CN108065544B

CN108065544B - Operation unit, caster with brake device, carrying tool, and object placing tool

Info

Publication number: CN108065544B
Application number: CN201710814158.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 村上裕基
Original assignee: Hinomoto Jomae Ltd
Current assignee: Hinomoto Jomae Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-15
Filing date: 2017-09-11
Publication date: 2021-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 2037-09-11
Also published as: CN112603006A; JP6701058B2; CN112603006B; CN112603005B; CN112586850A; CN112586850B; JP2018079027A; CN112603005A; CN108065544A

Abstract

Provided is an operation unit which can make up for the deficiencies and prevent the misoperation of locking and unlocking a caster even if the length of a wire rod has some deviation (error). The operation unit includes: a knob (5f) which is operated to be respectively held at a locking operation position for locking the wheel of the caster and a locking release operation position for releasing the locking; a main slider (9) that reciprocates between a lock operation position and a lock release operation position in accordance with an operation of the knob; sub-sliders (10, 11) which have a wire connecting portion connected to the operation wire and are configured to be capable of reciprocating and sliding on the main slider in a longitudinal direction of the operation wire; and coil springs (10d, 11d) which are capable of expanding and contracting in the longitudinal direction of the operation wire and are interposed between upper end portions (10c, 11c) of the sub-slider on the side opposite to the wire connection portion and lower end protruding portions (9d, 9e) of the main slider on the side of the wire connection portion.

Description

Operation unit, caster with brake device, carrying tool, and object placing tool

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an operation unit, and a caster with a brake device, a conveyance tool, and an object placing tool provided with the operation unit.

Background

Generally, such a brake device for a caster is widely used for cases such as luggage and suitcases. As a brake device for such a conventional caster, there is known one including: the operating force operated by the operating unit is transmitted to the caster by the link mechanism, and the brake device of the caster is remotely controlled.

In addition, such devices are also known; the link mechanism is replaced with a brake wire, thereby achieving reduction in size, weight, and cost (see, for example,

patent documents

1 and 2 below). The operation mechanism 21 is connected to a pressing stop mechanism 51 for stopping the caster 8 by wires 41 and 42, and the wire members 41 and 42 are pulled up by manual operation of the operation mechanism 21, so that the pressing stop mechanism 51 is driven to stop the caster 8 by remote control. These wires 41 and 42 are inserted into a flexible outer tube made of synthetic resin or the like and can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2014-217589

Patent document 2: japanese Utility model registration No. 3184906

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

However, the conventional caster brake device of this type has the following technical problems: since the caster 8 is locked (braked) or unlocked (unlocked) by driving the pressing stop mechanism 51 by pulling or retracting the wires 41 and 42, when the wires 41 and 42 are not long enough, malfunction or immobility is likely to occur.

That is, in order to reliably lock or unlock the caster 8, the lengths of the wires 41, 42 must be appropriate lengths, that is, predetermined lengths. However, since the wire is often additionally provided so as to climb along the inner surface of the suitcase and be bent a desired number of times, the appropriate lengths of the wires 41 and 42 are different depending on the shape, size, number of times of bending, and the like of the suitcase.

Therefore, in the brake device for the caster, an appropriate length of the wire is set as a predetermined length for each of various luggage cases having different shapes, sizes, and the like.

Therefore, in a manufacturing and assembling factory of a leather suitcase, after the brake device of the caster is mounted on the leather suitcase main body, the operation confirmation test is performed as follows: whether the wire is of a predetermined length or not, and whether the brake device can be driven appropriately.

However, in the brake device for the caster, after the brake device is attached to a leather suitcase, an error may occur in the length of the wire rod for the above-described reason or the like. For example, when the wires 41 and 42 are too short compared to an appropriate predetermined length, the caster 8 is locked while the wires 41 and 42 are pulled up. In this case, the switch knob 13 is stopped in the middle of being pressed, and the switch knob 13 cannot be pressed to a predetermined pressed position. Therefore, the switch button 13 cannot be held at a predetermined depressed position, and thus the locking of the caster 8 cannot be maintained.

On the contrary, when the wires 41 and 42 are too long than the appropriate predetermined length, the following immobility is likely to occur: the wire rods 41 and 42 cannot be sufficiently pulled, and the pressing stop mechanism 51 cannot be sufficiently driven, so that the caster 8 cannot be locked.

In the conventional example, the two sets of the operating mechanisms 21 and 81, the caster lock devices 20 and 80, and the pressing mechanisms 51 and 83 for braking the front caster 8 and the rear caster 7, respectively, are provided, and therefore, the structure is complicated and the number of parts is large, which tends to increase the weight of the suitcase. Further, since the inner mechanism of the operating mechanism 21, the caster locking device 20, and the push stop mechanism 51 are disposed in the suitcase 1, the internal volume of the suitcase 1 is easily reduced accordingly. In addition, in order to compensate for the reduction in volume, the size of the suitcase 1 is likely to increase. Further, the operating mechanism 21 itself also drives the slider via the I-shaped link arm 30 and pulls the wire 42, which is a complicated structure.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an operation unit that can automatically adjust an excess length or an deficiency length of a wire rod even when the length of the wire rod has a deviation such as the excess length or the deficiency length, thereby preventing malfunction or immobility of locking and unlocking of a caster.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a brake device for a caster, which has a simple structure and is small and lightweight.

Means for solving the problems

An operation unit according to the present invention controls an operation of a lock device that locks and unlocks a wheel of a caster via an operation wire, the operation unit including: a main slider reciprocating between a lock operation position at which rotation of the wheel is in a lock state and a lock release operation position at which the rotation of the wheel is in a lock release state; a sub slider having a wire connecting portion connected to an operation wire and sliding in a sliding direction of the main slider by sliding of the main slider; a telescopic part which is clamped between the main slide block and the auxiliary slide block and elastically transmits the reciprocating motion of the main slide block to the auxiliary slide block to displace the wire connecting part; and an operation part which makes the main slide block reciprocate, and the number of the auxiliary slide blocks and the number of the telescopic parts are respectively the same as that of the operation wires. The caster with a brake device of the present invention comprises: a caster supporting a caster body to be rotatable about a hollow swivel shaft, the caster body supporting a wheel to be rotatable; a locking device that locks and unlocks rotation of a wheel; an operation wire inserted through the inside of the hollow swivel shaft and extending inside the caster body, one end of the operation wire being connected to the locking device; an outer tube through which an operation wire is inserted; and an operation unit connected to the other end of the operation wire.

The carrying tool of the invention is provided with a caster with a brake device.

The object carrying tool of the present invention is provided with a caster with a brake device.

Effects of the invention

According to the present embodiment, even when there is some variation in the length of the operation wire rod to be formed into an appropriate predetermined length, the amount of the variation can be automatically and elastically absorbed and adjusted by the reciprocating motion of the sub slider of the operation unit and the elastic expansion and contraction of the expansion and contraction portion. Therefore, even if there is a variation in the length of the operating wire, the wheels of the caster can be reliably locked or unlocked.

Drawings

Fig. 1(a) is a rear view showing an operation state when the operation unit is locked in the brake device for the first caster according to the embodiment, and fig. 1(b) is a rear view showing an operation state when the same operation unit is unlocked (unlocked).

Fig. 2 is an open-cover expanded view of the outer surface of the suitcase to which the brake device of the caster having the operation unit shown in fig. 1(a), (b) is attached.

Fig. 3 is an overall configuration view of a brake device of the first caster shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4(a) is a front view of the operation unit shown in fig. 2 and 3 with a cut-away portion in the case of manual operation for locking, and fig. 4(b) is a front view of the operation unit in the case of manual operation for unlocking the operation unit with the case of the suitcase of fig. 4(a) omitted.

