JP2002144805A - Caster - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a caster which can make braking of a wheel and its release without using a separate member even in a constitution having a suspension mechanism part. SOLUTION: A swivel part 12 is provided by pivotally supporting turn plates 46, 46 almost horizontal in the lengthwise direction in a pair of support plates 40, 40 in a base seat part 11 mounted on a truck. The swivel part 12 supports a wheel 13 on its one end side and a fixed shaft 50 on the other end side. Regulation plates 60a, 60b protruded to the opposite side to the side of the wheel 13 of the support plates 40, 40 to support a regulation shaft 61 in the tip end part is protrusively provided. A suspension mechanism part 14 is constituted by arranging an energizing means 72 in a journal bar 71 penetrated through the regulation shaft 61 from the fixed shaft 50. A plate-shaped brake board 75 is fixedly linked over the regulation shaft 61 and a support bar 63 supported between the regulation plates 60a, 60b in a condition with a brake part in the end part serving as a free end. A brake part 80 in a turn shaft part 83 of a brake operating part 82 supported between the regulation plates 60a, 60b and a press part 84 pressing the wheel 13 braked in whatever upper/lower position it may be moved are provided to protrude in a wall state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a caster that absorbs a shock when a wheel moves up and down in a suspension mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, as a caster mounted on a trolley or the like, when carrying over a step on a running floor surface, a conveyed object is mounted on the floor so as to travel stably with low noise without load collapse. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a configuration in which a suspension mechanism is provided to absorb an impact applied to a wheel when the vehicle gets over.

The caster provided with the suspension mechanism has a rotary seat which is screwed to a lower surface of a plate-like carrier on which a transported object of the truck is placed. A chassis portion having a pair of shaft support plates facing in a substantially horizontal direction is rotatably supported on the rotary seat portion. At the lower end of the shaft support plate of the chassis portion, substantially the center of a long rotation plate is supported in a rotatable manner in a substantially horizontal direction. Further, a wheel shaft for rotatably supporting the wheel is rotatably supported at one longitudinal end of the pair of rotating plates.

On the other end of the rotating plate in the longitudinal direction, a substantially cylindrical fixed shaft having a vertically extending axial support rod protruding from the outer peripheral surface is rotatably pivoted so as to bridge. Supported. Further, the chassis portion is provided integrally with a pair of restricting plates that project in a tongue shape on the side opposite to the side where the wheels are located by welding or the like. A substantially cylindrical regulating shaft through which a shaft supporting rod of a fixed shaft slidably penetrates is rotatably supported between the distal ends of these regulating plates so as to bridge. A biasing rod such as a coil spring that biases the fixed shaft to pull toward the regulating shaft is provided on the shaft supporting rod that protrudes through the regulating shaft, and is fixed by the biasing force of the biasing means. A suspension mechanism is configured in which the shaft is pulled toward the regulating shaft, and the state in which the wheels move upward due to impact from the floor is absorbed by the urging force.

[0005]

However, when stopping the truck to unload or unload the transported object, it is necessary to regulate the rotation of the wheels, that is, to brake the wheels. However, it is difficult to provide a structure for braking the wheels in the configuration in which the suspension mechanism is provided and the wheels move up and down, and it is necessary to use a separate member such as a bogie to restrict the movement of the bogie.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a caster which can brake and release braking of a wheel without using a separate member even in a configuration having a suspension mechanism.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a caster having a pedestal portion, a swing portion rotatably provided on the pedestal portion, and a swingably rotatably supported by the swing portion. A wheel that moves substantially up and down with the rotation of the moving unit, a suspension mechanism unit that is provided integrally with the pedestal unit and regulates the rotation of the swinging unit, and a plate shape that has a plane along the up and down direction. A brake having an elastically deformable brake plate having a braking portion opposed to the wheel via a gap, and a rotatable brake operating portion for elastically deforming the brake plate and pressing the braking portion against the wheel. Part.

