JP2012051452A - Caster - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a caster which is easily and promptly manufactured with a smaller number of component items.SOLUTION: The caster includes: a pedestal member 1 which is attached to a member D to be attached; a supporting yoke 2 in which wheels 3 are pivotally attached at a lower end 2b so as to be freely rotated around a horizontal axis core; a plurality of first spheres 6 are set between a pedestal circular recessed groove 10 formed on the lower surface of the pedestal member 1 and an upper surface circular recessed groove 21 formed on the upper surface of a top plate section 20 of the supporting yoke 2; and a receiving member 8 which supports, from the under side, a plurality of second spheres 7 which are in contact with and roll in a lower surface circular recessed groove 22 formed at the lower surface of the top plate section 20. A shaft member 5, which has an outer guard section 51 on one end 5a side and in which a hole with a bottom is formed on the other end 5b side, is inserted through the pedestal member 1 and the receiving member 8 in a vertical axis core L1 direction, and a pull-out stop guard section 53 is formed by pushing out the other end side of the shaft member 5 to a radial outer side by plastic working. The outer guard section 51 is densely brought into contact with the pedestal member 1, and the pull-out stop guard section 53 is densely brought into contact with the receiving member 8. Thereby, the pedestal member 1 and the supporting yoke 2 are mutually and pivotally attached so as to be freely rotated around the vertical axis core L1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a caster.

  Conventionally, a caster attached to the lower surface of a transport cart or the like includes a pedestal member attached to the lower surface of a mounted member such as a cargo bed, and a support yoke in which a wheel rotating around a horizontal axis is pivotally attached to the lower end. A shaft member that includes a receiving member that supports a spherical body that is in rolling contact with the lower surface of the top plate portion of the support yoke, and a shaft member that has an outer flange portion on one end side, and the base member, the support yoke, and the receiving member are inserted through the shaft member. The lower end side of the slab was crushed and pivotally attached (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-237759 A

However, as in the caster described in Patent Document 1 or the caster of the reference example shown in FIG. 4, the crimping force 59 ′ is equal only with the crushing portion 59 ′ formed by crushing the lower end 5b ′ side of the shaft member 5 ′. And since it cannot transmit to the receiving member 8 reliably, it was necessary to interpose the press washer 9 'between the crushing part 59' and the receiving member 8 '.
Providing such a press washer 9 ′ has a problem that it takes time to crush the shaft member 5 ′, and there are problems that the number of parts and the number of assembling / setup steps are increased. Further, the crushing of the shaft member can be processed only by a large press having a pressing ability of 20 t or more, and there is a problem that the production efficiency and work efficiency are poor.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a caster that has a small number of parts and can be manufactured easily and quickly.

In order to achieve the above object, a caster according to the present invention includes a pedestal member attached to a member to be attached, a support yoke on which a wheel is pivotally attached to a lower end so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis, and A plurality of first spheres interposed between a base annular groove formed on the bottom surface, an upper surface annular groove formed on the top surface of the top plate portion of the support yoke, and a bottom surface formed on the bottom surface of the top plate portion And a receiving member that supports a plurality of second spheres rollingly contacted with the annular groove from below, and a shaft member having an outer flange portion on one end side and having a bottomed hole on the other end side, Are inserted into the base member and the receiving member in a skewered manner, and the other end side of the shaft member is spread radially outward by plastic working to form a retaining collar part, and the outer collar part is The pedestal member is closely attached and the retaining collar is closely attached to the receiving member. The wood and the support yoke mutually is obtained by pivotally rotatably to the vertical axis around.
Further, the inner peripheral edge portion of the pedestal member and the inner peripheral edge portion of the receiving member are directly crimped by the outer flange portion and the retaining flange portion of the shaft member.

  According to the present invention, since the retaining collar portion of the shaft member is in close contact with the receiving member and can securely transmit the crimping force, a pressing washer is not required, the number of parts can be reduced, and the number of assembly steps and setup steps can be reduced. Can be reduced. Since there is no need to crush the shaft member, there is no need for a large press, which can contribute to simplification of production facilities and production efficiency.