Fig. 5 is a front side external perspective view of the operation unit shown in fig. 4(a) with the suitcase shell and the front plate removed.

Fig. 6(a) is a rear perspective view of the operation unit shown in fig. 5 when the lock is manually operated, and fig. 6(b) is an exploded perspective view of the base shown in fig. 6(a) being omitted.

Fig. 7(a) is an external perspective view showing a state in which a button of the operation unit shown in fig. 5 and the like is pushed up to an unlocked operation position, and fig. 7(b) is a rear perspective view of the operation unit when the base cover shown in fig. 7(a) is removed.

Fig. 8(a) is a partially omitted front view of the brake single wheel caster shown in fig. 2 and 3, and fig. 8(b) is a side view of fig. 8 (a).

Fig. 9(a) is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the brake unicycle caster shown in fig. 8(a) and (b) in a locking operation, and fig. 9(b) is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the brake unicycle caster shown in fig. 9(a) in which the head main body is omitted.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the operation wire, the hollow swivel shaft, and the first locking device shown in fig. 9(a), (b), and the like.

Fig. 11(a) is an external front view of the brake caster, and fig. 11(b) is a front view of a main portion of a front wheel, a wheel cover, a head body, and the like, which are omitted from fig. 11(a), in cross section.

Fig. 12(a) is a perspective view of a main part of the second locking device of the braked two-wheeled caster shown in fig. 11(b) as viewed from above, and fig. 12(b) is a partially enlarged perspective view mainly showing the swing stopper shown in fig. 12 (a).

Fig. 13(a) is a main part front view showing an operation state when the brake caster shown in fig. 11(b) is unlocked (unlocked) in a partial cross section, and fig. 13(b) is a main part front view showing an operation state when the brake caster shown in fig. 13(a) is locked in a partial cross section.

Fig. 14(a) is an external front view of a rotary second operation unit according to another embodiment, and fig. 14(b) is an exploded perspective view of a part of the second operation unit shown in fig. 14 (a).

Fig. 15 is a main portion perspective view of a luggage case of another embodiment.

Figure 16 is a front view, partially cut away, of the third operating unit of the luggage case of figure 15.

Figure 17 is an enlarged bottom perspective view of the luggage case shown in figure 15.

Description of the symbols

1 brake device of first caster

Brake device of 1A second caster

Brake device of 1B third caster

3 free single-wheel caster

4-brake single-wheel caster

5A second operating unit

5a slide bar

5f button

5fA rotary button

6-operation wire

6b centering part

6c locking ball

7 outer tube

8 unlocking button

8b locking claw

8c helical spring

9,5A5 Main slider

9a bottom outer surface of main slider

9d,9e lower end projection

10,11 left and right pair of auxiliary sliding blocks

10b,11b left and right wire connecting parts

10c,11c upper end

A pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11d

12 mounting case

13 hollow rotary shaft

15 head (Caster main body)

16 wheel

17 first locking means

18 brake pin (pressing component)

19 locking spring

23 end metal

23a insertion part

23b stop flange

201 brake double-wheel caster

202a,202b double wheels

202c axle

202e wheel

202f tyre

203 second locking device

204 second hollow rotary shaft

205 annular locking part (locking part)

205a engaging protrusion

205b engaging recess

206 shaking stopper

206a,206b a pair of right and left stopper bodies

206c cross plate

206d connecting rod shaft

206e,206f, and a pair of left and right locking tongues

207 slit

208 torsion spring

300 luggage case

301 main handle

302 draw bar

303 third operating unit

304 cam lever

305 changing mechanism

400 suitcase

Detailed Description

The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

(first embodiment)

The present embodiment relates to a brake device 1 for braking a caster wheel. That is, as shown in fig. 2, the first brake device 1 for braking the caster 4 is attached to the suitcase 2, which is one example of a suitcase. Fig. 2 is an external front view of the suitcase 2, which shows a part of the suitcase 2 in cross section when the suitcase lid 2b is fully opened and unfolded to the left and right of the suitcase main body 2 a.

The suitcase 2 has a rectangular case casing 2c made of synthetic resin, metal, or the like, and the case casing 2c is an example of a suitcase main body and has rigidity. The tank case 2c is constituted by: one side portion (right side portion in fig. 2) of a box lid body 2b having substantially the same shape and size or a slightly thin shape is provided on one side portion (left side portion in fig. 2) of a box main body 2a having a bottomed cylindrical shape so as to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like (not shown).

The suitcase 2 is provided with, for example, common caster wheels that are not configured to be capable of braking, that is, non-braking free single-wheel caster wheels 3 and 3, on outer surfaces of both right and left corners of a bottom portion of a box case 2c of a box main body 2 a. Further, for example,

brake casters

4 and 4 capable of braking, each including a first lock device 17 described later, are provided on the outer surfaces of both right and left leg portions in fig. 2, respectively, at the bottom of the box case 2c of the box cover 2 b.

The brake device 1 for the first caster is provided with an operation unit 5 at a desired position of the box main body 2a, for example, at an upper portion of the front surface in fig. 2. As shown in fig. 3, the

brake casters

4 and 4 are connected to the operation unit 5 via a plurality of, for example, two

operation wires

6 and 6, respectively.

The pair of left and

right operation wires

6, 6 are formed of, for example, elastic metal wires, and locking posts 6a in the shape of small horizontal columns shown in fig. 8(a) and (b) are integrally connected to the upper end portions thereof. The outer surface of each of the operation wires 6 is covered with a pair of right and left

outer tubes

7, 7 made of elastic synthetic resin or the like so as to be movable in the longitudinal (axial) direction.

That is, the pair of left and right

outer tubes

7, 7 are connected to the operation unit 5 and the pair of left and right brake casters 4, and the pair of left and

right operation wires

6, 6 are inserted in the

outer tubes

7, 7 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. The pair of left and

right operation wires

6, 6 and the

outer tubes

7, 7 are added to the inner surface of the tank case 2 c.

As shown in fig. 1(a) and (b), fig. 4(a) and (b), fig. 5 (5), and the like, the operation unit 5 has a flat bottomed square tubular unit base 5b, and a flat plate-shaped base cover 5c is provided on the open back surface of the unit base 5b to close the open back surface of the unit base 5 b.

A rectangular flat plate-like front plate 5e is disposed on the bottom outer surface 5d of the unit base 5 b. A rectangular button operation opening 5g for protruding the button 5f forward in the figure and a button hole 8a for protruding the unlock button 8 forward in the figure are formed in the bottom outer surface 5 d. The button operation opening 5g and the button hole 8a are also formed at approximately the same position on the front plate 5 e.

As shown in fig. 1(a), (b), and (6), a flat bottom cylindrical main slider 9 is disposed on the bottom inner surface 5h of the unit base 5b so as to slide in the vertical direction in the drawing. The main slider 9 is configured as a manual operation portion, the knob 5f is directly provided on the bottom outer surface 9a of the main slider 9 in a protruding manner, and the main slider 9 is directly slid in the vertical direction by the vertical movement operation of the knob 5 f.

As shown in fig. 4(a) and the like, the knob 5f is configured to be slidable and slidable in the vertical direction in the drawing between a locking operation position on the lower side in the drawing and an unlocking operation position on the upper side in the drawing shown in fig. 4 (b). The reciprocation stroke of the knob 5f capable of reciprocating between these two operation positions is constituted as an overtravel. That is, the reciprocation stroke of the knob 5f is formed to be a stroke slightly longer than an appropriate stroke: when the length of the operation wire 6 is an appropriate length, the stroke of the wheel (single wheel) of the brake caster 4 can be reliably locked and unlocked. That is, the reciprocating stroke of the knob 5f is formed as a stroke that leaves an extra space, so that the knob 5f can be reliably moved to a position where it is pushed up to the unlock operation position and held even if the length of the operation wire 6 (or the length of the centering portion 6b described later) is slightly excessively longer than an appropriate predetermined length.

