JP2007190940A - Stopper device of caster - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost by simplifying the structure of a stopper device for locking a wheel of a caster. <P>SOLUTION: This stopper device is provided with a gear-shaped part 10 provided concentrically with the wheel 1 of the caster on a side part of the wheel 1, and a movable member 3 supported to be reciprocated in substantially the longitudinal direction along a vertical surface orthogonal to a wheel spindle 5 by a yoke member 2 journaling the wheel 1. The movable member 3 is provided with a projection 18 fitted, separated and moved in relation to a trough part 11 around the gear-shaped part 10 by the reciprocating, and pedal parts 16 and 17 for reciprocating the movable member 3. The stopper device is jointly provided with movable member holding means (a projecting part 15 and a recessed part 22) for holding the movable member 3 at a wheel lock position where the projection 18 is fitted to the trough part 11 and a wheel lock releasing position where the projection 8 is separated from the trough part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a caster stopper device used in various industrial carts and the like.

The caster stopper device locks the wheels of the caster so that it cannot be rotated when it is desired to stop the movement of a cart or the like in which the caster is used as a moving means. Yes. The most common stopper device uses a movable body for braking that can be pressed against and separated from the ground contact surface of the wheel. However, the braking effect is weakened by a reduction in diameter due to wear of the wheel contact peripheral surface. There is a fatal problem. In order to solve such a problem, as described in Patent Document 1, a sawtooth portion concentric with the wheel is provided on the side portion of the wheel, and the sawtooth portion is provided on the yoke member side supporting the wheel. On the other hand, the thing which provided the wheel stop member which can be engaged / disengaged was devised.
Utility Model Registration No. 2515419 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-125903)

  In the stopper device described in Patent Document 1, a wheel stopper member that can be freely engaged and disengaged with respect to a sawtooth portion on the wheel side, and an arc-shaped member in which a sawtooth that meshes with the sawtooth portion on the wheel side is formed on the inner peripheral surface. The other end of the arc-shaped member is biased in a direction in which the saw blade is separated from the saw-tooth portion on the wheel side by a spring. A lever with a pedal for pressing the side against the biasing force of the spring to engage the saw blade with the saw blade portion on the wheel side is required. That is, two parts, a wheel stopper member and a lever with a pedal, are required as parts to be pivotally supported on the yoke member side, and the wheel stopper member has a sawtooth on the inner peripheral surface of the arc-shaped member that can be appropriately deformed and deformed. Because of the special structure that is formed, the overall structure is complicated, and the cost is significantly higher than that of a conventional movable body for braking that can be pressed against and separated from the ground contact surface of the wheel. There are disadvantages.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a stopper device for a caster that can solve the conventional problems as described above. A wheel-like portion 10 provided concentrically with the wheel 1 on the side of the wheel 1 and a yoke member 2 that supports the wheel 1 in a substantially longitudinal direction along a vertical plane orthogonal to the wheel support shaft 5. It is a stopper device provided with a movable member 3 supported so as to be able to reciprocate, and the movable member 3 is fitted to and detached from the valley 11 around the gear-like portion 10 by the reciprocating motion. A protrusion 18 and pedal portions 16 and 17 for reciprocating the movable member 3 are provided, and the wheel lock position where the protrusion 18 is fitted to the valley portion 11 and the protrusion 18 is the valley portion. Wheel lock released from 11 Movable member holding means for holding the position (the convex portion 15 and concave portion 22) is in the hotel's configuration.

  In carrying out the present invention having the above-described configuration, specifically, as described in claim 2, the movable member 3 includes the yoke member 2 and a head portion of the wheel support shaft 5 positioned outside the yoke member 2. It is comprised from the board | plate material pinched | interposed between (bolt head 6a), and the wheel support shaft 5 penetrates the yoke member 2 at the position away from the wheel support shaft 5 so as to be able to swing back and forth. A long hole 14 is provided, and the protrusion 18 is composed of a pin fixed to the movable member 3 at a position away from the yoke member 2 in the front-rear direction, and the pedal portions are located on both front and rear sides of the yoke member 2. Thus, a pair (the lock pedal portion 16 and the lock release pedal portion 17) can be provided. In this case, as described in claim 3, the shaft support portion of the movable member 3 with respect to the yoke member 2 is a plate material constituting the movable member 3 by the shaft hole 19 provided in the yoke member 2 and the upper end of the movable member. And a semi-cylindrical cylindrical portion 13 formed so as to fit into the shaft hole 19.

