GB2076651A - Support roller for suitcases - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to ease the burden of man handling suitcases or the like, in particular, to and from a vehicle, if is known to provide support rollers. Such support rollers which are steerable and which are partially enclosed by a casing are known. However, such known support rollers require the use of specific materials and sequence of assembly. The present invention mitigates this disadvantage by providing a roller 28 rotatably connected to a mounting 31 which is rotatably connected by means of a bearing 32 to a casing 15 which partially surrounds the roller 28. The bearing 32 having a projection 41 which projects into a recess 43 in one or more sides of the casing 15. At least one surface 44, 45 of the recess 43 providing support for the projection 41. An additional retaining means is also provided for retaining the bearing 32 in the casing 15, such retaining means being spaced apart from the projection 41. The additional retaining means may advantageously be in the form of rivets 46. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Support roller for suitcases and the like Suitcases of medium and large dimensions in their fully packed state have a weight which is so large that it is often difficult for the user to carry one or even two suitcases from the house to a vehicle or vice versa or to carry such suitcases at points of transfer from one vehicle to another.

Suitcases have therefore been developed in the past in which support rollers -- usually in pairs are mounted on the bottom longitudinal side or on a transition from the bottom longitudinal side into one of the two transverse sides, distal from the suitcase handle. Where only one pair of support rollers is used, the rollers are not steered, If two pairs of support rollers are provided, either both pairs are steered rollers or one pair consists of steered rollers while the other pair consists of unsteered rollers.

If only one pair of rollers is provided near one suitcase edge an edditional supporting or guiding handle is usually provided on the opposite side of the suitcase which is attached thereto either permanently extended or so that it can be folded outward. The user must lift the suitcase by means of the said guide handle on one side and carry part of the suitcase weight. In intermittent progress, for example when in a queue at a counter, the user of the suitcase must bend down each time in order to raise the suitcase by the suitcase handle and subsequently to deposit it again. In the case of a large suitcase with a centre of gravity at a high level and particularly in the case of an uneven floor, it is impossible to avoid lateral tilting and tumbling motions of the suitcase. Such motions are not easily controlled by the carrying or guiding handles which are generally very narrow.This results in very strong stresses and corresponding fatigue'effects in the hand which partially carries and guides the suitcase.

If four support rollers are provided the suitcase bears exclusively on the said rollers and is either pulled in a bent posture by the suitcase handle or is pulled in an upright posture by means of a separate foot belt. The support rollers are generally fixedly connected on the outside of the suitcase and to the frame thereof. Although these rollers and their bearing pedestals are very small, they project to their full height from the suitcase.

This involves the risk that the support rollers may be caught and damaged or even torn off when travelling over a threshold or a ground indentation.

The suitcase itself is generally also damaged.

Support rollers which project fully from the suitcase also have a detrimental effect if in a leftluggage department such a suitcase is pushed on to a luggage carrier or a container, either on to a ledge or on to other pieces of luggage or is to be removed therefrom.

These difficulties with support rollers which project from the suitcase are avoided by a known support roller. Such a support roller, when in the form of an unsteered roller, is rotatably supported in a bearing casing of plastics material which has an indentation which surrounds the support roller in the manner of a hood, mainly on the side which is distal from the operative point of contact between the roller and the ground. The part of the casing adjoining the indentation is constructed in the manner of a flange. This support roller is used in pairs on the rounded suitcase edge between the longitudinal side and one of the two transverse sides. The suitcase frame is provided in this region with two recesses into which the hook-like part of each of the two bearing cases is inserted.The flange-like part of the bearing casing follows the curvature of the suitcase edge and hugs the latter.

On the two ends disposed along the longitudinal axis the flange-like part of the casing is riveted to the suitcase frame. These support rollers provide a relatively shallow rise of the support rollers with respect to the longitudinal side and transverse side of the suitcase. This advantageous effect can however be achieved only at the suitcase edge where one pair of rollers is sufficient because the suitcase can be brought upright to a greater or lesser extent with respect to the location of the roller and can thus also be steered. This necessary restriction to one pair of rollers at the edge of the suitcase however results in the user of such a suitcase having to carry a substantial part of the suitcase load.

