JP5848401B2 - Caster with stopper - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a caster with a stopper attached to a mounted body such as a carriage or a wagon, and more particularly, to a caster with a stopper provided with a stopper for stopping (braking) the rotation of a wheel of a caster body.

  Conventionally, as an example of a caster with a stopper of this type, a plurality of casters are provided on an attachment body such as a carriage or a wagon, and a stopper operating pedal that locks and stops the rotation of the caster wheel for each caster. And U-shaped levers are provided (see Patent Document 1).

  These stopper-operating pedals and U-shaped levers are designed to lock the wheels of the casters by depressing them with the user's feet and releasing the brakes by depressing them upward.

  However, in the conventional caster with a stopper provided with this stopper operation pedal, a stopper operation pedal is provided for each of the plurality of casters. Therefore, if the stopper operation is not performed for each stopper operation pedal, the entire cart is operated. There is a problem in that traveling cannot be stopped (braking), a stopper (braking) operation and a braking releasing operation are complicated, and braking takes time.

  In addition, another conventional caster with a stopper provided with a U-shaped lever for operating a stopper is a transmission mechanism that transmits the operating force of one U-shaped lever for operating a stopper to the stopper driving parts of a plurality of casters at the same time. It has.

JP 2010-163056 A

  However, since the latter conventional caster has a link mechanism using a metal shaft, bar, link, etc. as a transmission mechanism, the configuration of the transmission mechanism itself is complicated, and the whole There is a problem of increasing the weight and cost.

  In addition, the pedal for operating the stopper and the U-shaped lever are arranged near the caster, such as the bottom plate of the carriage, and are not arranged at or near the hand of the user who uses the carriage. There is also a problem that the operation of the U-shaped lever is complicated.

  In addition, since the pedal for operation of the stopper and the U-shaped lever have a step-on structure, it is often placed at the bottom of a cart or wagon that is easy to operate with the foot of the user. There is a problem that it is difficult to adapt to various shapes.

  The problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is that a caster with a general-purpose stopper that is easy to manually brake and release and that can be attached to a mounted body such as a carriage of various shapes. Is to provide.

  A caster with a stopper according to an embodiment includes a caster body having an axle for rotatably supporting a wheel, and an annular engagement step portion formed concentrically on the side surface of the wheel by coupling a plurality of engagement step portions in the circumferential direction. And a plurality of casters having a hollow pivot shaft that has a screw portion fixed to a body to be attached such as a carriage or a wagon by screw connection and is rotatably disposed on the caster body.

A manual operation unit for manually operating a braking operation for braking the rotation of the wheels of the plurality of casters and a brake releasing operation for releasing the braking, and a plurality of transmission wires according to the braking operation and the brake releasing operation of the manual operation unit An operation unit having an operation unit that reciprocates in the axial direction, a plurality of transmission wires that are linked to the operation unit and reciprocate in the axial direction, and one end of the transmission wire that passes through the hollow part of the hollow swivel shaft A plunger that is connected to the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft and is partially slidably accommodated in the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft, and an inner end portion of the plunger that protrudes from the inner end of the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft toward the wheel side A brake arm that is pivotably coupled to a required angle, an engagement claw that is formed at a rocking end of the brake arm and is detachably engaged with an engagement step portion of an annular engagement step portion, a plunger When A torsion spring that is disposed in the connecting portion of the moving arm and elastically holds a required angle of the connecting portion, and a return spring that constantly biases the plunger in a direction to release the engagement between the engaging claw and the engaging stepped portion. And a braking unit.

  According to the embodiment, when the braking operation or the braking release operation is manually performed by the manual operation unit of the operation unit, the braking operation force or the braking release operation force is transmitted to the plurality of braking units by the plurality of transmission wires. For this reason, the braking member engages the annular engagement step portions of the wheels of the plurality of casters to brake the wheel, while the braking of the wheel is released and the wheel can travel.

  That is, by performing a simple manual operation with the manual operation unit of the operation unit, it is possible to brake the wheels of the plurality of casters or release the braking.

