Locking mechanism for swivel casters

Abstract

Regarding the locking mechanism of swivel casters. [Solution] The locking mechanism of this invention is configured in a swivel caster 10 in which a wheel 12 is rotatably mounted on a wheel mounting frame 13 to which a bearing member 15 is attached, and the wheel mounting frame is rotatably mounted on a swivel seat 11 to which a support column 16 is attached, and a rotation stopper 20 is provided on the wheel, a restraining body 30 is rotatably attached to the bearing member, and the inclined groove 33 of the restraining body is swingably connected to a lifting body 40, and the lifting body is inserted up and down on the support column 16, so that when the lifting body is moved up and down, the restraining body 30 swings, inserting and removing the restraining claw 31 of the restraining body into the stop hole 21 of the rotation stopper, thereby locking and unlocking the rotation of the wheel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of casters with stoppers used for carts and the like, and relates to a locking mechanism for swivel wheels.

Background Art

[0002] A locking mechanism for swivel casters used for carts and the like is required to have no restrictions on the turning position and operation method of the wheels. Specifically, it is a structure that holds the relationship between the locked side (wheel) and the locking side (restraining mechanism) even when it turns, and by combining with operating tools such as levers and pedals, the operating position and operation method can be arbitrarily selected. As prior art examples of this, there are the inventions of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that a bearing pair 6 is attached to the center of the mounting seat 2, a wheel mounting frame 9 is rotatably attached to the mounting seat 2, a lifting member 5 is attached via a bearing body 6, and the lifting member 5 is lifted and lowered to lock the rotation of the wheel 15 with a claw body 20 and a stop body 18. Patent Document 2 describes that a brake operating member (5) penetrating the axis of a support shaft (1) is connected to a brake shoe (6) rotatably attached to a frame (3) rotatably attached to the support shaft (1). However, in both cases, the lifting member 5 and the brake operating member (5) enter the wheel side through a hole provided at the center of the swivel part of the swivel caster.

[0004] However, in recent years, there are also swivel casters with a low floor type or a suspension function, and the above method of using the locking mechanism at the center of the swivel part is in a physically difficult situation.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism for a swivel caster that stops the rotation of a wheel by inserting a restraining body into a rotation-stopping body attached to the wheel, wherein the restraining body can be inserted into and removed from the rotation-stopping body and the restraining body in a manner that does not allow the restraining body to enter from the center of the swivel part toward the wheel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a means to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional technology, the wheel locking mechanism of claim 1 is a swivel caster comprising a wheel mounting frame 13 to which a wheel 12 is rotatably mounted, a swivel seat 11 to which the wheel mounting frame is rotatably mounted, a bearing member 15 attached to the wheel mounting frame, and a support column 16 attached to the swivel seat, wherein a rotation stopper 20 is provided on the wheel, and a restraining body 30 is rotatably attached to the bearing member and a lifting body 40, the lifting body is inserted through the support column, and when the lifting body, which is positioned above the wheel mounting frame, is moved up and down, the restraining body 30 is rotated to insert and remove the restraining claw 31 into the stop hole 21, thereby locking or unlocking the rotation of the wheel. Furthermore, the restraining body is configured to rotate together with the wheel mounting frame via the bearing member. This allows for the insertion and removal of the stop hole and stop claw without passing a component through the center of the swivel part of the swivel caster.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is a locking mechanism for a swivel caster as described in claim 1, wherein a lifting body 40 inserted into a support column 16 is provided with a groove 42 around its entire circumference, the support column is fixed to a base frame 60, and the drive body 50 is rotatably attached to the base frame, and the groove around its entire circumference and a support member 52 attached to the drive body are connected by a suspension device 3. This allows for remote locking by rotating the drive unit using connecting members such as wires and operating tools.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is a locking mechanism for a swivel caster according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a restraining piece 34 is provided on the base frame 60 side of the restraining body 30, and a swivel stopper 70 with a square groove 71 is attached to the base frame. This allows for locking and unlocking the wheel's rotational movement, in addition to its swivel movement. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The locking mechanism of the swivel caster of the present invention is a mechanism developed that avoids the method of entering the inside of the wheel mounting frame from the center of the swivel part, thereby expanding the range of applications to the increasingly diverse swivel casters. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a front view of the swivel caster. [Figure 2] This is a right side view of Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is a plan view of Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a front view of the wheel locking mechanism in the locked state. [Figure 5] This is a right side view of Figure 4. [Figure 6] This is a plan view of Figure 4. [Figure 7] This is a front view of the wheel locking mechanism in the unlocked state. [Figure 8] This is a front view of the support column with mounting base. [Figure 9] This is a plan view of Figure 8. [Figure 10] This is a front view showing a plate-type swivel caster attached to a support column with a mounting base. [Figure 11] Figure 10 is a plan view. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] An embodiment of the locking mechanism for the swivel caster of the present invention will be described with reference to the figures.