The disadvantage of both systems, namely those of the two rollers pairs which are mounted on the outside of the suitcase and project therefrom to their full height and the single pair of rollers accommodated at the suitcase edge, are avoided by another support roller (German Patent application P 30 07 863.8) in which two pairs of suppdrt rollers are accommodated on one side of the suitcase, generally on one of the transverse sides.Each roller comprising a castor roller which is pivotably supported by a bearing casing which partially surrounds the castor roller in the manner of a hood on the side distal from the operative point of contact between the roller between the roller and the ground and the side walls are arranged symmetrically to the middle position of the castor roller at a distance from each other to limit the pivoting angle of the castor roller to a relatively small pivoting range. The hood-like part of the bearing casing of these castor rollers has such a small lateral extent that in suitcases of normal dimension with suitcase halves of approximately the same height it is possible for the said part to be recessed into an opening of the frame of the said suitcase halves without substantially weakening the strength of the suitcase frames.Accordingly, the support rollers can be disposed on the suitcase recessed to such an extent that on the outside of the suitcase they project only to the amount necessary or desirable as ground clearance for the suitcase when the latter is rolled. At the same time, such a suitcase retains sufficient steering capacity that it can be guided by its user with a half extended arm about his own body axis.

The stationary part of the pivoting bearing of the castor roller of this-kind of support roller is mounted on the bearing casing itself. This calls for specific materials for the bearing casing and for a specific sequence of assembling the component parts of the support roller as well as specific minimum dimensions of some components, more particularly of the bearing pedestal, to enable the assembly operation to be performed.

It is the object of the invention to construct the said support roller so that increased freedom is obtained in the selection of material for the bearing casing and that assembling the individual parts of the support roller and the entire support roller itself is rendered easier and depends less on specific dimensions of the individual component parts or vice versa.

According to the present invention there is provided a support roller for suitcases and the like with a castor roller which is supported by means of a pivoting bearing with a horizontal axis by a bearing pedestal which is pivotably supported in the bearing casing by means of a pivoting bearing with an axis which is at least approximately perpendicular and which said casing has an indentation which partially surrounds the castor roller in the manner of a hood on the side distal from its standing region and has side walls which are disposed symmetrically with respect to the middle position of the castor roller at a distance which defines the pivoting angle of the castor roller to a pivoting range of no more than 900, characterised in that the stationary part of the pivoting bearing is provided with a projection in the form of a tongue or with a nose which projects beyond the external contour of the pivoting bearing, that near the bottom there is provided in one of the side walls of the indentation a recess with a support surface disposed above and below for the projection on the stationary part of the pivoting bearing and that a connecting element for an additional connection between the stationary part of the pivoting bearing and the bearing casing is provided on at least one place which is situated outside the contour of the pivoting bearing and is distal from the projection and the recess.

The castor roller can be brought into its operative position by a simple inserting operation on the bearing casing owing to the recess provided thereon and by virtue of the projection which co-operates therewith and is disposed on the stationary part of the pivoting bearing for the castor roller. The additional connecting element at a place which is distal from the first connecting place permits the complete mounting of the castor roller to be performed on the bearing casing with very few manipulations and operations. The entire castor roller together with its rotary bearing on the bearing pedestal and the pivoting bearing thereof can be preassembled with the subsequently stationary part prior to instaliation into the bearing casing without these operations being obstructed thereby.Separate manufacture and assembly of the castor rollers including its pivoting bearing permits the most suitable material being selected for each of the individual components. This means that the stationary part of the pivoting bearing, to which a strong pivoting pin is usually fixedly riveted, can be produced from a steel plate section of adequate thickness. Where appropriate it is also possible for raceways of rolling members on the pivoting bearing to be simultaneously formed.