[0008] A suspension mechanism is provided integrally with the pedestal portion for restricting the rotation of a swinging portion rotatably provided on the pedestal portion in a state where the pivotally supported wheel is vertically moved.
An elastically deformable brake plate having a braking portion opposed to a wheel with a gap in a plate shape having a plane along the vertical direction, and a rotatable brake for elastically deforming the brake plate and pressing the braking portion against the wheel. By providing a brake unit having an operation unit, the brake mechanism of the brake plate is pressed by the rotation of the brake operation unit to brake the wheel even in a configuration in which the wheel moves up and down by the suspension mechanism unit and absorbs impact. Is obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the caster according to the first aspect, the braking portion has a lower end fixed to a free end and an upper end fixed to a suspension mechanism.

[0010] By fixing the upper end of the plate-shaped braking portion to the suspension mechanism so that the lower end is a free end, it is easy to obtain a configuration in which the braking plate is pressed against a vertically moving wheel to apply braking.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the caster according to the first or second aspect, the braking operation portion includes a rotating shaft portion rotatably supported to face the braking portion and the rotating shaft portion. And a pressing portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface and presses the braking portion against the wheel.

Further, a pressing portion which protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft portion rotatably supported opposite to the braking portion and whose leading end presses the braking portion against the wheel is provided, so that the braking can be easily performed with a simple structure. The plate can be pressed against the vertically moving wheels to brake.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the caster according to any one of the first to third aspects, the braking portion has irregularities at least on a surface facing the wheel.

[0014] By providing irregularities on at least the surface of the braking portion facing the wheel, the wheel can be surely braked even with a simple structure in which the braking portion is pressed to perform braking.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of a truck according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a truck.
A plate-like carrier 3 on which the article 2 can be placed, casters 4 and 4 provided near four corners of the lower surface of the carrier 3, and a carrier 4 provided at one edge of the carrier 3 A travel operation unit 5 for pulling or pushing the caster 3 on the floor by casters 4 and 4 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the caster 4 has a pedestal portion 11 which is integrally attached to the loading portion 3 by screws or the like, and is rotatably supported by the pedestal portion 11. Swing unit 12, a wheel 13 rotatably supported by the swing unit 12, a suspension mechanism unit 14 provided on the pedestal unit 11 for restricting rotation of the swing unit 12, and a rotation of the wheel 13. And a brake unit 15 for regulating the pressure.

The pedestal 11 has a rotating seat 17 attached to the loading platform 3 and a chassis 18 rotatably supported by the rotating seat 17. Also, the rotating seat
17 includes a seat plate portion 21 and a rotation shaft support portion 22 which is provided rotatably integrally with the seat plate portion 21. This seat plate 21
Is formed in a substantially square plate shape from a steel plate or the like, and screw holes 24 for screwing to the carrier 3 are provided near the four corners, respectively. Further, the seat plate portion 21 is provided with a dome portion 26 having a dome-shaped bulge extending substantially downward at substantially the center and having a through hole 25 near the top. The dome portion 26 is provided with a groove 27 having a circumferential groove shape along the opening edge of the through hole 25.

On the other hand, the rotating shaft support portion 22 has a first dish portion 30 and a second dish portion 31 whose peripheral edges are bent upward, and a central portion is formed by a bolt 32 and a nut 33, for example. They are integrally joined. Further, a first bearing portion 36 is provided which bends the peripheral edge of the first plate portion 30 in an arc shape toward the outer peripheral side and supports the bearing ball 35 near the peripheral edge of the opening edge of the through hole 25 of the seat plate portion 21. Have been. Further, the second plate portion 31 is provided with a second bearing portion 38 which is folded upward at the peripheral edge and supports the bearing ball 35 with the groove portion 27 of the seat plate portion 21. The rotating shaft support portion 22 is rotatably attached to the seat plate portion 21 with the dome portion 26 of the seat plate portion 21 being sandwiched between the first bearing portion 36 and the second bearing portion 38.

