JP2579718B2 - Casters - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a caster mounted on a lower portion of furniture or the like, and more particularly, to a caster which can be used in both a state where a brake member for preventing rotation of a wheel is provided and a state where the brake member is removed. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a two-wheel type caster having a pair of wheels rotatably supported on a caster body via an axle is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-60-110505 and JP-A-61-110601. As shown, a window hole is provided in the wheel cover portion of the caster body to prevent rotation of the wheel, and a brake lever is inserted from the outside of the window hole, and an elastic deformation is provided in the middle of the lever. A possible C-shaped support portion is supported by a support recess provided inside the window hole so that the lever can swing freely, and a swing operation portion provided at the outer end of the brake lever is moved from the window hole to the swing operation portion. A caster with a brake that protrudes outward so that, by operating this swing operation part, the braking projection provided on the inner end of the brake lever can be engaged with and disengaged from the web provided on the inside of the wheel. It is known.

[0003]

Generally, a plurality of casters of this kind are mounted on a lower part of furniture or the like (normally, four casters), and one or two of them are provided with a brake, and the rest are provided with no brake. Is used.

However, in the conventional caster with a brake, since a window hole for mounting a brake lever is provided in a wheel cover portion of the caster body, the caster body is of a type exclusively for casters with a brake and casters without a brake. It cannot be used for business. If the brake lever is removed from the caster, a window hole penetrating in and out of the wheel cover portion of the caster body remains open, resulting in a very poor appearance, which is not practical.

For this reason, conventionally, two types of caster bodies are required: a caster body provided with the above-described window hole and lever supporting recess for a caster with a brake, and a caster body closed with the above-mentioned window hole for a caster without a brake. This has made the production and inventory management complicated, and this has led to an increase in cost.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and enables the caster main body to be used for both casters with a brake and casters without a brake. In particular, the appearance is impaired even without a brake mechanism. Without
It is an object of the present invention to provide a caster which can be used in a good format, has a simple structure, facilitates production and inventory management, and can reduce costs.

In the caster according to the present invention, a caster body is formed by integrally connecting a mounting portion to furniture or the like and a wheel cover to a wheel bearing portion via an intermediate wall, and the wheel is rotatable on the wheel bearing portion. A brake member is swingably attached to one end of the intermediate wall inside one end of the wheel cover, and a braking portion for the wheel is provided at one end of the brake member. The caster body protrudes outward from one end of the intermediate wall around one end of the wheel cover, and at the protruding end thereof, a braking position for preventing rotation of the wheel by the braking portion, A swing operation portion is provided for swinging the brake member between a brake release position for canceling the rotation inhibition, and the brake member is detachably attached to the intermediate wall. And it is characterized in that the attached (claim 1).

In the above-mentioned caster, a pair of wheels are rotatably held at both axial ends of a wheel bearing portion of the caster body, and the pair of wheels are of the same shape, each having a disk-shaped wheel body, and a center of the inner surface of each body. A boss portion protruding inward in the axial direction at the portion, a cylindrical rim extending inward in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the main body, and a radially protruding portion on the inner peripheral portion of the rim in the circumferential direction. With a plurality of webs installed,
The brake member may be provided with a pair of brake rods that engage and disengage from the webs of the two wheels by swinging the brake member (claim 2).

A notch for inserting a pivot bearing of a brake member is provided so as to be recessed inward in the circumferential direction at one end of the intermediate wall inside one end of the wheel cover of the caster body. A bearing portion that is recessed inward in the radial direction is provided, and an elastically deformable retaining projection is provided at a boundary between the notch and the bearing portion.

The brake member is a single member made of a plastic molded product having an appropriate flexibility, and has a pair of swinging members opposing in the caster axial direction with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the intermediate wall of the caster body. A pair of brake rods, each of which is axially outwardly protruded at one end of each swing rod so as to engage with the web on the inner periphery of the wheel at the brake position and separate from the web at the brake release position, A pivot shaft provided between opposed inner surfaces of a longitudinally intermediate portion of each swinging rod to detachably and swingably support the brake member on one end of an intermediate wall of the caster body; In the supporting state, a detour portion that protrudes outward from the caster body by detouring from one end of the intermediate wall and one end of the wheel cover from the other end of the swinging rod, and is connected to the outer end of the detour. Swing operation part and Comprises (Claim 4).

