The present disclosure relates to adjustable wheel assemblies and, more particularly, to adjustable castor wheel assemblies that can readily be adjusted manually.
Previous adjustable castor wheel assemblies typically included a stem facilitating adjustment that protruded above a mount, thus interfering with the supported object, such as a large machine or cabinet. Adjustable feet that do not interfere with the object do not provide adequate mobility. Thus, there is a need for an adjustable castor wheel assembly for supporting objects such as machines, cabinets, desks, chairs, etc., that is compact and provides high mobility.
One aspect of the disclosure provides an adjustable castor wheel assembly for attachment to an object. The assembly comprises a mount constructed to be attached to the object, and a stud extending from the mount in an axial direction. The assembly also comprises an adjusting member rotatably engaged with the stud so that a rotation of the adjusting member in a first direction causes a distance between the mount and the adjusting member in the axial direction to increase while a rotation of the adjusting member in a second direction causes the distance between the mount and the adjusting member in the axial direction to decrease. The assembly also comprises a rolling member rotatably mounted to the adjusting member, the rolling member being rotatable to rollingly support the object.
Another aspect of the disclosure provides a system for supporting an object. The system comprises a plurality of wheel assemblies disposed between the object and a supporting surface. At least one of the wheel assemblies is an adjustable castor wheel assembly comprising a mount constructed to be attached to the object, and a stud extending from the mount in an axial direction. The at least one adjustable castor wheel assembly also comprises an adjusting member rotatably engaged with the stud so that a rotation of the adjusting member in a first direction causes a distance between the mount and the adjusting member in the axial direction to increase while a rotation of the adjusting member in a second direction causes the distance between the mount and the adjusting member in the axial direction to decrease. The adjustable castor wheel assembly also comprises a rolling member rotatably mounted to the adjusting member, the rolling member being rotatable to rollingly support the object.
Other objects, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The description as set out herein illustrates an arrangement of an embodiment and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.
The Figures show a compact adjustable castor wheel assembly 10 that is readily adjustable by a user and is of sound construction so that it is capable of providing support and mobility for heavy objects. Further, the configuration utilizes a compact design so that there is no interference between parts of the wheel assembly and parts of the object to be supported.
With reference to
With continuing reference to
For purposes of the present disclosure, the term “castor wheel” is understood to encompass the broad class of typically small wheels generally used to support objects and to provide ease of mobility. A brake or lock mechanism is sometimes activated in order to prevent a castor wheel from rolling. Castor wheels typically swivel about an axis perpendicular to a supporting surface to allow for easy change of direction, but the term is also meant to include wheels that may selectively swivel by activation or deactivation of a brake or lock mechanism.
The adjusting member 20 and wheel assembly 34 will now be described in greater detail, with continuing reference to
The wheel assembly 34 may be a castor wheel comprising one or more wheels 36 mounted to rotate about one or more axles 40. The number of wheels and axles necessary in any particular application is determined by the parameters of the arrangement, including weight, mobility, structural, and material considerations, as one of skill in the art would recognize. The wheel assembly includes a bore 38 for attachment to the adjusting member 20, as described above. The wheel assembly 34 may alternatively be any suitable rolling member and may be rotatably mounted to the adjusting member to rollingly support the object.
The adjusting member 20 is generally cylindrical and has a top planar surface 21 substantially closing the top side, and the bottom side may be open. The top surface 21, by itself or in combination with a manually engageable portion 22, may alternatively be either arcuate or slightly rounded, thereby taking on a generally hemispherical shape. The manually engageable portion 22 of the adjusting member may be sized so as to provide a sufficient gripping surface for the hand of a user to hold and rotate. While the size of the manually engageable portion 22 is described as being sufficiently large to be gripped by a user's hand, it is nonetheless appreciated that space limitations may dictate that the size of the manually engageable portion be kept relatively small such that it would preclude the possibility for adjustment by hand. As such, the present embodiment also contemplates the portion 22 being sized to allow for quick adjustment with the aid of a tool.
The adjusting member 20 further includes a hollow bore 32 in its substantial center that is coaxial and coextensive with the attachment member 26. The coextensive nature of the hollow bore 32 and the attachment member 26 contributes to the compactness of the adjustable wheel assembly 10, thereby requiring very little operating space and reducing interference with other objects and other parts of the supported object. The hollow bore 32 includes internal threads 42 that are dimensioned to engage with the external threads 18 of the stud 16.
The configuration shown in
A rotation of the adjusting member 20 in a second, opposite, direction will naturally cause the stud 16 to be driven further out of the hollow bore 32 and to raise the height of the supported object. Thus, the height of a supported object can quickly and easily be adjusted in either direction by rotating the adjusting member 20 in one or the other direction. The adjusting member 20 is large enough and shaped accordingly so that it can be gripped by the hand of user, thus obviating the need for a tool or other device to effect the height adjustment.
As shown in
A system of compact adjustable wheel assemblies may be used to support a single object. In doing so, the object may be leveled or tilted to precise specifications by individually adjusting each of the adjustable wheel assemblies. It is also recognized that the adjustable wheel assemblies can be used in combination with non-adjustable wheels or feet to support a single object without losing the ability to level the object. That is, if an object is supported by two adjustable wheels and two non-adjustable wheels, it is still capable of being precisely leveled by virtue of the adjustability of just the two adjustable wheel assemblies. Further, if an object is supported by two adjustable wheel assemblies on one side of the bottom surface and two feet on the other, the object may still be leveled and may also be moved by lifting the side with the feet and rolling the object on the wheels. Any number of adjustable wheel assemblies may be used alone or in conjunction with other supporting mechanisms to support an object. For example, a small object may need as little as three wheels while an extremely large and/or heavy object may require as many as ten or more wheels. The particular application of the compact adjustable wheel assembly will apprise one of skill in the art as to a suitable quantity and distribution of the wheels.
Representative examples of objects that may be supported by an adjustable castor wheel assembly (or a plurality of the same) include: photocopiers, printers, work tables, chairs, rolling work stations, carriages or shopping carts, any form of furniture, table saws, fax machines, displays, etc. Any object for which rolling support is desired may incorporate one or more of these adjustable castor wheel assemblies.
While specific embodiments have been described above, it will be appreciated that the subject of the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as described. The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.