The chassis 18 is provided integrally with the rotary shaft support 22 of the rotary seat 17. This chassis part
The upper end edge 18 is integrally provided on the lower surface of the second plate portion 31 of the rotary shaft support portion 22 by welding or the like, and has a pair of vertically elongated strip support plates 40 facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. Has forty. The periphery of the lower end of each of the shaft support plates 40, 40 is formed in a substantially arc shape, and the lower ends of the pair of shaft support plates 40, 40 support the swinging portion 12 so as to be rotatable. Shaft support member
A shaft support hole 42 that supports the 41 is provided. In addition, the shaft support member 41 has a flange portion 43 that protrudes outward so that the shaft support hole 42 cannot be inserted into one end located on the opposite surface side of the shaft support plate 40.
And a male screw portion (not shown) to which a screw member 44 such as a nut is screwed is provided at the other end protruding from the shaft support plate 40.

On the other hand, the swinging portion 12 is formed in a long and rectangular shape, and a substantially center thereof is supported by a pair of rotating plates 46 which are rotatably supported on the supporting plate 40 of the chassis 18 by a supporting member 41. , 46. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 to 7, both ends of a wheel shaft 47 for rotatably supporting the wheel 13 are provided at one end portion on the rear end side in the longitudinal direction of the rotating plates 46, 46. Shaft holes 48 for rotatably supporting the respective parts are provided respectively. Further, through-holes 51 that rotatably support the end of the substantially cylindrical fixed shaft 50 are provided at the other end on the front end side in the longitudinal direction of the rotating plate 46 so as to face each other. Further, the other end of the rotating plate 46 is integrally provided with a movement restricting portion 52 that protrudes upward in a tongue-like shape on one side edge in the longitudinal direction, which is the upper edge. At both ends of the fixed shaft 50, male screw portions (not shown) are provided, which penetrate through the through holes 51 of the rotating plates 46, and are screwed with the screw members 44 such as nuts.

The wheel 13 is formed in a substantially disc-like shape and has a wheel portion 55 rotatably penetrating and holding a wheel axle 47 at the center thereof. The wheel portion 13 is attached to the outer periphery of the wheel portion 55 and formed in a ring shape with rubber or the like. A tire section 56 is provided.

The support plates 40 of the chassis 18 have
A suspension mechanism 14 is provided. The suspension mechanism 14 includes plate-like regulating plates 60a, 60b provided integrally with the shaft supporting plates 40, 40 with a gap therebetween. The restricting plates 60a and 60b are elongated in a substantially horizontal direction, and one end in the longitudinal direction projects from one vertical edge of the shaft support plate 40 to the front opposite to the wheel 13 in a predetermined state. Opposite to each other with a gap therebetween, the shaft supporting plates 40 are provided by welding or the like.

Further, through-holes 62 for rotatably supporting both ends of a substantially cylindrical regulating shaft 61 are provided at opposite ends of the leading ends of the regulating plates 60a and 60b projecting forward. Note that, similarly to the fixed shaft 50, screwing members such as nuts penetrate through the insertion holes 62 at both ends of the regulating shaft 61.
Male screw portions (not shown) into which the screws 44 are screwed are provided.

A substantially cylindrical support rod 63 is integrally provided between the restricting plates 60a and 60b so as to bridge. The support rod 63 has a flange-shaped flange portion 65 at one end, through which a support hole 64 provided in the regulating plates 60a, 60b cannot be inserted, and a support shaft 66 having a female screw (not shown) at the other end. The support shaft 66 has a male screw (not shown) screwed into the female screw, and has a screwing portion 67 having a flange portion 65 at one end.

Further, the one regulating plate 60a is provided with a substantially circular rotating hole 68 as shown in FIG. Also,
As shown in FIG. 9, the other regulating plate 60b has a substantially circular shape facing the rotation hole 68 at a part of the periphery, that is, at a position vertically above the center and vertically below the center. An operation rotation hole 69 having a fan-shaped concave portion 69a is provided in a range between the position in the tangential direction.

