JP2591732Y2 - suitcase - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suitcase having an improved caster mounting structure for facilitating transportation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the remarkable increase of long-distance travelers using airplanes and the like, opportunities for using large suitcases are increasing. In order to easily transport this large and heavy suitcase with as little effort as possible by a traveler himself, it has been customary to attach a caster to the bottom of the suitcase. When carrying a suitcase using the casters, generally, the direction along the uneven plane of the suitcase is directed to the movement direction, and the handle of the case is grasped and pulled or pushed (hereinafter referred to as vertical movement). Say)
The method has been adopted. As for the method of mounting the casters, just like the four wheels on the front and rear of the car, one set of left and right casters mounted on the rear side of the transport direction fixes the bearings of the wheels to the bottom of the suitcase to provide running stability In order to prevent the wheels from oscillating left and right, the pair of casters mounted on the front side in the transport direction mounts the bearings of the wheels 360 degrees rotatable left and right around its vertical rotation axis. Therefore, the moving direction of the suitcase can be easily changed.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] To carry a suitcase using attached casters, depending on circumstances, rather than moving the suitcase vertically, the suitcase is moved in a direction orthogonal to the uneven plane of the suitcase (hereinafter referred to as a horizontal direction). In this case, the distance between the pair of wheels in the moving direction is greatly increased, so that the straightness is significantly improved, and it is difficult to fall down when passing over an uneven surface or cornering. It is much easier to carry. However, in order to be able to move both horizontally and vertically according to the situation of the transportation place, it is necessary to make all four casters attached to the four corners of the bottom surface of the suitcase rotatable. However, if all four casters are made rotatable in this way, if you want to move the suitcase vertically in situations such as moving in crowds, go straight by the rear casters described above. Since the property retaining function is lost, the running stability of the suitcase is extremely deteriorated. And, in the conventional rear caster fixed, the rear wheel cannot be turned in the direction orthogonal to the direction along the deviated plane of the suitcase, so that the lateral movement which is much easier to carry cannot be performed. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a suitcase with casters that can be moved vertically and horizontally as required, and that does not cause deterioration of running stability when moved vertically. To be.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a suitcase according to the present invention is provided with casters attached to the four corners of an outer surface serving as a bottom surface during transportation. A pair of front casters 10A, which are located on the left and right sides of the front side when transporting in the direction along the uneven plane,
10A mounts a bearing portion 13 of each wheel 15 rotatably around its vertical rotation axis 12, and a pair of rear casters 10B and 10B located on the left and right sides of the rear are mounted on the respective wheels 15B. The bearing portion 13 is assembled so as to rotate around the vertical rotation axis 12 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction by a predetermined angle range, preferably approximately 180 degrees. The caster base 11 of the rear caster 10B may be provided with a rotation restricting means 16a for restricting the rotation angle range of the bearing 13 to approximately 180 degrees.

[0005]

[Function] In some cases, moving a suitcase with casters in a direction perpendicular to the plane of deviation, rather than moving it in a direction along the plane of deviation, greatly increases the distance between the left and right wheels in the direction of movement. Driving stability is much improved. When the suitcase of the present invention is moved in the direction along the deviated plane, the moving direction can be freely changed by a pair of left and right front casters 10A, 10A rotatable 360 ° on the front side in the moving direction. Then, a pair of left and right rear casters 10B that rotate only within an angle range of about 180 degrees in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction acts just like the rear wheels of the automobile, and keeps straightness. And the rear caster 10B is not fixed differently from the conventional one,
Since the wheels are oriented in a direction orthogonal to the plane of the suitcase, the suitcase can be easily moved in this direction as well.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 1 showing the overall configuration of a suitcase, a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped suitcase body A made of a hard synthetic resin has essentially the same structure as that of a commercially available very ordinary suitcase. It has. That is, the body part 1 and the lid part 2 are vertically arranged along the direction of the uneven plane.
The reinforcing frames 3 and 4 are attached to the periphery of the mouth of each of the body portion 1 and the lid portion. And body part 1
The lid portion 2 and the lid portion 2 are integrally connected via a hinge 5 at one side edge on the long side. This hinge 5
Also serves as the legs of a suitcase. Reinforcement frame 3,
4 is provided with a stopper 6 and a locking mechanism 7 for fixing the lid closed state of the suitcase body A, and a top surface in a vertically erect state and a side surface facing the mounting surface of the hinge 5. Handles 8 and 9 are attached to each central portion so that they can be turned upside down.

