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US 5,331,717 AGranted
Automatic locking mechanism for entraining castorwheel vehicles
AssigneeAmerican Sterilizer Company
InventorsBradley D. Joslin, Clarence M. Edwards, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved mechanism is provided for enhancing the towability of castorwheel vehicles. The mechanism leaves the castors that are proximal to the towing force to rotate, while locking the distal castors in alignment with the vehicle axis.
Claims5
An automatic locking mechanism for entraining castorwheel vehicles comprising:
- a) a vehicle frame;
- b) a plurality of castorwheels swivably mounted to said vehicle frame such that the castorwheels are normally free to swivably rotate about a substantially vertical axis;
- c) a locking member mounted on said vehicle frame responsive to an external force applied to said locking member at either end of said vehicle for locking the castorwheels that are distal to the intended direction of motion of said castorwheel vehicle against swiveling;
- and
- d) a means for returning said locking member to a quiescent state upon removal of the external force.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.