The main slider 9 is formed integrally with a rectangular frame-shaped locking frame 9b that is long in the horizontal direction at the upper portion of the main slider 9 in the figure, and is formed with a slide recess 9c at the lower portion in the figure, and the slide recess 9c accommodates the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction in the figure. The slide recess 9c is formed by a pair of right and left

lower end projections

9d,9e projecting at about right angles to the front in the drawing, respectively, at the lower end of the slide recess 9c in fig. 6.

The pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 have rectangular frame-shaped

sub-slider bodies

10a and 11a that are long in the vertical direction in the drawing and open at the front and rear surfaces, and

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b that connect the two

operation wires

6 and 6, for example, are formed at the lower ends of the

sub-slider bodies

10a and 11a in the drawing. The

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b are each formed with a recess portion that accommodates the locking pin 6a fixed to the upper end portion of each operation wire 6 in the drawing so as to be locked and unlocked, and the

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b are connected to the operation wires 6 by inserting the locking pin 6a into the recess portions.

The pair of left and right lower

end protruding portions

9d,9e of the main slider 9 are inserted into the pair of left and right lower

end protruding portions

9d,9e of the sub-sliders 10,11 from the rear surface opening side of the sub-sliders 10,11, and the pair of left and right lower

end protruding portions

9d,9e are housed in the vertically long frame-shaped sub-slider

main bodies

10a, 11a of the sub-sliders 10, 11. A pair of left and right torsion springs 10d,11d, which are examples of expansion and contraction portions, are interposed between the pair of left and right lower

end protruding portions

9d,9e, which are opposite sides of the

wire connecting portions

10b,11b, and the

upper end portions

10c,11c of the pair of left and

right sub sliders

10, 11.

As shown in fig. 6(b), the main slider 9 has a locking stepped portion 9g formed by cutting out an upper end portion 9f of the locking frame 9 b. The locking stepped portion 9g is locked by the locking claw 8b and can be locked and released. As shown in fig. 7, the locking claw 8b is locked in the locking stepped portion 9g when the main slider 9 is pushed to the upper limit unlock position. The locked state is maintained by the biasing force of a spring such as a coil spring 8c, which biases the unlock button 8 so that the unlock button 8 always protrudes, and is released when the unlock button 8 is pressed. That is, when the unlock button 8 is pressed, the unlock button 8 is pushed toward the unit base 5b, and when the pressing is stopped, the unlock button 8 is restored to the original state of protruding outward by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 8 c.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 3, 8(a), (b) and the like, almost the entire brake unicycle caster 4 is formed of synthetic resin, and includes a mounting case 12 as a mounting portion, and the mounting case 12 is mounted and fixed to the bottom outer surface of the suitcase 2, which is an example of a mounted body, by bolts or the like.

As shown in fig. 8(a) and (b), the mounting case 12 has a hollow swivel shaft 13, for example, in the form of a hollow circular tube made of metal as shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), embedded and fixed in a central portion of a plane of the mounting case 12 in a state in which the swivel shaft 13 is erected, and a plurality of mounting flange portions are integrally formed on an outer peripheral portion of the hollow swivel shaft 13 with a desired interval in a circumferential direction. These mounting flange portions are screwed to mounting portions required for a mounted object such as a leather suitcase or the like such as a suitcase 2, or a bedside table, a bed, a table, or the like for a hospital, by tapping screws or the like.

As shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), a head 15 made of synthetic resin, which is an example of a caster body, is disposed on the lower surface of the mounting case 12 via a thrust bearing 14, and the head 15 is turned around the hollow turning shaft 13.

As shown in fig. 8(a) and (b), the head 15 integrally forms a pair of right and left

forks

15a and 15b branched into two branches as support portions, both

end support portions

15c and 15d having a substantially disk shape are integrally formed on the

forks

15a and 15b, and both

end support portions

15c and 15d rotatably support both end portions of an axle 16a of a single wheel (single wheel) 16. The axle 16a is located at a position laterally offset from a vertical central axis hanging downward from the hollow swivel shaft 13 by a desired distance, and is eccentric. A tire 16b having elasticity is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the wheel 16.

As shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), the hollow turning shaft 13 is integrally formed with an outward flange 13a projecting outward in the radial direction at a lower end portion thereof, and the lower end portion penetrates the mounting case 12 and the head 15 in the thickness direction of the mounting case 12 and the head 15. The upper end of the outward flange 13a in the figure is brought into contact with and locked to the upper end of the hollow portion 15e of the head 15 in the figure, and the mounting case 12 and the head 15 are sandwiched in the vertical direction in the figure by this locked end and a caulking member 20 caulked to the mounting case 12 on the outer surface of the upper portion of the hollow swivel shaft 13.

The hollow turning shaft 13 has a large diameter portion 13b formed at a lower portion of the outward flange 13a above in the drawing. The large diameter portion 13b is larger in diameter than an upper portion of the large diameter portion 13b, and is enlarged in diameter in a stepwise manner.

The hollow rotating shaft 13 is provided with a first locking device 17 in the large diameter portion 13 b. The first locking device 17 has a brake pin 18 and a locking spring 19.

That is, the first locking device 17 accommodates a metal brake pin 18 having a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape shown in fig. 9 as a pressing member, and the brake pin 18 is movable (slidable) in the axial direction.

As shown in fig. 10, the brake pin 18 is formed by integrally connecting a cylindrical body portion 18a having an open upper end and an inverse truncated cone-shaped tapered portion 18b having a diameter gradually decreasing downward from a lower end of the body portion 18a in the drawing, and a pressing portion 18c is provided at a lower end of the tapered portion 18b in a protruding manner.

As shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), the brake pin 18 concentrically accommodates the lock spring 19 of the coil spring in the body portion 18 a. The lock spring 19 is formed to have a diameter larger than that of an upper portion of the hollow swiveling shaft 13 located above the large diameter portion 13b, and an upper end portion of the lock spring 19 in the drawing is projected upward from an open upper end of the body portion 18 a. The projecting upper end portion of the lock spring 19 is engaged with the upper end portion of the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow swiveling shaft 13.

As shown in fig. 10, the brake pin 18 has a slit-shaped wire insertion hole 18d formed in a side surface of the main body portion 18a, and the wire insertion hole 18d allows the operation wire 6 to be inserted into the main body portion 18a from the outside in the lateral direction. In addition, a locking ball accommodating chamber 18e that accommodates the locking ball 6c is formed in the tapered portion 18b of the brake pin 18, and the locking ball 6c is disposed at the lower end of the operating wire 6 in the figure. The locking ball housing chamber 18e has a circular opening through which the locking ball 6c can be inserted from the lateral direction.

As shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), a partition wall 18f is formed between the locking ball housing chamber 18e and the housing chamber housing the lock spring 19. A slit-shaped wire slit 18g is formed in the partition wall 18f, and the wire slit 18g allows only the operation wire 6 to be inserted therethrough and prevents the insertion of the locking ball 6c therethrough. The operation wire 6 is covered with an outer tube 7 made of synthetic resin and is movable in the axial direction.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, a metal circular tube-shaped end metal (japanese: end metal) 23 is integrally joined to the lower end portion of the outer tube 7 by injection molding or the like.