[0007] Since the suitcase with the casters is in a vertically long standing state when transported by using the casters, the casters are attached to the four corners of the outer side surface serving as the bottom surface a during the transport. When the suitcase is moved in the vertical direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 1 along the flat surface of the suitcase, the surface on which the handle 9 is attached becomes the front side in the traveling direction. Is referred to as the front side of the bottom surface a. The front casters 10A, 10A attached to the front left and right corners are rotatable types which have been widely used in the past.

On the other hand, rear casters 10B, 10B attached to the left and right corners on the rear side have been created in order to achieve the object of the present invention, so to say, a conventional fixed caster and a rotatable type caster. It has both rotation functions. The rear caster 10 </ b> B has a configuration in which a wheel 15 is fitted to an axle 14 of a bearing 13 that can be rotated substantially 180 degrees around a vertical rotation shaft 12 attached to a caster base 11 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. Have. Caster base 11
In this case, is made of a hard synthetic resin and has a substantially rectangular thick disk shape as a whole, and its upper surface is formed in a shape following the curved surfaces of the four corners of the bottom surface a of the suitcase body A, and the bottom surface side is substantially cut out. A concave portion 16 having a truncated cone shape and a substantially semicircular planar shape is provided. A shaft hole through which the vertical rotation shaft 12 is inserted is provided substantially at the center of the semicircle. At the lower end of the vertical rotation shaft 12, a retaining head is provided. At the middle portion, a bearing 17 for the bearing portion 13 is attached. At the upper end, a nut-shaped bulging portion 12a for preventing rotation is provided. Is the vertical rotation axis 12
Is screwed into a nut 18 for fastening and fixing to the caster base 11.

The bearing portion 13 has a substantially downward U-shaped cross section. When the bearing portion 13 is rotated left and right around a vertical rotation shaft 12 penetrating the top surface (base surface), the bearing portion 13 shown in FIGS. As shown in the drawing, the outer surfaces of the two U-shaped leg portions respectively contact the substantially vertical side wall surfaces 16a of the recess 16 having a substantially semicircular planar shape, and the side wall surfaces 16a restrict the rotation of the bearing portion 13. It functions as a means, and its rotation angle range is restricted to approximately 180 degrees in a direction orthogonal to the deviated plane of the suitcase. And one set of rear casters 10B, 1
2B, as shown in FIG. 2, in a state of being attached to the bottom surface a of the suitcase body A and facing each other symmetrically.
The rotation range is set so that the rotation is possible. Each 2
Individual front casters 10A and rear casters 10
B is a bolt 1 embedded in each caster base 11
The suitcase body A is fixed to the four corners of the bottom surface by the nut 9 and the nut. However, this fixing structure is not limited to the illustration.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When the suitcase is transported using the attached casters, the handle is pushed or pulled with a hand on the handles 8, 9 or the suitcase body A in order to move the suitcase vertically, which is a very usual way of carrying. As shown in FIG. 2, the wheels 15 of each front caster 10A are naturally directed in the X direction. Similarly, the wheels 15 of each rear caster 10B are naturally directed in the X direction. When the direction of the force for pushing or pulling the suitcase fluctuates during transportation, or when the wheels 15 of each caster are deflected from the X direction due to, for example, passing through uneven portions on the floor surface, they are rotatable. The wheels 15 of the front casters 10A deflect, but the rear casters 10B, 10B
The two wheels 15 rotate only in an angle range of 180 degrees in the direction opposite to each other as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, depending on the direction of wobbling of the wheels, one of the wheels 15
As described above, the outer surface of the bearing portion 13 is in contact with the side wall surface 16a of the recessed portion 16 of the caster base 11 to prevent deflection, and is maintained in the X direction.

[0011] Therefore, as in the case of a conventional suitcase in which the front casters are rotatable and the rear casters are fixed, the effect of suppressing the fluctuation in the moving direction is produced, and the running stability is hardly deteriorated. I'm done. Also, handle 8 or 9
If the suitcase is tilted forward (to the rear) according to the gripping method, and only the front casters 10A (10B) are grounded, the total running resistance applied to each wheel 15 is greatly reduced. It can be easily run on the top. In addition, the tendency of the cornering wobble to be reduced is reduced by the reduced running resistance.

