Patent Application
20060048335
The present invention relates generally to the field of rollers, conveyors and casters, and in particular, to a new and useful caster that can be mounted in the floor or in any surface containing a bore.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a caster comprising means defining a cylindrical bore, a pair of spaced apart cord shaped journals in the bore, the journals having aligned openings therein, a shaft extending in the openings and across the space between the journals, and a roller mounted for rotation on the shaft and in the space between the journals.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.
In the drawings:
Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements,
Journals 16, 18 may be made of metal or plastic and shaft 14 may be metal, or if only light loads are to be placed on roller 12, shaft 14 may also be of plastic. Roller 12 is made of rubber or elastomer for light loads, or may be of metal for heavier loads. Housing 10 may be of metal or plastic and may have a bottom wall 13 for closing the bore 11.
The bearing 20 is advantageously slightly longer than the axial width of roller 12 so that the bearing will act as a spacer in the bore 11, to hold journals 16 and 18 apart. This will also leave sufficient clearance for free rotation of roller 12 in the space between the journals. Shaft 14 extending in bearing 20 and is confined between the walls of bore 11 in the openings 17, 19.
Alternatively, the shaft 14 may have a large diameter portion centered between the journals, acting as the bearing and to hold the journals apart, with smaller diameter portions extending into the openings 17, 19.
Thus, the entire subassembly of roller 12, bearing 20, shaft 14 and journals 16,18 can be dropped into bore 11 and retained there by press-fitting or simply by gravity without requiring adhesive, screws or any other fasteners to hold the subassembly together. The caster assembly made up of the subassembly plus the housing 10, can then be dropped or press fit into a blind bore, e.g. the bore 24 in a floor 22 of
For cleaning, the caster assembly or the subassembly is easily removed, disassembled, cleaned and returned to the bore 11 and the blind bore 24.
For installation, any surface, e.g. a concrete warehouse floor 22 in
Alternatively, a blind bore can be made in the bottom surface of a piece of furniture or other structure, and the caster assembly inserted from below. In that case some means such as adhesive may be needed to retain the housing 10 in the blind bore, and the journals 16, 18 in the housing.
In another even more simplified embodiment of the invention, the housing 10 is eliminated and the blind bore 24 serves as the retaining bore for the subassembly of roller 12, bearing 20, journals 16,18, and shaft 14.
Roller 12 is show to be cylindrical but it can have a convex outer surface of a concave outer surface. Each journal 16 and 18 has a cylindrical outer surface in contact with the surface of bore 11 (or directly with bore 24 if no housing 10 is provided) and an inner planar surface facing the roller and contacting the bearing 20 which holds the journals firmly against the bore wall.
Bottom wall 13 helps to enclose the housing 10 from below in case the material of the floor 22 is prone to dust and granules as in the case of concrete, to keep the bearing 20 cleaner for free rotation of roller 12.
With only 5 or 6 major parts, the bore caster of the present invention provides a simple but robust mechanism for rolling items over a surface or for rolling a structure with the bore casters of the invention, over a surface.
When multiple caster assemblies are to be used to create one conveyer path, it is advantageous to fix the relative rotational position of the housing 10 in its blind bore 24. One example is illustrated in
While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.