The end metal 23 is integrally formed with: an insertion portion 23a, the insertion portion 23a being inserted into the hollow turning shaft 13; and a stopper flange 23b, the stopper flange 23b being located above the upper end of the insertion portion 23a and having a diameter larger than that of the insertion opening end of the hollow swiveling shaft 13.

A lower end portion (distal end portion) of the operation wire 6 is inserted into the outer tube 7 and the end metal 23, and then a locking ball 6c in a shape of a small ball is integrally formed by injection molding or the like. The locking ball 6c is inserted into the annular space of the lock spring 19 in the axial direction, then hangs down to the outside of the side surface of the brake pin 18, and then moves laterally from the outside, and is inserted into the wire insertion hole 18d to be accommodated in the brake pin 18.

Therefore, the locking ball 6c and the lower end portion of the operating wire 6 coupled to the locking ball 6c are inserted and fixed into the brake pin 18. Further, a lock spring 19 is inserted into the brake pin 18 from an upper end opening.

As a result, as shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), the upper end portion of the lock spring 19 in the figure abuts against and engages with the upper end of the inside of the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow swiveling shaft 13, and therefore, the brake pin 18 is urged by the spring force of the lock spring 19 and always protrudes downward in the figure from the open lower end of the large diameter portion 13 b.

Thereby, the pressing portion 18c of the brake pin 18 is elastically pressed to the tire 16b of the wheel 16, and the wheel 16 is locked. I.e. the wheel 16 is always locked.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 7(b) and fig. 8(a) and (b), the upper end portion of the operation wire 6 is fixed to the body side surface of the horizontally extending cylindrical locking post 6a, and the operation wire 6 is connected to the operation unit 5 by inserting and locking the locking post 6a into the locking insertion hole 11e of the operation unit 5. The operation unit 5 is configured to: when the manual operation is performed to pull up the operation wire 6 by a predetermined amount in the upward direction in the figure against the spring force of the lock spring 19, the locked state of the wheel 16 by the first locking device 17 is released, and the wheel 16 can travel. The unlocking operation is maintained by engaging the locking claw 8b with the locking stepped portion 9g of the locking frame 9b of the main slider 9.

Therefore, according to each brake unicycle caster 4, as shown in fig. 9(a) and (b), the first locking device 17 always causes the brake pin 18 to protrude outward by a predetermined amount from the inside of the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow turning shaft 13 by the tensile force of the locking spring 19, and elastically presses the pressing portion 18c of the brake pin 18 against the tire 16b of the wheel 16. Thereby, the wheels 16 are always locked and cannot travel.

Fig. 1(a), 6(a), and 6(b) show the operating state of the operating unit 5 when the caster 4 is braked and locked. That is, when the brake caster 4 is locked, the pair of left and right operation wires 6 are pulled down downward in the drawing by the spring force of the lock spring 19 of the first lock device 17, and therefore, the main slider 9 and the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are pulled down together downward in the drawing on the operation unit 5 side, and the lower ends of the pair of left and right

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are pulled down to the lower limit of the unit base 5b and abut against each other. The abutment position is elastically held by a pull-down force of the elastic force of the lock spring 19. That is, the lock operation position of the operation unit 5 is elastically held by the lock spring 19.

On the other hand, when the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is manually operated to slide from the lock operation position to the unlock (lock release) operation position at the time of the locking, the operation wire 6 is pulled up by an amount corresponding to the pulling up from the lock operation position to the unlock operation position of the knob 5 f. The unlock operation position of the knob 5f is automatically held by the holding mechanism of the locking claw 8b of the unlock button 8.

That is, when the knob 5f is pulled up from the locking operation position to the unlocking operation position as shown in fig. 7(a) in the locked state of the one-wheel caster 4, the main slider 9 directly coupled to the knob 5f slides on the bottom inner surface 5h of the unit base 5b so as to be pulled up upward in fig. 1 (a).

Therefore, the pair of left and right lower

end protruding portions

9d,9e of the main slider 9 are also pulled up in the figure, and the

wire connecting portions

10b,11b of the pair of left and

right sub-sliders

10,11 are pulled down in the figure downward by the pair of left and right operation wires 6, so that the pair of left and

right sub-sliders

10,11 slide on the main slider 9 and rise by the respective elastic restoring forces of the

respective coil springs

10d,11d while the

respective coil springs

10d,11d located therebetween are contracted in the axial direction.

Thus, when the main slider 9 is raised to the upper limit unlock operation position as shown in fig. 1(b), the locking claw 8b of the unlock button 8 is locked to the locking stepped portion of the main slider 9, and the locked state is maintained.

At this time, the pair of left and right

wire connecting portions

10b,11b are pulled up in the upper direction in the drawing in a state where the

coil springs

10d,11d of the pair of left and

right sub-sliders

10,11 are respectively contracted in the axial direction.

Therefore, the locking ball 6c is pulled up by the operating wire 6, and therefore, the brake pin 18 connected to the locking ball 6c is pulled up in the figure against the spring force of the lock spring 19, and is pulled into the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow swiveling shaft 13.

Thereby, the lock spring 19 contracts in the axial direction, and the pressing portion 18c of the brake pin 18 is separated upward from the outer surface of the tire 16b of the wheel 16 by a predetermined distance.

Therefore, the locking of the wheel 16 is released, and the wheel 16 can travel. As described above, the locking frame 9b of the main slider 9 is locked by the locking claws 8b, and the unlocking is maintained during this time.

When the unlock button 8 of the operation unit 5 is pressed at the time of unlocking, the locking claw 8b is pressed, and thus, as shown in fig. 1(a), the locked state between the locking stepped portion 9g of the main slider 9 and the locking claw 8b is released.

In this way, the

coil springs

10d and 11d of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 that contract in the axial direction at the time of unlocking are released and expand in the axial direction, and the lock spring 19 of the first lock device 17 expands in the axial direction, so that the lower end portions of the pair of left and right

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b are pulled down to the lock operation position of the lower end portion in the drawing of the unit base 5b and abut. This abutting state is maintained by the elastic tension between the elastic tension of the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d,11d and the tension of the lock spring 19.

Thereby, the brake pin 18 is projected outward from the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow turning shaft 13 by the axial tensile force of the lock spring 19.

Accordingly, the pressing portion 18c of the brake pin 18 is elastically pressed to the tire 16b of the wheel 16, and therefore, the wheel 16 is locked again, and the running of the wheel 16 is prevented. The locked state is held by the above-described holding mechanism of the operation unit 5 until the unlocking operation.

Therefore, according to the brake unicycle caster 4, the first locking device 17 as the driving means for driving the brake pin 18 is disposed in the head portion 15 as the caster body, so that the driving means such as the brake unit for driving the brake pin 18 as in the conventional caster as described above can be omitted. Therefore, the number of parts and the assembly process can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the brake function of braking the caster 4 can be maintained regardless of the structure, design, and the like of the mounting case 12, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of types of first locking devices 17 depending on the design of the shape and the like of the mounted body such as a suitcase. Therefore, the brake single-wheel caster 4 can easily cope with a drastic change in design and a development speed of a suitcase or the like at low cost.

Therefore, in the conventional caster, since it is necessary to change the design of the driving member for each design of the mounting case 12 or the like, it is necessary to take labor and time for the design change, the cost of a new mold, the time for manufacturing a new grindstone, and the like, but according to the brake unicycle caster 4 of the present embodiment, all of these are not necessary.

In the conventional caster, the drive member is mounted and fixed to the mounting case 12 in a state where the drive member is disposed on the inner bottom of the suitcase, for example, and therefore the internal volume of the suitcase is reduced accordingly. Therefore, although the suitcase is large in size and heavy in order to secure a necessary internal volume, the brake caster 4 according to the present embodiment does not need to include a driving member or the like in the suitcase, and thus the internal volume of the suitcase does not need to be increased, and accordingly, the suitcase can be made small and light in weight.