  Further, when the configuration described in claim 2 or 3 is adopted, as described in claim 4, the movable member holding means includes a shaft supporting portion (half-cut cylindrical portion 13 and shaft hole 19 of the movable member 3). ) And the wheel support shaft 5, it can be constituted by a convex portion 15 provided on one of the adjacent surfaces of the movable member 3 and the yoke member 2 and in pressure contact with the other adjacent surface. In this case, as described in claim 5, at least the wheel lock position where the protrusion 18 is fitted to the valley portion 11 of the gear-shaped portion 10 on the other of the adjacent surfaces of the movable member 3 and the yoke member 2. When there is the movable member 3 on the surface, the concave portion 22 into which the convex portion 15 is fitted can be provided.

  The trough portion 11 of the gear-shaped portion 10 of the wheel 1 has a U-shaped bottom portion 11a into which the projection 18 is fitted and a pointed peak portion 12 between the trough portions 11 as described in claim 6. It can comprise from the outward spread entrance part 11b to form.

  According to the stopper device for a caster according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, only one movable member having a protrusion and a pedal portion needs to be pivotally supported on the side of the yoke member that pivotally supports the wheel. As long as it can reciprocate substantially in the front-rear direction along a vertical plane orthogonal to the wheel support shaft, the structure is extremely simple with fewer parts compared to the configuration described in Patent Document 1. Yes, it can be implemented at low cost. In addition, when the wheel is locked, the protrusion on the movable member side is configured to fit into the trough around the wheel-shaped gear portion on the wheel side, so that the saw-tooth portion on the wheel side is configured as described in Patent Document 1. The wheel can be strongly locked as compared with the one that engages so that the sawtooth on the wheel stopper member side is wound.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the movable member that can be configured to be light and inexpensive from the plate material is pivotally supported by the yoke member so that the movable member can swing back and forth while the movable member is connected to the yoke member and the yoke member. Since positioning is performed between the head of the wheel support shaft located outside, even if the movable member is formed of a thin plate, the movable member can be firmly held at a fixed position, and a reliable operation can be performed. Further, in the shaft support portion of this movable member, the shaft portion and the shaft hole only need to be fitted to each other, and the wheel support shaft also serves as a means for preventing the shaft portion and the shaft hole from being detached. Therefore, the structure is simple and can be implemented at low cost. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to use another shaft body as a separate part to support the movable member, and the number of parts can be reduced and the operation can be carried out at a lower cost.

  Moreover, according to the structure of Claim 4, it is only necessary to provide a convex portion on one of the adjacent surfaces of the movable member and the yoke member as the movable member holding means. Since the movable member is held by the frictional force between the wheel lock position where the protrusion is fitted to the valley and the wheel lock release position where the protrusion is detached from the valley, the movable member is the wheel. Compared to the case of using a spring that selectively switches between the lock position and the wheel lock release position, the structure is extremely simple and can be implemented at low cost. In this case, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the movable member can be accurately and reliably held at least at the wheel lock position with a simple structure.

  Furthermore, according to the configuration of claim 6, when the movable member is switched to the wheel lock position to lock the wheel and the protrusion is fitted to the trough of the gear-like portion on the wheel side, the protrusion is Even if it is displaced in the wheel circumferential direction with respect to the center of the trough, even in extreme cases, even if the projection is located exactly in the middle between the two troughs, the projection can be securely fitted into the trough relatively easily Wheel locking operation can be easily performed. In addition, the protrusion that moves and fits in the trough of the gear-like portion on the wheel side is located in the U-shaped bottom of the trough, and the protrusion is not in the trough even if rotational force acts on the wheel. Since the force in the direction of pushing out hardly acts, the wheel lock state can be reliably and strongly maintained.

