JP3452826B2 - caster - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a caster used for moving various kinds of furniture and furniture. 2. Description of the Related Art Casters in which wheels are rotatably held on a caster body provided with a rotating shaft for an object to be mounted are widely used. As this type of caster, there is a caster in which a rotating shaft of a wheel is bridged between a pair of wall holes vertically suspended with a gap below the caster body, and a wall shaft vertically suspended below the caster body. There are two types that allow the rotating shaft of a twin wheel to penetrate. [0003] As a material of the caster, a metal is generally used, and plastic or rubber is used as an auxiliary material. [0004] However, in the former caster, the rotating shaft must be bridged over the shaft hole while the wheels are positioned between the pair of walls, and in the latter caster, In this case, the rotating shaft must be passed through the shaft hole of the vertically provided wall body, and the wheels must be fixed to the rotating shaft. In other words, the caster has at least the wheel and the rotating shaft as separate members in addition to the caster body, so that these three types of members must be assembled and time and labor for managing these parts have arisen. Further, in the prior art casters, metal parts are used for the rotating shaft with respect to the mounted body and the rotating shaft of the wheel, and different processes of resin molding and metal working are required in manufacturing, and work efficiency is poor. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a caster with high working efficiency and which can be manufactured at low cost. is there. That is, in the caster according to the present invention , a circular cutout groove having the lower end of the wall open is formed in a wall vertically hanging below a plastic caster body having a rotating shaft projecting upward. After inserting the rotating shaft of the plastic double wheel fixed by the plastic rotating shaft having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the notch groove into the notch groove,
The wheel is rotatably held on the caster body by making the open side of the notch groove narrower than the rotation axis of the wheel by heating. The most important feature of the caster according to the present invention is that the prior art in which the rotating shaft of the wheel is passed through the shaft hole of the caster body is omitted. The casters of the present invention are intended for use in furniture and furniture. Normal,
These articles are lifted off the floor when being brought into the installation location, but are always located on the floor in the subsequent use. Therefore, in the shaft hole of the caster, a large load is always applied to the upper portion of the shaft hole from the rotating shaft, but there is no chance that the rotating shaft comes into contact with the lower portion as well as the load. That is, in a caster, unlike the shaft hole in a normal bearing, it is not necessary to consider the load from the rotating shaft in the 360-degree circumferential direction of the shaft hole, and it is sufficient to simply consider only the load on the upper portion. . The inventor of the present application has focused on the above facts and extended the present invention, and the most significant feature of the present invention is that a shaft hole is employed for rotatably holding a rotating shaft of a wheel. The stop is replaced by a circular cutout groove. In this case, since the groove bottom side of the notch groove is directed upward of the caster, in the above-mentioned normal use situation where the wheels of the caster are in contact with the floor surface, there is no difference in operation from the conventional shaft hole. There is no. On the other hand, if the caster separates from the floor for any reason, it is only necessary to consider prevention of the wheel from falling off the caster body.In the present invention, the width of the cutout groove on the open side is adjusted to the rotation of the wheel. Need to be narrower than the axis. In the present invention, a means is employed in which after the rotating shaft is inserted into the cutout groove, the opening side is narrowed by heating. Next, a second feature of the present invention is that the constituent members of the caster including the rotating shaft of the wheel are made of plastic. In the present invention, the selection of the material is not limited to a unique operation such as unification of the manufacturing process and easiness of the molding process, but also the open side of the notch groove due to the characteristics of the thermoplastic plastic. Heating enables deformation in the narrow direction due to softening or melting. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of a caster according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows this
It is a figure which shows the Example of the caster of this invention . Symbol 1 in the figure
Is a caster main body, and above the caster main body 1 is a rotating shaft 2 for insertion into a shaft hole or the like of an attached body.
Is integrally formed, and a wall 4 is integrally formed below the wheel through a wheel cover 3 for covering the outer shape of the wheel, wherein a lower end of the wall is an open side. A notch groove 5 is provided. In this embodiment, the caster body 1 is integrally formed of polycarbonate in consideration of strength. Reference numeral 7 in the drawing denotes a sleeve prepared for the rotating shaft 2 so as to correspond to the shaft hole diameters of a plurality of types of attached bodies. Next, reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes a double wheel.
The wheel 10 has a configuration in which a pair of wheels 11 and 12 are connected by a rotating shaft 13. And the said caster main body 1
The diameter of the circle of the notch groove 5 is larger than the diameter of the rotating shaft 13 of the wheel 10. The wheel 10 may be, for example, a wheel in which the wheel 11 is joined to or fitted to the wheel 12 and the rotating shaft 13 integrally formed. In the caster of the above embodiment, only two members are a caster body 1 integrally formed and a wheel 10 integrally formed or assembled.
In assembling, after the rotating shaft 13 of the wheel 10 is inserted into the notch groove 5 of the caster body 1, the opening side of the notch groove is heated to be softened or melted to reduce the width, so that the rotating shaft has the open side. It passes through and is loosely fitted and held in the notch groove. The present invention having the above configuration has the following specific effects. Since it is possible to assemble the caster with only the caster body and the two members of the wheel, the assembling process becomes more efficient and the parts management becomes easier. As described above, since it has a configuration suitable for manufacturing from plastic, it is excellent in moldability, and it is possible to realize a low-cost caster in combination with the above-described ease of assembly efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a caster according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the same. FIG. 3 is a front view, partially cut away, of the above. [Explanation of symbols] 1 caster body 2 Rotation axis 4 wall 5 Notch groove 6 (Notch groove) open side 10 wheels 13 Rotation axis

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] A circular notch with a lower end of the wall open on a wall vertically hanging below a plastic caster main body having a rotation shaft protruding upward. A groove is provided, and after inserting the rotating shaft of a plastic two-wheeled wheel fixed by a plastic rotating shaft having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the notched groove circle into the notched groove, the open side of the notched groove A caster, wherein the wheel is rotatably held on a caster body by making the width of the wheel smaller than the rotation axis of the wheel by heating.