JP3515723B2 - Lifting casters - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an elevator caster capable of easily moving furniture, office furniture, store furniture, and theater furniture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a home, office, store, or the like, there is a case where relatively heavy furniture or furniture (for example, a chest of drawers, a copying machine, a display rack, etc.) needs to be rearranged as needed. . Under such circumstances, wheels (casters) that can be taken in and out downward are provided on the base wheels of furniture and furniture from the past.
During normal use, the casters are retracted into the wheel base, and the wheel base is landed on the floor to install furniture, etc. on the floor. There has been proposed a moving device for furniture or the like that allows a wheel to float above the floor to move furniture or the like.

An example of this type of device is, for example,
Some are disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3232. In particular,
As shown in FIG. 13, the tips of arms 3, 5 having casters 1 on the bottom and bent into a pair of V-shapes are pivotally attached to each other, and the base ends of the arms 3, 5 are pivotally attached to the frame 7. The operation lever 9 is pivotally attached to the frame 7 by a rotating shaft 11 above the caster 1. Normally, the caster 1 is located in the base wheel 13 as shown in FIG. The lever 9 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 13B to press the second arm 5 to bring the rod 15 of the operating lever 9 into contact with the stop projection 17 of the second arm 5 and to fix it. Is projected from the base wheel 13 and is moved by utilizing these casters 1.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional moving device, a large operation space for swinging the operation lever 9 is required in the lower portion of furniture or the like, which is difficult to secure. At the same time, the operating lever 9
When it is swung backwards, it is necessary to put a hand in the back and operate, which causes a problem of poor operability. In addition, because it requires a large operating space, it is easy to stand out,
Furthermore, a lid for hiding the operation lever is also required, which deteriorates the design. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an elevating caster that does not require a large operation space and does not require an operation in the back.

[0005]

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is shown in FIGS.
The caster 21 according to claim 1 will be described below.
Are fixed to the left and right sides of the pedestal 25 of the furniture 23 and the like.
A base plate 27 that is long in the front-back direction such as 3 and the like.
An elevating plate 29 which is formed to be long in the same direction as that of the base plate 27 and provided with casters 31 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface and which is movable up and down with respect to the lower surface of the base plate 27 via sliding columns 33.
The base plate 27 is elongated in the same direction as the base plate 27 and is disposed between the base plate 27 and the elevating plate 29. The base end is rotatably fixed to the base plate side 27 and the front end is the furniture 23. And the like, and a swing bracket 37 rotatably fixed to the sliding column 33 between the base end and the tip end and the base plate 27 at the front position. The upper end on which the adjusting portion 47 is formed is exposed to the upper surface of the base plate 27, and the lower end is the swing bracket 37.
And an adjusting screw 43 that comes into contact with the tip of the.

In this lift caster, when the adjusting screw 43 arranged at the front part of the pedestal 25 is rotated, the tip of the swing bracket 37 is pressed, and the sliding column 3 fixed at the point of action.
3 is pushed down. As a result, the lifting plate 29 to which the sliding column 33 is fixed is lowered, and the casters 31 fixedly mounted on the lower surface of the lifting plate 29 are projected from below the base wheel 25.
Therefore, the caster 31 is taken in and out of the pedestal 25 only by turning the adjustment screw 43 arranged in the front part of the pedestal 25. This eliminates the need for a large operating space. Further, the designability is not impaired. Furthermore, the adjustment operation when moving or landing the furniture 23 or the like becomes easy.

In the elevating caster 21 according to the second aspect, the elevating plate 29 is movable up and down with respect to the base plate 27 via two front and rear sliding columns 33, and the lower surfaces of the front and rear portions of the base plate 27 are movable. A bearing plate 39 is fixedly mounted on each of the bearing plates 39, and a link bracket 41 is attached to each bearing plate 39.
The base end of which is rotatably fixed, and the front bearing plate 39
The base end of the swing bracket 37 is rotatably fixed to the tip of the link bracket 41 fixed to the link bracket 41 fixed to the rear bearing plate 39.
The base end of the link plate 49 is rotatably fixed to the tip of the link plate 49, and the tip of the link plate 49 is rotatably fixed to the sliding column 33 in the rear part.
It is characterized in that the front end and the rear end of the connecting bar 51 are rotatably fixed to the front end of 1 and the front end of the rear link bracket 41.

