JP3229941B2 - Conveyor with casters that can control turning - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrier provided with a caster capable of turning and controlling the traveling direction of a pallet by an operation lever.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to be able to arbitrarily change the traveling direction of a carrier such as a pallet, a swivelable caster is attached to the carrier. When moving the pallet,
desirable. Therefore, as a pallet rotation control mechanism,
There has been proposed a mechanism in which a turning stopper mechanism provided with an operation pedal or an operation lever is provided in the vicinity of the caster, and the turning of the pallet is controlled by a stepping operation. However, since the pallet turning control mechanism of this harvest is such that an operation pedal or an operation lever is attached near a caster and is operated by stepping, it is necessary to temporarily stop the pallet for the operation of switching between turning and straight traveling. Switching operation was relatively troublesome.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and enables a switching operation between turning and straight traveling to be easily performed with one hand, and a caster that does not expose its operation wire to the outside. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier provided with:

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides means for providing an operation lever for controlling the traveling direction of the pallet at a position of the pallet frame which is easily operated manually. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a caster including a caster mounting plate fixed to the bottom surface of the carrier, a yoke pivotally mounted on the caster mounting plate, and wheels supported by the yoke. A carrier provided with an operation lever for operating the turning control of the caster, wherein the carrier is provided with a side frame, a back frame, and a base plate provided so as to be surrounded by lower ends of these frames; A pallet having a caster attached to the lower end of the frame near the corner of the base plate, and a hollow pipe made of a pipe constituting the side frame or the back frame; An operating wire having an intermediate portion inserted into a hollow tubular body to be connected, and an operating lever connected to a distal end of an operating wire led out from above the hollow tubular body and operating by pulling or returning the operating wire Lever mechanism A casing disposed below and outside the hollow tube along which the wire is inserted, and an operating wire housed so as to be able to protrude and retract downward from the inside of the casing and led out to the outside below the hollow tube. A stopper member having an upper end connected to a lower end, a spring body for urging the stopper member in a rotation restriction releasing direction, and a plate-shaped holding member having a hole fixed to the caster mounting plate and having a lower end of the stopper member protruding and retracting; And a stopper holder integrally fixed to the yoke of the caster and having a hole at a position where the stopper member can be fitted when the caster moves straight.

[0005]

The operation wire is pulled or returned by operating the operation lever. The stopper means is operated in conjunction with the operation wire to operate or release the turning control device of the caster. Thus, when the rotation of at least a part of the caster is controlled, the transport body moves straight, and can be moved in an arbitrary direction when all the casters can be turned by releasing the operation.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings by taking a three-sided framed pallet (hereinafter abbreviated as a framed pallet) having an opening / closing door as an example. It should be understood that the pallet rotation stopping mechanism of the present invention can be similarly applied to a framed pallet other than the three-sided framed pallet.

[0007] As shown in FIG.
The base edge of the rectangular fence-shaped fixed side frame 4 is fixed to be perpendicular to one side edge of the back frame 3 generally having a rectangular fence shape, and the rectangular fence-shaped rotating side is fixed to the other side edge of the back frame 3. The base end of the frame 5 is hinged and can be folded and rotated.
Can be folded upward with the base edge pivotally attached to the back frame 3. Below the back frame 3, the fixed side frame 4, and the rotating side frame 5, casters 9 (total of four casters) for supporting them are fixed.

On the front surface of the framed pallet 1 is provided a side frame fixing bar 6 for fixing the fixed side frame 4 and the rotating side frame 5 appropriately. That is, the base end of the side frame fixing bar 6 is rotatably pivoted in the vertical direction via a mounting member 7 fixed to the upper portion of the fixed side frame 4, and the tip of the side frame fixing bar 6 is It is adapted to be appropriately locked by a locking member 8 fixed to the upper portion. In the figure,
Reference numeral 10 denotes a connector for connecting and fixing the fixed frame 4 and the back frame 3, and reference numeral 11 denotes a connector for rotatably connecting the back frame 3 and the rotating frame 5.

An operation lever mechanism 12 of the rotation stop mechanism of the present invention is provided at an appropriate height on a frame portion above the casters of the back frame 3 on the rotation side frame 5 side. When the framed pallet 1 is folded and stored, as shown in FIG.
The base plate 2 is folded upward toward the back frame 3, is hooked on the back frame 3 by a hook (not shown), and then the rotation side frame 5 is rotated toward the back frame 3 to be folded.

Next, the pallet rotation stopping mechanism of the present invention will be described in detail. In this embodiment, the pallet rotation stop mechanism is provided only for the casters below the back frame 3 on the rotating side frame 5 side among the four casters, but is not limited to this.

The pallet rotation stop mechanism 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
, A hollow tube 21 disposed upward along a pallet frame 3a (for example, a pipe provided in the vertical direction) and a hollow portion of the hollow tube 21. An operating wire 22 inserted through the sliding eye and an operating wire 2
2, an operation lever mechanism 24 including an operation lever 23 for moving the operation wire 22 up and down, a stopper member 25 connected to the lower end of the operation wire 22, and a yoke 26 of the wheel 9a of the caster 9. And a spring body 2 for urging the operation lever 23 to a predetermined position (locking direction) , the stopper holder 33 having a locking hole 34 serving as a hole for receiving the end of the stopper member 25.
9.

