JP2015193300A - caster - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a caster that can be reliably fixed.SOLUTION: A caster includes: a wheel 13 which is rotatable around an axle 22 directed horizontally; four stopper members 14; and a cam member 15 which is connected to a grip 16 and is rotated around the axle 22 by operation of the grip 16. When a main body 11 is fixed, four salients of the cam member 15 are engaged with recesses formed at end parts of the stopper members 14 on the axle 22 side. Consequently, each stopper member 14 is fixed at a stop position where a tip thereof projects from an outer periphery of the wheel 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to casters, and more particularly to a stopper mechanism for casters.

  The caster is used for the purpose of movably installing a relatively heavy main body. And this caster is provided with the stopper mechanism for fixing the position after installation of a main body.

  In such a caster stopper mechanism, a configuration is generally adopted in which the main body is prevented from moving by suppressing the rotation of the wheel itself in the caster by a mechanism or the like for bringing the brake shoe into contact with the wheel. (For example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2010-036784 A JP 2008-273266 A

  As described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when a configuration that prevents the movement of the main body by suppressing the rotation of the wheel is adopted, the ground contact area of the wheel is small, so even when the wheel does not rotate Sliding may occur and the body may not be securely fixed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a caster capable of reliably performing the fixing of the caster itself.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a wheel that is rotatable about an axle that is oriented in the horizontal direction, a storage position in which a tip is stored in the outer periphery of the wheel, and a stop position in which the tip protrudes from the outer periphery of the wheel. A plurality of stopper members that can reciprocate along the radial direction of the wheel, and rotate around the axle and abut against the stopper member, thereby stopping the stopper member from the storage position. And a cam member that presses in a direction toward the position.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, four or more stopper members are arranged around the axle.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a biasing member that biases the stopper member toward the axis of the axle is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the casters themselves can be reliably fixed to the floor surface by the action of the plurality of stoppers moved to the stop position.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the degree of freedom of the stop position of the caster can be increased, and the stopper member can be smoothly moved to the storage position as the wheel rotates.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the stopper member can be moved to the storage position by the action of the urging member.

It is a schematic diagram of the caster concerning this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the caster concerning this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the caster concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the stopper member 14 and the spring 21. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are schematic views of casters according to the present invention. Here, FIG. 1A is a side view when each stopper member 14 is disposed at the storage position, and FIG. 1B is a front view when each stopper member 14 is disposed at the storage position. . FIG. 2A is a side view when each stopper member 14 is disposed at the stop position, and FIG. 2B is a front view when each stopper member 14 is disposed at the stop position. 3A is a side view showing the arrangement of the wheel 13 and the stopper member 14 and the like, and FIG. 3B is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view thereof. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement relationship between the stopper member 14 and the spring 21. Here, FIG. 4A shows a state in which the stopper member 14 is arranged at the storage position, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which the stopper member 14 is arranged at the stop position.

  The caster according to the present invention is connected to the main body 11 via a support member 12, and is capable of rotating around a wheel shaft 22 facing in the horizontal direction, four stopper members 14, and a knob. 16, and a cam member 15 that rotates about the axle 22 by operating the knob 16. As the main body 11, for example, a member that is relatively heavy and needs to move, such as a power transformer of a medical X-ray imaging apparatus, is used.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (a), the four stopper members 14 have a storage position where the tip is stored in the outer periphery of the wheel 13, and a tip as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 (b). Is capable of reciprocating along the radial direction of the wheel 13 between a stop position protruding from the outer periphery of the wheel 13. As shown in FIG. 4, these stopper members 14 are arranged in a space portion 23 formed in the wheel 13. The stopper member 14 is urged toward the axle 22 by the action of the spring 21 as the urging member, and the large-diameter portion 19 formed on the stopper member 14 contacts the flange portion 17 formed on the wheel 13. Stop by touching.

  The cam member 15 has a shape having four convex portions corresponding to the four stopper members 14. The cam member 15 abuts against a recess 18 (see FIG. 4A) formed at the end of the stopper member 14 on the axle 22 side, so that each stopper member 14 is placed in FIGS. 1 and 4A. Is pressed in the direction toward the stop position shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.

