DE102021121644A1 - Swivel roller bearing sleeve or chassis or rollator with such a bearing sleeve - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the invention, a bearing sleeve (55) is set up for an undercarriage (2) which has at least one swivel roller (6) and at least one first through-opening (56) (in particular a through hole; in particular in an essentially intended orientation of the undercarriage (2)) as the swivel roller bearing. horizontal, tubular support (40); for example with a circular or oval external cross-section), in which the pivoting roller (6) is fastened with its vertical pivoting axis (54) and is rotatably mounted about the pivoting axis (54) and by a shoulder on the underside and a screw connection on the top is secured axially, characterized in that the bearing sleeve (55) is set up in such a way that it is inserted in the first through opening (56) and that the vertical pivot axis (54) of the pivot roller (6) is fastened in it and that an extension arm (64 ) the bearing sleeve (55) is adapted to abut against an outer wall (66) of the carrier (40) and through a cantilever passage in a two th through-opening (in particular through-hole) which is flush with the boom passage next to the first through-opening (56) through the carrier (40) to be screwed to the carrier (40).

Description

technical field

The present application relates to a bearing sleeve set up for a chassis (in particular a walker), which has at least one swivel castor and as a swivel roller bearing at least one first through-opening (in particular in a tubular support which is essentially horizontal in the intended orientation of the chassis; for example with a circular or oval external cross-section), in which the swivel castor is fastened with its vertical swivel axis and is rotatably mounted about the swivel axis and secured axially by a shoulder on the underside and a screw connection on the top.

background

To steer hand-pushed chassis such as walkers, children's or shopping carts or wheelchairs, it has long been known to form at least one roller or wheel on the chassis as a swivel castor.

Being able to ensure the reliability and in particular the ease of movement and compliance with the steered direction of such a steering system with the simplest possible construction is a particular technical challenge, because the cheaper the construction is, the more users and especially those in need can afford such a tool.

subject of the invention

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a bearing sleeve for a chassis or a walker which, with a simple construction, offers improved reliability and in particular ease of movement and compliance with the steered direction.

This object is solved by a bearing sleeve according to claim 1. Preferred developments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

A bearing sleeve according to the invention is set up for a chassis with at least one swivel castor, in particular for a chassis for supporting a walking or standing person. This is a so-called rollator, a frame with at least three (preferably four) castors, at least one (preferably two) of which is designed as a swivel castor, and with two handles each at the end of an elongated handle support on the frame, preferably with at least one brake lever as a brake actuation next to one of the handles.

The bearing sleeve according to the invention is set up for the at least one swivel castor, among other things, in that it has at least one first through-opening (in particular a through-hole - in particular in a tubular support of the chassis that is essentially horizontal in the intended orientation of the chassis, for example) as a swivel-roller bearing or attachment with circular or oval external cross-section). The pivot roller is fastened in the passage opening with its vertical pivot axis and is mounted so that it can rotate about the pivot axis—and is secured axially by a shoulder on the underside and a screw connection on the top.

According to the invention, the bearing sleeve is set up in such a way that it can be inserted into the first through-opening and that the vertical swivel axis of the swivel castor can be fastened in it - and that, mounted in this way, an extension arm of the bearing sleeve is set up firstly to rest against an outer wall of the carrier and secondly by a passage in the boom and a second through opening (again in particular a through hole) which goes through the carrier in alignment with the boom passage next to the first through opening to be screwable to the carrier.

According to the invention, this enables the alignment of the pivot axis by means of two, in particular, parallel screw connections. In particular, to ensure exactly perpendicular to the intended oriented chassis, which is technically particularly important for reliability and in particular ease of movement and compliance with the steered direction of a swivel castor in all directions.

According to the invention, it is particularly preferred that the first and the second through-opening are each formed by a tubular support (e.g. with a circular or oval external cross-section) and a U-beam (for example with a concave arc-shaped or oval-segment U-shaped external cross-section, in particular one thus compressed tubular support with originally circular or oval-round external cross-section) in each case pass in alignment, which abut against each other with complementary external surfaces and are screwed to one another by the screw connections in the first and second through-opening.