The operation lever mechanism 24 includes a bracket 30 as a mounting member, and an operation lever 23 inserted into the bracket 30.
And The bracket 30 is made of a plate which is bent so as to have a shallow U-shaped cross section, and which is vertically fixed so as to cover the pipe 3a side and fixed to the side surface of the pipe 3a. In that state, the through holes 3
0a, 30b are formed, and a long hole 30c of a predetermined length is formed on the protruding side surface and extends in the vertical direction.
Is bent inward at a right angle through a U-shaped cut, and a hole 30e having the same shape as the through hole 30a is formed in the bent piece 30d.

The operating lever 23 has a rod-shaped sliding portion 23a.
And a grip portion 23b extending laterally from the middle portion thereof. The rod-like sliding portion 23a is vertically movably inserted into the through holes 30a, 30b, and the grip portion 23b is inserted into the elongated hole 30c.
It is inserted to be able to move up and down freely. The hollow tube 21 is fixed to the lower surface of the bracket 30 such that the upper end thereof communicates with the through hole 30b of the bracket 30, and the lower end is fixed to the upper end of a casing 31 that houses the stopper member 25 so as to be vertically movable. ing.

The operation wire 22 has an upper end fixed to the lower end of the rod-shaped sliding portion 23a of the operation lever 2 and a lower end fixed to the upper end of the stopper member 25. Stopper member 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a substantially bar-like shape, which is accommodated in the casing 31 so as to be movable up and down along the inside thereof. Stopper holder 3 provided in
The locking portion 34 can be inserted into and removed from the locking hole 34, and a flange 25a protrudes from an intermediate portion of the locking hole 34 so as to appropriately contact the upper surface of the plate-like holding member 36. The base end of the plate-shaped holding member 36 is fixed to the caster mounting plate 35.

The spring body 29 is made of, for example, a coil spring, and is wound around the stopper member 25 in a compressed state between the flange 25a and the step 31a attached to the casing 31. The stopper hole 25 formed in the stopper holder 33 at the tip end of the stopper member 25.
4 is always urged in the insertion direction.

The stopper holder 33 is integrally fixed to the yoke 26 of the wheel 9a rotatably supported around a shaft 37 projecting from the center of a caster mounting plate 35 fixed to the lower edge of the back frame 3. Have been. Therefore, in a state where the tip of the stopper member 25 is inserted into the locking hole 34 formed in the stopper holder 33, the turning of the vehicle 9a of the caster 9 is stopped, and the caster 9 is maintained at the straight traveling position. It is made to let.

Next, the operation of the pallet rotation stopping mechanism having the above configuration will be described. First, the operation lever 23
In a normal state (released state) in which is not operated, the gripping portion 23b of the operation lever 23 is operated by the elastic force of the spring body 29.
2 is located at the lower end of the elongated hole 30c, so that the stopper member 25 is lowered as shown by the dashed line in FIG. As a result, the turning of the wheels 9a of the casters 9 is stopped, and the wheels 9a are maintained at the straight running position.

To turn the pallet, the gripper 2
When the operation lever 23 is manually lifted upward through the lever 3b, the operation wire 22 is pulled up, whereby the stopper member 25 is disengaged from the locking hole 34 of the stopper holder 33.
3 is free to turn, and the pallet can be turned in any direction.

If it is desired that the pallet be run in a straight line again after the pallet has been turned in an arbitrary direction in this way, the pallet is slightly moved in a straight line. At the same time, in order to automatically orient in the linear direction,
Is released from the hand, the tip of the stopper member 25 descends toward the stopper holder 33 due to the elasticity of the spring body 29, and then the tip of the stop bar member 25 automatically falls into the locking hole 34 of the stocker holder 33. Will be inserted. As a result, the pallet runs stably in the straight traveling direction. In this way, switching between turning and straight running of the pallet can be easily performed, and there is no need to temporarily stop the pallet at the time of this switching.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the operation lever mechanism of the present invention. That is, in this embodiment, the operation lever mechanism includes an attachment member 40 fixed to the vibrator 3a of the back frame 3 and an operation lever 41 pivotally attached to the attachment member 40. This mounting member 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a plate body 40a having an L-shaped cross section, a bearing plate 40b extending vertically from the plate body 40a,
and a stopper 40c extending laterally at the upper edge of the upper portion b. The operation lever 41 is a substantially L-shaped flat plate composed of a short arm 41a and a long arm 41b. A turning shaft 41c is provided at a bent portion of the plate, and the extension of the bearing plate 40b is provided via the turning shaft 41c. It is rotatably supported at the leading end. The upper end of the actuation wire 22 is connected to the tip of the short arm 41a.

Next, the operation of the pallet rotation stopping mechanism provided with the operating lever mechanism having the above-described structure will be described. First, in a normal state where the operation lever 41 is not operated, the elastic force of the spring body 29 causes the operation lever 41 to operate.
In the drawing, the long arm 41b is in a state of protruding outward as shown by the solid line, and therefore the stopper member 25 is lowered as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The tip of the stopper member 25 is kept inserted and the caster 9 is transported.
The turning of a is stopped and the vehicle is kept at the straight traveling position.