  Further, since the transmission means for transmitting the operation force of the operation unit to the braking unit is a flexible transmission wire, the transmission wire is appropriately bent according to the shape of the mounted body such as a carriage and attached. Can do. For this reason, the versatility of the caster with a stopper can be improved.

The external appearance perspective view of the whole caster with a stopper concerning an embodiment. (A) is a side view of a cart to which a caster with a stopper according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is attached, and (b) is a right side view of (a). (A) is a partially cutaway front view when the operation unit shown in FIG. 1 is braked, and (b) is a partially cutaway front view when the operation unit is released. The perspective view of the caster shown in FIG. The side view which shows the head of the caster main body shown in FIG. (A) is a side view when the caster shown in FIG. 5 is unlocked, and (b) is a side view when the caster is locked.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same or an equivalent part in several drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the caster 1 with a stopper according to the present embodiment with a part of the entire configuration omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the caster 1 with a stopper is made of a plurality of, for example, two synthetic resins made of metal or the like via two transmission wires 3, 3. The first casters 4 and 4 are connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the first two casters 4 and 4 together with the second two casters 5 and 5 made of a synthetic resin are an example of a mounted body. It is arrange | positioned at each corner | angular part outer bottom face of the bottom part 7 of the cart 6 made of a metal.

In other words, the carriage 6 has a bottom 7 formed into a flat bottomed rectangular tube shape by sheet metal or the like , and a pair of left and right second casters 5 and 5 are respectively disposed at the left and right corners of the bottom plate 7a on the bottom surface. A pair of left and right first casters 4 and 4 are disposed at the left and right corners on the rear side.

  The first casters 4 and 4 are different from the second casters 5 and 5 in that the first casters 4 and 4 are connected to the two wires 3 and 3, respectively, and have braking units 8 to be described later. The configuration is substantially the same as that of the second casters 5 and 5. These first and second casters 4, 4, 5, and 5 each have a metal hollow swivel shaft 9, and a thread groove having a predetermined structure is formed on the outer periphery of the hollow swivel shaft 9 in FIG. The threaded portion 9a is formed.

  The threaded portion 9a of each of the hollow pivot shafts 9 passes through a mounting hole (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction at each corner of the bottom plate 7a of the carriage 6 and protrudes upward in the figure. A nut 10 is tightened on the outer periphery, and the first and second casters 4, 4, 5, 5 are attached to the bottom plate 7 a of the carriage 6 so as to be able to turn around the hollow turning shaft 9.

  The carriage 6 has a gate shape in which, for example, a metal circular pipe is bent into a U shape on the rear end portion (the right end portion in FIG. 2A) of the bottom portion 7, and the open end portion of the U shape is attached. The handle portion 11 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), a sheet metal-like cross plate 12 is horizontally mounted on the intermediate portion of the handle portion 11 in the height direction, and an operation is performed on the center portion of the rear surface (rear surface) of the cross plate 12, for example. A unit 2 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the operation unit 2 includes a rectangular housing base 13 made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and a synthetic body that is attached to the front opening end of the housing base 13 and closes the front opening end. A resin front panel 14 (see FIG. 1) is provided. On the front panel 14, a knob 15 as an example of a manual operation unit is rotatably disposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a rotary shaft 16 is fixed to the inner surface (back surface) of the knob 15, and one end of a crescent-shaped cam 17 is directly connected to the rotary shaft 16. An opening of a rectangular frame-shaped yoke 18 is slidably fitted on the outer surface of the cam 17, and the yoke 18 reciprocates in the vertical direction in the figure by the rotation of the cam 17. The pair of left and right transmission wires 3 and 3 connected to the part reciprocate in the vertical direction in the figure, that is, in the axial direction. The cam 17 and the yoke 18 are disposed in the housing base 13 and constitute an operating part. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, reference numeral 17a denotes a stopper disposed at the rotational bottom dead center of the cam 17.