It is particularly preferred that the cantilever of the bearing sleeve is set up or is in contact with the outer wall of the carrier next to one of the outer openings of the through-opening (in particular the lower one). The outrigger of The bearing sleeve and the outer wall of the carrier, against which the cantilever is designed to rest or rests, preferably have mutually complementary outer surfaces. Thus, according to the invention, the pivot axis and the attachment of the pivot roller are particularly load-resistant in their alignment with respect to the chassis. Manufacturing dimensional tolerances that may be required for precise alignment are essentially concentrated on the small component of the bearing sleeve according to the invention.

According to the invention, the bearing sleeve is also mounted and/or integrated together with the chassis, in particular the rollator, ie in particular also on or in it.

According to the invention, it is particularly preferred that the bearing sleeve is inserted in one of the passage openings of the chassis and that the vertical pivot axis of the swivel castor is fastened in the bearing sleeve and that the bracket of the bearing sleeve rests against an outer wall of a carrier of the chassis and through a bracket passage in a second Through hole, which passes through the carrier in alignment with the boom passage adjacent to the first through hole, is bolted to the carrier.

character list

• 1 shows a spatial view of a chassis according to the invention,
• 2 shows a schematic, three-dimensional, sectional view of a castor fork with a bearing sleeve according to the invention on the front wheel carrier of the chassis 1 in a different perspective and
• 3 shows a sectional side view of a castor fork with a bearing sleeve according to the invention on the front wheel carrier of the chassis 1 .

Detailed description of the illustrated preferred embodiment

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached figures. Elements that are not identical but, for example, functionally correspond to one another are also provided with the same reference symbols.

A chassis 2 according in particular 1 , a so-called walker 2, is used to support a walking or standing person (not shown). There is a frame with four rollers 4, 6, two rollers 4 (at the rear in the direction of travel) mounted in a non-steerable straight-line direction and two (at the front in the direction of travel) designed as swivel rollers 6 - and with two handles 8 each at the end of an elongated handle support 10 on the frame 12.

The handle support 10 has a plurality of cross-sectional contour areas 14 - each of the same oval cross-section - on which (around which) a sleeve, namely (in 1 from top to bottom) a grip sleeve 8, a brake lever mounting sleeve (or clamp) 16 and the upper end of the tube 18 of the frame 12 are positively secured against rotation.

As mentioned, this is achieved in that the cross-sectional contour areas 14 of the handle support 10 are the oval-cylindrical outer contours of a straight section 14 of the handle support 10: the handle support itself is in the form of a bent tube made of aluminum with an oval-cylindrical cross-section over its entire length - and because the respective sleeve and clamp 8, 16, 18 have an inner contour 22 complementary to the oval-cylindrical outer contour 14. The same anti-rotation principle according to the invention is also used in the brake 20 (more on that below).

As shown, the handle support 10 (with a straight section with an oval-cylindrical outer contour 14`) extends upwards as a mounting section for a brake lever fastening clamp 16 (in the intended orientation of the walker 2 shown) and ends in its further course (after a bend 24 from this as far as approximately vertical in an approximately horizontal course) in a straight, essentially horizontal section 14 at the end of the handle support 10 as a mounting section for a grip sleeve 8 with an oval-cylindrical inner contour 22.

In particular, also for height adjustment (not shown) of the handle 8 attached thereto, the handle support 10 is inserted with its lower end 26 in a tube end 18 of the frame 12, begins there, so to speak, and runs upwards from there as just described.

There, too, at the "beginning" 26 (the lower end 26 in the intended orientation shown in the figure) of the handle support 10, the cross-sectional contour that is secured against twisting, as already indicated, is the oval-cylindrical outer contour 14'' of a straight section of the handle support 10: this outer contour 14'' has a loose fit in the (just as straight) tube end 18 of the frame 12 - and is secured in it by means of a sleeve assembly 28 in a form-fitting manner against rotation, specifically by means of an oval-cylindrical inner contour 22'' there as well. This sleeve assembly 28 also has an inner contour 22" complementary to the oval-cylindrical outer contour 14".

For ease of manufacture in particular, it is particularly advantageous that the oval-cylindrical outer contour 14, 14', 14'' extends over the entire length (from the "beginning" 26 in the tube end 18 of the frame 12 to the upper "handle end" 14) of the handle support 10 . When the rollator 2 is oriented as intended, the narrow axis of the oval cross-section on the handle support 10 runs transversely to the direction of travel of the rollator 2.