[0013] First, the configuration of the swivel caster will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The swivel caster 10 has a wheel mounting frame 13 rotatably attached to a swivel base 11, and a wheel 12 is rotatably attached to the wheel mounting frame via an axle 14. At the center of the swivel base, a support column 16 with a screw 16-1 at its tip is caulked, and a bearing member 15 is attached to the side surface of the wheel mounting frame. In the figure, the support column 16 and the screw 16-1 are integrated, but they may also be a two-piece structure with a round tube fitted inside the screw.

[0014] Next, the configuration of the locking mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. The rotation stop body 20 is configured by attaching a stop hole | 21 and a mounting hole 22 to a circular plate, and the stop body is fixed to the wheel by passing a screw through the mounting hole on the side surface of the wheel 12 of the swivel caster. The restraining body 30 has a restraining claw 31 that can be inserted into and removed from the stop hole at the lower part of an inverted L-shaped plate, a shaft hole 32 at the center, an inclined groove 33 at the upper part, and a restraining piece 34. The lifting body 40 is configured by attaching a circumferential groove 42 and a pin receiver 43 to a cylindrical sliding bearing 41. In this state, the restraining body is inserted with a shaft 5 into the shaft hole 32 attached to the center and rotatably attached to the bearing member 15, and at the same time, a pin 6 is inserted through the inclined groove 33 at the upper part and the pin receiver 43 attached to the lifting body 40 to connect to the lifting body.

[0015] Also, the driving body / 50 is configured by attaching a pair of support members 52, an arm 53, and an arm pin 54 to a main shaft 51. The base frame 60 is configured by attaching a fixing hole 62 for the support column 16 at the center of a box frame, mounting holes 61 for attaching to a vehicle or the like near the four corners, screw holes 65, a shaft hole 63 for supporting the main shaft on the opposing side surfaces, and a support pin 64. The swivel stop body 70 is configured by attaching an internal gear-shaped angular groove 71 and a fixing hole 72 for attaching to the base frame to a flat plate. In this state, the drive unit has the main shaft 51 rotatably mounted horizontally in the shaft hole 63 of the base frame, a wire connector 7 is attached to the arm, and the swivel stopper is fastened to the lower surface of the base frame using screw holes 65 and fixing holes 72.

[0016] Next, I will explain the integration of the swivel caster and the locking mechanism. With the aforementioned lifting body 40 connected to the stopping body 30, the sliding bearing 41 of the lifting body is inserted through the support column 16 of the swivel caster 10 and fixed to the base frame 60 with screws 16-1 into the fixing holes 62 attached to the base frame 60, thereby integrating the swivel caster 10, the rotation stopping body 20, the stopping body 30, the lifting body 40 and the drive body 50, the base frame 60 and the swivel stopping body 70. In this state, the short side of the L-shaped lifting device 3 is fitted into the groove 42 around the entire circumference of the lifting body, and the long side is connected by a roller shaft 4 to the support member 52 of the drive unit 50 which is horizontally mounted on the base frame 60, so that the lifting body moves up and down when the drive unit rotates. Furthermore, when the drive unit rotates, both ends of the elastic body 2 are attached to the arm pin 54 and the support pin 64, and are always biased in a counterclockwise direction.

[0017] Finally, the operation of the locking mechanism of the swivel caster will be explained with reference to Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7. Normally, the biasing force of the elastic body 2 rotates the drive body 50 counterclockwise, pushing down the lifting body 40 via the support member 52 and suspension device 3 attached to the drive body. As a result, the restraining body 30 rotates clockwise around the shaft hole 32 via the pin 6 inserted into the pin receiver 43 of the lifting body and the inclined groove 33, moving the restraining claw 31 attached to the lower part of the restraining body toward the rotation stopper 20, inserting the restraining claw into the stop hole 21, and stopping the rotation of the wheel 12. At the same time, the restraining piece 34 attached to the restraining body 30 moves toward the corner groove 71 of the swivel stopper 70, and the restraining piece fits into the corner groove, stopping the swivel of the wheel 12 as well. However, when the restraining claw 31 and the stop hole 21 and the restraining piece 34 and the corner groove 71 are not in the insertion / removal position, the restraining claw and the restraining piece move until they come into contact with either the rotation stop body 20 or the swivel stop body 70, and remain in that position. At this time, since the restraining body is pressurized in the insertion direction by the biasing force of the elastic body 2, if the wheel 12 rotates and swivels to the insertion / removal position, the restraining claw and the restraining piece move further in the insertion direction to the state described above as shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, the insertion amounts of the restraining claws 31 and restraining pieces 34 are varied to accommodate the fact that they can be individually inserted even if the insertion and removal timing of the wheel restraining body and the swivel restraining body are different.