  The pair of left and right transmission wires 3, 3 connected to the work 18 of the operation unit 2 are covered by flexible synthetic resin outer tubes 3 a, 3 a, and are attached to the lower part or the bottom part 7 of the handle 11 of the carriage 6. Along with this, it is connected to a braking unit 8 provided on a pair of left and right first casters 4 and 4 as rear wheels. As described above, the pair of left and right second casters 5 and 5 on the front side of the carriage 6 is different from the first casters 4 and 4 in that the braking unit 8 is not provided. Other than that, the configuration is the same as that of the first casters 4 and 4. That is, like the first casters 4 and 4, the second casters 5 and 5 are formed in a twin wheel shape having a pair of left and right wheels 5a and 5b, and have a cylindrical header 5g. The hollow turning shaft 9 is disposed on the header 5g.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the first casters 4 and 4 are, for example, twin wheels that connect a pair of left and right wheels 4 a and 4 b with an axle 4 c (see FIG. 5) at a predetermined interval. It is formed into a shape. A bearing 4d that rotatably supports the wheel 4c is integrally connected to a fender 4f of the caster body 4e.

  The caster body 4e has an arc-shaped fender 4f that covers the upper half of the pair of elastic left and right wheels 4a, 4b, which is formed almost entirely of a synthetic resin, and has one end of the fender 4f (FIG. 4). In the left end portion, a cylindrical head 4g that stands up and down in the figure is integrally formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the head 4g forms a shaft hole 4i through which a lower part of the hollow hollow shaft 9 made of metal, for example, in FIG. 5 is rotatably inserted.

  And the 1st casters 4 and 4 comprised in this way are provided with the braking unit 8 for braking the driving | running | working suitably. That is, the braking unit 8 forms a center hole 9b in the hollow turning shaft 9 that penetrates the center shaft portion in the axial direction. In the center hole 9b, a large-diameter hole 9c having a diameter larger than that of the upper half is integrally formed in the lower half in FIG. A cylindrical plunger 19 is inserted into the large-diameter hole portion 9c so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and a coil-like return spring 20 that constantly urges the plunger 19 to push downward in the figure is inserted. doing. The return spring 20 engages the upper end in the figure with the upper end in the figure of the large-diameter hole 9c of the hollow pivot 9 while fitting the lower end in the fitting groove (not shown) of the plunger 19 in the figure. Let it be fixed.

  The plunger 19 forms a through-hole 19a penetrating in the axial direction in the axial center portion thereof, and has a large-diameter end portion having a larger diameter than the lower end of the large-diameter hole portion 9c of the hollow turning shaft 9 at its lower end portion. 19b is formed.

  The large-diameter end 19b communicates with the through-hole 19a and forms a small chamber 19c having a larger diameter than the through-hole 19a. The large-diameter end 19b has a larger diameter than the through-hole 19a. The locking ball 21 is accommodated. The locking ball 21 is attached to a distal end portion (a lower end portion in FIG. 5) of the transmission wire 3 that is inserted through the center hole 9b of the hollow turning shaft 9 in the axial direction by a required attachment means such as screw connection. The plunger 19 is supported by the locking ball 21 and the transmission wire 3.

  A braking arm 23 is attached to the large-diameter end 19b of the plunger 19 in a substantially V shape at a predetermined angle by a small shaft 22 shown in FIG. 6, and is disposed between the braking arm 23 and the large-diameter end 19b. The torsion spring 24 allows the braking arm 23 to swing at a required angle around the central axis of the small shaft 22.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each first caster 4 has an annular engagement step portion 25 made of synthetic resin, for example, fixed to at least one inner surface of the pair of left and right wheels 4a and 4b. Yes.

  The annular engagement step portion 25 has an annular main body 25a having a predetermined diameter smaller than the diameter of the wheels 4a, 4b, and a plurality of rectangular convex portions projecting toward the center of the inner peripheral surface of the annular main body 25a. 25b, 25b,... Are projected at a required interval in the circumferential direction. Therefore, rectangular grooves 25c, 25c,... Are formed between the rectangular convex portions 25b, 25b adjacent in the circumferential direction, and the rectangular convex portions 25b and the rectangular grooves 25c are alternately formed in the circumferential direction. .