  A specific embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a wheel, 2 is a yoke member that pivotally supports the wheel 1, and 3 is a movable member. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the yoke member 2 has a gate shape fixed to the lower side of the mounting seat plate 4, and the wheel 1 is supported between the lower ends of the left and right side plate portions 2a and 2b. The shaft 5 is rotatably supported. The support shaft 5 is composed of a bolt 6 having a head 6a at one end and a screw shaft portion at the other end, and a nut 7 screwed into the screw shaft portion, and a pair of bearings 8a and 8b. The wheel 1 is rotatably supported through the wheel. Reference numerals 9a and 9b denote a pair of bushes externally fitted to the bolt 6 in order to position the wheel 1 at the center position between the left and right side plate portions 2a and 2b of the yoke member 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheel 1 has a gear-shaped portion 10 formed integrally with the wheel 1 and a synthetic resin concentrically on one side thereof. FIG. 2 illustrates the wheel 1 in which the tire portion 1a and the rim portion 1b are integrally formed. However, the wheel portion 10 is separately formed of rubber or the like with respect to the rim portion 1b in which the gear-like portion 10 is integrally formed of synthetic resin. The wheel 1 to which the tire portion 1a of the component is fitted and fixed may be used. The gear-shaped portion 10 is configured such that valleys 11 and peaks 12 are alternately arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and each valley 11 has a U-shaped bottom 11 a and a pointed peak between the valleys 11. It is comprised from the outward spread entrance part 11b which forms the part 12. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the movable member 3 is composed of a single plate material (metal plate), and is formed in a half-cylindrical shape protruding on one side at the upper end of a triangular portion protruding upward from the center portion. (A shape obtained by cutting out the upper half of the horizontal cylindrical body) a portion 13, an arc-shaped long hole 14 centering on the half-cut cylindrical portion 13 at a position below the half-cut cylindrical portion 13, and the movable member 3 is formed integrally by extruding the plate material constituting 3 in a circular manner to the side where the half-cylindrical cylindrical portion 13 protrudes at an intermediate position between the half-cylindrical cylindrical portion 13 and the long hole 14, and the half-cylindrical cylindrical portion 13 and the convex portion. 15 and a locking pedal portion 16 formed by bending a plate material constituting the movable member 3 on one side of the center line passing through the long hole 14 to the side opposite to the side from which the half-cut cylindrical portion 13 protrudes. The plate material constituting the movable member 3 is halfway on the other side of the center line. The unlocking pedal portion 17 formed by bending the side opposite to the side from which the cylindrical portion 13 protrudes, and the protrusion protruding to the side from which the half cylindrical portion 13 protrudes below the locking pedal portion 16. 18. The protrusion 18 is composed of a separate pin 18a that is fixed to the plate member by welding in a state of penetrating the plate member constituting the movable member 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable member 3 configured as described above is disposed outside the side plate portion 2 a on the side adjacent to the gear-like portion 10 of the wheel 1, of the left and right side plate portions 2 a and 2 b of the yoke member 2. The half-cut cylindrical portion 13 is inserted into a shaft hole 19 (see FIG. 3) provided in the side plate portion 2a. At this time, the position of the shaft hole 19 is determined so that the long hole 14 of the movable member 3 overlaps with the insertion hole 20 of the wheel shaft support bolt 6 provided in the left and right side plates 2a, 2b of the yoke member 2. Yes. Therefore, with the movable member 3 set on the outside of the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2 as described above, the wheel shaft support bolt 6 is inserted into the long hole 14 and the side plate portion 2a of the movable member 3 from the tip screw shaft portion side. Are inserted between the bolt insertion hole 20, the bearings 8a, 8b and the bushes 9a, 9b of the wheel 1 positioned between the left and right side plate portions 2a, 2b, and the bolt insertion hole 20 of the side plate portion 2b, and outside the side plate portion 2b. Thus, the wheel 1 and the movable member 3 are assembled to the yoke member 2 by screwing and fastening the nut 7 to the tip screw shaft portion of the bolt 6.