The suspension mechanism 14 is provided as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the regulating shaft 61 is formed in a substantially elongated columnar shape and slidably penetrates the regulating shaft 61 in a state substantially along the vertical direction in the axial direction, and is integrally fixed with the lower end penetrating the fixing shaft 50. And a pair of shaft support rods 71, 71. Also,
Nuts 73, 73 for holding urging means 72 such as a coil spring are provided between the upper end of the shaft support rod 71 and the regulating shaft 61. The suspension mechanism 14 urges the urging means 72 so as to expand the gap between the nut 73 and the regulating shaft 61 by a restoring force and pull the fixed shaft 50 toward the regulating shaft 61. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the wheels 13 are moved upward due to external stress in a state where the wheels 13 are urged toward the floor as a running surface, the gap between the nut 73 and the regulating shaft 61 is reduced. Is reduced so that the urging means 72 is crushed in the axial direction against the urging, and the external force is absorbed by the urging means 72.

Also, the suspension mechanism 14 has a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 6, a brake unit 15 is provided. The brake portion 15 is formed of an elastic steel plate, and has a support rod 63 supported between the restriction plates 60a and 60b and a brake plate 75 locked and disposed on the restriction shaft 61. . The brake plate 75 has a fixing portion 76 that is bent at one end in the longitudinal direction into a substantially U-shaped cross section and engages with the outer peripheral surface of the regulating shaft 61. Further, the fixing portion 76 is formed with notches 77, 77 which are notched so as not to interfere with the support rods 71, 71 of the suspension mechanism 14. Further, a support portion 78 which is bent in a U-shaped cross section in a direction opposite to the fixing portion 76 and engages with the outer peripheral surface of the support bar 63 is provided at an intermediate portion of the brake plate 75. Further, the brake plate 75 has an end opposite to the fixed portion 76, which is the other end in the longitudinal direction, bent in a wavy shape to have irregularities 79 on its surface, and abut on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel 13 to make the wheel A braking portion 80 for regulating the rotation of the thirteen, that is, stopping or decelerating the rotation is provided, and the brake plate 75 is formed to bend in a substantially S-shaped cross section.

The brake plate 75 has a support portion 78 and a fixed portion 76 laid over the support rod 63 and the regulating shaft 61. The lower end, which is the tip of the brake portion 80, is a free end, and the brake portion 80 is a wheel. 13 is disposed so as to face the outer peripheral surface with a gap therebetween.

Further, the brake plate 75 includes the regulating plates 60a, 6
A braking operation unit 82 is provided rotatably and pivotally supported so as to bridge the rotation hole 68 and the operation rotation hole 69 of Ob. The braking operation portion 82 is formed of an elongated cylindrical steel material, and is rotatably supported at one end by a rotation hole 68 and an operation rotation hole 69 so that both ends are rotatable. And an elongated cylindrical turning shaft portion 83 which is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the braking portions 80 and faces the wheel 13 via the braking portion 80 of the brake plate 75. A pressing piece 84 as a wall-shaped pressing portion protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 83 along the axial direction, and the rotating shaft 83 is formed in a cam shape. The pressing piece portion 84 is provided so that one surface thereof is along the tangential direction of the rotation shaft portion 83, and comes into contact with the braking portion 80 of the brake plate 75 while protruding upward. Furthermore, the brake plate 75 of the pressing piece 84
The protruding tip edge of the surface that comes into contact with the braking portion 80 is formed in an arc shape, and by rotating the rotation shaft portion 83, the surface is slid while elastically deforming so as to push the braking portion 80 smoothly. It has become. The braking operation unit 82 includes a rotating shaft 83
A lever portion 85 that is bent substantially vertically is provided at the other end side that extends from the operation rotation hole 69 to the outer surface of the regulating plate 60b. Further, the distal end side of the lever portion 85 is provided on the braking operation portion 82 with the rotation shaft portion 83.
An operating portion 87 having a step portion 86 which is bent substantially vertically so as to be substantially parallel to the tip portion and is radially press-molded at the distal end portion is provided, and the braking operation portion 82 is bent substantially in a crank shape. I have.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the pressing piece portion 84 of the rotating shaft portion 83 projects upward when the operation portion 87 is positioned upward, as shown in FIG. The pressing piece 84 protrudes toward the wheel 13 with the 87 rotated downward, and the braking portion 80 of the brake plate 75 is elastically deformed to cause the wheel
13 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface. Further, the braking operation unit 82 rotates the operation unit 87 downward, and presses the braking unit 80 of the brake plate 75 with the pressing piece 84 to the wheel 13.
When pressed against the floor, it does not come into contact with the floor surface, which is the running surface. That is, the position of the lower end of the operating portion 87 is located higher than the position of the lower end of the wheel 13 in a state where the wheel 13 is located at the uppermost position against the urging of the urging means 72 of the suspension mechanism 14. State.