It is a principal part cross-section side view which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part cross-sectional side view which shows an example of a shaft member. It is a principal part cross-sectional side view of other embodiment. It is a principal part sectional side view of a reference example.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.
In the caster of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a wheel member 3 is pivotally attached to a lower end 2b, and a base member 1 attached to a member D to be attached such as a carrier of a carriage and a horizontal axis. The pedestal member 1 and the support yoke 2 are pivotably attached to each other around the vertical axis L1.

  Furthermore, a plurality of first spheres 6 interposed between a base annular groove 10 formed on the bottom surface of the base member 1 and an upper surface annular groove 21 formed on the top surface of the top plate portion 20 of the support yoke 2, and a support A second sphere 7 which is in rolling contact with a lower surface annular groove 22 formed on the lower surface of the top plate portion 20 of the yoke 2, and a receiving annular groove 80 which is in contact with the second sphere 7 from below and supports the second sphere 7 from below. Is formed between the lower surface of the inner peripheral edge 1d of the base member 1 and the upper surface of the inner peripheral edge 8d of the receiving member 8; I have.

  The pedestal member 1, the top plate portion 20 of the support yoke 2, the receiving member 8, and the intermediate spacer 4 have a center hole penetrating in the direction of the vertical axis L1. The pedestal member 1, the support yoke 2, and the receiving member 8 are formed by plastic processing of a metal plate member. The support yoke 2 is provided with a top plate portion 20 in which the first sphere 6 is in rolling contact with the upper surface and the second sphere 7 is in contact with the lower surface, and is suspended downward from the top plate portion 20, and the wheel 3 is pivotally attached. It has a pair of left and right support legs.

  And the shaft member 5 for pivotally attaching to the base member 1 and the support yoke 2 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer flange portion 51 formed on the one end (upper end) 5a side, the substantially solid cylindrical portion 55, and the bottomed hole 52 formed on the other end (lower end) 5b side, The shaft member 5 having the cylindrical portion 54 (the retaining collar portion planned portion 54) formed on the other end 5b side by forming the bottomed hole 52 is formed, and the formed shaft member 5 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the cylindrical portion is inserted into the center hole of the base member 1, the center hole of the intermediate spacer 4, the center hole of the support yoke 2, and the center hole of the receiving member 8 in a skewered manner. The retaining member 53 and the support yoke 2 are pivotally mounted by pushing 54 outwardly in the radial direction by plastic working to form a retaining collar 53. Further, the outer flange portion 51 is closely attached to the upper surface side of the inner peripheral edge portion 1 d of the base member 1, and the retaining hook portion 53 is closely attached to the lower surface side of the inner peripheral edge portion 8 d of the member 8 and pivotally attached.

  The actual plastic working procedure is such that the one end 5a side of the shaft member 5 is placed on a base such as a lower die for processing, and the top plate of the base member 1, the intermediate spacer 4, and the support yoke 2 in order. The portion 20 and the receiving member 8 are inserted and arranged in a laminated manner on the outer flange portion 51, and a plurality of first spheres 6 are interposed between the base member 1 and the top plate portion 20, and the top plate After the plurality of second spheres 7 are interposed between the portion 20 and the receiving member 8, the retaining collar portion 53 is formed with an upper mold such as a punch.

In FIG. 2, the cylindrical portion 54 is a portion where the thickness T4 of the cylindrical portion 54 is formed substantially uniformly, and the inner diameter of the bottomed hole 52 is formed with substantially the same size. Part. The “substantially solid (solid state)” is thicker or more solid than the wall portion of the cylindrical portion 54. That is, the one end 5a side of the bent portion 53e of the retaining collar portion 53 is formed thicker or solider than the thickness T4 of the cylindrical portion 54 (the retaining collar portion 53).
In addition, a portion (columnar portion 55 and cylindrical portion 54) excluding the outer flange portion 51 may be referred to as a shaft portion 58. The shaft member 5 is formed by forging (cold forging) a metal material.