  In the caster having such a configuration, when the main body 11 is moved, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A, each stopper member 14 is disposed at the storage position where the tip is stored in the outer periphery of the wheel 13. To do. As a result, the wheel 13 and each stopper member 14 rotate about the axle 22 and the main body 11 can be moved.

  On the other hand, when the main body 11 is fixed, the operator operates the knob 16 to rotate the cam member 15, and the four convex portions of the cam member 15 are concave portions formed at the end portions of the stopper members 14 on the axle 22 side. 18 (see FIG. 4A). As a result, each stopper member 14 moves in the direction of the axle 22 against the urging force of the spring 21, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4B, the stopper member 14 is at a stop position where the tip protrudes from the outer periphery of the wheel 13. Fixed. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pair of stopper members 14 abut against the floor surface 20. For this reason, it is possible to reliably prevent the movement of the caster, that is, the movement of the main body 11.

  When the main body 11 is moved again, the cam member 15 is rotated by operating the knob 16 by the operator, and the four convex portions of the cam member 15 and the end portions on the axle 22 side of the stopper members 14 are formed. The engagement relationship with the recess 18 is released. Thereby, each stopper member 14 is arrange | positioned by the urging | biasing force of the spring 21 in the accommodation position shown to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 (a).

  In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which the caster is fixed to the floor surface 20 by the action of the four stopper members 14 is employed. It suffices that at least two stopper members 14 are arranged and abut against the floor surface 20 at the same time. However, when the number of the stopper members 14 is two, it is necessary to set the angle formed by the reciprocating movement direction to an angle smaller than 180 degrees, and the caster can be fixed only at the angular position. On the other hand, when three or more stopper members 14 are arranged around the axle 22 at equal intervals, the degree of freedom increases with respect to the fixing position of the caster. When the number of the stopper members 14 is increased, the moving distance between the storage position and the stop position of each stopper member 14 can be reduced. For this reason, it is preferable to arrange four or more stopper members 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, each stopper member 14 is biased toward the storage position by the action of the spring 21 in the axle direction. However, the spring 21 is omitted, and each stopper member 14 is connected to the wheel 13. You may make it move to a storage position from a stop position with the pressing force from the floor surface 20 accompanying rotation. At this time, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the four stopper members 14 are arranged at equal intervals every 90 degrees around the axle 22. When such a configuration is adopted, the crossing angle between the floor surface 20 and the reciprocating direction of each stopper member 14 is 45 degrees. In this case, it is only necessary to release the contact state between the cam member 15 and each stopper member 14 by chamfering or rounding the contact portion of each stopper member 14 with the floor surface 20. Even when each stopper member 14 receives a pressing force from the floor surface 20 with the rotation of the wheel 13 and the spring 21 is omitted, each stopper member 14 can be moved from the stop position to the storage position. Thus, even when the spring 21 is omitted, in order to move each stopper member 14 from the stop position to the storage position, it is preferable to dispose four or more stopper members 14.

  As the material of the stopper member 14, a resin can be used when the floor surface 20 is a soft material such as a vinyl floor, and a metal is used when the floor surface 20 is a rough surface such as asphalt. Can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Main body 12 Support member 13 Wheel 14 Stopper member 15 Cam member 16 Knob 17 Flange part 18 Recessed part 19 Large diameter part 20 Floor surface 21 Spring 22 Axle 23 Space part

Claims (3)

Wheels that can rotate around an axle that faces horizontally,
A plurality of stopper members capable of reciprocating along the radial direction of the wheel between a storage position where the tip is stored in the outer periphery of the wheel and a stop position where the tip protrudes from the outer periphery of the wheel;
A cam member that rotates about the axle and contacts the stopper member to press the stopper member in a direction from the storage position toward the stop position;
A caster characterized by comprising. The caster according to claim 1, wherein
The stopper member is a caster in which four or more stopper members are arranged around the axle. The caster according to claim 1 or 2,
A caster comprising a biasing member that biases the stopper member toward the axis of the axle.

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