As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling operation section 5 includes a shaft support section 91 attached to the lower surface of one edge of the loading section 3.
And a handle portion 93 having a handle 92 for towing or pushing operation at the other end portion rotatably supported at one end by the shaft support portion 91. And the traveling operation unit 5
Rotates the handle part 93 downward when towing,
In the case of pushing, the cart 1 is rotated upward and the cart 1 runs on the floor surface.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

Then, the rotary seat 17 of the caster 4 assembled and formed in advance is integrally attached to the carrier 3 by screwing or the like to form the carriage 1.

Further, the transported object 2 is placed on the loading portion 3 of the truck 1.
When unloading or unloading the vehicle, the wheels 13 are braked by rotating downward so as to step on the operation unit 87 of the brake operation unit 82 of the brake unit 15 so that the carriage 1 does not move. That is, by the downward rotation of the operation part 87 of the braking operation part 82, the pressing piece part 84 protruding upward from the braking operation part 82 is rotated together with the rotation shaft part 83 to a state protruding toward the wheel 13. The pressing piece 84 moves the braking portion 80 of the brake plate 75 to the brake plate.
The rotation of the wheel 13 is restricted by pressing the support 13 against the wheel 13 about the support 78 substantially against the elasticity of the wheel 75. With the wheels 13 being braked, the carriage 1 stably places the transported object 2 without moving.

When the truck 1 travels, the operating portion 87 of the braking operation portion 82 that has been rotated downward is rotated upward to release the braking of the wheels 13. That is, the pressing portion 84 that presses the braking portion 80 of the brake plate 75 against the wheel 13 is rotated together with the rotating shaft portion 83 so as to protrude upward, and the brake plate 75 is separated from the wheel 13 by a restoring force due to elasticity. Separate.

When the vehicle travels on a floor surface having unevenness such as a step, an external force is applied to the wheels 13 so as to suddenly push upward when riding on the step. The fixed shaft 50 provided between the rotating plates 46, 46 of the swinging unit 12 is moved by the external force that pushes upward on the wheels 13 to raise the suspension mechanism unit 14.
Of the suspension mechanism 14 in the axial direction against the biasing force, and the external force is absorbed by the biasing means 72.
Also, when the external force is released while riding, the urging means
With the bias of 72, the fixed shaft 50 of the swinging portion 12 rotates in a state of being pulled toward the regulating shaft 61, and the movement regulating portion 52 of the swinging portion 12 comes into contact with the lower edges of the regulating plates 60a, 60b. Rotating plate 4
The movement is regulated and returns to a steady state in which the longitudinal direction of 6, 46 is substantially horizontal. The impact of the vertical movement of the wheels 13 is absorbed by the urging means 72 of the suspension mechanism 14, so that the bogie 1 can run stably.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the suspension that regulates the rotation of the swinging portion 12 on the pedestal portion 11 provided with the swinging portion 12 so as to be rotatable while vertically moving the pivotally supported wheel 13 is provided. An elastically deformable brake plate 75 having a braking portion 80 which is provided in a plate-like shape having a plane along the vertical direction and has a braking portion 80 opposed to the wheel 13 with a gap therebetween, and a rotation of the brake plate A brake unit having a rotatable brake operation unit 82 that elastically deforms 75 to press the brake unit 80 against the wheel 13
In order to provide the wheels 15, the wheels 13
Even if the brake unit 80 moves up and down to absorb the impact, the brake unit 80 of the brake plate 75 is pressed against the wheel 13 that has moved up and down to any position by the rotation of the brake operation unit 82, so that braking can be reliably performed.

The plate-shaped braking portion 80 is bridged between a pair of regulating plates 60a, 60b of the suspension mechanism 14 having an upper end integrally projecting from the chassis 18 so that the lower end is a free end. In order to hang over the support bar 63 that is supported and fix it,
Regardless of the position where the wheel 13 moves up and down, the brake plate 80 can be reliably pressed and braked easily.