  The wall thickness T4 of the cylindrical portion 54 is set to 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. More preferably, it is set to 1 mm or more and less than 2.3 mm. The effective depth dimension (length dimension of the cylindrical part 54) L2 of the bottomed hole 52 is set to 20% or more and 70% or less of the length dimension L8 of the shaft part 58, and more preferably 35% or more and 60% or less. Set to. By forming within this range, the cylindrical portion 54 can be easily expanded with a small force (less than 20 t) to form the retaining collar portion 53, and the shaft member 5 has sufficient strength. A cylindrical portion 55 can be formed. The effective depth dimension is the depth dimension of the straight hole of the bottomed hole 52.

  Next, in the other embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate spacer 4 is omitted as compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the inner peripheral edge 1 d of the base member 1, and the inner peripheral edge 8 d of the receiving member 8. Are directly contacted and pressure-bonded. In other words, a flat inner peripheral edge 1d that is in surface contact with the inner peripheral edge 8d of the receiving member 8 is provided on the lower surface of the pedestal member 1, and a flat surface that is in surface contact with the inner peripheral edge 1d of the pedestal member 1 is provided on the upper surface of the receiving member 8. An inner peripheral edge 8d is provided. Other structures are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the caster of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the bottomed hole 52 is formed in advance before the plastic working, the cylinder can be surely and easily formed even with a weak pressing force of 2 t or less (0.5 to 2 t). The retaining portion 53 is formed by expanding the shape portion 54 radially outward of the shaft member 5. The retaining collar 53 sufficiently contacts the lower surface of the receiving member 8 directly. Compared with the crushing process, the other end 5b side of the shaft member 5 is crimped to the receiving member 8 in a uniform and planar manner in the circumferential direction, and the pressing washer 9 'as shown in the reference example of FIG. 4 is omitted. enable.

  Further, in FIG. 2, the one end 5a side of the bent portion 53e of the retaining collar portion 53 is formed thicker or more solid than the thickness T4 of the cylindrical portion 54 (the retaining collar portion 53). The bent portion 53e has sufficient strength, and a large external force (from the load placed on the attached member D through the receiving member 8 to return the retaining collar portion 53 to a cylindrical shape) The shape of the retaining collar portion 53 is maintained even when subjected to a load.

  Since the bottomed hole 52 is formed, the thickness dimension T4 of the retaining collar 53 (cylindrical part 54) can be easily set to a desired thickness by changing the diameter of the bottomed hole 52. The shaft member 5 corresponding to various loads can be easily formed.

  If the shaft member 5 is formed by bending a metal thin plate material, a cup-shaped member is formed by deep drawing, and then the bottom portion of the cup-shaped member is double-folded to form an outer collar portion. Therefore, a cylindrical shaft portion is formed, but a solid shaft portion is not formed. In other words, even if the opening side of this shaft member is expanded to form a collar part for retaining, the vicinity of the bent part is thin and weak, and when a large external force as described above is applied, the collar part returns to a cylindrical shape. Each member is detached due to deformation. Further, it is very difficult and inefficient to form a shaft member by bending such a metal thin plate material by plastic working. That is, the formation of the bottomed hole 52 as in the present invention is very effective in terms of both preventing slipping and improving production efficiency.

  Further, the first sphere 6 is brought into rolling contact with the pedestal member 1 and the support yoke 2, and the second sphere 7 is brought into rolling contact with the support yoke 2 and the receiving member 8, so that the pedestal member can be easily and smoothly with a small number of parts. 1 and the support yoke 2 rotate around the vertical axis L1.

  Further, the other embodiment shown in FIG. 3 enables the shaft member 5 to be reduced in size and weight in addition to the above-described operation. In addition, the number of parts can be further reduced, and the number of assembly steps and setup steps can be further reduced.

