JPH0217362B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a twin-wheel caster with a locking mechanism that can be attached to various types of furniture, office equipment, etc., and more particularly to a twin-wheel caster with a locking mechanism that can improve the locking performance of the entire caster.

[Conventional technology]

As a locking means in conventional twin-wheel casters, for example, as seen in Utility Model Publication No. 35-13231 and Utility Model Application Publication No. 56-63502, a locking means provided on a brake plate is used in a locking groove formed on the inner circumference of the wheel of the caster. Locking mechanisms are known that engage and disengage pawls to stop rotation of wheels.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, since the supporting yoke of a twin-wheel caster is generally provided with a pivot shaft at an eccentric position for attaching it to the bottom of furniture, office equipment, etc., no matter how reliably the wheels are locked, they cannot be supported as described above. Because the yoke is free (rotatable) with respect to the pivot axis, if force is applied to the support of the caster, such as furniture, the entire caster will rotate around the pivot shaft. However, there was a problem in that the support of the caster could not be completely fixed in a fixed position. This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and simultaneously and reliably locks and unlocks the wheel, the wheel support yoke, and the pivot shaft, thereby keeping the caster support completely stationary. The problem to be solved is to fix it.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a pair of left and right wheels coaxially connected via an axle, a gear-shaped locking groove portion integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface of a wheel rolling portion of the wheels, and A substantially box-shaped cross section with an open ground side and integrally formed with a partition wall that covers the upper side and supports both ends of the axle with both side walls, and that hangs down between the two wheels and supports the middle part of the axle. a wheel-supporting yoke having a shape, a rotatable pivot shaft extending vertically toward one side of the yoke, and a rotatable pivot shaft integrally provided at a lower protruding end of the pivot shaft from the yoke. A lock receiving means having an annular locking part concentric with the shaft, and a lock receiving means facing inside the yoke and being mounted so as to be able to slide with the axle and the pivot shaft as a guide with one end extending outside. and a lock slider integrally formed with a pivot shaft locking tool for locking and disengaging from the locking receiving portion and a wheel locking pawl for locking and disengaging from the locking groove portions of both wheels, and a lock slider for rotating the slider. means for biasing each of the shaft locking tool and the wheel locking pawl in a lock release direction in which each of the shaft locking tool and the wheel locking pawl separates from the locking receiving portion and the locking groove portion;
It is rotatably connected to the outer end of the lock slider and is constantly pressed against the outer surface of the support yoke by the force of the urging means, and the pivot shaft locking pawl and the wheel locking pawl are locked with the locking receiver. An operating means is provided for operating the lock slider in a direction in which it is locked to or released from each of the grooves.

[Effect]

In the twin-wheel caster of the present invention, when the lock slider is slid in the unlocking direction under the force of the biasing means by the operation by the operating means, the locking shaft locking tool of the lock slider engages with the locking receptacle at the lower end of the swing shaft. At the same time, the wheel locking pawl separates from the locking groove of the wheel rolling portion, thereby creating an unlocked state in which both wheels are freely rotatable and the wheel supporting yoke is freely pivotable around the pivot axis. will be maintained. When the lock slider is slid from this state against the biasing means by the operating means, the pivot shaft locking tool of the slider is connected to the lock receiving part at the lower end of the swing shaft, and the wheel locking pawl is connected to the wheel rolling part. simultaneously engage with the locking grooves of the two.