In this elevating caster 21, when the adjusting screw 43 arranged in the front part of the pedestal 25 is rotated, the tip of the swing bracket 37 is pressed and the sliding column 33 fixed at the point of action is removed. Pushed down. At the same time, the tip end of the link bracket 41 rotatably fixed to the base end of the swing bracket 37 is rotated around the base end fixed to the bearing plate 39, and the connecting bar 51 is pulled toward the front part. To be
When the connecting bar 51 is pulled toward the front, the joint between the link bracket 41 and the link plate 49 at the rear is pulled toward the front, and as a result, the tip of the link plate 49 pushes down the sliding column 33 at the rear. become. Therefore, the rear sliding column 33 is also pushed down in conjunction with the pushing of the front sliding column 33 by the swing bracket 37, and the lift plate 29 moves back and forth evenly, in parallel, and smoothly. It will be possible.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of a lift caster according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
1 is an external perspective view of a first embodiment of a lifting caster according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. Figure 4
2 is a plan view of the lift caster shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a front view of the lift caster shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a principal part expanded side view shown by (b).

The lift caster 21 according to the present embodiment is
The entire device is formed in an elongated shape, and casters to be described later are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the device. Lifting caster 21
Are attached in parallel to the left and right sides of a pedestal 25 of furniture (such as a chest of drawers 23) so that the longitudinal direction is the front-back direction.

The elevating caster 21 has a long base plate 27 fixed to the inside of the side portion of the pedestal 25 such that the longitudinal direction is the front-back direction of the chest 23. In this embodiment, a base plate 27 having an L-shaped cross section composed of a top plate 27a and a vertical plate 27b is used. Base plate 2
7, the vertical plate 27b is fixed to the inner wall surface of the base wheel 25, as shown in FIG. Further, the top plate 27a comes into contact with the lower surface of the chest bottom plate inside the pedestal 25.

Below the base plate 27, as shown in FIG. 2, an elevating plate 2 formed in a lengthwise direction in the same direction as the base plate 27.
9 is arranged. Casters 31 are fixed to the lower surface of the elevating plate 29 at both longitudinal ends. This lifting plate 29
Can be moved up and down with respect to the base plate 27 via a pair of front and rear sliding columns 33. The sliding column 33 is slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the base plate 27, for example, by being fitted into a guide pipe 35 vertically provided on the lower surface of the base plate 27.

A base end of a swing bracket 37 is rotatably fixed to the base plate 27 side. In this embodiment, bearing plates 39 are fixedly provided on the lower surfaces of the front and rear portions of the base plate 27, and the base ends of link brackets 41 are rotatably attached to the respective bearing plates 39 via pins 40. Has been. The swing bracket 37 is rotatably attached to the base plate 27 side by having the base end rotatably attached to the tip of a link bracket 41 fixedly mounted on the front bearing plate 39 via a pin 42. It is provided.

The swing bracket 37 is elongated in the same direction as the base plate 27 and is arranged between the base plate 27 and the elevating plate 29. The swing bracket 37 has a base 2 at the tip.
5 extends to the front part, and between the base end and the tip end is rotatably attached to the sliding column 33 via a pin 44 and a collar 46. That is, when the tip of the swing bracket 37 is lowered, a downward pressing force is applied to the sliding column 33. Therefore, a joint point (pin 42) between the base end of the swing bracket 37 and the link bracket 41 serves as a fulcrum, and a joint point (pin 44) between the swing bracket 37 and the sliding column 33 serves as an action point. That is, the swing bracket 37 can apply a large pressing force to the sliding column 33 with a small pressing force applied to the tip.

An adjusting screw 43 is screwed into the front portion of the base plate 27 so as to vertically penetrate the top plate 27a. Adjustment screw 4
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, 3 may be screwed onto the top plate 27a via a fixing nut 45 vertically provided on the lower surface of the top plate 27a. An adjusting portion 47 is formed on the upper end of the adjusting screw 43, and the adjusting portion 47 extends from the top plate 27 a of the base plate 27 to the base wheel 2.
It is exposed inside 5. The adjusting portion 47 can be formed as an engaging groove of a tool such as a driver or a fitting hole such as a hexagon wrench.

The adjusting screw 43 is moved up and down by being rotated by the adjusting portion 47, and when it is moved downward, the tip of the swing bracket 37 is pushed down. That is, the caster 31 can be put in and taken out from the lower portion of the base wheel 25 by the rotation of the adjusting portion 47.

A base end of a link plate 49 is rotatably provided via a pin 52 at the tip of a link bracket 41 fixedly mounted on the rear bearing plate 39. The link plate 49 is rotatably provided on the sliding column 33 having a rear end through a pin 48 and a collar 50. The front end and the rear end of the connecting bar 51 are rotatably fixed to the front end of the front link bracket 41 and the front end of the rear link bracket 41. That is, the front and rear link brackets 41 are interlocked.