  An engaging claw 23 a that engages and disengages with the rectangular groove 25 c is formed integrally with the free tip of the braking arm 23. The engaging claw 23a engages detachably with a play (backlash) in the rectangular groove 25c, and when it comes into contact with the protruding top end of the rectangular convex portion 25b, the rotation of the wheels 4a, 4b It is formed in a shape and size that slides on the top end surface of the rectangular convex portion 25b and fits into the adjacent rectangular groove 25c.

  Next, the operation of the caster 1 with a stopper will be described.

  When the knob 15 of the operation unit 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (b) is rotated to, for example, a non-braking position (travel: GO), the knob 15 rotates as shown in FIG. 3 (a). The crescent-shaped cam 17 is rotated by the shaft 16 and comes into contact with the stopper 17a to stop and tilts laterally.

  Therefore, the yoke 18 that engages with the cam 17 descends downward in FIG. 3A and reaches the bottom dead center. Therefore, the pair of left and right transmission wires 3 and 3 connected to the yoke 18 is The spring force of the return spring 20 of the braking unit 8 indicated by the above is elastically pulled downward in the drawing (downward in the axial direction) and the state is maintained.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the plunger 19 of the braking unit 8 extends downward in the drawing, and the entire braking arm 23 connected to the plunger 19 in a V shape has a substantially V shape. In this state, the vehicle descends to the lower non-braking position in the figure and is held at that position.

  For this reason, since the engaging claw 23a of the braking arm 23 is free without being engaged with the rectangular groove 25c of the annular engaging step portion 25, the wheels 4a and 4b can travel without being braked.

  On the other hand, when the knob 15 of the operation unit 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (b) is rotated to the braking position (braking: STOP), as shown in FIG. As a result, the crescent-shaped cam 17 stands in the vertical direction in the figure.

  For this reason, the yoke 18 that engages with the cam 17 rises upward in FIG. 3B and reaches the top dead center. Therefore, the pair of left and right transmission wires 3 and 3 connected to the yoke 18 are It is pulled upward (in the axial direction) in the figure against the tensile force of the return spring 20 of the braking unit 8 indicated by 5 etc., and this state is maintained.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the plunger 19 of the braking unit 8 is pulled upward in the figure. For this reason, the whole of the braking arm 23 connected to the plunger 19 in a V shape rises while maintaining a substantially V shape.

  As a result, the engaging claw 23a at the tip of the braking arm 23 is fitted into the rectangular groove 25c of the annular engaging step portion 25, and the traveling of the wheels 4a and 4b is braked. This braking position is maintained in a state in which the upward pulling force of the transmission wire 3 due to the lifting of the yoke 18 and the downward pulling force of the return spring 20 are antagonistic. As a result, the wheels 4a and 4b are braked.

  At the time of braking, the engaging claw 23a at the tip of the braking arm 23 is not directly inserted into the rectangular groove 25c of the annular engaging step 25 due to the rotation timing of the wheels 4a and 4b. When abutting against the top end face of 25b, the engaging claw 23a slides while being elastically pressed onto the top end face of the rectangular convex portion 25b by the spring force of the torsion spring 24, and within the adjacent rectangular groove 25c. It is pressed and inserted.

  After this braking, when the knob 15 of the operation unit 2 is rotated again to the non-braking position (travel: GO), the yoke 18 is lowered from the top dead center to the bottom dead center as shown in FIG.

  Then, as described above, the pair of left and right transmission wires 3 and 3 are pulled downward in FIG. 3A by the spring force of the return spring 20, and the plunger 19 is connected to the braking arm 23 as shown in FIG. It descends downward in the figure while maintaining a substantially V-shaped shape.

  For this reason, the engaging claw 23a of the braking arm 23 is disengaged from the engaged rectangular groove 25c, and the engaged state is released, so that the wheels 4a and 4b can travel.

  Therefore, according to the caster 1 with a stopper, the wheels 4a and 4b can be braked and released by a simple operation of simply turning the knob 15 of the operation unit 2 manually.

  Further, according to the caster 1 with a stopper, the transmission means for transmitting the manual operation force of the operation unit 2 to the braking unit 8 is the transmission wires 3 and 3 made of small, light and inexpensive wires, which are relatively heavy. Since a link mechanism having a large metal rod or link is not used, it is possible to reduce the size and weight and reduce the cost.