Such a steel plate is able to absorb without any difficulties the forces which occur in riveting. The steel plate can also absorb the forces transmitted by the pivoting pin over a relatively small support or contact surface in a very acceptable manner without undesirable plastic deformations and can be further transmitted to the bearing casing and from there to the suitcase frame at the surfaces of the connecting places which are situated at a greater distance from each other and must be dimensioned to an adequate size. Materials with a strength less than that of steel can therefore also be used for the bearing casing. A saving of weight can for example be achieved by the use of light alloys.By using materials which can be formed by the action of heat and/or pressure it is possible to utilize their improved formability, for example in order to achieve the smallest possible external dimensions for the bearing casing for a given movement space for the castor roller.

A particularly cost saving method of manufacturing the bearing casing is achieved by an embodiment of the support roller according to claim 2. A support roller constructed in accordance with claim 3 can be used for soft-top cases of diverse kinds while employing a single or very few embodiments and/or sizes. A very low cost manufacture of the bearing casing is achieved with an embodiment of the support roller according to claim 4 for rigid suitcases. An embodiment of the support roller according to claim 5 on the one hand achieves easy installation and on the other hand a very favourable transmission of forces in the principal stress direction. An embodiment of the support roller according to claim 6 prevents the castor roller in its extreme pivoted position sliding against the bearing casing, which would cause one or both parts to be subjected to wear.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a suitcase having four support rollers; Figure 2 is a bottom view of a support roller; Figure 3 is a vertical section through the support roller shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side view of the bearing casing of the support roller shown in Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 is a side view of another embodiment of the bearing casing for a support roller; Figures 6 and 7 show a side view and a plan view respectively of a castor roller for the support roller; and Figure 8 shows a bottom view of a modified support roller which is provided with stop abutments.

Four support rollers 13, which will be explained subsequently by reference to the other illustrations, are disposed on one transverse or end side of a suitcase 10, shown in simplified form in Figure 1, and having a bottom part 11 and a top part 12. To carry the suitcase, the bottom part 11 thereof is provided with a handle 14 at the particular longitudinal side on which locks, not shown, are disposed, while the hinges, also not shown, which pivotably connect the top part 12 to the bottom part 11, are disposed on the opposite longitudinal side.

Of the four support rollers 13 two each are disposed on the transverse side of the bottom part 11 and of the top part 1 2 with the largest possible distance between them to achieve the greatest possible stability for the suitcase. If the depth of the suitcase on the hinge side is greater than that of the handle side, as is sometimes the case in rigid suitcases and is illustrated by the suitcase 10 in Figure 1, the pair of support rollers disposed on the hinge side will be situated at a greater distance from each other than the pair of support rollers disposed on the handle side. In Figure 1, the suitcase 10 is shown placed on its head in order to illustrate the support rollers 1 3 and their arrangement on the suitcase more clearly.An additional handle, not shown, is attached to the opposite transverse side, which is normally at the top, and the suitcase can be moved and guided by said handle when the suitcase is placed on the support rollers.

The first exemplified embodiment of a support roller 13 as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 is provided with a bearing casing 1 5 and a castor roller 1 6 which is pivotably supported thereby.

The bearing case 15, hereinafter briefly referred to as the casing 15, is constructed as a plastics moulding. It has a flat flange part 17 and an indentation 1 8 approximately in the middle thereof.

The flange part 17 has a rectangular plan view with rounded corners. Four fastening apertures 19 are provided in the region of its corners and are usually formed as smooth open holes. The edge of the flange part 17 is chamfered and rounded at the edges of the chamfer.

