punching by which the shear surface is and the rupture surface are formed reversely at the side edges 4A of the mounting seat 4 to provide a pair of substantially semicircular or U- shaped relief portions 9, after which as shown in Fig. 5 (C), the seat 4 is bent so that the shoe support plate portion 2 is at right angles to the mounting seat 4.

At this time, the stress acting on both ends of the bend 8 is dispersed by the relief portion 9 to prevent cracks from occurring and to facilitate bending in a position closest to the bottom edge 2A of the shoe support plate portion 2. While in the aforementioned embodiment, the relief portions 9 are processed only at both ends of the bend 8 of the mounting seat 4, it is to be noted that relief portions similar to those of the bend 8 may be provided also at both ends of the bend 7 of the mounting seat 3 shown in Fig. 3 in order to prevent stress concentration when bending takes place and to facilitate bending.

If both ends of the bend, in which a rupture surface side produced at the time of contour punching from a metal plate stock is external in a bending direction, are subjected to secondary punching by which a shear surface is produced externally in"a bending direction, though the 6 performance is somewhat lowered as compared with the previous embodiment, it is possible to make occurrence of crack dif f icult even if the relief portion having the shape as described above is not provided. This is the case where for example, both ends of the bend and the external contour of the mounting seat are simultaneously formed by secondary punching.

Further, the relief portions may be formed by cutting or grinding instead by the secondary punching. A rupture surface of an external portion in a bending direction of both ends of the bend may then be smoothly finished similar to one in which the -escape portion is subjected to secondary punching so that the external portion in a bending direction is a shear surface. Therefore, the performance equal to that of the previous embodiment can be obtained.

As described above, in a base of a guide for a chain drive according to the invention, both ends of the bend in which a rupture surface caused by external punching of a metal plate stock is external in a bending direction are subjected to a secondary punching, producing a shear surface externally in the bending direction before forming the bend. Therefore, it is possible to prevent cracks from occurring on both ends of the bend during bending, and the bending radius can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to select freely the bending direction of the mounting seat so as to be able to correspond to a narrow mounting space within the engine or the like, and the plate base can be made compact.

Further, when a substantially semicircular or U-shaped relief portion is formed inwardly from both ends of the bend, by the secondary punching or otherwise, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of crack and lowering of accuracy caused by stress concentration at the bend at both ends during bending. Further, the strength of the shoe support plate portion of the base is not lowered even by the formation of the relief portion. Further, since the 7 bend can be provided close to the bottom edge of the shoe support plate portion, the base can be manufactured compactly so as to be able to correspond to a narrow mounting space within the engine or the like.

8

Claims

1. A base for a chain-guiding shoe, the base comprising a base plate formed inte grally with a mounting seat, which is bent about a bend line at an edge of the base plate; wherein substantially semi-circular or U-shaped relief portions extend towards one another into the opposite edges of the mounting seat substantially in alignment with the bend line.