Further, stopper means for holding the brake member at the brake position and the brake release position are provided on the intermediate wall of the caster main body.

[0012]

According to the caster of the present invention, one end of the brake member is removably and swingably supported on the intermediate wall inside the wheel cover of the caster body, and the other end is the wheel. Since it protrudes outward by bypassing the cover, it is not necessary to provide a window hole to allow the brake member to protrude to the outside as in the conventional product on the wheel cover, making the caster look beautiful. In particular, when a caster is commercialized as a product without a brake, a wheel cover can be applied thereto. Moreover, since there is no unsightly window, the commercial value of the product without brakes does not decrease. In addition, by manufacturing the caster body independently of the brake member and mounting the brake member on the caster body later according to demand, a caster with a brake member can be easily obtained, and the brake member can be used. By not installing the caster, the caster body can be shipped as a caster without a brake member, which is excellent in responding to fluctuations in demand, and it is easy to use common parts for the two types of casters with and without a brake. It is possible to improve mass productivity, and it is also possible to carry out inventory management efficiently, which is extremely effective in reducing the production cost and storage cost of casters.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the two wheels are simultaneously engaged and disengaged by the pair of brake rods provided on the brake member and the web provided on the inner periphery of both wheels. Braking and release can be performed reliably, and the operability of the brake is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the support portion of the brake member is constituted by the notch for inserting the pivot bearing and the bearing portion continuous with the notch, the structure of the support portion can be simplified, and the caster main body can be simplified. The manufacturing of the brake member is further facilitated, and the attachment and detachment of the brake member is also facilitated, so that the brake member can be supported with good stability in a supported state.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, the swinging rod,
By molding the brake member consisting of the brake rod, pivot, detour, and swing operation part as a single member, mass productivity can be improved, further reducing costs and greatly improving brake operability. it can.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the brake member can be accurately held at both the braking position and the release position by the stopper means provided on the intermediate wall, and the usability can be further improved. Practicality can be improved.

[0017]

1 to 5 and 6 (a) show an embodiment in which the caster of the present invention is used as a caster with a brake.
FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (c) show embodiments in which the present invention is used as a caster without a brake.

The caster of the present invention has five parts when it is equipped with a brake, namely, a caster body 1, a pair of wheels 2 and 3 having the same shape, an axle 4, and a brake member 5, and has no brake. In this case, it is constituted by four parts in which the brake member 5 is omitted. Of these components, the axle 4 is made of metal, and the others are plastic molded products.

The caster body 1 has a wheel bearing portion 12 having a horizontal shaft hole 11 as apparent from FIGS.
An arc-shaped wheel cover 14 that extends in the axial direction through an intermediate wall 13 having a substantially fan-shaped side surface is integrally connected to an intermediate portion in the axial direction, and a rear portion of the intermediate wall 13 and the wheel cover 14. On the left side in FIG. 4, there is provided a bottomed cylindrical mounting portion 16 having a vertical pivot hole 15 for mounting the caster to furniture or the like. Reference numeral 17 denotes a reinforcing rib.

In the caster body 1, the brake member 5 is attached to one end of the intermediate wall 13 inside one end of the wheel cover 14, that is, inside the end opposite to the mounting portion 16.
Are provided. The support portion 6 is opened downward at one end of the intermediate wall 13 so as not to penetrate the wheel cover 14, and is formed with a notch 61 for inserting a pivot bearing that is recessed inward from the opening in the circumferential direction. A notch-shaped bearing portion 62, which is continuously recessed inward in the radial direction, is formed at the inner end of the notch 61 for inserting a pivot bearing. At the boundary between the notch 61 and the bearing portion 62, elastically deformable retaining projections 63 and 64 are provided.