The indentation 18 surrounds a large part of the castor roller 1 6 (Figure 3) in the manner of a hood and is provided for the pivotably support of the castor roller 1 6. The indentation 1 8 is formed by four contiguous walls 21, 22, 23, 24, i.e. which merge into each other, and by a floor 25. The said four walls inclined at a slight inward angle from the flange part 17. With the exception of the said inclination and its effect on the configuration of the wall also with the exception of the transition radii, the two walls 23, 24, disposed opposite each other, are flat, the wall 21 is curved in semicircular form and the wall 22 is curved in a circular arc.The curvature centre of the wall 21 and of the wall 22 coincide with the axis of the pivoting bearing of the castor roller 1 6. The two walls 23 and 24 are situated at a clear distance of approximately 35 mm from each other and this distance defines the pivoting angle of the castor roller 1 6 to a pivoting angle of approximately 600C.

The pivoting range can also be larger for larger suitcases. However, it should not exceed 900 so that the recess 26 required for the indentation 1 5 in the suitcase frame 27 need not be broadened beyond 40 mm. This construction and arrangement of the walls of the indentation 18 achieves the greatest possible space utilization of the indentation by the parts of the castor roller or, conversely, the sniallest possible dimension for the indentation 1 8 for given dimensions of the castor roller 16, more particularly in the transverse direction and a correspondingly reduced weakening of the suitcase frame 27. The clear height of the indentation 1 8 depends on the size of the castor roller 1 6 and its bearing.It should be selected so that the castor roller projects by between 10 mm and 20 mm beyond the flange part 1 7 and its axis of rotation is situated within the flange part.

The castor roller designated in its entirety, i.e.

inclusive of its bearing, with the numeral 16, comprises a cylindrical roller 28 in the narrow sense of the word. The said roller 28 is constructed as a plastics moulding. It is rotatably supported by means of a rotary bearing 29 by a bearing pedestal 31. The bearing pedestal 31 is pivotably supported by the casing 1 5 by means of a pivoting bearing 32. The axis of the pivoting bearing 32 extends at a specific distance from the axis of the pivoting bearing 29 as is the practice with steered rollers.

The bearing pedestal 31 is provided in conventional manner with a plate-shaped web member 33 and two side cheeks 34 adjoining thereon at a mutual distance and being of approximately triangular configuration. A round open hole is situated close to the free end of each of the side cheeks 34. An axle pin 35 is inserted through the two open holes which are in flush alignment and through a central open hole in the middle of the roller 28. The ends of the said axle pin are riveted to the side walls 34. The axle pin 35 together with the open hole in the roller 28 forms the bearing 29 thereof. The pivoting bearing 32 is formed by a bearing pin 36 and by a wall ring 37.The bearing pin 36 extends with clearance through an open hole in the middle of the plate-shaped web member 33 on the bearing pedestal 31 and without clearance through an open hole, in alignment therewith, and situated in a bearing plate 38 (see Figure 7). At end which is at the bottom in Figures 3 and 6, the bearing pin 36 is provided with a collar on which the web member 33 bears slidingly. The end of the bearing pin 36 extending through the bearing plate 38 is expanded by an upset operation in order to fixedly connect the bearing pin to the bearing plate 38. A ball raceway which is not shown, is embossed on the web member 33 for the ball ring 37 and a like ball raceway 39 is also embossed on the bearing plate 38. The bearing plate 38 is provided to connect the castor roller 1 6 to the casing 1 5. It represents the part of the pivoting bearing 32 which is stationary in the installed state. In addition to a portion of circular plan view, which includes the ball raceway 39 and must therefore be included in the pivoting bearing, it is also provided with a tongue 41 which projects on one side beyond the circular plan view and has a flange-like projection 42 on the opposite side (Figure 7). As can be seen by reference to Figures 2 and 3, the plan view of the bearing plate 38 including the projection 42 but with the exception of the tongue 41 is adapted to the configuration of the walls 21,22,23 and 24 of the casing 15.A recess 43 in the-form of an open slit with parallel boundary walls (Figure 4) is provided for the tongue 41 in the wall 21 adjoining the floor 25.