Next, when the suitcase can be moved in a more stable state. When the suitcase is moved sideways in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. 1, the carrier grasps the handle 8 as shown in FIG. The suitcase naturally leans forward when transported. Therefore, one front caster 10A located on the front side in the moving direction among the four casters
And only each wheel 15 of one rear caster 10B is grounded as shown. With the start of transport of the suitcase, the wheels 15 of the rotatable front casters 10A naturally turn in the Y direction, and the wheels 15 of the rear casters 10B that can rotate 180 degrees are naturally turned in the Y direction. The case can be moved smoothly. In such a two-wheel running state, the total running resistance applied to each wheel 15 is reduced compared to when all four wheels are in contact with the ground.
As described above, it can be easily carried on long-haired deer and easy to change direction, and the distance between the left and right wheels in the moving direction is sufficient compared to when moving vertically in a forward leaning (backward leaning) posture with two wheels grounded As a result, the suitcase does not easily fall over the uneven floor surface, particularly when the suitcase is about to change direction, as in the case of vertical movement.

In the above configuration, the rear caster 1
Of course, the rotation angle range of 0B does not need to be exactly 180 degrees. In short, when the suitcase is moved vertically, the rotation range of the bearing portion 13 is regulated, so that the rear caster 10B has A straightness maintaining function similar to that of a conventional fixed caster is produced, and when it is desired to move horizontally, it is sufficient that the wheel 15 of the rear caster 10B naturally faces this moving direction. The shape of the caster base 11 is, of course, appropriately changed in accordance with the outer shape of the suitcase body A, and accordingly, the rotation restricting means of the bearing 13 is also provided with a protrusion instead of the side wall surface 16a of the recess 16. The rear caster 1 may be provided or a protrusion provided on the bearing portion 13 may be loosely fitted into a guide groove provided on the caster base 11 side, or the caster base 11 may be omitted.
The object of the present invention is achieved even if the configuration of the details of 0B is appropriately changed.

[0014]

As is apparent from the above description, the suitcase with the casters according to the present invention is such that the pair of left and right casters located on the front side when being moved in the direction along the uneven plane is of a rotatable type. The set of left and right casters located on the rear side is not fixed as in the prior art, but at a predetermined angle, preferably approximately 180 degrees, in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the suitcase, preferably at an angle of approximately 180 degrees. Since it is rotatable around, excellent practical effects as listed below can be obtained. (A) The uneven plane which is not only moved in the direction along the uneven plane of the suitcase, which is easy to move even in a crowded state, but also has much better running stability than this direction and is much easier to transport. It can be moved in a direction inclined at right angles to the front direction. (B) Of course, when moving in the direction along the uneven plane of the suitcase, the rear caster, which is not fixed as in the past but is rotatable within a specific angle range, plays a role in maintaining straightness. Unlike the four-wheel rotatable type, which is capable of moving in the flat direction and the orthogonal direction, there is no problem that running stability in the flat direction is extremely deteriorated. (C) When the suitcase is moved in the direction along the uneven plane, it is of course possible to adopt a two-wheel grounding forward leaning (rearward leaning) posture so as to reduce running resistance and facilitate transportation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the rear caster according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rear caster according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the suitcase is moved in a direction orthogonal to a direction along the uneven plane.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing the turning direction of each caster in the moving state of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Suitcase body a Bottom surface 1 Body portion 2 Lid portion 3, 4 Reinforcement frame 5 Hinge 6 Stopper 7 Locking mechanism 8, 9 Handle 10A Front caster 10B Rear caster 11 Caster base 12 Vertical rotating shaft 12a Swelling portion 13 Bearing portion 14 Axle 15 Wheel 16 Recess 16a Side wall (rotation restricting means) 17 Bearing 18 Nut 19 Bolt

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A set of front sides located on the left and right of the front side when transporting in a direction along an uneven plane of a suitcase, wherein casters are respectively attached to four corners of an outer side surface serving as a bottom surface during transportation. Casters 10A, 10A
Is mounted on the vertical rotation shaft 1 of the bearing portion 13 of each wheel 15.
A pair of rear casters 10B, 10B, which are rotatably mounted around the rear wheel 2 and are positioned on the left and right sides of the rear, respectively,
5. The suitcase according to claim 5, wherein the bearing 13 is mounted so as to rotate around a vertical rotation axis 12 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction by a predetermined angle range. 2. The suitcase according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle range is substantially 180 degrees. 3. The rotation angle range of the bearing 13 is approximately 18 on the caster base 11 of the rear caster 10B.
The suitcase according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a rotation restricting means (16a) for restricting the suitcase to zero degrees.