The already mentioned brake 20 of the walker 2 can be actuated by means of two brake levers 16, each of which can press a brake block 30 against one of the rear (non-steered) rollers 4, each by means of a Bowden cable 32. The brake 20 (its brake block 30 and a Bowden cable support bearing 34, on which the wheel-side end of the inner cable of the Bowden cable 32 is fastened in a clamping screw 38) on an elongated rear wheel carrier 40 of the walker 2, which runs (radially) next to the braked rear wheel 4.

The support bearing 34 of the cable end of the Bowden cable 32 is firmly attached to the rear wheel carrier 40 by means of a clamp 42, and the brake pad 30 is movably guided on the rear wheel carrier 40 so that the sheath of the Bowden cable presses the brake pad 30 against (the pretension of a coil spring ( not shown) to be kept away from the wheel 4 when not actuated and against) the running surface 48 of the wheel 4 pulls to brake.

Like the handle carrier, the rear wheel carrier 40 also has an oval-cylindrical cross-sectional contour 50 (albeit with the long axis of the oval cross-section transverse to the direction of travel of the rollator 2), from which the brake pad 30, which is movably attached to the carrier 40, is positively secured against rotation about the longitudinal axis of the rear wheel carrier 40 is guided. This is a simple and effective anti-twist protection of the brake pad 30 about the longitudinal axis of the carrier 40, which is namely subjected to a torque there during braking by the frictional braking connection of the brake pad 40 with the wheel 4. For this purpose, the brake block 40 has an oval-cylindrical inner contour 52 complementary to the oval-cylindrical outer contour 50 .

The brake pad 30 is (displaceably guided) on the carrier 40 (attached and) so that it surrounds the support bearing (whose clamp 42 for fixing on the carrier 40 also has an oval-cylindrical inner contour 52 complementary to its oval-cylindrical outer contour 50) like a housing and thus providing protection for it and less risk of injury.

In order to orient the swivel axes 54 of the two swivel castors 6 exactly perpendicularly to the chassis that is aligned as intended, namely standing and rolling on a horizontal roadway, a bearing sleeve 55 for the respective swivel castor 6 is set up, among other things, to serve as a swivel roller bearing or attachment. that it can be plugged into a first through hole 56 in a (in the illustrated, intended orientation of the chassis 2) horizontal, circular tubular support 58, the lower tubes 58 of the frame 12. In the first passage opening 56, the respective pivot roller 6 is thus inserted with its vertical pivot axis 54 and screwed (by means of the screw 60 coaxial with the vertical pivot axis 54). In two ball bearings 62, the respective pivot roller 6 is rotatably mounted about the screw bolt 60 and thus also about the pivot axis 54 - and by an upper shoulder in the form of the head of the screw 60 and a lock nut (not shown) on the lower side on the thread of the screw 60, thus secured axially by screwing.

The respective bearing sleeve 55 is set up in such a way that it can be inserted into the first through-opening 56 and that the vertical pivot axis 54 of the pivot roller 6 (in the example shown the longitudinal axis 54 of the bolt 60) can be fastened in it - and that mounted like this , a cantilever 64 of the bearing sleeve 55 is adapted to abut firstly against an outer wall 66 of the carrier 58 and secondly by a passage 68 in the cantilever 64 and a second through hole (again a through hole) 70 which is flush with the cantilever passage 68 adjacent the first through hole 56 through the carrier 58 to be bolted thereto and bolted by a second bolt 72 as shown.

According to the invention, this enables the alignment of the pivot axis 54, in particular by means of two parallel screw connections 60, 72, in particular exactly vertically, on the chassis 2 oriented as intended, which is important for the reliability and, in particular, ease of movement and compliance with the steered direction of the pivot rollers 6 in all directions of travel is technically particularly important.

It is particularly preferred that the arm 64 of the bearing sleeve 55 is set up and rests against the outer wall 66 of the carrier 58 next to the lower outer opening 74 of the through-opening 56, specifically with mutually complementary outer surfaces 66. The pivot axis 54 and is configured and mounted in this way the attachment 60 of the respective swivel castor 6 is particularly load-resistant in its alignment with respect to the chassis 2.