Further, according to the brake caster 4, the first locking device 17 is configured by the small-sized and lightweight brake pin 18 and the locking spring 19, and therefore, the first locking device 17 can be made small and lightweight.

Further, the brake pin 18 has a simple structure in which the wheel 16 is always locked by being pressed against the tire 16b of the wheel 16 only by the spring force of the lock spring 19 incorporated in the brake pin 18, and therefore, the first lock device 17 can be made smaller and lighter and can be made more cost-effective.

Further, since the first locking device 17 having a small size and a light weight is disposed inside the hollow swiveling shaft 13, the first locking device 17 and the head 15 as the caster body can be integrally configured. Therefore, the number of components of the brake device 1 for the first caster as a whole can be reduced.

Further, since the lower end portion of the operating wire 6 in the drawing is inserted into the lock spring 19 of the coil spring, and the lock spring 19 is accommodated in the large diameter portion 13b of the hollow swiveling shaft 13 and the brake pin 18, the locking ball 6c can be prevented from being released to the outside from the locking ball accommodating chamber 18 e. Therefore, the operation wire 6 connected to the locking ball 6c can be prevented from coming off the brake pin 18.

Further, since the end metal 23 of the outer tube 7 is provided with the stopper flange 23b, the outer tube 7 can be positioned at a position such as a predetermined height of the hollow swiveling shaft 13.

That is, since the stopper flange 23b abuts on the open upper end of the hollow rotary shaft 13, the insertion portion 23a of the end metal 23 can be prevented from being inserted into the hollow rotary shaft 13 by a predetermined amount or more, and the insertion amount can be limited to a predetermined amount.

Therefore, the centering amount of the centering portion 6b of the operation wire 6 extending from one end (lower end in the drawing) of the insertion portion 23a of the end metal 23 forming one end of the outer tube 7 into the hollow turning shaft 13 can be set to a predetermined amount.

As a result, the brake pin 18 can be moved up and down between the lock operation position and the unlock operation position of the wheel 16 substantially accurately, and thus the lock operation and the unlock operation can be performed reliably.

When the length of the operating wire 6 slightly exceeds or falls short (varies) from an appropriate predetermined length, the excess or fall is automatically adjusted by the reciprocating movement of the

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b of the sub-sliders 10 and 11 and the expansion and contraction of the springs of the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11 d.

That is, when the entire length of each of the operating wire rods 6 or the length of the centering portion 6b is slightly different from an appropriate predetermined length, the axial contraction amounts of the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11d of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are automatically adjusted according to the degree of the deviation. That is, when the shortage of the length of the operation wire 6 is large, the contraction amounts of the

coil springs

10d and 11d are large, and when the shortage of the length of the operation wire 6 is small, the contraction amounts of the

coil springs

10d and 11d are small, and the automatic adjustment is performed.

On the other hand, when the length of the pair of left and

right operation wires

6, 6 is too long, the contraction amount of the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d,11d is reduced by the length and absorbed by the stroke of the knob 5f formed in advance as an overtravel, and therefore the length of both the

operation wires

6, 6 is automatically and elastically adjusted.

Therefore, according to the brake device 1 for the first caster, even if the length of the operating wire 6 is slightly varied, the single caster 4 can be reliably locked and unlocked. Further, since both ends of each of the operation wires 6 are elastically pulled each other by the

coil springs

10d and 11d of the operation unit 5 and the lock spring 19 of the first lock device 17 on the caster 4 side at all times, the deflection and relaxation of the operation wires 6 can be reduced and prevented. This can improve the accuracy and reliability of the locking operation and the unlocking operation of the first locking device 17.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the operation unit 5 is manually operated has been described, and the case where the main slider 9 is reciprocated between the lock operation position and the unlock operation position by direct manual operation of the knob 5f has been described, but the configuration may be such that: the knob 5f is driven via a lever mechanism, a cam mechanism, or the like. In addition, the operation may be automated.

(second embodiment)

The second embodiment relates to a brake device 1A in which the braked single-wheel caster 4 shown in fig. 8(a), (b) and 9(a) and (b) is replaced with a second caster shown in fig. 11(a), (b) to 13(a) and (b) which brakes a double-wheel caster 201. The brake device 1A for the second caster includes the operation unit 5. The operation unit 5 is configured in the same manner as the operation unit 5 of the first embodiment, and therefore, redundant description is omitted.

As shown in fig. 11(a) and (b) to fig. 13(a) and (b), the braking caster 201 is different from the braking caster 4 shown in fig. 8(a) and (b) to fig. 9(a) and (b) mainly in that: a single wheel 16 is provided in parallel on the left and right sides to form 202a and 202 b; and the first lock device 17 shown in fig. 9(a), (b), and 10 is configured as a second lock device 203, and other configurations are almost the same.

Therefore, in fig. 11(a) and (b) to fig. 13(a) and (b), the same or corresponding portions as those of the brake unicycle caster 4 shown in fig. 9(a) and (b) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 11(a) and (b), each of the brake-twin-wheel casters 201 has a second hollow swivel shaft 204 fixed to the center of the mounting case 12 in the plane of the drawing.

The second hollow turning shaft 204 is rotatably supported by a radial bearing, not shown, in which the lower end of the second hollow turning shaft 204 extends into the head 15. The mounting case 12 for fixing the second hollow turning shaft 204 is connected to the head 15 via a thrust bearing, not shown, and is coupled to be turnable around the second hollow turning shaft 204. The operation wire 6 is inserted into the hollow portion of the second center control swiveling shaft 204 so as to be movable in the axial direction (vertically movable).

The head 15 has a cylindrical head body, and a fork, not shown, is provided at a lower portion of the head body. The fork support rotatably supports an axle 202c that supports a pair of left and right

double wheels

202a,202 b. The sides of the

dual wheels

202a,202b are covered by a wheel cover 202 d.

Each of the

double wheels

202a and 202b has a circular wheel 202e, and a tire 202f having elasticity is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the rim of each of the wheels 202 e. A pair of left and right circular ring-shaped locking portions 205 forming a part of the second lock device 203 are provided on inner surfaces of the pair of left and right wheels 202e, respectively.

By forming the locking convex portions 205a protruding toward the center side at the annular outer peripheral portions of the respective annular locking portions 205 at a desired interval (pitch) in the circumferential direction, a plurality of engaging concave portions 205b recessed relatively at a desired pitch are formed between the locking

convex portions

205a, 205a adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction, respectively, to form a locking stepped portion. These locking recesses 205b are formed as trapezoidal recesses gradually expanding toward the center of the annular locking portion 205. The pair of left and right

annular locking portions

205, 205 have the locking convex portions 205a … … and the locking concave portions 205b … … provided at positions that coincide with each other in the left-right direction.

As shown in fig. 12(a), the second lock device 203 includes a swingable one-arm swing stopper 206. The swing stopper 206 has a pair of left and right

arcuate stopper bodies

206a,206b having substantially the same shape and size, and the right swing ends of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a,206b in fig. 12(a) are integrally connected to each other in the left-right direction by a cross plate 206 having a plate shape. At one end of the cross plate 206c on the opposite side, a pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b are coupled to each other in the left-right direction by a link shaft 206d, which is an example of a pivot center shaft, and are supported by one arm. Both axial end portions of the link shaft 206d are rotatably supported on the outer side surfaces of the

forks

15a and 15 b.

The pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b are arranged in parallel with each other in a state of slightly protruding outward from the outer side surfaces of the pair of left and

right forks

15a and 15 b. The pair of left and

right forks

15a and 15b rotatably support both axial end portions of the link shaft 206d, and the link shaft 206d couples the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b to each other.