【Example】

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the two-wheeled caster with lock shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 designates a yoke for supporting wheels integrally formed of a synthetic resin having appropriate elasticity. The yoke 1 is formed into a box-like cross-sectional shape with a substantially semicircular side surface that covers approximately the upper half of a pair of left and right wheels 2 and 3 that are coaxially attached to the yoke via an axle 4, and an open ground side. has been done. At the center of the interior of the yoke 1, a partition wall 5 is integrally formed which hangs down between the wheels 2 and 3 from the inner surface of its upper wall. The yoke 1 also has an inverted U-shaped wheel fitting hole 6 formed as a wheel bearing at the lower part of the partition wall 5.
, an inverted U-shaped bearing groove 7 provided at symmetrical positions on the inner surfaces of both side walls 1a and 1b of the yoke so as to face both ends of the insertion hole 6, and a slit opened in the lower part of the yoke arc-shaped wall 1c. 8 and a pivot shaft through hole 9 provided vertically on the opposite side of the slit. On the other hand, the wheels 2 and 3 are integrally molded from hard synthetic resin or the like, and each has an annular wheel portion 2.
A, 3A, and gear-shaped locking grooves 1 arranged at regular intervals along the circumferential direction on their inner peripheral surfaces.
0 is integrally formed. In this way, both wheels 2 and 3 are freely rotatably fitted to both ends of an axle 4, and the axle 4 is press-fitted from below into the bearing groove 7 at both ends and into the wheel fitting hole 6 at the middle part. The two wheels 2 and 3 are thus set on the yoke 1. Further, a pivot shaft 12 for attaching the caster to the bottom of the object to be attached is rotatably inserted into the pivot shaft through hole 9 . Reference numeral 13 designates a lock slider serving as a means for locking or unlocking the two wheels 2, 3 and the pivot shaft 12, and the slider 13 is directed downward toward the tip, as shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The hook-shaped pivot shaft locking pawl 131 is curved and the locking pawl 131
A horizontally elongated bottom plate part 130 in which a long hole 132 for passing through the pivot shaft is provided near the latching shaft, and a spring latching piece 133 is cut and formed at the end opposite to the latching claw 131; An elongated hole 135 for axle shaft insertion is provided rising from the upper end of the slider 13 and facing each other approximately in the middle of the entire slider 13, and an outer edge is formed on the upper edge of the opposite side of the locking pawl 131 in the vicinity of the elongated hole 135. It consists of both side plate parts 134 having curved wheel locking claws 136 in the same direction, and arm pieces 137 that are connected to each of the side plate parts 134 and extend obliquely upward on the opposite side of the pivot shaft locking claw 131. It is configured. The slider 13 is constructed by inserting the long hole 132 into the pivot shaft 12 with the arm piece 137 extending through the slit 8 of the yoke 1 from the inside.
Moreover, by loosely fitting the axle shaft 4 into the long axle hole 135 between the wheels 2 and 3, the axle shaft 4 and the pivot shaft 12 are respectively used as guides to be slidably attached. In this case, a groove formed by the bottom plate part 130 and both side plate parts 134 of the slider 13 is slidably fitted into the lower part of the partition wall 5, and between the partition wall 5 and both wheels 2 and 3. The both side plate portions 134 are in an intervening state. Therefore, the slider 13 has its own side plate portions 13
4 also serves as a spacer for maintaining a constant distance between the wheels 2 and 3. Further, the slider 13 is in a state in which both ends thereof are supported by a lock receiving means 17 (described later) provided at the lower end of the pivot shaft 12 and the slit 8, and the bottom plate portion 130 blocks the lower part of the axle insertion hole 6. Therefore, it also has a stopper function to prevent the axle 4 from coming out of the axle insertion hole 6 and the bearing groove 7. The slider 13 is always biased toward the pivot shaft 12 by a spring 14, which serves as biasing means and has one end latched to a spring latching piece 133 and the other end pressed against the inner wall surface of the yoke 1. There is. Further, an operating means 15 for operating the slider 13 is provided at the outer end of the arm piece 137 with a pin 1.
It is rotatably connected at 6. The operating means 15 has lead surfaces 151 and 152 having generally doglegged sides that are selectively pressed against the yoke arcuate wall 1c by a spring 14 via a lock slider 13, and are continuously formed at different distances from the connecting pin 16. It consists of an operating pedal with a cam mechanism. On the other hand, the pivot shaft 12 has a lock receiving means 1 at its lower end.
7, the structure of which is shown in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. That is, the lock receiving means 17 is connected to the annular wall portion 17.
0, and the annular wall portion 170 of the locking member has the pivot shaft locking pawl 1.
A plurality of notched locking holes 171 are formed at equal pitches as locking receiving portions for locking and disengaging 31. The lock receiving means 17 is connected to the pivot shaft 12.
It is integrally connected concentrically to the lower end of. Therefore, the lock receiving means 17 also has a stopper function for preventing the long hole 132 of the slider 13 from slipping out of the pivot shaft 12. Next, to explain the operation of the above-mentioned embodiment, in the state shown in FIG.
is urged by the spring 14 to the pivot shaft 12, so that the axle locking pawl 136 separates from the annular locking groove 10 of both wheels 2 and 3, and the pivot shaft locking pawl 131 engages with the notch locking hole 1.
He has left 71. Therefore, the wheels 2 and 3 are in an unlocked state in which they are freely rotatable and the yoke 1 is freely pivotable about the pivot shaft 12. When the operating pedal 15 is pushed down from this state in FIG.
6 is pressed into the annular locking groove 10 of both wheels 2 and 3, and the pivot shaft locking pawl 131 is pressed into the notch locking hole 171 at the same time. Therefore, both wheels 2 and 3 are locked to the yoke 1, and at the same time, the yoke 1 is locked to the pivot shaft 12, thereby ensuring that the entire caster is maintained in a firm and immobile state. In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lock receiving means 17 consists of a pinion connected concentrically to the lower end of the pivot shaft 12, while the pivot shaft locking pawl 131 of the slider 13 It consists of a rack for engaging and disengaging the pinion 17. Therefore, in this case as well, the same effects as in the previous embodiment can be obtained. In addition, the engagement receiving portion provided integrally at the lower end of the pivot shaft of the present invention and the pivot shaft locking device that engages and disengages from this engagement receiving portion may be engagement means that can be freely engaged and disengaged by a pair of concavities and convexities. Any of the unevenness may be provided with a recessed portion or a convex portion. Further, it is preferable that the uneven top portions are formed in a rounded shape to facilitate engagement. Furthermore, it is similarly preferable that the body portion be formed into a tapered shape that expands toward the proximal end. In addition, the design of the twin-wheel caster of the present invention may be modified in various ways without changing the gist thereof.

