Drive sprocket

Claim 2

A drive sprocket for an endless traction belt which has a plurality of driven surfaces, said sprocket having a central axis of rotation and comprising, a hub portion, a peripheral portion surrounding said hub portion, a plurality of elongated supports fixed to said peripheral portion, each of said supports extending completely through said peripheral portion and each having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to said central axis, each of said supports being supported solely at its central portion by said peripheral portion, and a plurality of driving members rotatably supported relative to said supports and sprocket within the peripheral outline of said sprocket with each support carrying a pair of said members on its opposite end porTions for rotation relative thereto, each member being adapted to engage those of said driven surfaces associated therewith in a serial manner to transmit a driving force thereto while avoiding sliding movement between each member and its associated driven surface and thereby reduce wear.

Claim 3

A sprocket as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said supports comprises a supporting rod and each member comprises a right circular cylindrical sleeve-like member rotatably supported concentrically about its associated rod.

Claim 4

A sprocket as set forth in claim 1 made from a single piece of material and having said hub portion and peripheral portion defined as an integral part thereof.

Claim 5

A sprocket as set forth in claim 1 in which said peripheral portion is made of a non-metallic material, each of said supports comprises a rod fixed within said nonmetallic material in an embedded manner, and each member comprises a cylindrical member rotatably supported concentrically about its associated rod.

Claim 6

A sprocket as set forth in claim 4 in which, said peripheral portion is in the form of a ring having an annular cutout on opposite sides thereof, said hub portion comprises a pair of roughly cup-shaped structures each having an annular substantially planar peripheral flange which is received within an associated cutout, and further comprising means fixing each flange against said ring.

Claim 7

A sprocket as set forth in claim 1 in which each support comprises a right circular cylindrical rod and each member comprises a right circular cylindrical sleeve rotatably supported concentrically about its rod.

Claim 8

A sprocket as set forth in claim 6 and further comprising a plurality of retainers each retaining an associated sleeve axially on its rod, and each retainer being easily installed on and removed from its rod to enable rapid installation of an associated member.

Claim 9

A sprocket as set forth in claim 6 in which each of said members is made of a plastic material.

Claim 10

A drive sprocket for an inside drive endless traction belt which has a plurality of projections extending from its inside surface with each projection being arranged in an associated row of a pair of parallel rows, said sprocket having a central axis of rotation and comprising, a hub portion, a peripheral portion surrounding said hub portion, a plurality of elongated supports fixed to said peripheral portion, each of said supports extending completely through said peripheral portion and each having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to said central axis, each of said supports being supported solely at its central portion by said peripheral portion, and a plurality of driving members rotatably supported relative to said supports and sprocket within the peripheral outline of said sprocket with each support carrying a pair of said members on its opposite end portions for rotation relative thereto, each member being adapted to engage those projections arranged in a row associated therewith in a serial manner to transmit a driving force thereto while avoiding sliding movement between each member and a projection engaged thereby to thus reduce wear.

Claim 11

A drive sprocket for an inside drive endless traction belt which has a plurality of projections extending from its inside surface with each projection being arranged in an associated row of a pair of parallel rows, said sprocket having a central axis of rotation and comprising, a hub portion, a peripheral portion surrounding said hub portion, a plurality of elongated supports fixed to said peripheral portion, each of said supports extending completely through said peripheral portion and each having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to said central axis, each of said supports being supported solely at its central portion by said peripheral portion, and a plurality of driving members rotatably supported relative to said supports and sprocket within the peripheral outline of said sprocket with each support carrying a pair of said members on its opposite end portions for rotation relative thereto, each member being adapted to engage those projections arranged in a row associated therewith in a serial manner to transmit a driving force thereto while avoiding sliding movement between each member and a projection engaged thereby to thus reduce wear.

Claim 12

In combination: an endless traction belt which has a plurality of driven surfaces and a drive sprocket for driving said belt, said sprocket having a central axis of rotation and comprising, a hub portion, a peripheral portion made of hard plastic material surrounding said hub portion, a plurality of elongated supports fixed to said peripheral portion, each of said supports comprising a rod fixed within said plastic material in an embedded manner and extending completely through said peripheral portion and each having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to said central axis, each of said supports being supported solely at its central portion by said peripheral portion, and a plurality of driving members each comprising a right circular cylindrical sleeve-like member rotatably supported concentrically about its associated rod relative to said supports anD sprocket with each support carrying a pair of said members on its opposite end portions for rotation relative thereto, each member being adapted to engage those of said driven surfaces associated therewith in a serial manner to transmit a driving force thereto while avoiding sliding movement between said member and its associated driven surface and thereby reduce wear.

Claim 13

In combination: an endless traction belt which has a plurality of driven surfaces and a drive sprocket for driving said belt, said sprocket having a central axis of rotation and comprising, a hub portion, a peripheral portion made of hard plastic material surrounding said hub portion, a plurality of elongated supports fixed to said peripheral portion, each of said supports comprising a rod fixed within said plastic material in an embedded manner and extending completely through said peripheral portion and each having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to said central axis, each of said supports being supported solely at its central portion by said peripheral portion, and a plurality of driving members each comprising a right circular cylindrical sleeve-like member rotatably supported concentrically about its associated rod relative to said supports anD sprocket with each support carrying a pair of said members on its opposite end portions for rotation relative thereto, each member being adapted to engage those of said driven surfaces associated therewith in a serial manner to transmit a driving force thereto while avoiding sliding movement between said member and its associated driven surface and thereby reduce wear.