[0018] From this state, when the drive body is rotated clockwise, the lifting body 40 is pulled up via the support member 52 and the suspension device 3 while the elastic body is being pulled. As a result, the pin 6 rises along the inclined groove 33, and the restraining body 30 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft hole 32, moving the restraining claw 31 outward from the rotation stopper body 20, disengaging the restraining claw from the stop hole 21 and enabling the wheel 12 to rotate. At the same time, the restraining piece 34 attached to the restraining body is disengaged from the square groove 71, resulting in the state shown in Figure 7, where the wheel can also swivel. At this time, by connecting the wire 1 to the wire connector 7 attached to the arm 53 and rotating the drive unit 50 with a lever or the like, it becomes possible to lock it from a distance.

[0019] As a supplement, it should be noted that the swivel caster 10 in the present invention can be substituted with a standard plate-type swivel caster. In the swivel caster 10 shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the support column (16) is separated, and the mounting base 101 is fixed to the support column by crimping or the like to achieve the state shown in Figures 8 and 9. At this time, the screw holes 102 attached to the mounting base are made in the same way as the mounting method for the plate-type swivel caster 103 described later. Next, the bearing member (15) is attached to the plate-type swivel caster 103 by welding or other means. In this state, the mounting hole 103-2 of the plate-type swivel caster and the screw hole 102 attached to the mounting base 101 are fixed together to form the swivel caster 100 shown in Figures 10 and 11, corresponding to Figures 1, 2 and 3. In this case, the bearing member (15) is extended to a length that prevents interference between the restraint body 30 and the plate 103-1, and the symbols in parentheses are the same for the purpose of comparison. Although this method is slightly less efficient in terms of weight reduction and miniaturization compared to the swivel caster 10 of the present invention, there are no functional problems.

[0020] As described above, a support column 16 is provided on the swivel seat 11 of the swivel caster 10, and the structure is such that the stop hole 21 and the stop claw 31 can be inserted and removed without the lifting body 40 and the stopping body 30 entering the inside of the wheel mounting frame 13. This made it possible to create a mechanism that addresses the physical constraints of swivel casters due to features such as lowering the floor and expanding functionality like suspension. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0021] 1 wire 2 Elastic bodies 3. Lifting device 4 roller shaft 5 axes 6 pins 7 Wire connectors 10 Swivel Casters 11 Swivel seat 12 wheels 13 Wheel mounting frame 14 axles 15 Bearing member 16 pillars 16-1 Screw 20 Rotating stationary body 21 Stop hole 22 mounting holes 30 Stopping body 31 Stopping claw 32 shaft hole 33 Slant groove 34 Stop piece 40 Lifting mechanism 41 Plain bearing 42 Full circumference groove 43 Pin receiver 50 Drive unit 51 Spindle 52 Support member 53 Arm 54 Arm pins 60 base frame 61 mounting holes 62 fixing hole 63 Shaft hole 64 Support pins 65 screw holes 70. Rotating stationary body 71 Square groove 72 fixing hole 100 Swivel Casters 101 Mounting base 102 screw holes 103 Plate-type swivel caster 103-1 Plate 103-2 Mounting holes

Claims

1. In a swivel caster configured by mounting a wheel rotatably to a wheel mounting frame, mounting the wheel mounting frame rotatably to a swivel seat, attaching a support column to the swivel seat, and attaching a bearing member to the wheel mounting frame, A rotation stopper with a stop hole is attached to the front wheel. A lifting body with a pin receiver attached to a sliding bearing is inserted into the support column, a restraining body with a restraining claw, a shaft hole and an inclined groove is rotatably attached to the bearing member, and the inclined groove is connected to the pin receiver, A locking mechanism for a swivel caster, characterized by rotating the restraining body by moving the lifting body up and down, and inserting and removing the restraining claw into the restraining hole of the rotation stopper to lock and unlock the rotation of the wheel.

2. A locking mechanism for a swivel caster according to claim 1, By providing a groove around the entire circumference of the lifting body, fixing the support column to the base frame, rotatably attaching the drive body to the base frame, and connecting the groove around the entire circumference and the support member attached to the drive body via a suspension device, A locking mechanism for a swivel caster, characterized in that the lifting body moves up and down by rotating the drive body.

3. A locking mechanism for a swivel caster according to claim 1 or claim 2, By providing a restraining piece on the base frame side of the restraining body, and attaching a swivel stopper body to the base frame having a square groove into which the restraining piece can be inserted and removed, A locking mechanism for a swivel caster, characterized by the simultaneous insertion and removal of the stop claw and stop hole, and the insertion and removal of the stop piece and the corner groove.

Images