Roll or roller – With internal anchor for annular member
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-06
2001-02-06
Cuda, Irene (Department: 3726)
Roll or roller
With internal anchor for annular member
C016S01800R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183405
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention concerns a roller with a bearing axle on which a wheel is rotatably mounted in a roller housing, which wheel for the purpose of its fixing is raised off its travelling plane together with its bearing axle and the housing by means of a lifting device into a position past the dead centre and at the same time a supporting device fitted to the housing with its support area is lowered by means of the same lifting device onto the travelling plane.
BACKGROUND ART
A known roller of this kind according to the German utility model 87 00 869.6 U1 has wheels at both ends of a bearing axle between which wheels a two-armed lever as well as a single-armed lever, interacting with each other, are provided in such a manner that when a pedal surface of the two-armed lever is pressed downward clockwise, the single-armed lever with a base is pressed against the travelling plane and at the same time the roller, together with its bearing axle and the housing is raised into an unstable position past dead centre. A slight push against the pedal surface of the two-armed lever, a free actuating end of which protrudes past a external circumferential contour of the wheels, pivots the lever upward (counter-clockwise) to displace it from the unstable position past the dead centre. In addition to its complicated construction which is susceptible to breakdown and apart from its poor appearance, this roller has a relatively small support area under high pressure. For this reason it can be used only for light loads, e.g. in the form of mobile clothes stands for store equipment as stated in this prior publication. These rollers are definitely not suitable to accept greater loads, e.g. from 100 kg to 350 kg per roller, as is the practice in packaging machines.
An object of the invention is to produce a roller which while having a considerably greater load carrying capacity reliably precludes an accidental release of the roller after its fixing and, while having a simple construction, assures a stable supporting device with great load carrying capacity together with a lifting device which is simple to operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a lifting device comprises two eccentric discs which are mounted at both ends of the bearing axle and are connected in a rotationally fixed manner. One of the discs engages in a form-locking manner a corresponding circular or oval recess in one side plate of the supporting device and at least one of the eccentric discs has two defined strike surfaces for two stable positions past the dead centre. These strike surfaces can be rotated about the bearing axle in opposite directions against a stop protrusion on one of the side plates. This arrangement enables the swivelling of the eccentric disc in two opposite directions to reach two stable positions past the dead centre by simply rotating the bearing axle, one of these positions defining the raised position of the roller and the other the lowered position of the roller. Since the side plates, depending on the pressures to be expected, may have support areas with large and very varied shapes, this roller is suitable not only to accommodate heavy loads but can also function as a fixed castor and, when provided according to the state-of-the-art with a rotating ring, also as a swivelling castor.
According to an advantageous refinement of the invention, the supporting device comprises two side plates provided on the bearing axle at both sides of the housing. The side plates, having relatively long support areas, are facing the travelling plane and in the vicinity of the travelling plane are joined by two connecting bolts which protrude past the ends of the external circumferential contour of the wheel to form a stable and relatively large-area support skid. By virtue of this construction a stable structure to accommodate heavy loads is produced, which can be quickly raised and lowered. In addition, this support skid has a protective function inasmuch as the operator's feet no longer will be hit or rolled over by the wheel(s) of a roller. There are no protruding parts by means of which accidentally acting forces could swivel the eccentric disc from its position past the dead centre.
To establish an even more stable support surface in the supporting position the connecting bolts form with their external circumference a portion of the support area of the supporting device. In an advantageous manner the connecting bolts are provided with a friction-promoting, elastic cover which is compressed in the lower position of the support skid. As a result of this, the friction between the support skid and the travelling plane is considerably increased.
According to an alternative embodiment the connecting bolts are provided at a distance above the travelling plane and form a carrier and pivoting axle for a further, smaller support skid suspended thereon, which can be manufactured from a hard rubber or a wear-resistant plastic material. Consequently, the undulation of the floor can be compensated for in a simple manner especially on inclined levels.
According to an advantageous refinement of the invention, the side plates of the supporting device have a triangular or trapezoidal shape with rounded corners and are provided in a displaceable manner on the eccentric discs so that the side plates can be raised and lowered by these eccentric discs. So that the lowering and raising would not occur arbitrarily, at least one end of the bearing axle has an actuating spigot with a polygonal cross-section, which may be triangular, rectangular or hexagonal, to enable use of a spanner or a ratchet, with the the support skid by means of the eccentric disc.
The housing of the roller has a U-shaped cross-section, known per se, the free ends of its U-legs accommodating the bearing axle at both its end regions and the transverse web of which has a rotating ring known per se with a fixing lever. By virtue of this arrangement of the rotating ring with the fixing lever such a roller can be used in an advantageous manner as a swivelling castor. Without the rotating ring, this roller is used as a fixed castor.
According to an advantageous refinement of the invention, one of the eccentric discs protrudes past the relevant external surface of the side plate of the support skid and is provided with two strike surfaces on this protruding portion for the two stable positions past the dead centre.
Advantageously the stop protrusion interacting with the two strike surfaces is a stop pin which protrudes past the external surface of the side plate and protrudes with the protruding eccentric disc, which pin is pressed, riveted or screwed into a hole of this side plate of the support skid. To enable height adjustment of the load carried by the roller, a fastening bolt with an external thread is provided on the housing (with or without the rotating ring) perpendicularly to the travelling plane of the wheel to penetrate a bracket having a corresponding internal thread, onto which bracket the load to be carried by the roller can be placed in a height adjustable and lockable manner. Since the fastening bolt is provided rotatably on the housing, it can be rotated by means of its polygonal spigot provided on its free end using a spanner or a ratchet and, accordingly, the bracket situated on it can be moved upward or downward.
Depending upon the load and the purpose of application the parts of the lifting device and of the support skid are made totally or partly from steel or plastic material or a combination of these materials.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4467496 (1984-08-01), Gregg
patent: 5628377 (1997-05-01), Le Gloan
Cuda Irene
Lowe Hauptman & Gilman & Berner LLP
Signode Bernpak GmbH
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