JPH07315006A - Automatic turning control caster and its caster equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Constitution] Assuming that the axle 7 of the wheel 6 is pivotally supported in the support shaft hole 5 of the frame 2 which is attached to the lower portion of the pedestal 1 and the frame 2 is inclined in one direction. In a caster having a structure in which wheels 6 rotate only in one direction, a substantially L-shaped engaging member having an engaging surface 4a and a sliding surface 4b at a part of an outer peripheral end of a circular fixing plate 3 fixed to a lower portion of the pedestal 1. Ditch 4
Is formed, and a turning restriction lever 9 is swingably attached to the frame 2, and an engaging end of the turning restriction lever 9 is formed.
The spring 11 constantly presses the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3 with the spring 12. [Effect] Since the wheels can be freely turned or stopped by switching the forward or backward movement of the caster without operating the operating lever with hands or feet, the operation becomes very simple and the operating lever There is no longer a mistake in operating.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic turning control caster in which wheels can be turned freely or can be stopped from turning, and various types of beds such as beds, shopping carts, transporting machines and transport vehicles using the casters. It is related to caster equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various casters in which wheels of left and right casters provided on the front side are always rotatable, and wheels of left and right casters provided on the rear side are freely rotatable or can be stopped from rotating. Equipment exists. This is because when using caster equipment, it is often pushed or pulled in the forward direction, and at this time, if the wheels of the casters on the rear side are kept in a turning stop state, straightness can be stabilized, In addition, when the caster equipment is not used, when it is stored in a warehouse, etc., it is often moved in an irregular direction both forward and backward. This is because it can be easily moved in any direction.

[0003] Conventionally, there is a turning restriction caster equipment in which the wheels on the rear side can freely turn or stop turning, as shown in Fig. 8, for example. The casters of this equipment are fixed to the left and right ends of the bottom 13 of the equipment, and the wheels 6 are rotatably attached to the frame 2 attached to the lower part of the pedestal 1 so as to be rotatable.
The operation lever 20 which can be moved up and down is projected from the frame 2 and the bottom portion 13 of the equipment,
An engaging portion 21 that moves up and down in response to the vertical movement of the engaging portion 21 is provided, and a concave portion 22 for engaging and disengaging the engaging portion 21 is formed in a part of the circular fixing plate 3 fixed to the lower portion of the base 1. Then, the engaging portion 21 is engaged with and disengaged from the concave portion 22 by operating the operating lever 20 up and down, so that the wheel 6 can freely turn or stop.

[0004]

However, in the casters of the various conventional equipments described above, the wheels 6 cannot be freely turned or stopped unless the operation lever 20 is operated by hands or feet, which is troublesome. Had the problem of being.

In addition, the operation lever 20 is provided at the bottom 13 of the equipment.
Since it is further protruded, there is a problem in that the operation lever 20 is inadvertently operated, or something is hit on the operation lever 20 to cause an erroneous operation.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the casters of various conventional equipments described above, and switches the casters between forward and backward without operating the operating lever with hands or feet. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic turning regulation caster capable of freely turning or stopping the turning of a wheel, and a caster equipment item thereof.

[0007]

Therefore, according to the automatic turning regulation caster of the present invention, the axle 7 of the wheel 6 is axially supported in the spindle hole 5 of the frame 2 which is rotatably attached to the lower portion of the base 1. In a caster having a structure in which the frame 2 is tilted in one direction and the wheels 6 rotate only in one direction, a circular fixing plate 3 fixed to a lower portion of the pedestal 1
A substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 having an engaging surface 4a and a sliding surface 4b is formed at a part of the outer peripheral end of the, and a turning restriction lever 9 is swingably attached to the frame 2 and the turning restriction is provided. The engaging end 11 of the lever 9 is constantly pressed against the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3 by the spring 12.

Further, in the automatic turning control caster equipment of the present invention, a normal caster c which is always turnable is attached to the left and right of the front side of the bottom portion 13, and a toe-in is attached to the left and right of the rear side of the bottom portion 13. The automatic turning control casters C of the present invention are attached so as to turn in mutually opposite directions.

[0009]

The automatic turning control caster and the caster equipment of the present invention having the above means have the following actions.

First, when the caster moves forward, the engaging end 11 of the turning restriction lever 9 engages with the engaging surface 4a of the substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 of the circular fixing plate 3 due to the straightness of the wheel 6 by the toe-in. As a result, the wheels 6 stop turning. In this case, the caster equipment is in a state where the straightness is stable.

