Locking mechanism for swivel casters

Abstract

The present invention provides a locking mechanism for swivel casters that allows equipment such as trolleys, shopping carts, and conference tables (hereinafter referred to as "equipment") to be locked, and that makes it easier to change the direction of the equipment while it is in motion. [Solution] The wheel body consists of at least two wheels in contact with the road surface and two rotation restricting members, the two rotation restricting members are positioned between the two wheels, adjacent rotation restricting members and wheels are integrated, the two sets of wheels and rotation restricting members share an axle and can rotate independently, and the external shape of the rotation restricting members, when viewed from the axle direction, is the same as the external shape of the rotation restricting members described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-069117.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mechanism for locking a swivel caster provided with a locking mechanism, that is, a mechanism for locking a swivel caster to keep equipment such as a cart, a shopping cart, and a conference table (hereinafter referred to as equipment) in place when it is stopped.

Background Art

[0002] When the equipment is stopped, it is desirable that it stays in place even on a sloped surface or when an external force is applied. Therefore, the applicant devised a locking mechanism that enables the equipment to stay in place and filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-189664 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024-069117).

Prior Art Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, when trying to change the direction of the equipment during travel, the easier the swivel caster itself is to turn, the easier it is for the equipment to make a small turn, that is, the easier it is to change direction.

[0005] One set of swivel casters in Patent Document 1 is, as the name implies, a swivel caster and can therefore turn. However, compared to equipment equipped with a two-wheel type swivel caster in which two wheels can rotate independently, the ease of turning is inferior as described below. In the swivel caster of Patent Document 1, the two wheels are integrated with a rotation restricting member sandwiched therebetween. This operates as if it were a single wide wheel. On the other hand, in the two-wheel type, the two wheels can rotate independently. Therefore, when changing the direction of the equipment, the rotation speed and rotation direction of each wheel can freely change. Due to this difference, the swivel caster described in Patent Document 1 has inferior turning ability compared to the twin-wheel type swivel caster, making it difficult to change the direction of equipment.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a locking mechanism for a swivel caster that allows the equipment to be locked and facilitates changing the direction of the equipment while it is in motion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the caster of the present invention is provided with the following additional configuration compared to Patent Document 1.

[0008] The rotation restricting member described in Patent Document 1 is divided into two parts in a direction that halves the plate thickness, and each part is fixed to an adjacent wheel. The two sets of wheels and rotation restricting members share an axle.

[0009] This allows the two sets of wheels and the rotation restricting members to rotate independently. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The swivel caster according to the present invention has two sets of wheels and a rotation restricting member that can rotate independently, making it easier to turn. As a result, changing the direction of the equipment when the user selects to move becomes easier compared to Patent Document 1. When the lock option is selected, the device can be locked, similar to the method described in Patent Document 1. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A perspective view showing two sets of wheels and rotation restricting members of the present invention. [Figure 2] This cross-sectional view shows the process from when the locking pin is lowered until the wheel body is locked, in a case where the phases of the two rotation-restricting members are different by approximately 45 degrees. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The present invention will be described below with reference to the figures. [Examples]

[0013] The equipment equipped with the caster of the present invention differs from that in Patent Document 1 only in the wheel portion. Since other aspects, such as the operation of the lock pin up and down mechanism, are the same as those in Patent Document 1, only the operation of the wheel and the tip of the lock pin will be described below. Figure 1 shows a wheel body 35A of the caster according to the present invention, in which the wheel 351A and the rotation restricting member 352A are integrated. Similarly, the wheel 351B and the rotation restricting member 352B are integrated. The wheel 351A, the rotation restricting member 352A, the wheel 351B, and the rotation restricting member 352B share an axle 36 (not shown) through a central hole. As a result, the wheel 351A, the rotation restricting member 352A, and the wheel 351B and the rotation restricting member 352B can rotate independently, meaning they can operate in the same way as a twin-wheel caster, improving maneuverability during travel.

[0014] Next, we will explain what happens when the user selects "lock" and lock pin 9 is lowered.

[0015] The locking operation when the phases of rotation restricting members 352A and 352B are aligned is the same as in Patent Document 1, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0016] Figure 2 shows an example where the rotation restricting member 352A and the rotation restricting member 352B are 45 degrees apart in phase, illustrating the operation when the user selects lock and the lock pin 9 is lowered. Figure 2(a) is a perspective view showing the state in which the lock pin 9 has lowered and stopped lowering after hitting the rotation restricting member 352A. Figure 2(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the state in Figure 2(a), and for clarity, wheel 351B is not shown. When the equipment is pushed to the left and moves, the wheel 35A rotates in the F direction. In this case, the rotation axis 36 is located on the rear side (right side in this figure) in the direction of travel relative to the lock pin 9, as shown in Figure 2(b). When the device is further pushed to the left from this state, as shown in Fig. 2(c), the corner of the rotation restricting member 352B hits the locking pin 9, and the rotation of the wheel 351B is restricted. When the device is further pushed to the left, as shown in Fig. 2(d), the corners of both rotation restricting members hit the locking pin 9, and the rotations of both the wheel 351A and the wheel 351B are restricted.

[0017] From the above, the rotation of the wheel 35A is blocked by the locking pin 9 for the two sets of wheels and the rotation restricting parts, and the device is locked.

[0018] After that, if the device moves even slightly to the right, a gap is formed between the two rotation restricting parts and the locking pin, and the locking pin 9 drops to the lowest position as shown in Fig. 2(e).

[0019] Although the example where the angle formed by the two rotation restricting members is 45 degrees has been described, it operates similarly at other angles.

[0020] Also, when the locking pin 9 drops, the same operation occurs regardless of whether the tip of the locking pin 9 hits the rotation restricting member 352A or the rotation restricting member 352B.

[0021] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described forms and can be variously modified and implemented within the scope described in the claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0022] 35A Wheel body 351A, B Wheels 352A, B Rotation restricting members 36 Axle 8 Road surface 9 Locking pin

Claims

[Claim 1] In a swivel caster according to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-069117, The wheel body is at least, Two wheels in contact with the road surface, Two rotation restricting members It consists of, The two rotation restricting members are positioned between the two wheels. The adjacent rotation restricting members and the wheels are integrated together. The two sets of wheels and rotation restricting members described above share an axle and can rotate independently. A locking mechanism for a swivel caster, characterized in that the external shape of the rotation restricting member is the same as the external shape of the rotation restricting member described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-069117 when viewed from the axle direction.

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