It is advantageous in terms of assembly that the first and second through-openings 56, 70 each pass through a tubular support (the respective lower tube 58 with a circular outer cross-section) and also above it through a respective U-support 76 (the lower end of the handle support tube 18) with a concave circular arc - Pass through the U-shaped outer cross-section in alignment. This is compressed from the carrier 18, which is initially also circular in this area and originally has a circular outer cross section). These carrier ends 58 and 76 rest against one another with a complementary outer surface 78 and are screwed to one another by the screw connections 60, 72 which are parallel to one another in the first and second through openings 56, 70.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and variations can be made in the apparatus and method of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Furthermore, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, which are intended only for a better understanding of the invention and are not intended to limit it. Those skilled in the art will also readily recognize that many different combinations of elements can be used to practice the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is indicated by the following claims.

Reference List

2

chassis, walker

4, 6

role

6

swivel castor, swivel castor fork

8th

handle, grip sleeve

10

Elongated handle support

12

frame

14, 14', 14"

cross-sectional contour areas

16

Brake lever and mounting sleeve or clamp

18

Upper tube end of frame 12

20

brake

22

Complementary inner contour

24

snap off

26

Lower end of handle support 10

28

Sleeve assembly at the top of the tube 18

30

brake pad

32

bowden cable

34

Bowden cable support bearing

38

clamping screw

40

carrier

42

clamp

50

cross section contour

52

Complementary inner contour

54

Swivel axis of the swivel castor 6

55

bearing sleeve

56

First perforation, through hole

58

Carrier, down tube of frame 12

60

First screw, bolt

62

ball-bearing

64

Outrigger of the bearing sleeve 55

66

Outer wall of the carrier 58

68

Passage in boom 64

70

Second through hole, through hole

72

Second Bolt

74

Lower outer opening of the first through opening 56

76

U beam

78

Complementary exterior surfaces

Claims (6)

Bearing sleeve (55) set up for an undercarriage (2) which has at least one swivel roller (6) and as a swivel roller bearing at least one first through opening (56) (in particular a through hole; in particular in a tubular one which is essentially horizontal when the undercarriage (2) is oriented as intended Carrier (40); for example, with a circular or oval external cross section) in which the pivot roller (6) is fixed with its vertical pivot axis (54) and is rotatably mounted about the pivot axis (54) and is supported by a shoulder on the underside and Ver screwing is secured axially, characterized in that the bearing sleeve (55) is set up in such a way that it plugs into the first through-opening (56) and that the vertical pivot axis (54) of the pivot roller (6) is fastened in it and that a cantilever ( 64) of the bearing sleeve (55) is set up to rest against an outer wall (66) of the carrier (40) and to pass through a cantilever passage and a second through-opening (70) (in particular a through hole) which is aligned with the cantilever passage next to the first through-opening (56 ) goes through the carrier (40) to be bolted to the carrier (40). Bearing sleeve (55) according to one of the preceding claims on a chassis (2) with at least one swivel castor (6), characterized in that the bearing sleeve (55) is inserted in one of the through openings of the chassis (2) and that in the bearing sleeve (55) the vertical swivel axis (54) of the swivel roller (6) is fastened and that the extension arm (64) of the bearing sleeve (55) rests against an outer wall (66) of a support (40) of the chassis (2) and through an extension arm passage in a second through opening (particularly through-bore) which passes through the carrier (40) in alignment with the boom passageway adjacent to the first through-hole (56) is bolted to the carrier (40). Bearing sleeve (55) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first and the second through-opening (56, 70) are each formed by a tubular support (40) (for example with a circular or oval external cross-section) and a U-support (76 ) (e.g. with a concave circular arc or oval segment U-shaped outer cross section, in particular of a tubular support (40) compressed in this way with an originally circular or oval outer cross section) each pass in alignment, which rest against each other with complementary outer surfaces and through the screw connections in the first and second through opening (56, 70) are screwed together. Bearing sleeve (55) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the chassis (2) • for supporting a walking or standing person (walker (2)), • with at least three (preferably four) rollers (4, 6) , at least one (preferably two) of which is designed as a swivel castor (6), and • with two handles (8) each at the end (26) of an elongate handle support (10) and • with at least one brake lever (16) as brake actuation, which is next to a the handles (8) is arranged. Bearing sleeve (55) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arm (64) of the bearing sleeve (55) rests against the outer wall (66) of the carrier (40) next to one of the outer openings (74) of the through opening (in particular the lower one). is set up or is present. Bearing sleeve (55) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arm (64) of the bearing sleeve (55) and the outer wall (66) of the carrier (40), against which the arm (64) is designed to rest or bears, face one another having complementary exterior surfaces (78).

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