At the right end portion of the cross plate 206c in fig. 12(a), a slit 207 through which the operation wire 6 is inserted so as to be able to be inserted and removed is formed slightly above the upper surface of the drawing of the locking ball 6c coupled to the terminal end portion of the operation wire 6, and the operation wire 6 is connected to the cross plate 206 c. The slits 207 are integrally connected to the cross plate 206c near the left end in the figure.

As shown in fig. 12(a) and the like, rectangular tongue-shaped

locking tongues

206e and 206f protruding in the horizontal direction are provided on the outer side surfaces of the longitudinal intermediate portions of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b so as to protrude in the horizontal direction, respectively. The size and shape of the locking

tongues

206e and 206f are formed so as to be insertable into and removable from the locking recesses 205b of the respective annular locking portions 205. That is, the pair of left and right locking

tongues

206e and 206f are disposed in the intermediate portions of the link shaft 206d and the cross plate 206 c.

As shown in fig. 12(a), torsion springs 208, which are one example of an operating spring, are provided at both ends of the link shaft 206 d. The torsion spring 208 has a pair of left and right coil-shaped

portions

208a, 208b at inner ends in the opposing direction (left and right direction) of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a,206b, and the coil-shaped

portions

208a, 208b are wound several turns around the outer peripheries of both end portions in the axial direction of the link shaft 206 d. The torsion spring 208 is integrally connected to a コ -shaped portion 208c bent in an コ shape on the upper surface of the cross plate 206 c. The コ -shaped portion 208c is formed into a コ -shaped shape by extending the right end of each of the two coil-shaped portions in fig. 12(a) and (b) substantially in parallel to the cross plate 206c and then integrally or integrally connecting the right end to the upper surface of the cross plate 206c so as to bend substantially at right angles, and is in close contact with the upper surface of the tip end of the cross plate 206c, thereby always elastically biasing the upper surface of the tip end of the cross plate 206c downward.

That is, the torsion spring 208 is a working spring: the locking

tongues

206e and 206f of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b are disengaged from the locking recesses 205b, and the pair of left and right

double wheels

202a and 202b are constantly biased to the unlocked position where the pair of left and right

double wheels

202a and 202b can travel.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 13(a), the operating wire 6 is pulled downward in the figure by the torsion spring 208 of the brake caster 201, and the

wheels

202a and 202b are held at the unlocking position where the vehicle can travel.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 13(b), when the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is pulled up to the lock operation position at the upper side in the figure, the cross plate 206c of the swing stopper 206 is pulled up to the upper side in the figure. Therefore, the locking

tongues

206e and 206f of the rocking stopper 206 are fitted into the locking recess 205b of the annular locking portion 205, locked.

That is, as described above, the operation unit 5 has the same structure as the operation unit 5 of the first embodiment, but the locking and unlocking actions of the brake two-wheel caster 201 are exactly opposite to those of the brake one-wheel caster 4, and thus the locking operation position and the unlocking operation position of the operation unit 5 are opposite. That is, when the brake caster 201 is operated by the operation means 5, the upper limit position of the vertical movement stroke of the knob 5f becomes the lock operation position, and the lower limit position becomes the unlock operation position. However, the vertical movement stroke of the operation unit 5 is configured as an overtravel as in the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 11(b) and fig. 13(a) and (b), a cylindrical end metal 23 is fixed to the outer periphery of the insertion tip portion of each outer tube 7 that is inserted into the second hollow turning shaft 204 so as to be easily inserted and removed. The lower end portion in the figure of each operation wire 6 extending downward from the lower end in the figure of the end metal 23a toward the second lock device 203 side extends as a centering portion 6b in a centering state exposed from the outer tube 7.

The length to the upper end of the locking ball 6c of the centering portion 6b is set in advance as follows: an appropriate length (predetermined length) necessary for reliably locking or unlocking the second locking device 203 is determined in accordance with the size, shape, style, etc. of the suitcase 2 or the like, the brake caster 4, and the second locking device 203. The locking ball 6c is integrally connected to the lower end of the centering portion 6b by injection molding or the like.

The non-braking free caster 3 does not have the second locking device 203 for braking the caster 201, and thus cannot brake.

Next, the operation of the brake device 1A for braking the caster 201 configured in this manner will be described.

(locking)

When the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is pushed up in the upper direction in the figure and manually operated to the lock operation position as shown in fig. 7(a), the whole of the main slider 9 and the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 is pushed up directly in the upper direction in the figure as shown in fig. 7 (b).

As a result, as shown in fig. 1(b), the locking claw 8b of the unlock button 8 once rides over the locking stepped portion 9g of the main slider 9, and thereafter, is locked to the bottom of the locking stepped portion 9 g. The locked state is maintained by the biasing force of the coil spring 8c of the locking claw 8 b. Thereby, the

coil springs

10d and 11d of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are held in a contracted state in the axial direction.

That is, when the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is pushed up to the lock position, as shown in fig. 13(b), the pair of left and right

operation wire members

6, 6 are pulled up to the upper side indicated by the arrows in the drawing, and therefore the cross plate 206c of the swing stopper 206 is pulled up to the upper side in the drawing against the spring force of the コ -shaped portion 208c of the torsion spring 208.

Therefore, the rocking ends at the right ends of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a,206b pivot upward about the link shaft 206d, and the pair of left and right locking

tongue pieces

206e,206f are fitted into the necessary locking recesses 205b of the pair of left and right annular locking portions 205.

Thereby, the rotation of the pair of left and right

double wheels

202a,202b is stopped, or prevented, and locked. The locked state is maintained by the locking claw 8b of the unlock button 8 of the operation unit 5 being locked to the locking stepped portion 9g of the main slider 9.

In this locking operation, when the length of the operating wire 6, that is, the length of the centering portion 6b is slightly shorter than an appropriate predetermined length, the contraction amounts of the

coil springs

10d and 11d of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are automatically adjusted individually in accordance with the degree of the shortage. That is, the larger the shortage of the length of the operating wire 6 and the centering portion 6b, the larger the contraction amount of the

coil springs

10d and 11d, and the smaller the shortage, the smaller the contraction amount of the

coil springs

10d and 11 d. In addition, if the operation wire 6 is too long, the overstroke of the operation unit 5 is absorbed.

(unblocking)

On the other hand, when the unlock button 8 of the operation unit 5 is pressed at the time of this locking, as shown in fig. 1(a), the locking claw 8b of the unlock button 8 is pressed against the spring force of the biasing spring 8c, and the locked state between the locking claw 8b and the locking stepped portion 9g of the main slider 9 is released.

Therefore, the main slider 9 and the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are pulled down to the lower side in the figure via the operation wire 6 by the tensile force of the sub-sliders 10 and 11, the

coil springs

10d and 11d, and the spring force of the torsion spring 208 braking the caster 201, and the pair of left and right

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b abut against the lower end portion in the figure of the unit base 5b and stop. This stopped state is elastically held by a tensile force of the torsion spring 208 in a downward direction in the drawing.

Thereby, the main slider 9 and the sub-sliders 10 and 11 are held at their lower limit positions, i.e., the unlock operation positions.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 13(a), the cross plate 206c of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a,206b is pulled downward in the drawing, and the locking

tongues

206e,206f of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a,206b are rotated downward about the link shaft 206d and are pressed downward in the drawing. In this way, the locking

tongues

206e and 206f are disengaged from the locking recesses 205b that have been locked so far, and the engagement between the locking

tongues

206e and 206f and the locking recesses 205b is released.