The boundary walls of the recess 43 serve as abutment surfaces 33 or 45 for the tongue 41. On the side of the projection 42 two rivets 46 are provided as connecting elements for a further connection between the bearing plate 38 and the casing 1 5 and each of said rivets extend through an open aperture 47 in the projection 42 and through each of an open aperture 48 in flush alignment therewith in the floor 25 of the casing 1 5 to interconnect both parts fixedly. To cover the rivet head situated on the outside, each of the apertures 48 on the casing 1 5 is surrounded by a bead 49. Lateral shock forces acting on the roller 28 produce tilting moments on the bearing plate 38.Depending on the direction of rotation, these forces are transmitted by the tongue 41 on to the abutment surface 45 situated below or are transmitted via the projection 42 by the rivets 46 to the outside of the floor 25. The oppositely oriented moment force and the much greater force due to the weight of the suitcase and its content are transmitted by the entire bearing plate 38 onto the inside of the floor 25.

In the case of smaller and lighter suitcases where smaller forces must be expected between the castor 1 6 and the casing 15, it is sufficient if a single open aperture 50 is provided on the bearing plate 48 in place of the two open apertures 47 which are situated symmetrically on both sides of the plane extending through the middle position of the castor roller 1 6 and only a single open aperture on the casing and a single rivet is associated with the aforementioned aperture 50.

The embodiment of the casing 1 5 for the castor rollers 1 6 described by reference to Figures 2 to 4 is intended for soft-top cases in which the four support rollers 1 3 are inserted with the indentations 1 8 of their casings 1 5 into recesses 26 of the suitcase frame 27 and are fixedly joined to the suitcase frame, for example by rivetting. The same embodiment will be used for rigid suitcases in which the bottom part and top part each consist of a flat panel of material produced by a drawing or coining operation with or without the action of heat to the extent to which thereafter the side walls of the bottom parts and top parts do not permit further deformation to form the indentations for receiving the castor rollers.If rigid suitcases are produced as injection mouldings or pressings or if they are produced by some similar forming operation, the casings can be produced integrally with the associated suitcase part and can be formed thereon. A casing 51 of this kind is illustrated in Figure 5. It is formed on the narrow wall 52 near the transition to the suitcase side wall 53 of large area. The floor 54 of the casing 51 is oriented at a normal to the parting joint of the two suitcase halves so that the pivoting axes of the castor rollers 1 6 inserted therein are oriented parallel with each other. In all other respects, the casing 51 is constructed identically to the casing 1 5 of the previously-described exemplified embodiment. The same castor rollers 1 6 as those described previously are also inserted therein.The recess 51 in one of the side walls for the tongue 41 of the bearing plate 38 is generally formed together with the bearing casing 51. The one or two open apertures 56 for the additional connecting of the castor roller to the casing 5-1 can also be simultaneously formed or can be subsequently provided.

The support rollers 1 3 of the rigid suitcase 10 illustrated in Figure 1 are illustrated with casings formed integrally with the suitcase halves in accordance with Figure 5.

To attach the castor roller 1 6 to the associated casing it is possible to use screw-fasteners in place of the rivets 46 shown in Figure 3 and said screw-fasteners are screw-mounted in correspondingly more narrow open apertures or blind holes in the floor 25 of the casing 15.

Welded studs which are formed in the alignment line of the open apertures 47 and/or 50 of the bearing plate 38 on the inside of the casing floor can be used in place of metallic rivets. After the castor roller 1 6 is mounted these welding studs are upset by a welding-upset operation in the same way as for the plane upset operation for the rivets 46.

Figure 8 shows a modification of the support roller in which a stop abutment is provided between the bearing pedestal, the castor roller thereof and the bearing casing wall parts disposed in the path of movement to prevent the castor roller in its maximum pivoted position touching the casing so that one of the parts or both parts would be worn away. With the exception of the said abutment the other parts and subassemblies are identical to those of the exemplified embodiments according to Figures 2 to 4 as well as 6 and 7.