  Furthermore, since the transmission wires 3 and 3 have flexibility, they can be bent appropriately according to various shapes of the carriage 6. For this reason, the caster 1 with a stopper can be attached to a to-be-attached body, such as a cart 6 of various shapes, and can improve versatility.

  Further, according to the caster 1 with the stopper, the knob 15 of the operation unit 2 is provided on the cross plate 12 at the intermediate height of the carriage 6, so that the knob 15 can be braked or released by the user's hand. Can be easily performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the operation unit 2 is configured to perform the braking operation and the brake releasing operation by rotating the knob 15 of the manual operation unit, but the present invention is limited to this. Instead, for example, the knob 15 is replaced with an operation unit that can reciprocate in the vertical direction or the left-right direction, and the braking operation and the brake release operation are performed by the reciprocation of the operation unit in the vertical direction or the left-right direction. It may be configured.

  According to this, since the axial reciprocation in the vertical direction or the left-right direction of the manual operation unit can be directly transmitted to the axial reciprocation of the transmission wire 3, the configuration of the operation unit can be simplified.

  Furthermore, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the cyclic | annular engagement step part 25 was provided in one side of left-right paired wheel 4a, 4b, for example, the inner surface of the wheel 4a, this invention is not limited to this. For example, annular engagement step portions 25 are provided on both inner surfaces of the pair of left and right wheels 4a and 4b, respectively, and one or two engagement claws 23a that are detachably engaged with the rectangular grooves 25c are provided. Each of the brake arms 23 may be provided. According to this, since the pair of left and right wheels 4a and 4b can be braked almost simultaneously, inconveniences such as so-called one-effect can be prevented and braking can be stabilized.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the caster 1 with a stopper was assembled | attached to the trolley | bogie 6, this invention is not limited to this, A wagon, a shopping cart, a carry bag, a chair, a table, a bed, movement The present invention can be generally applied to a mounted body that can be moved by attaching a caster such as a shelf.

  Further, the braking unit 8 may be configured to brake the traveling of the wheels 4a and 4b in accordance with the axial reciprocation of the transmission wires 3 and 3 while releasing the braking, and is limited to the above embodiment. Not.

  While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Caster with a stopper, 2 ... Operation unit, 3 ... Transmission wire, 4a, 4b ... Wheel, 4c ... Axle, 4e ... Caster body, 6 ... Dolly, 8 ... Braking unit, 9 ... Hollow turning shaft, 9a ... Screw part 15 ... Knob, 23 ... Braking arm, 23a ... Engagement claw, 24 ... Torsion spring, 25 ... Ring engagement step, 25b ... Rectangular projection, 25c ... Rectangular groove.

Claims (1)

A caster body having an axle for rotatably supporting a wheel, an annular engagement step portion formed by concentrically forming a plurality of engagement step portions in the circumferential direction, and mounting of a carriage, a wagon, etc. A plurality of casters having a hollow pivot shaft having a screw portion fixed to the body by screw connection and rotatably disposed on the caster body;
A manual operation unit for manually operating a braking operation for braking the rotation of the wheels of the plurality of casters and a brake releasing operation for releasing the braking, and a plurality of transmission wires according to the braking operation and the brake releasing operation of the manual operation unit. An operation unit having an actuating part that reciprocates in an axial direction;
A plurality of transmission wires connected to the operation unit so as to be interlocked and reciprocating in the axial direction ;
A plunger that is connected to one end of the transmission wire that passes through the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft and that is partially slidably accommodated in the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft, of the hollow portion of the hollow swivel shaft A brake arm connected to an inner end portion of the plunger projecting from the inner end of the opening to the wheel side of the caster so as to be swingable at a required angle, and formed on the swing end portion of the brake arm so as to form the annular engagement step portion. An engaging claw removably engaged with the engaging step, a torsion spring disposed in a connecting portion between the plunger and the brake arm, and elastically holding a required angle of the connecting portion, and the engaging claw And a braking unit having a return spring that constantly biases the plunger in a direction to release the engagement of the engagement step portion ,
A caster with a stopper.

Images