Further, an adjuster bolt 53 is screwed on the lower surface of the top plate 27a of the base plate 27. In the lift caster 21 according to the present embodiment, the adjuster bolt 53 is arranged outside the straight line joining the front and rear sliding columns 33, that is, on the side plate side of the base wheel. As the adjuster bolt 53 is rotated, the lower end of the adjuster bolt 53 has the base wheel 2
5 is projected from the lower part, so that the unevenness of the floor surface can be absorbed, that is, the levelness of the chest 25 can be finely adjusted.

The operation of the lift caster 21 thus constructed will be described. The elevating casters 21 rotate the adjusting portion 47 located in the front of the pedestal 25 when the chest 23 needs to be moved. For example, in the case of the chest 23, the pedestal 25 can be put in by taking out the drawer at the bottom.

When the adjusting portion 47 is rotated and the adjusting screw 43 is lowered, the tip of the swing bracket 37 is pushed down. When the tip of the swing bracket 37 is pushed down, the sliding pillar 33 at the front is lowered. At the same time, the front link bracket 41 rotates clockwise in FIG. 7, and the connecting bar 51 is pulled forward (leftward in FIG. 7).

When the connecting bar 51 is pulled forward,
The rear link bracket 41 is rotated clockwise in FIG. When the rear link bracket 41 is rotated clockwise, the connecting point (slip point) between the link bracket 41 and the link plate 49 is moved forward (leftward in FIG. 3), and the front sliding column 33 is moved. Similarly, the sliding pillar 33 at the rear is lowered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, the front and rear casters 31 fixed to the elevating plate 29 are lowered in parallel and protrude from the lower portion of the base wheel 25.

In this manner, the chest 23 having the casters 31 projected from the lower portion of the base wheel 25 can be easily moved by the casters 31.

After the chest 23 has been moved to the predetermined position, in order to install it in the predetermined position, the adjusting screw 47 is rotated again to raise the adjusting screw 43. Then, the tip of the swing bracket 37 is raised, the link mechanism operates in the opposite direction to the above-described downward movement, and the front and rear sliding columns 33 are moved to the base plate 2.
7, the caster 31 is moved to the direction of approaching 7,
Will be pulled upward from the lower part of. As a result, the lower surface of the pedestal 25 lands on the floor, and the installation of the chest 23 is completed.

Therefore, in the lift caster 21, when the adjusting screw 43 arranged at the front portion of the pedestal 25 is rotated,
The lift plate 29 is lowered, and the casters 31 are projected from the lower portion of the base wheel 25. That is, the casters 31 are taken in and out of the pedestal 25 only by turning the adjusting screw 43 arranged at the front part of the pedestal 25. This eliminates the need for a large operating space. Further, the designability is not impaired. Furthermore, the chest 23 can be easily moved and adjusted when landing.

Further, when the adjusting screw 43 arranged at the front part of the pedestal 25 is rotated and the sliding column 33 at the front part is pushed down, at the same time, the connecting bar 51 is pulled to the front part. As a result, the rear sliding column 33 is pushed down,
The elevating plate 29 can be moved back and forth evenly, in parallel, and smoothly.

Next, a second embodiment of the lifting caster according to the present invention will be described. 8 is a side view showing the lift caster according to the second embodiment, FIG. 9 is a plan view of the lift caster shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a front view of the lift caster shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 12, and FIG. The same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

Lifting casters 61 according to this embodiment
Is provided with an adjustment block 63 at the tip of the swing bracket 37, and the adjustment block 63 has a built-in nut 65 that cannot rotate and cannot move in the vertical direction. The nut 65 is screwed into the adjusting screw 67.
As shown in FIG. 12, the adjustment screw 67 has a shaft portion 67a inserted into a through hole 69 formed in the top plate 27a, and the head portion 67a.
b is arranged on the top plate 27a. The inner diameter of the through hole 69 is smaller than the outer diameter of the head 67b.

Below the head 67b of the adjusting screw 67, an E-shaped retaining ring 71 is mounted with the top plate 27a interposed therebetween. A fixing nut 73 is screwed onto the adjusting screw 67 below the E-shaped retaining ring 71. This fixing nut 73 is
It is fixed so as not to rotate relative to the adjusting screw 67.
That is, the adjusting screw 67 is fixed to the top plate 27a so as to be rotatable and restricted in its movement in the axial direction.

