Caster Axle Carrier High-Strength Material
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing casters suffer from deformation or damage due to absorbed forces, necessitating the use of high-quality and expensive materials for the housing to withstand shocks, making them costly.
Innovation Solution
A caster design featuring a separate axle carrier with higher strength material than the housing, allowing for cost-effective production by using lower-strength material for the housing while maintaining mechanical strength, with the axle carrier being composed of a higher-strength material such as polyamide or metal and integrated into the housing through force-fitting or adhesive methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If high-quality plastic material is used for the housing to withstand shocks and forces, then the mechanical strength is improved, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different material qualities in different parts of the caster. The housing is made of cost-effective plastic material with lower strength, while the axle carrier is made of high-strength material (metal or polyamide) to withstand the concentrated forces at the axle receptacle. This localized application of high-strength material resolves the contradiction by providing mechanical strength only where needed, rather than throughout the entire housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the housing structure by introducing a separate axle carrier component that is integrated into the housing. This segmentation allows the axle carrier to be produced from high-strength material independently, while the main housing can use cheaper material. The axle carrier acts as a reinforcement element that absorbs the high forces at the axle receptacle, resolving the contradiction between overall structural strength and production cost.
2Strength
If the entire housing is produced from higher-strength material, then the mechanical strength in the axle receptacle region is improved, but the material usage and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by concentrating high-strength material only in the axle carrier where it is needed to withstand forces at the axle receptacle. The rest of the housing uses lower-strength, cost-effective material. This resolves the contradiction by providing the required strength in the critical region without increasing material usage throughout the entire housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is segmented into two functional parts: the main housing body made of cheaper material and the axle carrier made of high-strength material. This segmentation allows the high-strength material to be used only where necessary (in the axle carrier), rather than throughout the entire housing, thus reducing overall material usage while maintaining strength in the critical region.
3Quantity of substance
If a separate axle carrier component is introduced, then the required strength is achieved with lower material usage, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The axle carrier is merged with the housing through integration, where the axle carrier is inserted into and fixed within the housing structure. This merging approach allows the separate high-strength axle carrier component to be combined with the main housing, achieving the required strength with targeted material usage while minimizing the increase in device complexity through a unified integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The axle carrier is nested within the housing structure, with the axle carrier being inserted into and contained by the housing. This nesting arrangement allows the separate high-strength component to be accommodated within the existing housing structure, achieving the required strength with minimal additional complexity since the axle carrier fits within the existing housing geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
A caster, in particular a free-running caster is provided. The caster includes twinned wheels and a housing with a substantially vertically aligned upper-side journal opening for holding a rotary journal which connects the caster to an item of furniture or to some other object. The caster also has an axle bolt which extends through the housing transversely with respect to the journal opening and supports the wheels. In order to permit cost-effective production with sufficient load capacity in the region of the axle receptacle, an axle carrier having a passage opening for the axle bolt is arranged in the housing. The axle carrier is composed of a material with a higher strength than the housing.