A rib 131 or 132 is formed on each of the two side walls 123 and 124 of the indentation 118, beginning at a short distance from the outside of the flange part 11 7 and extending to the floor 125 of the indentation 11 8. The rear surface of the ribs 131 and 132 can be flat or curved. It can extend parallel with the wall or, with the exception of a mould stripping chamfer, can be oriented at a normal to the floor 125 and therefore parallel with the axis of the pivoting bearing, as illustrated in Figure 8. The ribs 131 and 132 are disposed on the associated side wall 1 23 or 124 so that they' are situated in the path of motion of the side cheeks 1 34 of the bearing pedestal more particularly on the outer edge which is distal from the pivoting bearing.

Projections on the bearing pedestals can be used in place of the ribs on the bearing casing to function as stop abutment parts. These can also be constructed so that the outer edge of the side cheeks 134 is laterally bent outwardly to a sufficient extent. In another embodiment of the stop abutment the axle pin 135 is made longer and a cross upset in place of the round upset heads and is placed between the bearing pedestal and the free end of the axle pin. In another modification caps, more particularly self-captive caps, are placed on the smooth axle pins and have a sufficiently large curvature in the axle direction and where necessary, washers can be interposed.

Claims (10)

1. A support roller for suitcases and the like with a castor roller which is supported by means of a pivoting bearing with a horizontal axis by a bearing pedestal which is pivotably supported in the bearing casing by means of a pivoting bearing with an axis which is at least approximately perpendicular and which said casing has an indentation which partially surrounds the castor roller in the manner of a hood on the side distal from its standing region and has side walls which are disposed symmetrically with respect to the middle position of the castor roller at a distance which defines the pivoting angle of the castor roller to a pivoting range of no more than 90 , characterised in that the stationary part of the pivoting bearing is provided with a projection in the form of a tongue or with a nose which projects beyond the external contour of the pivoting bearing, that near the bottom there is provided in one of the side walls of the indentation a recess with a support surface disposed above and below for the projection on the stationary part of the pivoting bearing and that a connecting element for an additional connection between the stationary part of the pivoting bearing and the bearing casing is provided on at least one place which is situated outside the contour of the pivoting bearing and is distal from the projection and the recess.

2. A support roller according to claim 1, characterised in that the bearing casing is constructed as a plastics moulding and that the recess is directly formed in one of the side walls of the indentation.

3. A support roller according to claim 2, characterised in that the bearing casing with the recess is constructed as an independent component and is provided with flange-like fastening means for mounting on a suitcase frame.

4. A support roller according to claim 2, characterised in that the bearing casing and the recess are constructed integrally with the associated suitcase component and are formed thereon.

5. A support roller according to any of the claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the projection and the recess are disposed in the plane of the middle position of the castor roller and that the connecting element of the additional connection between the pivoting bearing and the bearing casing is also disposed in the said plane or a plurality of connecting elements are disposed symmetrically with respect to the said plane.

6. A support roller according to any of the claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a stop abutment is provided between the bearing pedestal of the castor roller more particularly the side cheeks thereof, and each of the two side walls of the indentation of the bearing casing disposed in the path of motion and said stop abutment is advantageously constructed as a rib of the effected side wall or is constructed as a lateral projection of the bearing pedestal.

7. A support roller for suitcases comprising a roller for contacting the ground, a casing which partially surrounds the roller and a mounting for connecting the roller to the casing, wherein the roller is rotatably connected to the mounting, the mounting is rotatably connected to the casing by means of a bearing such that the roller may rotate within the casing to provide steering, the rotation permitting steering being limited to substantially 900 or less by the sides of the casing and the bearing is retained in the casing by means of a projection on the bearing which projects into a recess in one or more sides of the casing with at least one surface of the recess providing support for the projection and additional retaining means spaced apart from the projection.

8. A suitcase having one or more support rollers as claimed in any preceding claim.

9. A support roller for suitcases substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

10. A suitcase substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.