Therefore, in the swing bracket 37, the nut 65 is moved up and down by the rotation of the adjusting screw 67, and the tip of the nut 65 is forcibly moved up and down.

Further, in the lift caster 61 according to this embodiment, the adjuster bolt 53 is provided on the front and rear sliding columns 33.
Are arranged on a straight line.

In the lift caster 61 thus constructed, the caster 31 is lifted and lowered only by turning the adjusting screw 67 arranged at the front portion of the base wheel 25, similarly to the lift caster 21 described above. A large operation space is not required, the design is not impaired, and the chest 23 can be easily adjusted and adjusted during landing.

In addition to this, since the swing bracket 37 is engaged with the adjusting screw 67 via the adjusting block 63,
The tip of the swing bracket 37 can be forcibly moved up and down, and the caster 31 can be pulled into the pedestal 25 even when the load of the chest 23 is not applied to the caster 31, for example.

In the above embodiment, the case where the elevating casters are provided in the chest 23 has been described as an example, but the elevating casters according to the present invention can be easily moved as necessary. Even if it is provided on other furniture that is required to be installed, furniture such as offices, stores, theater fixtures, and a shelf that mounts large electronic devices such as copy machines, the same effects and advantages as described above can be obtained. It is a thing.

[0034]

As described above in detail, the lift caster according to the present invention has base plates long in the front-rear direction of furniture or the like fixed to the left and right sides of the base of the furniture or the like, and the lower surface of the base plate. An elevator plate equipped with casters is provided so that it can be raised and lowered, the base end of the swing bracket is rotatably fixed to the base plate side, and the base end and the tip end are rotatably supported by a sliding column. Since the adjustment screw is fixed and penetrated through the base plate at the front position and screwed into contact with the tip of the swing bracket, by rotating the adjustment screw arranged at the front part of the pedestal, The caster can be moved in and out from below the pedestal through the sliding column by pressing the tip of the swing bracket. As a result, a large operation space is not required and the designability is not impaired. Moreover, since the caster can be moved up and down by rotating the adjusting screw only at the front part of the pedestal, it is possible to facilitate the adjusting operation when moving or landing furniture or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a first embodiment of a lift caster according to the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a side view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a plan view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

5 is a front view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of essential parts showing the operating state of the lift casters in (a) and (b).

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a lift caster according to a second embodiment.

9 is a plan view of the lifting caster shown in FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the lifting caster shown in FIG.

11 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged side view of the essential parts showing the operating state of the lift casters.

FIG. 13 shows an operating state of a conventional moving device such as furniture (a)
It is the side view shown by (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

21, 61 ... Elevator casters 23 ... chest of drawers (furniture, etc.) 25 ... pedestal 27 ... Base plate 29 ... Elevating plate 31 ... Casters 33 ... Sliding column 37 ... Swing bracket 39 ... Bearing plate 41 ... Link bracket 43 ... Adjusting screw 47 ... Adjusting unit 49 ... Link plate 51 ... Connection bar

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-72207 (JP, A) JP-A-6-304030 (JP, A) Actual development Sho 63-194650 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47B 91/06 B60B 33/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A base plate that is fixed to the left and right in a wheel of furniture or the like and is long in the front-rear direction of the furniture or the like, and casters are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface, the base plate being elongated in the same direction as the base plate. An elevating plate that is movable up and down with respect to the lower surface of the base plate through a sliding column; and a long plate formed in the same direction as the base plate and between the base plate and the elevating plate. The rocking is arranged such that the base end is rotatably fixed to the base plate side, the tip end is extended toward the front part of furniture or the like, and the space between the base end and the tip end is rotatably fixed to the sliding column. A moving bracket and an adjusting screw which penetrates the base plate at a front position and is screwed to expose an upper end on which an adjusting portion is formed to the upper surface of the base plate, and a lower end contacts the tip of the swing bracket. An elevating caster comprising: 2. The elevating plate is movable up and down with respect to the base plate through two front and rear sliding columns, and bearing plates are fixedly mounted on the lower surfaces of the front and rear parts of the base plate. The base end of the link bracket is rotatably fixed to the bearing plate, and the base end of the swing bracket is rotatably fixed to the front end of the link bracket fixed to the front bearing plate. The base end of the link plate is rotatably fixed to the tip end of the link bracket fixed to the bearing plate of, and the tip end of the link plate is rotatably fixed to the rear sliding column, The lift caster according to claim 1, wherein the front end and the rear end of the connecting bar are rotatably fixed to the front end of the link bracket and the front end of the rear link bracket.