When the pallet is to be turned, the long arm 41b of the operation lever 41 is grasped by hand and turned inward as shown by a dashed line, and the short arm 41a comes into contact with the bottom surface of the stopper 40c. And the operation wire 22 is pulled up, whereby the stopper member 25 is disengaged from the locking hole 34 of the stopper holder 33.
3 is free to turn, and the pallet can be turned in any direction.

After the pallet is turned in an arbitrary direction in this way, if the pallet is to be run in a straight line again, the pallet can be run slightly in a straight line. When the operation lever 41 is released in this state, the lower end of the stopper member 25 is automatically dropped into the locking hole 34 of the stopper holder 33 and is fitted and inserted. become. As a result, the pallet runs stably in the straight traveling direction.

The operation lever mechanism of the present invention is provided at an appropriate position where it can be easily operated manually.
b and 41, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable to extend in parallel with the back frame 3 so as to fit inside.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a spring body is wound around a rod-shaped stopper member, and the spring body is housed in a vertically movable manner along the casing, and the lower end of the stopper body is provided integrally with a yoke of a wheel of a caster. Although the example in which the locking hole can be freely inserted and removed has been described, the spring body does not necessarily need to wind the rod-shaped stopper member,
Further, it is also possible to provide a spring body in the operation lever mechanism. In addition, any form other than the above-described embodiment can be appropriately adopted as a fitting form of the dedicated stopper member and the stopper hole of the stopper holder.

Further, a plurality of casters may be controlled. In this case, the actuation wire includes a first actuation wire and a plurality of second actuation wires associated therewith.
The actuation wire is connected to the turning control of each caster. And by turning the first operation wire, the turning of the plurality of casters can be controlled via the second operation wire.

[0027]

As described above in detail, according to the carrier provided with the caster capable of turning control according to the present invention, the operating lever mechanism for controlling the turning and straight traveling of the caster is provided at a remote location above the caster. Since it is operable at the position, it is possible to easily switch between turning the caster and traveling straight. Further, since the main part of the working wire is housed in the pipe, the working wire does not get caught in the cargo or the like and does not get in the way.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view mainly showing an operation lever mechanism portion of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view mainly showing a stopper member of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view mainly showing an operation lever mechanism portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a pallet provided with the rotation stop mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a folded state of the pallet shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pallet with a frame, 2 ... Base plate, 3 ... Back frame, 4 ... Fixed side frame, 5 ... Rotation side frame, 6 ... Side frame fixing bar, 7 ... Mounting member, 8 ... Locking member, 9 ... Caster, 10, 11 ... connector, 12 ... operating lever mechanism, 21 ... hollow tubular body, 22
.. Operating wire, 23 operating lever, 24 operating lever mechanism, 25 stopper member, 26 yoke, 29 spring body, 30 bracket, 30a, 30b through hole, 30
c: long hole, 30d: bent piece, 31: casing, 33:
Stopper holder, 34 locking hole, 35 caster mounting plate, 36 plate-like holding member, 37 shaft, 40 mounting member, 40a plate, 40b bearing plate, 40c stopper, 41 operating lever, 41a ... short arm,
41b: Long arm, 41c: Rotating shaft.

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60B 33/00-33/08 B62B 3/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A caster mounting plate fixed to a bottom surface of a carrier; a yoke rotatably mounted on the caster mounting plate; a caster including wheels supported by the yoke; and turning of the caster. In a carrier provided with an operation lever for operating control, the carrier is provided with a side frame, a back frame, a base plate provided so as to be surrounded by lower ends of these frame bodies, and a corner of the base plate. A hollow pipe made of a pallet having a caster attached to a lower end of a frame body near the portion, the hollow pipe body comprising a pipe constituting the side frame or the back frame, and the one upright hollow pipe body An operation wire having an intermediate part inserted therethrough, an operation lever mechanism having an operation lever connected to a distal end of the operation wire led out from above the hollow tubular body and operating by pulling or returning the operation wire; Operation wire is inserted A casing disposed below and outside the hollow tube body, and an upper end and a lower end of an operation wire housed so as to be able to protrude and retract downward from the casing and led out to the outside below the hollow tube body. A stopper member to which the stopper member is connected; a spring body for urging the stopper member in the rotation restricting direction ; a plate-shaped holding member having a hole fixed to the caster mounting plate and having a lower end of the stopper member protruding and retracting; A carrier having a caster capable of turning control, comprising a stopper holder integrally fixed to a yoke and having a hole at a position where a stopper member can be fitted when the caster moves straight. 2. A Bowden wire comprising: an inner wire having a distal end connected to a stopper member and a proximal end connected to an operation lever; and an outer wire having the inner wire and having both ends fixed at predetermined positions. 3. The carrier according to claim 2, comprising a caster capable of turning control. 3. The transporting body according to claim 1, wherein the operating wire is branched to control a turning control device for the plurality of casters.