AU626386B2

AU626386B2 - Adjustable roller

Info

Publication number: AU626386B2
Application number: AU50077/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Dennis John Stagoll
Original assignee: Anthony Bearings Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Anthony Innovations Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-02-24
Filing date: 1990-02-23
Publication date: 1992-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-23
Also published as: AU5007790A

Description

S626386 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: '..Blated Art: oOO o S Name of Applicant: A se Address of Applicant: 61 i] .ctual Inventor(s): D] 0 Address for Service: DAVIES 1 Little I 1'h:s rdscc"innt c'n1t*i4s t S i..l 83 by the S.'jm i vlsi'lg Exal'.1inir C-1 *1 alld jb curmt u o pi. NTHONY BEARINGS PTY.LTD.

8 Keon Parade, Keon Park, 3073, n the State of Victoria, ommonwealth of Australia ENNIS JOHN STAGOLL COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

Complete specification for the invention entitled: "ADJUSTABLE ROLLER" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1 la- ADJUSTABLE ROLLER oooo This invention relates to adjustable rollers.

Adjustable rollers are known and are shown in Australian Patent Specification No. 573,943. However those rollers 20 have certain deficiencies.

.The present invention provides an adjustable roller comprising a housing adapted to be mounted to a window or o door, a carriage within the housing which is movable 25 therein and which has a ramp surface, a roller carried by the carriage, a ramp member in contact with the ramp surface, a rack carried by the ramp member and a pinion in engagement with the rack and adapted to be rotated to move the ramp member whereby inter-engagement of the ramp member and ramp surface will determine the position of the carriage within the housing and hence the position of the roller.

Preferably the housing has slots or grooves therein and the ramp member has projections which are received in the slots or grooves whereby to locate the ramp member with in the housing and to guide its movement.

920513.cmaspe.067,antbear.amen.1

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22 23 24 26 27 Preferably the pinion is provided with a screwdriver slot to facilitate rotation.

Preferably the pinion and/or the housing is provided with detent means to retain the pinion in a selected one of a plurality of rotated positions.

Preferably the ramp surface and the ramp member have projections adapted to engage with one another whereby to resist unwanted relative movement under load.

Preferably the carriage is spring biased to extend out of the housing.

Preferably the ramp member is snap-fittingly engaged within the housing.

Preferably the pinion is snap-fittingly engaged within the housing.

Preferably the pinion is formed of synthetic plastics material.

A specific construction of an adjustable roller in accordance with this invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig.l is a cross-sectional view of the adjustable roller, Fig.2 is a cross-sectional view on line II-II in Fig.l, Fig.3 is another cross-sectional view of the adjustable roller but showing the parts in a different relationship, Fig.4 is a cross-sectional view on line IV-IV in Fig.3, and is a bottom plan view of the adjustable roller.

The adjustable roller shown in the drawings comprises a housing 1 having lugs 2 with screwholes 3 which will enable 900201.czspe.036 ro11er.npe.2

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3 1 the housing 1 to be mounted to a sliding door or window.

2 3 The housing 1 has the form of a downwardly opening box 4 and received within the opening 4 thereof is a carriage 6.

6 The carriage 6 is slotted at 7 and in the slot is 7 received an axle 8 of a roller 9. The roller 9 is grooved 8 at 21 to run along a track for the sliding window or door.

12 13 14 15 0 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 36 37 38 A spring 22 is located within a cavity 23 in the carriage 6 and bears on the carriage 6 and the underside 24 of a top wall 26 of the housing 1.

The carriage 6 has a ramp surface 27. A ramp member 28 having a ramp surface 29 is located on the ramp surface 27.

The ramp member 28 is retained within the housing 1 by projections 31 on the ramp member 28 which are received in slots 32 in the housing 1. It is to be noted that the upper surfaces of the projections 31 are inclined so as to permit the ramp member 28 to be snap-fittingly engaged in the housing 1 but to be difficult to remove therefrom.

On its upper surface the ramp member 28 has a rack 33.

A pinion 34 is carried by the housing 1. The pinion 34 has a flange 36 which is tapered to allow it to be snapfittingly engaged with a mating portion of the housing at 37. The pinion 34 is made of an engineering grade synthetic plastics material. The pinion 34 has a screwdriver slot 38 of a type adapted to receive either a flat blade or a Philips head blade.

The rack and the pinion 34 are in engagement.

The flange 36 and the mating portion at 37 are preferably provided with detent means to retain the pinion 34 in a selected one of a plurality of rotated positions.

900201.csspe.036,r6ller. pe.3 :i I 1 4 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 S 16 17 S 18 19 21 22 boo@ 23 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 36 37 338 Alternatively or additionally, a projection 40 may be provided on the inside of the housing 1 to engage with the pinion 34 to retain the pinion 34 in a selected one of a plurality of rotated positions.

In use, rotation of the pinion 34 will cause the rack 33 and hence the ramp member 28 to move from side to side in the housing with respect to the views of Figs.1 and 3. In consequence, the ramp surface 29 and the ramp surface 27 will inter-engage to define the position of the linearly moveable carriage 6 in the housing 1 and thereby provide adjustment of the roller 9 and hence of the door or window.

In a preferred modification the ramp surfaces 27 and 29 are serrated as shown. This has been found to aid in resisting unwanted relative movement particularly under impact load.

The above described adjustable roller can be made in a standard size and at that size to have 10-15 mm of adjustment as compared to a mere 7 mm in a prior art device.

Further, the adjustable roller of this invention is less prone to come out of correct adjustment due to loosening by vibration.

The above described adjustable roller can be made more cheaply in that a screw is not required, threading is not required and a convenient spring is provided.

Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may be readily effected by persons skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described, by way of example, hereinabove.

900704.csspe.036.roller.spe.4

Claims

1. An adjustable roller comprising a housing adapted to be mounted to a window or door, a carriage within the housing which is movable therein and which has a ramp surface, a roller carried by the carriage, a ramp member in contact with the ramp surface, a rack carried by the ramp member and a pinion in engagement with the rack and adapted to be rotated to move the ramp member whereby inter-engagement of the ramp member and ramp surface will determine the position of the carriage within the housing and hence the position of the roller.

2. An adjustable roller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has slots or grooves therein and the ramp member has projections which are received in the slots or grooves whereby to locate the ramp member within the housing and to guide its movement.

3. An adjustable roller as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pinion is provided with a screwdriver slot to facilitate rotation.

4. An adjustable roller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pinion and/or the housing is provided with detent means to retain the pinion in a selected one of a plurality of rotated positions.

5. An adjustable roller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carriage is spring biased to extend out of the housing.

6. An adjustable roller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ramp surface and the ramp member have projections adapted to engage with ons another whereby to resist unwanted relative movement under load. I N U Sec. t 'n NO r7 w I"0 38

7. An adjustable roller as claimed in any preceding claim, 900704,csspe.036.roller.spe.5 5- -B (r 6 wherein the ramp member is snap-fittingly engaged within the housing.

8. An adjustable roller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pinion is snap-fittingly engaged within the housing.

9. An adjustable roller substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. o r Dated this 13th day of May, 1992. 15 ANTHONY BEARINGS PTY. LTD. By its Patent Attorneys: SANDERCOCKS PATENT ATTORNEYS 920513,cmsspe.067,antbear.amen.2