  The tightening depth of the nut 7 for fixing the wheel support shaft 5 (bolt 6) is regulated by the length of the screw shaft portion of the bolt 6. When the nut 7 is tightened to the limit depth, the bolt 6 is The movable member 3 in a state of being sandwiched between the bolt head 6a and the side plate 2a of the yoke member 2 in a state where it does not move substantially axially between the left and right side plates 2a, 2b of the member 2, It will be supported so as to be able to reciprocate in the front-rear direction along a vertical plane perpendicular to the wheel support shaft 5 (bolt 6) around the half-cut cylindrical portion 13 (shaft hole 19). At this time, since the half-cylindrical portion 13 of the movable member 3 can move in a direction to come out of the shaft hole 19, the convex portion 15 of the movable member 3 is located between the half-cylindrical portion 13 and the long hole 14 of the movable member 3. With the elastic deflection to the outside of this part, the outer surface (adjacent surface with the movable member 3) 21 of the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2 is pressed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the locking pedal portion 16 and the protrusion 18 (pin 18 a) of the movable member 3 are positioned on one side of the front and rear of the yoke member 2 in a side view, and the unlocking pedal portion of the movable member 3. 17 is located on the other side of the front and rear sides of the yoke member 2 in a side view, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the unlocking pedal portion 17 is stepped down, and a wheel support shaft is attached to one end of the long hole 14 of the movable member 3. When the movable member 3 is at the wheel unlocking position where the wheel 5 abuts, the locking pedal portion 16 is at a level above the wheel support shaft 5, and the protrusion 18 is substantially in the front-rear direction from the gear-like portion 10 on the wheel 1 side. This state is maintained by a frictional force generated by pressure contact between the convex portion 15 on the movable member 3 side and the outer surface 21 of the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2. In such a wheel unlocking state, the wheel 1 can freely rotate around the support shaft 5, but when the wheel 1 is locked so as not to rotate, the locking pedal portion 16 is depressed.

  When the locking pedal portion 16 is stepped down, the movable member 3 has a projection 18 on the wheel 1 side along a vertical plane perpendicular to the wheel spindle 5 (bolt 6) centering on the half-cut cylindrical portion 13 (shaft hole 19). When the movable member 3 reaches the wheel lock position where the wheel spindle 5 contacts the other end of the long hole 14 of the movable member 3 as shown in FIG. The protrusion 18 fits into one trough portion 11 of the gear-like portion 10 on the wheel 1 side. As a result, the rotation of the wheel 1 (the rotation of the gear-shaped portion 10) is prevented by the protrusion 18 of the movable member 3, and the wheel 1 is locked. This wheel lock state can be held by the frictional force generated by the pressure contact between the convex portion 15 on the movable member 3 side and the outer side surface 21 of the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2, as in the wheel lock release state. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, when the movable member 3 reaches the wheel lock position, the concave portion 22 into which the convex portion 15 of the movable member 3 is fitted is formed on the outer surface of the side plate portion 2 a of the yoke member 2 (movable member 3. , The wheel lock state can be held more strongly. The concave portion 22 can be formed by a through hole provided in the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2, or can be formed by pressing to push the side plate portion 2a inward as shown in the drawing.

  Of course, the concave portion into which the convex portion 15 fits when the movable member 3 is at the wheel unlocking position shown in FIG. 1A is provided on the outer surface (side surface adjacent to the movable member 3) 21 of the side plate portion 2a of the yoke member 2. You can also.

  When the movable member 3 is switched from the wheel lock release position to the wheel lock position, the projection 18 of the movable member 3 is fitted into one trough portion 11 of the gear-like portion 10 on the wheel 1 side. Even if it does not correspond to the center of one trough portion 11 of the gear-shaped portion 10, when the projection 18 corresponds to the range of the outwardly extending entrance portion 11 b of the trough portion 11, the corresponding projection 18 extends outwardly. Even if the wheel 1 is slightly rotated through the slope on one side of 11b and can be inserted into the U-shaped bottom portion 11a, even if the projection 18 is at a position corresponding to exactly the middle between two adjacent valleys 11 In the state where the projection 18 is in contact with the top of the pointed peak 12, the projection 18 can be moved to any one of the valleys before and after the pointed peak 12 only by slightly shaking the cart using the caster back and forth. 11 It can be fitted. Then, the protrusion 18 fitted into the valley portion 11 enters the U-shaped bottom portion 11a of the valley portion 11, and in this state, the rotation direction of the U-shaped bottom portion 11a and the back-and-forth movement of the movable member 3 are caused by the rotation of the wheel 1. Since the movement direction of the accompanying projection 18 is substantially orthogonal, even if a rotational force acts on the wheel 1 (gear-like portion 10), the acting force in the direction pushed out from the U-shaped bottom portion 11a of the valley portion 11 is the projection 18. The wheel lock position of the movable member 3 is reliably maintained.

