US 4,969,232 A · Adjustable caster wheel assembly

Abstract

An improved caster wheel assembly for a wheelchair or the like includes adjustable bearing components for variably resisting swivel motion of a caster wheel to prevent undesired wheel flutter. The caster wheel assembly includes a wheel fork unit having a rotatable caster wheel, and a housing sleeve adapted for mounting onto the frame of a wheelchair or other castered device. An upstanding swivel post on the wheel fork unit is supported within the housing sleeve by the bearing components for rotation about an upright swivel axis. The bearing components include an outer bushing mounted on the housing sleeve, and having a conical bearing surface for axially engaging a mating bearing surface of a longitudinally split inner bushing. A nut threaded onto the swivel post urges the inner bushing axially against the outer bushing with a selected adjustable axial load to resist rotation of the swivel post, and thereby resist undesired rotational flutter of the swivel post and the associated caster wheel.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An adjustable caster wheel assembly comprising:

a wheel fork unit including a rotatable caster wheel and a generally upright swivel post;
housing sleeve means adapted for attachment to a castered device;
and
bearing means for rotatably supporting said swivel post within said housing sleeve means, said bearing means including adjustment means for variably selecting a frictional resistance force to resist swivel post rotation within said housing sleeve means to correspondingly prevent flutter of said caster wheel during normal operation, said bearing means including an outer bearing component carried by said housing sleeve means and an inner bearing component carried about said swivel post, said outer and inner bearing components defining axially and radially engageable bearing surfaces, said adjustable means including means for forcing said outer and inner bearing components against each other with a variably selected axial and radial force load.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Adjustable caster wheel assembly

Life of this patent

Adjustable caster wheel assembly

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18