On the other hand, the wheels 2 and 3 are provided with disk-shaped wheel bodies 21 and 31, respectively.
An axial hole 22, which opens inward in the axial direction,
Bosses 23 and 33 provided with
Cylindrical rim 2 extending inward in the axial direction on the outer periphery of 1, 31
4 and 34, and a plurality of webs 25 and 3 are arranged radially at regular intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner periphery of the rims 24 and 34.
5 are integrally protruded.

An intermediate portion in the axial direction of the wheel shaft 4 is fixed to the wheel bearing portion 12 of the caster main body 1 by interference fitting, and each of the wheels 2 and 3 is attached to both ends of the wheel shaft 4 protruding from the wheel bearing portion 12. Boss part 23,
7 (a) to 7 (c), the caster without a brake shown in FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (c) is assembled.

Here, especially in the caster body 1,
Since the brake member support 6 is provided at one end of the intermediate wall 13 inside one end of the wheel cover 14 without penetrating the wheel cover 14, the wheel cover 1
Reference numeral 4 covers the upper halves of the wheels 2 and 3 while keeping the original shape of the arc plate. Moreover, the brake member support 6
Is hidden inside the wheel cover 14 and between the left and right wheels 2 and 3. For this reason, the position of the brake member supporting portion 6 can be slightly confirmed in a bottom view, and is not seen from outside, that is, from any of the front, back, flat, and right and left side surfaces. Therefore, even when used as a caster without brake as shown in FIGS.
It is used very well without deteriorating its appearance.

Next, a case where the above-described caster is used as a caster with a brake will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the brake member 5 has a pair of swinging rods 51, 52 opposed to each other in the caster axial direction with a gap 50 corresponding to the thickness of the intermediate wall 13 of the caster body 1.
It has. A pivot 53 is integrally provided between opposing inner surfaces at a longitudinally intermediate portion of each of the swinging rods 51 and 52,
At one end of each swinging rod 51, 52, a braking rod 54, 55 projecting outward in the axial direction is provided. Double swinging rod 5
A swing operation portion 58 extending outward through a detour portion including a horizontal portion 56 and a rising portion 57 is integrally connected to the other ends of the first and second members 52. Note that the detour portions 56 and 57 may be formed in a U shape or a V shape. In the brake member 5, the distance between the distal ends of the braking rods 54 and 55 is larger than the distance between the opposing inner surfaces of the rims 24 and 34 of the wheels 2 and 3, and the distance between the inner surfaces of the wheel bodies 23 and 33. It is formed smaller than the distance.

The brake member 5 is fitted to the support portion 6 provided on the intermediate wall 13 of the caster main body 1 from below in a fitting manner. The mounting of this brake member 5
It can be performed before or after the wheels 2 and 3 are attached to the caster body 1. When the caster without brake is assembled first as described above, the mounting of the brake member 5 may be performed as follows.

That is, in a state where the brake member 5 is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the caster, the two brake rods 54 and 55
Of the brake rods 54 and 55 by returning the brake member 5 to be parallel to the caster axial direction.
4 inside. Next, the brake member 5 is pushed upward, and both brake rods 54, 55 and both swinging rods 51, 5 are moved.
2 is arranged along both side surfaces of the intermediate wall 13 of the caster main body 1, and the pivot 53 is inserted into the pivot bearing notch 61 of the support portion 6,
Further, the brake member 5 is moved inward in the radial direction of the caster, and the pivot 53 is prevented from coming off from the notch 61 by a protrusion 63,
64 and is pushed into the bearing portion 62. At this time, the projections 63 and 64 are once elastically deformed in the radially expanding direction by the passage of the pivot 53 and then elastically returned in the radially reduced direction, whereby the pivot 53 is fitted to the bearing portion 62 and the brake member 6 is moved to the intermediate wall 13 It is supported swingably.

When mounting the brake member 5,
At least the swing operation portion 58 and the rising portion 57 protrude outward from between the wheels 2 and 3 below one end of the wheel cover 14 of the caster body 1. Therefore, the mounting operation can be easily performed with the protruding portion.
In order to remove the brake member 5, the operation may be performed in the reverse order.

