GB2493370A

GB2493370A - Omniball Twin Axle

Info

Publication number: GB2493370A
Application number: GB1113360.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Snell
Original assignee: OMNICASTER Ltd
Current assignee: OMNICASTER Ltd
Priority date: 2011-08-03
Filing date: 2011-08-03
Publication date: 2013-02-06
Also published as: GB201113360D0

Abstract

A load carrying supported ball for moving loads either in the ball down position or ball up position. The ball is contained within a body supported by at least 3 bearings on 2 support axles below the ball (ball up position) of which one bearing pivots around and is perpendicular to the centre axis of the body and 2 bearings pivot around the centre axis of the body at a compound angle. There are a further 3 bearings on axles contained within the top of the body (ball up position) that engage the ball and give support to maintain the balls position centrally within the body.

Description

Background of the invention

There have been previous versions of this type of invention but with several drawbacks of which, 1, do not perform equally in both orientations of the ball up and ball down positions.

2, restricted ball projection from housing limiting the amount of varied surface conditions the support can be used upon.

3, amount of deviation to route when a change of direction is implemented 4, restricted load capacity.

5,Trapped debris within the ball housing To solve the above mentioned drawbacks this invention proposes a ball support with a specific design, configuration and arrangement of the internal components by the addition of a second dynamically designed support axle with angular wheels that run parallel to the ball axis, debris dispelling cut outs on the rotor, Compression of internal components to increase ball projection.

Omniball Twin Axle

Description Of Omniball Twin Axle

A ball housed within a shell specifically designed to support and convey a load with little deviation to the desired route when a directional change is implemented. This load can be applied either for a "ball up" or "ball down" application with no loss of performance.

The Omniball twin axle comprises of a main supporting body (item 9A) in which all other components are housed,A threaded location pin (item 1) passes through and centres item 3 the main directional load carrying bearing (item3) to the centre axis "A" of item 9k The said pin 1 is held in place via a threaded insert (item 2) which is pressed and inset within item 9A which allows an accurate axis alignment between the body (item 9A) and item 3. Item 4 locates on the outer diameter of item 3 and freely rotates within the housing around the centre axis "A" of item 9A. Item 4 has cut out sections around its base which dispel any foreign debris entering the said Omniball unit when in operation and maintain a clear cavity for smooth and accurate operation.

Within item 4 are located 2 supporting axles, the first axle item 6A a straight axle clips into place and is set at 900 to the centre axis "A" of body 9A, upon this axle is mounted a second bearing item 5 is mounted upon this axle which forms part of the support structure for the main load carrying ball item 10. The said bearing mounted in the centre of the axle item 6B and runs perpendicular to the centre axis "A" of the main body. The second supporting axle item 6A is bent to an angle predetermined by the size of the main load carrying ball item 10. The said axle item 6A has 2 bearings (items 5) which again form part of the main ball support structure but differ in the way they perform to the first axle in that the bearings have their own axis's "B & C" which are set to 80° from axis "A" from a point of origin at the centre of the main load carrying ball (item 10) and from this same point of origin the said bearings will trail behind the centre axis "A" at an angle of 8° and thus in operation will orbit axis "A" together with the bearings on axle 6B to give the main load carrying ball support and trail of direction.

Item 10 the main load carrying ball (item 10) is made from either plastic, steel or a composite material.

Items 8 radial axles, there are a plurality of said axles positioned and clipped into place within the main body (item 9A) around the circumference of the main load carrying ball onto which another bearing (item 7) is placed, together these bearings support and maintain the ball position relative to axis "A" of item SA.

The upper cap (item 9) contains the main load carrying ball by means of the aperture being slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the main load carrying ball (item 10) which stops the main load carrying ball (item 10) from falling out of the body (items 9 & 9A) when in the ball down position.

Description Of The Drawings

FIG A & B are cross sectional drawings of the Omniball Twin Axle according to the invention FIG C shows the unit in the ball up position where the load can be conveyed on the top of the ball FIG D shows the unit in the ball down position where the load can be attached to the unit and conveyed with the unit

Claims

<claim-text>I Claim 1, A ball supported within a housing to move a load comprising: A housing constructed in two parts, the first part being the lower housing forming the main body having a fixing location member extending from the bottom face aligned to a vertical axis through the centre of the housing, the fixing member being either of the threaded or bayonet type.A solid ball being mounted within the main body housing aligned to the central axis of the housing with a proportion of the ball protruding through the aperture of the top cap and allowed to freely rotate in all orientations within the said housing.A top cap forming the second part of the housing which engages the first part of the housing via a tongue and groove type fixing, the top cap has an open aperture which allows a certain percentage of the ball to protrude whilst still containing the ball by means of the aperture being slightly smaller than the maximum outside diameter of the ball.Three equally pitched wheels mounted on axles within the main housing perpendicular to the vertical axis of the main body and engaging the surface of the ball to maintain the balls position relative to the said vertical axis of the main housing whilst the ball is being orientated.A rotor is mounted in the lower end of the main housing to allow rotation of the ball in the horizontal axis, three wheels are located in the rotor on 2 axles of which the first axle is placed on a horizontal axis, a wheel is placed on this axle perpendicular to the centre axis of the housing, the second axle is bent in the centre having two sides which are 80° from the vertical axis and have 2 wheels equally spaced from the centre, these wheels are at 27°to the vertical axis, the said 2 wheels orientate parallel to the centre axis offset by 600 in the horizontal. All three wheel surfaces are engaged with the surface of the ball and so when a change of direction of the main ball is implemented the wheels position can rotate and maintain contact with the said ball giving support and trail of direction.</claim-text> <claim-text>2, A ball mounted support according to claim 1, wherein the main body housing contains a ball bearing race held in place via a threaded pin, a rotor with 2 axles and 3 wheels slide onto the ball bearing race and engages a main ball, 3 bearings are configured on a radial engaging the main ball to centralise its position, a top cap is clipped into place to retain the ball within the unit.</claim-text>