JP3614233B2 - Casters - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a caster that is attached to and supports a bottom surface of an article such as furniture and that can be easily moved on the floor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A caster configured such that a bearing member that supports a wheel on a horizontal axle is pivotally attached to an article attachment member via a vertical direction turning shaft that is offset from the axle is used for furniture such as a wagon or a rack. And widely used in office equipment. In such a caster, a so-called twin-wheel caster in which a center portion of an axle having one wheel at each end is pivotally attached to a bearing member is generally used.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Such a twin-wheel caster has a bearing member having a horizontal bearing hole penetrating the axle and a vertical bearing hole into which the direction turning shaft is inserted, and the axle and the direction turning shaft formed of a metal material. Was assembled to the bearing member together with the wheel. For this reason, the number of parts is large, and the demand for manufacturing cost reduction cannot be sufficiently satisfied.
[0004]
The present invention has been devised to eliminate such disadvantages of the prior art, and its main purpose is to provide a caster configured to reduce the number of parts and reduce the manufacturing cost. There is.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, such a purpose is a caster in which a bearing member that supports a wheel on a horizontal shaft is pivotally attached to an attachment member to an article via a vertical shaft that is offset from the horizontal shaft. The bearing member can be tightly fitted to a box-like cover body whose lower surface is opened to cover the wheel, and an inner peripheral edge of the opening of the cover body, and is connected to the cover body via a thin hinge. The frame is formed integrally with a synthetic resin material together with the vertical shaft, the horizontal shaft is formed integrally with the wheel, and the cover body A caster characterized in that bearings that pivotally support both ends of the horizontal shaft are formed on the surfaces of the cover body and the frame body that face each other when the frame body is fitted. Is achieved by providing
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
[0007]
1 to 5 show a caster constructed according to the present invention. This caster is used by being fixed to the bottom of a television receiver stand, for example. The wheel 1, the caster body 2 that rotatably supports the wheel 1 about a horizontal axis, and the television receiver stand. A mounting bush 3 that is press-fitted into a mounting hole drilled in the bottom surface of the wheel 1 and supports the caster body 2 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis that is offset from the axle of the wheel 1, and the mounting bush 3 and the caster body. 2 and a washer 4 interposed between the two.
[0008]
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the caster body 2 can be tightly fitted to a box-shaped cover body 5 whose lower surface is opened to cover the wheel 1 and the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the cover body 5. Standing vertically from the upper surface of the cover body 5 so as to be fitted inside the frame body 6, the cover body 5, the bendable thin hinge 7 that connects one edge of the frame body 6 to each other, and the mounting bush 3. It consists of the direction turning shaft 8 provided, and is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material.
[0009]
On both side surfaces of the central portion of the wheel 1, axles 9 that penetrate the axis of the wheel 1 are formed by integral molding of a synthetic resin material, and the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 5 a and 5 b of the cover body 5 are formed. And an appropriate axial gap between them.
[0010]
An annular groove 10 is formed at the tip of the direction turning shaft 8 and engages with an annular protrusion 11 projecting on the inner peripheral surface of the bottom of the mounting bush 3 having a bottomed cylindrical shape. The caster body 2 is prevented from being detached from 3. On the other hand, the load acting on the caster body 2 from the mounting bush 3 is transmitted from the flange 12 provided at the opening of the mounting bush 3 through the metal or synthetic resin washer 4 to the base end portion of the direction turning shaft 8. It is transmitted to the enlarged-diameter portion 13 formed in the above. In addition, the structure which deleted this washer 4 and made the flange 12 contact | abut directly to the enlarged diameter part 13 is also possible, for example.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the caster body 2 is formed in a form in which the frame body 6 is expanded 180 degrees from the fitting position with respect to the cover body 5 at the beginning of molding. The frame body 6 is assembled to the opening of the cover body 5 by relatively rotating the cover body 5 and the frame body 6 with the hinge 7 as a fulcrum. At this time, the retaining pieces 14 protruding in pairs on the left and right side plates 6a and 6b of the frame body 6 are elastically formed in the small holes 15 formed on the left and right side walls 5a and 5b of the cover body 5, respectively. The frame 6 that is engaged and fitted in the recess 16 formed over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the cover body 5 is firmly coupled to the cover body 5 (see FIG. (See right part of 7).
[0012]
On each inner surface of the left and right side walls 5a and 5b of the cover body 5, a stepped portion 17 is projected in the middle in the front-rear direction so as to rotatably support the axle 9 disposed at right angles thereto, and at the lower end thereof, An upper bearing surface 18 having a semicircular arc cross section slightly larger in diameter than the axle 9 is formed. Opposite to the upper bearing surface 18, the left and right side plates 6 a and 6 b of the frame 6 are formed with lower bearing surfaces 19 having an arcuate cross section. A pair of recesses 20 are provided on the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls 5a and 5b of the cover body 5 corresponding to the stepped portion 17 in order to avoid thickening.
[0013]
The concave portion 16 and the frame body 6 of the cover body 5 are joined to each other on a horizontal plane passing through the axis of the axle 9, and the horizontal force of the axle 9 is not directly applied to the joining surface. The protrusions 21 extend downward from both front and rear sides of the upper bearing surface 18 in the stepped portion 17, and the recesses 22 are formed on both front and rear sides of the lower bearing surface 19 in order to receive the protrusions 21. Yes.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the vertical shaft as the direction turning shaft and the bearing member, and the horizontal shaft and the wheel as the axle are respectively integrated, and the attachment member to the article is added. Thus, the number of parts can be greatly reduced. In addition, the assembly can be easily performed by an extremely simple operation such as coupling the frame body to the cover body by rotating the cover body and the frame body relative to each other with the thin hinge as a fulcrum with the axle aligned with the bearing surface. Therefore, there is an extremely remarkable effect in reducing the manufacturing cost. In addition, since the axle shaft is covered with the cover body and the frame body, it is possible to prevent inconveniences such as lint of carpet and the like being entangled with the axle shaft and hindering rotation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a caster constructed according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the caster shown in FIG.
3 is a rear view of the caster shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a top view of the caster shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a bottom view of the caster shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line VI-VI shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a rear view showing a cross-section cut along the line VII-VII shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an initial form when the main body shown in FIG. 1 is molded.
FIG. 9 is a bottom view showing an initial form at the time of molding a main body similar to FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheel 2 Caster body 3 Mounting bush 4 Washer 5 Cover body 5a * 5b Left and right side wall 6 Frame body 6a * 6b Left and right side plate 7 Thin hinge 8 Direction turning shaft 9 Axle 10 Annular groove 11 Annular protrusion 12 Flange 13 Expanded diameter part 14 Retaining piece 15 Small hole 16 Recess 17 Step 18 Upper bearing surface 19 Lower bearing surface 20 Depression 21 Projection 22 Recess

Claims (1)

A bearing member for supporting a wheel on a horizontal axis is a caster pivotally attached to an attachment member to an article via a vertical axis offset from the horizontal axis,
The bearing member can be tightly fitted to a box-shaped cover body whose bottom surface is open to cover the wheel, and an inner peripheral edge of an opening of the cover body, and is connected to the cover body via a thin hinge. And is formed integrally with a synthetic resin material together with the vertical axis,
The horizontal axis is formed integrally with the wheel,
Bearings for supporting both ends of the horizontal shaft in cooperation with each other are formed on the surfaces of the cover body and the frame body that face each other when the frame body is fitted to the cover body. Casters characterized by.

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