Caster Yoke Weight-Transfer Tab for Lightweight Load Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional metal yokes in casters are costly and heavy, making them unsuitable for applications requiring weight support, such as bed frames and store displays, where lighter and more cost-effective alternatives are needed.
Innovation Solution
A caster design featuring a yoke with a weight transferring tab and a wheel with a groove, where the tab directs the load to the groove, allowing for a plastic yoke that can support significant weight, and includes various accessories like stem configurations, brakes, and axle/hub designs for enhanced functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal yokes are used in casters, then weight support capability is improved, but cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The yoke is segmented into multiple components including a stem, a body, and a weight-transferring tab. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function, enabling the use of lighter plastic materials while maintaining overall structural strength and weight support capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs composite construction by combining plastic material for the yoke body with strategic reinforcement elements. The weight-transferring tab is designed to concentrate loads onto reinforced areas, allowing plastic to replace metal while maintaining sufficient strength through composite design principles.
2Strength
If metal yokes are used in casters, then weight support capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive metal yokes with cost-effective plastic components. The plastic yoke design, while potentially having different durability characteristics than metal, provides sufficient service life for its application while dramatically reducing material and manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter from metal to plastic, which fundamentally alters both cost and weight characteristics. By optimizing the geometric parameters of the plastic yoke, particularly the weight-transferring tab design, the invention maintains adequate strength while achieving cost reduction.
3Weight of moving object
If plastic yokes are used to reduce weight and cost, then weight and cost are reduced, but weight support capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic yoke is designed with non-uniform thickness and reinforcement strategically placed in high-stress areas. The weight-transferring tab features localized reinforcement to handle concentrated loads, while other areas of the yoke can be thinner and lighter. This local quality variation allows plastic to achieve metal-like strength where needed while maintaining overall weight reduction.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention comprises a caster having a yoke having a weight transferring tab and a wheel being rotatably attached to the yoke. The wheel has a groove for receiving the weight transferring tab. The tab transfers the weight of a load applied to the yoke to the groove. The caster includes various accessories, such as various stem, wheel, brake, and axle/hub configurations.