Thus, the brake member 5 is
1 to 3 and 6 (a) to
The caster with brake shown in (c) is obtained. According to the caster with a brake, the swing operation portion 58 of the brake member 5 includes the swinging rods 51 and 52, the bypass portion 56, and the rising portion 5.
The wheel member 14 protrudes outward from the intermediate wall 13 of the caster main body 1 via one end, bypassing one end of the wheel cover 14, and the swing operation portion 58 allows the brake member 5 to be easily swung from the outside.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the brake rods 54, 55 of the brake member 5 are engaged between the webs 25, 25 formed on the inner circumferences of the rims of the wheels 2, 3, so that The rotation of the wheels 2 and 3 is prevented. At the braking position of the brake member 5, the swinging rods 54, 55 are engaged with stopper projections 18, 19 provided on the left and right sides of the intermediate wall 13 of the caster body 1. Each of the projections 18 and 19 has a substantially hemispherical cross-sectional shape and a substantially semicircular side shape, and a substantially semicircular stopper surface 181 or 191 is provided on the chord side (the front side of the caster body). The swinging rod 51,
One side of 52 is engaged. As a result, the brake member 5 is held at the brake position, and the brake rods 54, 55
And the webs 25, 25 are held in an engaged state, and the rotation of the wheels 2, 3 is reliably prevented. Furniture or the like to which the casters are attached is securely held at a fixed position.

When the swing operation portion 58 of the brake member 5 is operated to be kicked up from the state shown in FIG. 1, the swing rods 51, 52 are elastically deformed in the expanding direction, and the stopper projections 18, 52 are formed. 19, the entire brake member 5 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 and swings to the brake release position shown in FIG. 2, and the brake rods 54, 55 come off the webs 25, 25, and the brake is released. Is done. At this time, the brake rod 5
Reference numerals 4 and 55 are located in annular spaces between the inner end portions of the webs 25 and 25 and the boss portions 22 and 32 of the wheels 2 and 3. Therefore, the wheels 2 and 3 can freely rotate without being interfered with by the brake rods 54 and 55, and furniture or the like to which the casters are attached can be moved at will.

After assembling the casters with brakes, the brake member 5 can be easily removed and re-attached easily, and the casters with brakes and the casters without brakes can be used as required by the customer. They can be used at will.

The caster according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the webs 25, 25 of the wheels 2, 3 and the brake rods 54, 55 of the brake member 5 are provided.
Can be arbitrarily set as desired. Although the stopper projections 18 and 19 are provided as means for holding the brake member 5 at the brake position and the release position, the shape, number and position of the stoppers can be arbitrarily set. For example, swinging rod 5
Spherical projections are provided on either one of the inner surface of the first and second surfaces 52 and the surface of the intermediate wall 13, and the engaging recesses or through holes of the projections are provided on the other. You may make it hold.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the brake member is detachably and swingably supported at one end on the intermediate wall inside the wheel cover of the caster body. Since the end protrudes outward bypassing the wheel cover, it is not necessary to provide a window hole for letting the brake member protrude to the outside as in the conventional wheel cover. When the caster is commercialized as a product without brakes, the wheel cover can be applied to the product. Moreover, since there is no unsightly window, the commercial value of the product without brakes does not decrease. In addition, by manufacturing the caster body independently of the brake member and mounting the brake member on the caster body later according to demand, a caster with a brake member can be easily obtained, and the brake member can be used. By not installing the caster, the caster body can be shipped as a caster without a brake member, which is excellent in responding to fluctuations in demand, and it is easy to use common parts for the two types of casters with and without a brake. It is possible to improve mass productivity, and it is possible to efficiently perform inventory management, which is extremely advantageous in reducing the production costs and storage costs of casters.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by engaging and disengaging a pair of brake rods provided on the brake member and a web provided on the inner periphery of both wheels, both wheels are simultaneously connected. Braking and release can be performed reliably, and the operability of the brake is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the support portion of the brake member is constituted by the notch for inserting the pivot bearing and the bearing portion continuous with the notch, the structure of the support portion can be simplified, and the caster body is provided. The manufacturing of the brake member is further facilitated, and the attachment and detachment of the brake member is also facilitated, so that the brake member can be supported with good stability in a supported state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the swinging rod,
By molding the brake member consisting of the brake rod, pivot, detour, and swing operation part as a single member, mass productivity can be improved, further reducing costs and greatly improving brake operability. it can.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the brake member can be accurately held at both the braking position and the release position by the stopper means provided on the intermediate wall, and the usability can be further improved. Practicality can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 6 (a), showing an embodiment in which the caster of the present invention is used as a caster with a brake, showing a braking state of a wheel by a brake member.