In the conventional technique, when the length of the operation wire 6 and the length of the centering portion 6b of the operation wire 6 are shorter than an appropriate length (predetermined length) set in advance, for example, if the operation button 5 is used to perform the locking operation, the length of the operation wire 6 and the centering portion 6b itself does not extend, and therefore the knob 5f may be stopped in the middle of the locking operation position.

However, in this case, the

coil springs

10d and 11d of the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 are respectively contracted to compensate for the shortage of the length of the centering portion 6b of each operating wire 6. Therefore, the knob 5f can be pushed up to the lock operation position, and thus the lock operation position can be maintained.

Therefore, according to the brake device 1A for the second caster, even if the length of the operating wire 6 or the length of the centering portion 6b of the operating wire 6 is excessively long or short, the

double wheels

202a and 202b can be locked reliably.

Therefore, according to the brake device 1A for the second caster, it is possible to mount a luggage such as a suitcase 2 having a plurality of types in which appropriate lengths of the centering portions 6b of the operation wire 6 are different depending on the size and shape of the suitcase 2, the number of times of bending the operation wire 6, and the like, without adjusting the lengths of the centering portions 6b one by one. Therefore, the operability for attaching the brake device 1A of the second caster to the suitcase can be improved.

In the conventional technology, when at least one of the locking

tongue pieces

206e and 206f of the pair of left and

right stopper bodies

206a and 206b is brought into contact with the locking convex portion 205a of the annular locking portion 205 (i.e., the convex portion is brought into contact with the convex portion) at the time of manual locking operation of the operation unit 5, there is a possibility that the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is stopped in the middle of the locking operation position.

However, according to the first and second embodiments, since the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11d are respectively contracted, the knob 5f can be moved to a predetermined lock operation position and held at the lock operation position. Further, since the

coil springs

10d and 11d are contracted, respectively, even when the timing of contact between the pair of right and left locking

tongue pieces

206e and 206f and the locking convex portion 205a of the annular locking portion 205 is different, the knob 5f can be moved to the lock operation position and held at the lock operation position. When the convex portions abut against each other, the pair of left and right

double wheels

202a and 202b are slightly rotated by manually pushing and pulling the braked double wheel caster 201, and the positions of the locking

concave portions

205b and 205b of the annular locking portion 205 are shifted in the circumferential direction, so that the pair of left and right locking

tongue pieces

206e and 206f can be fitted into the locking concave portions 205b and locked.

Further, according to the brake device 1A for the second caster, the pair of left and right locking

tongue pieces

206e and 206f of the swing stopper 206 are engaged with and disengaged from the locking recess 205b of the annular locking portion 205 by the spring force of the pair of left and right torsion springs 208, and therefore, the reliability of the lock can be improved and the accidental release of the lock can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 12(a) and (b), the lower end of the operating wire 6 is inserted into the slit of the cross plate 206c, but one side of the コ -shaped portion 208c of the torsion spring 208 is extended outside the insertion portion to close the opening end of the slit, so that the operating wire 6 can be prevented from coming out of the slit from the opening end.

Further, since the operation wire 6 is directly connected to (locked to) the cross plate 206c of the swing stopper 206 of the brake caster wheel 201 and the swing stopper 206 is directly driven by pulling up or pulling down the operation wire 6, it is not necessary to interpose a driving unit such as a pressing stop mechanism in the brake caster wheel 201 as in the above-described conventional example. Therefore, the brake device 1A for the second caster can be simplified in structure, reduced in size and weight, and reduced in cost.

Further, according to the second embodiment, since it is not necessary to attach the conventional drive unit to the attachment case 12 of the brake caster 201 as in the first embodiment, it is not necessary to provide an attachment flange or the like for attaching the conventional drive unit to the attachment case 12, and it is possible to exhibit almost the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment.

Further, the locking of the

double wheels

202a and 202b by the engagement between the locking recess 205b of the annular locking portion 205 and the locking

tongue pieces

206e and 206f of the rocking stopper 206 does not involve the locking by pressing the tip end of the rod-shaped pressing stop rod against the tread surface of the tire of the wheel as in the above-described conventional example, and therefore damage to the tires of the

double wheels

202a and 202b due to partial pressing of the pressing stop rod can be prevented.

Further, in the first embodiment, the operation unit 5 is provided on the front surface of the case main body 2a of the suitcase 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation unit 5 may be provided on the case lid body 2b side of the suitcase 2, or the operation unit 5 may be provided on the upper end or any one of the left and right side surfaces of the suitcase 2 in fig. 2.

Fig. 14(a) is an external front view of a rotary second operation unit 5A according to another embodiment, and fig. 14(b) is a perspective view showing a part of the same rotary second operation unit 5A in an exploded manner in fig. 14 (a). The second rotary operation unit 5A is mainly characterized in that the knob 5f of the operation unit 5 is changed to a rotatable rotary knob 5 fA. That is, the lock operation position and the unlock operation position can be operated by the rotational operation of the rotary knob 5 fA.

The rotary second operation unit 5A includes a base cover 5A1, a front cover 5A2, a unit base 5A3 shown in fig. 14(b), and a cylindrical cam rod 5A 4. In the rotary second operation unit 5A, a main slider 5A5 having a rectangular frame shape is disposed on the unit base 5A3 so as to be capable of reciprocating and sliding, and a sub slider 5A6 is disposed on the main slider 5A5 so as to be capable of reciprocating and sliding in the vertical direction in the drawing.

The outer surface of the cam lever 5a4 is brought into slidable contact with the inner surface of the upper end portion of the rectangular frame of the main slider 5a5, thereby reciprocating in the up-down direction in the drawing by the rotation of the cam lever 5a 4. When the shaft portion 5A8 of the rotary knob 5fA is inserted into the opening portion 5a7 at the right end in the drawing of the cam lever 5a4 and coupled to the cam lever 5a4, the cam lever 5a4 is rotated by the rotating operation of the rotary knob 5 fA.

The sub-slider 5a6 has: a wire connecting portion 5a9 connected to the pair of right and left operation wires 6, a sliding portion 5a10 that slides in the vertical direction in the figure on the main slider 5a5, and a connecting portion 5a11 that connects the sliding portion 5a10 and the wire connecting portion 5a9 in the vertical direction in the figure.

The connection portion 5a11 is slidably inserted through a through hole in a lateral middle portion of the lower end portion 5a12 in the drawing of the main slider 5a5, and a pair of left and right coil springs 5a13 and 5a14 are interposed between the lower end portion 5a12 and the slide portion 5a 10.

The second rotary operating unit 5A is configured to move the main slider 5A5 and the sub slider 5A6 in the vertical direction in the figure by, for example, rotationally operating the rotary knob 5fA to a Lock operation position (Lock) or an unlock operation position, thereby pulling up or pulling down the pair of right and left operating wires 6, and thereby to drive, Lock, or unlock the first locking device 17 of the brake one-wheel caster 4 and the second locking device 203 of the brake two-wheel caster 201, respectively.

In the rotary second operation unit 5A, the stroke center angle may be set to an overtravel of a center angle slightly larger than a predetermined stroke center angle when the length of the operation wire material 6 is an appropriate length, and the stroke center angle may be set so as to be sandwiched between the lock operation position and the unlock operation position of the rotary knob 5fA, whereby the variation in the length of the operation wire material 6 can be automatically adjusted by automatically adjusting the amount of contraction and the overtravel of the pair of left and right coil springs 5A13, 5A 14.

The sub slider 5a6 is configured to integrally extend and contract the entire pair of left and right coil springs 5a13 and 5a14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may extend and contract the pair of left and right coil springs 5a13 and 5a14 as shown in the pair of left and

right sub sliders

10 and 11 in fig. 1(a) and (b), respectively.

