Land vehicles – Wheeled – Nesting vehicles
Patent
1995-07-31
1998-01-27
Johnson, Brian L.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Nesting vehicles
280 7911, B62B 316
Patent
active
057115400
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a roller carriage having a carriage bottom with wheels, a plurality of which is swingably mounted, so called swivel castor wheels, and of the type stated.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Roller carriages of this type (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,610,750) are usually used for the transport of goods in the distribution network from a wholesaler to retailers. The roller carriages are then transported back to the wholesaler in the empty state, it being a widespread wish that the roller carriages can be compacted so that the return transport can take place smoothly, without the empty roller carriages taking up unduly much space. The roller carriages are therefore stacked on top of each other so as to form a high column of e.g. 20 roller carriages. The problem of roller carriages is that they have swivel castor wheels are difficult to retain in a proper manner during the return transport, and the roller carriages are therefore upwardly provided with retention means which retain the swivel castor wheel on an overlying roller carriage. These retention means retain the wheels in a fixedly orientated direction, so that that when stacking the roller carriages the operator has to ensure that the swivel castor wheels assume the correct orientation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a roller carriage having retention means which enable more flexible stacking.
This object is achieved by a roller carriage on which the retention means are constructed as stated.
This ensures that the swivel castor wheels can be oriented substantially freely when a roller carriage is stacked on top of another roller carriage. The roller carriages will be retained safely, without the operator having to align the wheels with the orientation of the retention means. The engagement areas of the guide tracks ensure that the roller carriage is to be subjected to a considerable force to disengage two roller carriages.
The guide track often extends along a whole circle, since this permits free rotation of the swivel castor wheels. However, owing to considerations of space it may be expedient that the guide track only extends along a segment of a circle, which corresponds to e.g. 90.degree.. Here it may be expedient to provide guide faces at the ends of the guide track to guide the swivel castor wheels into position.
When the guide track only extends along a segment of a circle, it may expediently be provided by punching an arc-shaped recess in the bracket plate for the swivel castor wheels. To increase the size of the engagement area, the side edges of the guide track may be bent obliquely downwards.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the guide track is provided in that a cone top is formed in a compression moulded metal plate. This cone top is located in extension of the axis of swing the so-called swivel axis, of the swivel castor wheel, and the outer engagement area of the guide track restricting the movement of the wheel is located coaxially with the cone top. This engagement area may be provided in the form of a solid, bent metal wire which may be secured to the metal plate by e.g. welding. Alternatively, both the internal and the external engagement area of the guide track may be provided by compression moulding of the metal plate. When this is the case, the bracket plate or the base plate of the roller carriage will be formed with a rotation-symmetrical cone top about which an annular elevation has been compression moulded. An annular depression serving as a bottom in the guide track is formed between the elevation and the cone top. This depression will thus have a radius of curvature which substantially corresponds to the radius of the swivel castor wheel.
In one embodiment, the guide track has the shape of a ring segment with side edges being provided coaxially with the swivel axis of the swivel castor wheel. The ring segment extends for at least about 1/16 of the circumference of the circle that the swivel castor wheel of an overlaying roller carri
REFERENCES:
patent: 2610750 (1952-09-01), Hulbert
patent: 2774503 (1956-12-01), Moore
patent: 3522954 (1970-08-01), Locke
Johnson Brian L.
Mar Michael
R. D. Impex ApS
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