Next, when the caster moves backward, the wheels 6 turn backward due to toe-in, and the engaging end 11 of the turning restricting lever 9 slides on the sliding surface of the substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 of the circular fixed plate 3. Four
Since the wheel 6 is slid on the wheel b, disengaged from the substantially L-shaped engagement groove 4 and slid on the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3, the wheels 6 can freely rotate. In this case, the caster equipment is likely to move in irregular directions.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of an automatic turning control caster and caster equipment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings shown as an embodiment.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic turning regulation caster of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a pedestal of a caster, and a frame 2 is rotatably attached to a lower portion of the pedestal 1. A circular fixing plate 3 is provided below the pedestal 1.
Is fixed, and a substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 having an engaging surface 4a and a sliding surface 4b is formed on a part of the outer peripheral end of the circular fixing plate 3.
Are formed. A support shaft hole 5 is provided in the lower portion of the frame 2, and an axle 7 of a wheel 6 is supported in the support shaft hole 5 so that the frame 2 is tilted in one direction. Therefore, the wheel 6 has a structure (one-way clutch) that rotates only in one direction. Further, a support shaft hole 8 is provided in the upper portion of the frame 2, and the support pin 10 of the rotation control lever 9 is pivotally supported in the support shaft hole 8 so that the rotation control lever 9 can swing on the frame 2. Is attached to.

The turning restriction lever 9 has one end as an engaging end 11, and the engaging end 11 is constantly pressed against the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3 by a spring 12 provided at the upper end of the frame 2. . The spring 12 is a leaf spring in the illustrated embodiment, but is not limited to this.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the automatic turning regulation caster equipment of the present invention, a normal caster c which is always rotatable is attached to the left and right of the front side of the bottom portion 13, and the bottom portion 13 is attached. The toe-in is attached to the left and right of the rear side and the automatic turning control casters C of the present invention are attached so as to turn in opposite directions.

The automatic turning control caster C is
In the illustrated embodiment, the caster rotatable left and the caster rotatable right are swung inward.
These casters may be swung outward.

Therefore, in the thus constructed automatic turning regulation caster equipment of the present invention, the caster operates as shown below when used or not used.

First, when the automatic turning control caster equipment is used, when it is moved forward in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2, the engaging end of the turning control lever 9 is caused by the straightness of the wheel 6 by the toe-in.
The state in which 11 is engaged with the engagement surface 4a of the substantially L-shaped engagement groove 4 of the circular fixed plate 3 stops the wheel 6 from turning. Therefore, in this case, the automatic turning regulation caster equipment is in a state where the straightness is stable.

Next, when the automatic turning control caster equipment is not used, when it is stored in a warehouse or the like, if it is moved backward in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the toe-in causes the wheels 6 to turn to the reverse side, and the turning control lever 9 Of the circular fixed plate 3 is slid on the sliding surface 4b of the substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 of the circular fixed plate 3 to be disengaged from the substantially L-shaped engaged groove 4, and the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3 is removed. Sliding,
The wheel 6 turns 180 degrees. In this state, the engagement end 11 of the turning regulation lever 9 slides on the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3, so that the wheel 6 can turn freely. Therefore, in this case, the automatic turning regulation caster equipment is likely to move in an irregular direction.

When the automatic turning control caster equipment is moved forward in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2, the wheel 6 with the toe begins to turn inward, and the engaging end of the turning control lever 9 is moved.
Since 11 slides on the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate 3 and turns 180 degrees, the engaging end 11 of the turning restriction lever 9 engages with the engaging surface 4a of the substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4 of the circular fixed plate 3. As a result, the wheels 6 stop turning.

[0021]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the automatic turning control caster and the caster equipment of the present invention are configured as described above, the caster can be moved forward or backward without operating the operation lever with the hands or feet. Since the wheels can be freely turned or stopped, the operation is very simple and the operation lever is not erroneously operated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an automatic turning regulation caster according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the automatic turning regulation caster equipment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the automatic turning regulation caster equipment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the automatic turning restriction caster of the present invention mounted on the rear left side of the bottom portion of the equipment shown in FIG.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the automatic turning restriction caster shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the automatic turning restriction caster of the present invention attached to the rear right side of the bottom portion of the equipment shown in FIG.

7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the automatic turning restriction caster shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a turning restriction caster attached to a conventional caster accessory.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 pedestal 2 frame 3 circular fixing plate 4 substantially L-shaped engaging groove 4a engaging surface 4b sliding surface 5 support shaft hole 6 wheel 7 axle 9 turning restriction lever 11 engaging end 12 spring 13 bottom

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An axle (7) of a wheel (6) is axially supported in a support shaft hole (5) of a frame (2) rotatably attached to a lower portion of a pedestal (1), and the frame (2) is attached to the axle (7). In a caster in which wheels (6) are tilted in one direction and rotate only in one direction, a part of the outer peripheral end of a circular fixing plate (3) fixed to the lower part of the pedestal (1) is engaged. A substantially L-shaped engaging groove (4) having a surface (4a) and a sliding surface (4b) is formed, and a turning restriction lever (9) is swingably attached to the frame (2) and the turning restriction is provided. An automatic turning control caster characterized in that the engagement end (11) of the lever (9) is constantly pressed against the outer peripheral portion of the circular fixed plate (3) by a spring (12). 2. An ordinary caster (c) which is always rotatable is attached to the left and right of the front side of the bottom (13), and the bottom (1
The automatic turning control caster equipment according to claim 1, wherein the automatic turning control casters (C) according to claim 1 are attached to the left and right of the rear side of 3) so as to turn in mutually opposite directions.