Pivotal roller mechanism

A fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism that statically supports an item upon a support surface in an inoperative state and supports the item to roll along the support surface in an operative state, comprising:

• (a) a housing having a symmetrically located axis, said housing including a base portion and a surrounding sidewall extending from said base portion towards the support surface to define a housing interior, said surrounding sidewall having an exterior portion and an interior portion;
• (b) a swingarm fixed pivot frame that is pivotally engaged with said interior portion of said surrounding sidewall, said swingarm fixed pivot frame having a pivotal movement that is relative to said housing, said swingarm fixed pivot frame having an inoperative position state wherein said swingarm fixed pivot frame is pivoted to allow said surrounding sidewall to rest on and statically contact the support surface and an operative position state wherein said swingarm fixed pivot frame is pivoted from the inoperative position state to allow said surrounding sidewall to separate from the support surface;
• (c) a spring element disposed within said housing interior positioned between said base and said swingarm fixed pivot frame to bias said swingarm fixed pivot frame toward the operative position state;
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• (d) a non castor wheel rotatably mounted in said swingarm fixed pivot frame, said wheel disposed to only roll bidirectionally along the support surface when said swingarm fixed pivot frame is in the operative position state such that said surrounding sidewall is not in contact with the support surface, said wheel having a rotational axis perpendicular to and intersecting the housing axis.

A pivotal castor roller mechanism that supports an item to roll along a support surface in an operative position state, comprising:

• (a) a housing having a centrally located axis, said housing including a circular base portion and a surrounding cylindrical sidewall extending from said circular base portion towards the support surface to define a housing interior, said cylindrical sidewall having an exterior portion and an interior portion;
• (b) a swingarm castor frame slidably engaged to said interior portion of said sidewall, said swingarm castor frame positioned to be substantially perpendicular to said sidewall, said slidable engagement is operable to move circumferentially around said interior portion of sidewall;
• (c) a support element having a first end and a second end, said first end is slidably adjacent to said circular base and said second end is attached to said swingarm castor frame, said support element positioned to be in-between the centrally located axis and said interior portion, said support element is operational to restrict movement of said swingarm castor frame parallel to the centrally located axis, placing said mechanism in a permanent operative position state with said sidewall not in contact with the support surface, said support element slidably adjacent first end having a coefficient of friction higher than said swingarm castor frame slidable engagement to said interior portion of sidewall to provide for dampening of castor movement;
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• (d) a roller element rotatably mounted in said swingarm castor frame positioned to roll along the support surface, said roller element having a rotational axis perpendicular to and substantially adjacent to the centrally located axis.

A pivotal retractable castor roller mechanism that statically supports an item upon a support surface in an inoperative state and supports the item to roll along the support surface in an operative state, comprising:

• (a) a housing having a centrally located axis, said housing including a circular base portion and a surrounding cylindrical sidewall extending from said circular base portion towards the support surface to define a housing interior, said cylindrical sidewall having an exterior portion and an interior portion;
• (b) a swingarm castor frame slidably engaged to said interior portion of said sidewall, said swingarm castor frame positioned to be substantially perpendicular to said sidewall in the operative state, said slidable engagement is operable to move circumferentially around said interior portion of sidewall, said swingarm castor frame having a pivotal movement is relative to said housing, said swingarm castor frame having an inoperative position state wherein said swingarm castor frame is pivoted to allow said surrounding cylindrical sidewall to rest on and statically contact the support surface and an operative position state wherein said swingarm castor frame is pivoted from the inoperative position state to allow said housing to separate from the support surface;
• (c) a spring element having a first end and a second end, said first end is slidably adjacent to said circular base and said second end is attached to said swingarm castor frame, said spring element positioned to be in-between the centrally located axis and said interior portion, said spring element is operational to bias said swingarm castor frame toward the operative position state, said spring slidably adjacent first end having a coefficient of friction higher than said swingarm castor frame slidable engagement to said interior portion of sidewall to provide for dampening of castor movement;
• and
• (d) a roller element rotatably mounted in said swingarm castor frame, said roller element disposed to roll along the support surface when said swingarm castor frame is in the operative position state such that said housing is not in contact with the support surface, said roller element having a rotational axis perpendicular to and substantially adjacent to the centrally located axis.

A method of statically supporting an item upon a support surface by use of a fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism in an inoperative state and supporting the item to roll along the support surface by use of said fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism in an operative state, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing the item to be supported;
• (b) providing said fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism that can support the item, said fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism includes a housing, a swingarm frame that is pivotally engaged with said housing, a spring element to bias and extend said swingarm frame in relation to said housing to an operative position state, and a non castor wheel rotatably mounted in said swingarm frame;
• (c) adapting said pivotal retractable roller mechanism to support the item;
• (d) rolling the item only bidirectionally along the support surface to a desired position, with said swingarm frame in the operative position state corresponding to the operative state for said fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism;
• (e) stopping the rolling of the item at the desired position;
• and
• (f) increasing the weight of the item to overcome the spring element bias to retract said swingarm frame in relation to said housing allowing said housing to rest on and statically contact the support surface to put said swingarm frame in an inoperative position state corresponding to the inoperative state for said fixed pivotal retractable roller mechanism.