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a state in which a brake is released from a wheel by the brake member.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to the line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the caster main body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a brake member.

6A is an external front view of the caster with a brake, FIG. 6B is an external plan view thereof, and FIG. 6C is a partially cutaway bottom view thereof.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the caster of the present invention is used as a caster without a brake, wherein (a) is an external front view, (b) is an external plan view, and (c) is an external bottom view. It is.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Caster main body 11 Shaft hole 12 Wheel bearing part 13 Intermediate wall 14 Wheel cover 16 Attachment part to furniture etc. 2,3 Wheel 21,31 Wheel main body 22,32 Shaft hole 23,33 Boss part 24,34 Rim 25,35 Web Reference Signs List 4 wheel shaft 5 brake member 51, 52 swinging rod 53 pivot 54, 55 braking rod 56 horizontal part (detour part) 57 rising part (detour part) 58 rocking operation part

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A caster body is formed by integrally connecting a mounting portion to furniture or the like and a wheel cover to a wheel bearing portion via an intermediate wall, and a wheel body is rotatably supported by the wheel bearing portion. , at one end of the intermediate wall at one end inside the wheel cover mounted for braking member GaYura dynamic braking unit for the wheel provided at one end of the brake member, the other end of the brake member is said caster body A brake position at which the wheel is prevented from rotating by the braking portion, and a brake position at which the wheel is prevented from rotating by the braking portion. to release the of the brake release position
Rocking operation section Ru to oscillate the brake member is provided between,
The brake member is detachably attached to the intermediate wall.
A caster characterized by being attached . 2. A pair of wheels are rotatably held at both axial ends of a wheel bearing portion of the caster main body. The pair of wheels have the same shape, each having a disk-shaped wheel main body, and a central portion on the inner surface of each main body. A boss protruding inward in the axial direction, a cylindrical rim extending inward in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the main body, and a radially protruding protrusion on the inner peripheral portion of the rim at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. The caster according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of webs, wherein the brake member is provided with a pair of brake rods that engage and disengage with the webs of the two wheels by swinging thereof. 3. A notch for inserting a pivot bearing of a brake member is provided on one end of the intermediate wall inside one end of the wheel cover of the caster body so as to be recessed inward in the circumferential direction. 3. The bearing according to claim 1, wherein a bearing portion is provided which is recessed inward in the radial direction, and an elastically deformable retaining projection is provided at a boundary between the notch and the bearing portion. Casters. 4. The brake member is constituted by a single member made of a plastic molded product having an appropriate flexibility.
A pair of swinging rods which are opposed to each other in the caster axial direction with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the intermediate wall of the caster body, and each swinging rod is engaged with a web on the inner periphery of the wheel at a brake position and separated from the web at a brake release position. A pair of braking rods protruding axially outward at one end of the moving rod, and respective rocking rods for detachably and swingably supporting the brake member at one end of an intermediate wall of the caster body. A pivot provided between opposed inner surfaces of a longitudinally intermediate portion of the vehicle, and a caster which bypasses one end of the intermediate wall and one end of the wheel cover from the other end of the swinging rod while the brake member is supported. 3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising: a detour portion protruding outward from the main body; and a swing operation portion connected to an outer end of the detour portion.
Or the caster according to 3. 5. The caster according to claim 1, wherein a stopper for holding the brake member at the brake position and the brake release position is provided on an intermediate wall of the caster body.