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US 4,922,574 AGranted
Caster locking mechanism and carriage
AssigneeSnap-on Tools Corporation
InventorsCharles H. Heiligenthal, George R. Slivon, Jack A. Parise
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSnap-on Tools Corporation
InventorsCharles H. Heiligenthal, George R. Slivon, Jack A. Parise
Estimating the term…
A wheeled carriage has a chassis with a plurality of swivel casters, and a locking assembly actuated by a foot pedal located along the front of the carriage. Pushing down on the foot pedal rotates a cam that engages a cam follower on a "T" bar frame supporting two locking rings which respectively overlie two of the caster wheels to move the rings into a locking position in engagement with the wheels to lock the wheels and the casters in any position. The cam follower surface includes a ramp portion engageable by the cam for driving the rings to their locking position and a horizontal latch portion engageable by the cam in its "overcenter" position for holding the rings in their locking position. A lifter bar is engageable by the user's foot to rotate the cam back off the follower and permit the rings to resiliently return to their release position. The cam and follower surfaces are so arranged that a limited rotation of the cam through less than about 25 degrees is sufficient to move the assembly between its release and locking configurations so that the locking assembly can be used where only a few inches of clearance beneath the chassis is available.
In a caster locking assembly including mounting means adapted to be coupled to an associated load, a caster wheel rotatably carried by the mounting means for rolling engagement with an underlying support surface, and a locking ring resiliently carried by the mounting means and overlying the wheel, the locking ring being movable between a release position out of engagement with the wheel and a locking position firmly frictionally engaging the wheel for locking thereof, the locking ring being resiliently biased toward its release position, the improvement comprising:
In a caster locking assembly including mounting means adapted to be coupled to an associated load, a pair of caster wheels respectively rotatably carried by the mounting means for rolling engagement with an underlying support surface, a locking frame resiliently supported by the mounting means, and a pair of locking rings carried by the locking frame and respectively overlying the wheels, the locking frame being movable between a release position wherein the locking rings are out of engagement with the wheels and a locking position wherein the locking rings respectively firmly frictionally engage the wheels for locking thereof, the locking frame being resiliently biased toward its release position, the improvement comprising:
In a wheeled carriage including a chassis, a plurality of swivel yokes carried by the chassis for rotation respectively about substantially parallel swivel axes, a plurality of wheels respectively carried by the yokes for rotation about axes disposed substantially perpendicular respectively to the swivel axes, a locking frame resiliently supported by the chassis, and at least two locking rings carried by the locking frame and respectively overlying at least two of the wheels substantially coaxially with the corresponding swivel axes, the locking frame being movable between a release position wherein the locking rings are out of engagement with the associated wheels and a locking position wherein the locking rings firmly frictionally engage the associated wheels for locking thereof, the locking frame being resiliently biased toward its release position, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.