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, according to the twin-wheel caster of the present invention, the wheels can be simultaneously locked or unlocked from the support yoke and the yoke from the pivot shaft by operating means such as pedals. For this reason, even if the wheel is reliably and firmly locked as in the past, the support yoke of the wheel will not rotate around the pivot axis at its eccentric position, and the entire caster will be securely and firmly secured. The furniture supports supported by the casters can be fixed in an immovable state.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a caster according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of one half taken in section along the - line in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lock slider. , FIG. 4 is a partially sectional side view of the lock slider, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the lock receiving means at the lower end of the pivot shaft, FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the lock receiving means, and FIG. 7 is a view of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a side view showing the relationship between the lock receiving means and the lock slider according to another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the same. 1... Yoke, 2, 3... Wheel, 4... Axle,
5... Partition wall, 10... Locking groove, 12... Rotating shaft, 13... Lock slider, 131... Rotating shaft locking claw, 136... Axle locking claw, 14... Urging means, 15 ...Operating means, 17...Lock receiving means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pair of left and right wheels coaxially connected via an axle, a gear-shaped locking groove integrally formed on the inner circumferential surface of the wheel rolling portion of the wheels, and an upper side of both the wheels. A compartment wall is integrally formed to cover and support both ends of the axle with both side walls, and to hang down between the two wheels and support the middle part of the axle, and has a substantially box-shaped cross-sectional shape with the ground contact side open. a yoke for supporting a wheel; a rotatable pivot shaft vertically extending toward one side of the yoke; and a pivot shaft integrally provided at a lower protruding end of the pivot shaft from the yoke and concentric with the pivot shaft. a lock receiving means having an annular locking receiving portion; the lock receiving means facing inside the yoke and being mounted so as to be able to slide on the axle shaft and the pivot shaft as guides with one end thereof extending to the outside; A lock slider that is integrally formed with a pivot shaft locking tool for engaging and disengaging the locking receiver and a wheel locking pawl for engaging and disengaging the locking grooves of both wheels, and a lock slider that locks the slider with the pivot shaft. a means for biasing the wheel locking pawl in a lock release direction in which each of the locking hooks and the wheel locking pawl separates from the locking receiving part and the locking groove; The lock slider is constantly pressed against the outer surface of the support yoke by the force of the means, and the lock slider is moved in a direction in which the pivot shaft locking pawl and the wheel locking pawl are locked or released from the locking receiver and the locking groove, respectively. 1. A twin-wheel caster with a locking mechanism, comprising an operating means for operating the twin-wheel caster. 2. The twin-wheel caster with a locking mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support yoke is made of a synthetic resin molded body having appropriate elasticity.