Further, a suspension mechanism 14 is provided at an intermediate portion and one end of a brake plate 75 having a brake plate 80 provided at the other end.
The support portion 78 and the fixing portion 76 for hanging and fixing the support rod 63 and the regulating shaft 61 are bent into a substantially S-shaped cross section, so that the braking portion 80 having a simple configuration and the lower end being a free end.
Can be easily fixed, and the brake plate 75
And the ease of assembly of the brake plate 75 can be improved.

Further, the escape portions 77 and the fixing portions 76 do not interfere with the shaft support rods 71 of the suspension mechanism portion 14.
The notch 77 is formed to prevent the suspension mechanism 14 from interfering with the brake section 15 to prevent the efficiency of absorbing the impact applied to the wheels 13 from being reduced, and to prevent the suspension mechanism 14 from interfering with the suspension mechanism 14 with a simple configuration. The brake plate 75 can be easily arranged.

Further, a substantially circular turning hole 68 is provided in one of the regulating plates 60a, and a braking operation portion 82 is formed in the other regulating plate 60b.
An operation turning hole 69 having a fan-shaped concave portion 69a capable of turning a turning shaft portion 83 projecting from the pressing piece portion 84 is provided.
In order to pivotally support both ends of the rotating shaft portion 83 in the operation rotating hole 69, the braking operation portion 82 is inserted from the operation rotating hole 69 and the rotating hole 68
The brake section 15 can be easily assembled with a simple configuration by preventing the side from slipping off and supporting the shaft.

As a braking operation unit 82 for pressing the braking unit 80 against the wheel 13, a substantially columnar shaft rotatably supported between the pair of regulating plates 60a and 60b of the suspension mechanism unit 14 with respect to the braking unit 80. In order to provide a pressing piece portion 84 that protrudes outward on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft portion 83 and whose distal end presses the braking portion 80 against the wheel 13 by the rotation of the rotating shaft portion 83, it has a simple structure and a plate shape. A configuration in which the braking unit 80 is pressed against the wheel 13 can be easily obtained, and the manufacturability can be improved.

Then, in order to bend a lever part 85 whose axis direction is substantially perpendicular to one end of the rotation shaft part 83, the rotation shaft part 83 is rotated and the braking part 80 is moved by the pressing piece part 84 to the wheel. The structure in which the brake is applied by pressing against 13 can be easily achieved by a simple structure, and it is only necessary to bend and form a long and thin bar-shaped steel material, thereby improving the manufacturability.

Further, since the operating portion 87 is bent at the distal end of the lever portion 85, a structure for rotating the rotating shaft portion 83 with a simple structure can be easily obtained.

Further, since the unevenness 79 is provided at least on the surface of the braking unit 80 facing the wheel 13, the braking performance of the wheel 13 can be improved even with a simple configuration in which the braking unit 80 is pressed to perform braking.

Since the plate-shaped braking portion 80 is bent in a wave shape to provide the unevenness 79, the unevenness 79 can be easily provided, and the productivity can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the base 11
As described above, a configuration in which the chassis 18 is rotatably supported on the rotary seat 17 has been described. However, as shown in FIGS. 2, 10 and 11, for example, the chassis 18 is directly provided without the rotary seat 17. May be attached to the carrier 3.

Further, the fixing portion 76, the support portion 78 and the braking portion 80
The brake plate 75 which is formed by bending the support plate 63 and the control shaft 61 is fixed to the support shaft 63.
The plate-shaped braking unit 80 has a flat surface along the up-down direction and is opposed to the wheel 13 by, for example, being integrally provided by welding or the like so that the plate-shaped braking unit 80 projects downwardly in a tongue shape. Part 80
Any configuration in which is disposed can be performed.

The braking operation part 82 includes a pressing piece part.
The member is not limited to a crank-shaped structure having a rotating shaft portion 83, a lever portion 85, and an operating portion 87 that protrudes 84, but a member having a step that can be trampled on one end portion is rotatably provided, for example. The plate-shaped braking unit 80 is rotated by rotating the rotating shaft 83 through a gear or the like provided at the other end of the member by rotating downward so as to step on this step.
Can be pressed against the wheel 13.