  In the present invention, the design can be changed, and the bottomed hole 52 may be cut by a drill or an end mill. Moreover, the magnitude | size and number of the 1st sphere 6 and the 2nd sphere 7 are free.

  As described above, the caster of the present invention includes the pedestal member 1 attached to the mounted member D, the support yoke 2 on which the wheel 3 is pivotally attached to the lower end 2b around the horizontal axis, and the pedestal member. A plurality of first spheres 6 interposed between a pedestal annular groove 10 formed on the lower surface of 1 and an upper surface annular groove 21 formed on the top surface of the top plate portion 20 of the support yoke 2; A receiving member 8 that supports the plurality of second spheres 7 that are in rolling contact with the lower annular groove 22 formed on the lower surface from below, and has an outer flange portion 51 on one end 5a side and a bottom on the other end 5b side. The shaft member 5 in which the hole 52 is formed is inserted into the pedestal member 1 and the receiving member 8 in a skewed manner in the direction of the vertical axis L1, and the other end 5b side of the shaft member 5 is pushed radially outward by plastic working. The retaining collar 53 is formed, the outer collar 51 is brought into close contact with the pedestal member 1, and the retaining collar 53 is brought into tight contact with the member 8, Since the seat member 1 and the support yoke 2 are pivotally attached to each other so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis L1, the retaining collar portion 53 of the shaft member 5 is in close contact with the receiving member 8 and can reliably transmit the crimping force. As a result, a conventional washer for pressing is not required, and the number of parts can be reduced, and the number of assembling steps and setup steps can be reduced. Since it is not necessary to crush the shaft member 5, it is possible to contribute to simplification of production equipment and production efficiency without requiring a large press. Can be manufactured easily and quickly.

  Further, since the inner peripheral edge 1d of the base member 1 and the inner peripheral edge 8d of the receiving member 8 are directly crimped by the outer collar 51 and the retaining collar 53 of the shaft member 5, the number of parts is further reduced. In addition, the assembly man-hours and setup man-hours can be further reduced. The shaft member 5 can be reduced in size and weight, and the entire caster can be reduced in weight.

1 Base member 1d Inner peripheral edge 2 Support yoke 2b Lower end 3 Wheel 5 Shaft member 5a One end 5b Other end 6 First sphere 7 Second sphere 8 Receiving member 8d Inner peripheral edge
10 Base annular groove
20 Top plate
21 Top annular groove
22 Bottom annular groove
51 Outer part
52 Bottomed hole
53 Retaining collar L1 Vertical axis D Mounted member

Claims (2)

A pedestal member (1) to be attached to the mounted member (D), a support yoke (2) to which a wheel (3) is pivotally attached to a lower end (2b) around a horizontal axis, and the pedestal member A plurality of pedestal annular grooves (10) formed on the lower surface of (1) and an upper surface annular groove (21) formed on the top surface of the top plate portion (20) of the support yoke (2). A first sphere (6), and a receiving member (8) for supporting a plurality of second spheres (7) in rolling contact with a lower annular groove (22) formed on the lower surface of the top plate portion (20) from below. With
The shaft member (5) having the outer flange portion (51) on one end (5a) side and the bottomed hole (52) formed on the other end (5b) side is connected to the pedestal member in the vertical axis (L1) direction. 1) and the receiving member (8) are inserted in a skewered manner, and the other end (5b) side of the shaft member (5) is spread radially outward by plastic working to prevent the retaining collar (53) The outer flange portion (51) is brought into close contact with the pedestal member (1), and the retaining hook portion (53) is brought into close contact with the receiving member (8), so that the pedestal member (1) and the support are supported. A caster characterized in that a yoke (2) is pivotally attached to each other around the vertical axis (L1). The inner peripheral edge (1d) of the pedestal member (1) and the inner peripheral edge (8d) of the receiving member (8) are connected to the outer flange (51) of the shaft member (5) and the retaining hook. The caster according to claim 1, wherein the caster is directly crimped by the portion (53).

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