Fig. 15 is an external perspective view of a luggage case 300 used in a brake device 1B for a third caster according to a third embodiment. The brake device 1B for the third caster is characterized in that the suitcase 2 shown in fig. 2 is replaced with a trunk 300. The luggage case 300 has a plurality of brake casters 4 shown in fig. 8(a) and (b) and fig. 9(a) and (b) and the like, and free casters 3 shown in fig. 2 and the like, which are disposed on the bottom of a square tubular luggage main body 300a (these casters 4 and 3 are omitted in fig. 15 and 16).

A main handle 301, an accessible pull rod 302, and a third operation unit 303 are disposed at an upper end portion of the luggage body 300a in the drawing.

The brake device 1B for the third caster includes a third operating unit 303 shown in fig. 16. The third operation unit 303 includes: a knob 303a, which knob 303a is manually operated to be laterally reciprocable between an unlocking operation position and a locking operation position, like the sliding operation unit 5 described above; a conversion mechanism 305 for converting the lateral movement of the knob 303a into the vertical movement of the main slider 9 via a substantially L-shaped cam lever 304; and

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b, the

wire connecting portions

10b and 11b being connected to the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 and the operation wire 6, which are substantially the same as the operation unit 5.

In addition, in the brake device 1B for the third caster, it is possible to configure: as in the brake device 1 of the first caster described above, the single wheel 16 of the brake single wheel caster 4 is urged to be always locked by the lock spring 19 of the first lock device 17, and the lock (unlock) is released when the operation wire 6 is pulled up toward the operation unit 5, and conversely, the brake device may be configured such that: the single wheel 16 is constantly urged to be unlocked by the lock spring 19, and the single wheel 16 is locked when the operation wire 6 is pulled down toward the brake single wheel caster 4. The braking caster 4 may be replaced with a braking caster 201 capable of braking.

Further, the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 of the third operation unit 303 are configured to integrally extend and contract the entirety of the pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11d, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be configured such that: as in the pair of left and right sub-sliders 10 and 11 shown in fig. 1(a) and (b), a pair of left and

right coil springs

10d and 11d extend and contract, respectively.

In the above embodiments, the case where the frame-type suitcase 2 and the luggage case 300 are used as the luggage case has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to luggage cases such as a zipper-type suitcase and a luggage case, and can be generally applied to luggage cases having casters capable of braking. Further, a bed head table or the like of a hospital may be used as the body to be attached.

Fig. 17 is an external perspective view of the case 400 according to another embodiment, in which the braked caster 4 shown in fig. 8(a) and (b) to fig. 9(a) and (b) is further mounted on the outer surface of the bottom of the case.

That is, although the pipe insertion hole 400c through which the outer pipe 7 is inserted is formed in the caster attaching portion 400b such as the bottom of the suitcase main body 400a of the suitcase 400, since the stopper flange 23b of the outer pipe 7 shown in fig. 9(a), (b), fig. 13(a), (b), and the like is formed to have a larger diameter than the pipe insertion hole 400c, when the outer pipe 7 is forcibly drawn into the suitcase main body 400a, the stopper flange 23b abuts against the outer surface of the pipe insertion hole 400c, and further drawing-in can be prevented. This can prevent the outer tube 7 from coming out. Further, fig. 17 illustrates a case where the brake single-wheel caster 4 is used as a caster, but the brake single-wheel caster 4 may be replaced with a brake double-wheel caster 201 shown in fig. 11(a) and (b), fig. 13(a) and (b), and the like. In fig. 17, a free caster 3 without a lock device may be provided on the caster attachment portion 400 b.

The first, second, and

third operating units

5, 5A, and 303 may be disposed at any position such as an upper end surface, a front surface, a rear surface, and a side surface of an object to be mounted, such as the

suitcase

2 or 400 and the luggage 300.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. These new embodiments can be implemented by other embodiments, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the present invention, and are included in the invention recited in the claims and the scope equivalent to the invention.

Claims

1. An operation unit that controls an operation of a lock device that locks and unlocks a wheel of a caster via an operation wire, the operation unit comprising:

a main slider reciprocating between a lock operation position at which the rotation of the wheel is in a lock state and a lock release operation position at which the rotation of the wheel is in a lock release state;

a sub slider having a wire connecting portion connected to the operation wire and sliding in a sliding direction of the main slider by sliding of the main slider;

an expansion/contraction portion interposed between the main slider and the sub slider and elastically transmitting the reciprocating motion of the main slider to the sub slider to displace the wire connecting portion; and

an operation section that causes the main slider to perform the reciprocating motion,

the number of the auxiliary sliding blocks and the number of the telescopic parts are respectively the same as the number of the operation wires.

2. The operating unit according to claim 1,

a unit base having a disk surface on which the lock operation position and the unlock operation position are defined and on which the main slider slides,

the sub slider is configured to be slidable on a surface opposite to a surface in contact with the disk surface among surfaces of the main slider,

the expansion part is disposed on the surface of the main slider.

3. The operating unit according to claim 1 or 2,

the operation unit includes a holding mechanism that holds the main slider at the lock operation position and the unlock position, respectively.

4. The operation unit according to claim 3, comprising:

a locking portion formed in the main slider; and

a lock release operation portion having a locking claw capable of being locked with and released from the locking portion at the lock operation position,

when the lock release operation portion is operated in a state where the locking portion is locked with the locking claw, the locking is released.

5. The operating unit according to claim 3,

a cam lever which is interlocked with the operation portion and converts the displacement of the operation portion into the sliding of the main slider,

the main slider performs the reciprocating motion according to a displacement operation of the operation portion.

6. The operating unit according to claim 5,

one end of the main slider on the side opposite to the wire connecting portion is slidably circumscribed to the outer surface of the cam rod.

7. The operating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

a plurality of the auxiliary sliders are provided,

each of the wire connecting portions of the plurality of sub-sliders is connected to the operation wire of the locking device connected to a different caster.

8. The operating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the sub-slider has a plurality of wire connecting portions,

the reciprocating motion of one of the main sliders is transmitted to each of the wire connecting portions.

9. The operating unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the stroke amount of the operation portion for reciprocating the main slider is an amount capable of absorbing an error generated by a predetermined length of the operation wire.

10. The operating unit according to claim 1,

the operation unit is configured to be manually or automatically operable.

11. A caster with a brake device, comprising:

a caster supporting a caster body to be rotatable about a hollow swivel shaft, the caster body supporting a wheel to be rotatable;

a lock device that locks and unlocks rotation of the wheel;

an operation wire inserted through the inside of the hollow swiveling shaft and extending inside the caster body, one end of the operation wire being connected to the locking device;

an outer tube through which the operation wire is inserted; and

the operation unit according to any one of claim 1 to claim 10, which is connected to the other end of the operation wire.

12. The caster with brake as claimed in claim 11,

the locking device has:

a pressing member having an open end and being pressed toward the wheel; and

a biasing member that biases the pressing member toward the wheel,

the opening end side of the pressing member is housed in a large diameter portion of the hollow swivel shaft so as to be slidable in the axial direction,

a part of the urging member is accommodated in the pressing member, and the other part of the urging member protrudes from the opening end and abuts against an upper end portion of the large diameter portion of the hollow swiveling shaft.

13. The caster with brake as claimed in claim 11,

the locking device is provided with:

a swing stopper having a locking tongue that is locked to a locking recess of an annular locking portion provided in the wheel, thereby locking rotation of the wheel; and

and a biasing member that biases the rocking stopper in a direction in which the locking of the locking tongue piece and the locking recess is released.

14. A carrying tool, characterized in that,

a caster with a brake according to claim 11.

15. An object carrying tool, characterized in that,

a caster with a brake according to claim 11.