Further, the pressing piece portion 84 is formed in a cam shape by projecting from the rotating shaft portion 83.
Any cam shape, such as an elliptical cross-section, a prismatic cross-section, or a teardrop-shaped cross-section whose outer peripheral surface is unequal to the center of rotation so that it can be pressed against 13, can be used.

Further, the braking portion 80 is bent in a wavy shape to form the unevenness 79.
Is provided, but irregularities of any shape may be provided, or irregularities may not be provided. Further, a member having a large frictional resistance such as rubber may be attached.

As the chassis part 18, the pivot support plate 4
Control plate 6 for providing suspension mechanism 14 on 0, 40
Although the description has been given of the configuration in which the reference numerals 0a and 60b are integrally provided by welding or the like, as shown in FIG.
60a and 60b may be of an integral shape.

Although the movement restricting portions 52 are projected from the rotating plates 46, 46, the edges of the rotating plates 46, 46 are supported by the shaft supporting plates 40, 40 and the restricting plate 60.
If the rotation by the urging of the urging means 72 is restricted by abutting on the a and 60b, it is not necessary to separately provide the rotation, and as shown in FIG. The movement restricting portions 52 may be formed so as to protrude such that the edges of the moving plates 46, 46 abut.

[0055]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plate-like braking portion along the up-down direction of the elastically deformable brake plate is opposed to the wheel with a gap therebetween, and the braking portion is elastically deformed so that the braking portion becomes the wheel. In order to provide a rotatable braking operation unit that presses against the wheel, even in a configuration in which the wheels move up and down by the suspension mechanism and absorb the impact, the braking unit of the brake plate moves the wheel up and down to any position by the rotation of the braking operation unit. Even if it moves, it can be pressed and braked.

According to the caster of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the caster of the first aspect, since the upper end is fixed to the suspension mechanism so that the lower end is a free end, the brake plate is moved up and down. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a configuration in which the brake is pressed against the wheel to be driven.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the rotating shaft which is rotatable with respect to the braking operation portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface facing the braking portion. Since the pressing portion that presses the braking portion against the wheel by the rotation of the portion protrudes, the braking plate can be easily pressed against the vertically moving wheel and braked with a simple configuration.

According to the caster of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the caster according to any one of the first to third aspects, in order to provide unevenness on at least the surface of the braking portion facing the wheel, the braking portion is pressed. Even with a simple structure in which braking is performed, the wheels can be reliably braked, and braking performance can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a caster according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the carriage.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the same caster.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the caster.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a situation where wheels of the caster move up and down.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a braking state of the caster by a brake unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the rotary plate according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the regulating plate.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the same regulating plate.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway side view showing a caster according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view showing the caster.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a caster according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Caster 11 Pedestal part 12 Swing part 13 Wheel 14 Suspension mechanism part 15 Brake part 75 Brake plate 79 Irregularity 80 Brake part 82 Brake operation part 83 Rotating shaft part 84 Pressing piece as pressing part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pedestal portion, a swing portion rotatably provided on the pedestal portion, and a pivotally rotatably supported by the swing portion, which moves substantially up and down with the rotation of the swing portion. A wheel, a suspension mechanism unit provided integrally with the pedestal unit and restricting rotation of the swinging unit, and a braking unit which is a plate having a plane along the vertical direction and faces the wheel with a gap therebetween. A caster comprising: an elastically deformable brake plate; and a brake unit including a rotatable brake operation unit that elastically deforms the brake plate and presses the brake unit against the wheel. 2. The braking unit according to claim 1, wherein a lower end is fixed to a free end and an upper end is fixed to a suspension mechanism.
The caster described. 3. A brake operating portion includes a rotating shaft portion rotatably supported opposite to the braking portion and a pressing portion that protrudes from an outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft portion and a distal end portion presses the braking portion against a wheel. The caster according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. The caster according to claim 1, wherein the braking portion has irregularities at least on a surface facing the wheel.