籠谷 正則

Belt side tracking caused by the helix angle of the tooth trace of a helical synchronous belt under no load was investigated in the present study. Belt side tracking is an important problem because it influences the transmission characteristics, belt life and noise characteristics. Experimental results of belt side tracking were correlated the force on the belt tooth when the belt tooth began to mesh with the pulley tooth. It was confirmed that the amount of belt side tracking is proportional to the magnitude of the installation tension and the helix angle, and is inversely proportional to the belt width.

A new helical synchronous belt has been developed to reduce noise. However, in addition to the noise characteristics, the transmission characteristics must be considered. The present study examines experimentally the transmission error in a helical synchronous belt drive caused by side tracking of the belt due to the helix angle of the tooth trace. Experiments were performed under quasi-static conditions and no load. Experimental results suggested that the transmission error that occurs over the course of one belt revolution was caused by the change in the belt pitch when belt zigzagging was limited by optimization of the flanged pulley because of the axial force of the belt. These results are in good agreement with computed results that considered the change in the belt pitch. Thus, the side face of the belt should be processed appropriately, because belt zigzagging is introduced under normal conditions when the cylindrical belt has been cut to a constant width. When the installation tension is decreased and the distance between the driving and the driven shafts is shortened, this transmission error can be reduced.