  Although the movable member 3 is provided with the locking pedal portion 16 and the unlocking pedal portion 17, only one of the pedal portions is provided, and the one pedal portion is stepped down or pushed up to move the movable member. 3 may be alternatively switched between a wheel lock release position and a wheel lock position. Further, although the protrusion 18 of the movable member 3 is configured by attaching a pin 18a which is a separate part, it can also be configured by a cut-and-raised tongue piece of a plate material constituting the movable member 3. Further, as the movable member holding means for holding the movable member 3 at the wheel lock position and the wheel lock release position, the convex portion 15 is provided on the movable member 3 side. However, the convex portion 15 may be provided on the yoke member 2 side. it can. In this case, when the concave portion 22 is used together, the concave portion 22 is provided on the movable member 3 side. Of course, instead of the convex portion 15 (or the convex portion 15 and the concave portion 22), the movable member 3 and the yoke member 2 are arranged so as to selectively hold the movable member 3 at the wheel lock position and the wheel lock release position. A spring can be interposed between the two.

Fig. A is a side view of the wheel unlocked state, and Fig. B is a partially cutaway side view of the wheel locked state. It is a vertical rear view of FIG. 1A. Fig. A is a side view of the yoke member, and Fig. B is a sectional view taken along line XX of Fig. A. It is a side view of a movable member. FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 4. Fig. A is a left side view of Fig. 4, and Fig. B is a right side view of Fig. 4. It is the YY sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheel 2 Yoke member 2a, 2b Left-right both-sides board part 3 of a yoke member 3 Movable member 5 Wheel spindle 6 Bolt (wheel spindle)
6a Bolt head 7 Nut (wheel support shaft)
8a, 8b Bearing 9a, 9b Bush 10 Gear-shaped portion 11 Valley portion 11a of gear-shaped portion U-shaped bottom portion 11b of valley portion Widening entrance portion 12 of valley portion Pointed mountain portion 13 between valley portions Semi-circular cylindrical portion (movable Member shaft support)
14 Arc-shaped long hole 15 Convex part (movable member holding means)
16 Locking pedal part 17 Unlocking pedal part 18 Protrusion 18a Pin (protrusion)
19 Shaft hole (movable member shaft support)
20 Bolt insertion hole 21 Adjacent surface 22 on the side of the yoke member to which the convex portion is pressed, concave portion (movable member holding means)

Claims (6)

  A gear-like portion provided concentrically with the wheel on the side of the wheel of the caster, and a yoke member pivotally supporting the wheel so as to be able to reciprocate substantially in the longitudinal direction along a vertical plane perpendicular to the wheel spindle. A stopper device comprising a movable member, wherein the movable member is reciprocally moved by a reciprocating movement of the protrusion that is engaged and disengaged with respect to a trough around the gear-shaped portion. And a movable member holding means for holding the movable member at a wheel lock position where the protrusion is fitted to the valley and a wheel lock release position where the protrusion is detached from the valley. The caster stopper device.   The movable member is made of a plate member sandwiched between the yoke member and a head portion of a wheel spindle located outside the yoke member, and is moved back and forth with respect to the yoke member at a position away from the wheel spindle. The pedal portion includes a long hole that is pivotally supported and through which the wheel support shaft passes, and the protrusion is configured by a pin fixed to the movable member at a position away from the yoke member in the front-rear direction. The caster stopper device according to claim 1, wherein a pair is provided so as to be positioned on both front and rear sides of the yoke member.   The shaft supporting portion of the movable member with respect to the yoke member is formed in such a manner that a shaft hole provided in the yoke member and a plate material constituting the movable member are pressed at the upper end of the movable member so as to be fitted into the shaft hole. The caster stopper device according to claim 2, comprising a cylindrical portion.   The movable member holding means is a convex portion provided on one of the adjacent surfaces of the movable member and the yoke member and in pressure contact with the other adjacent surface at an intermediate position between the shaft support portion and the wheel support shaft of the movable member. The caster stopper device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein:   The other of the adjacent surfaces of the movable member and the yoke member is provided with a concave portion into which the convex portion is fitted when there is a movable member at least at a wheel lock position where the projection is fitted into the trough portion of the gear-like portion. The caster stopper device according to claim 4. The trough part of the gear-shaped part of the said wheel is comprised from the U-shaped bottom part which the said protrusion fits, and the outward spreading | opening entrance part which forms a pointed-shaped peak part between each trough part, 1-5. The caster stopper device according to any one of the above.

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