GB2353700A - Trolley with lockable castor wheels - Google Patents

Abstract

A wheeled trolley comprises body 2, base 1 with swivelable wheels 3, a lock to fix wheels 3 in a set direction, and an actuator for the lock which is located within or adjacent body 2 at a point remote from base 1. The lock is preferably located inside the axle 9 of a castor of wheel 3 and comprises a horizontal plate (11, figure 2) with a notch (13, figure 3) that cooperates with vertically displacable member (12). Member (12) is preferably biased by gravity or a spring towards plate (11) so that wheel 3 is locked when the actuator is idle. The actuator is preferably a lever 15 which moves rod 14 vertically to operate member (12) and is located at, or below, shoulder height on body 2, it can be foot operated. Body 2 may be a metal or wire roll cage. The trolley may have two fixed and two lockable castor wheels which may have a single or independent actuators.

Description

2353700 1 1 ROVED TROLLEY The present invention relates to a trolley,

which term may include shopping trolleys, baggage trolleys, roll cages or the like, with improved manoeuvrability.

The invention will be described with relation to roll cages, although it is equally applicable to other forms of castor-wheeled trolley, such as shopping trolleys, baggage trolleys and the like.

Roll cages are well known to consist of a platform for carrying goods and surrounded by an upstanding mesh cage. The platform is supported on wheels, usually four, of which two are fixed and two are castored for steering purposes. They are used predominantly in shops and warehouses for moving goods around the store. They may also travel between a warehouse and a shop.

2 It is common practice for such roll cages to be stored, either on a transport medium such as a lorry or in a shop or warehouse, in closely adjacent disposition. In order to move a further roll cage into a closely confined position, it would be advantageous if all four wheels were castored, so that the cage could move sideways or at any desired angle.

However, under normal conditions of movement, i.e. excluding those relating to "parking" in a confined space, a roll cage or trolley which has four castored wheels would be disadvantageous, if not disastrous, as regards steering.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trolley, such as a roll cage, in which a pair of wheels may be selectively castored to be freely pivotable, or alternatively locked into a fore and aft position, leaving the other pair of castored wheels for steering purposes.

Roll cages, being vertically upstanding, are usually manoeuvred by an operative who grips one or two corners of the cage at or below shoulder height. When it is desired to unlock the pair of castored wheels, it will be an advantage if this could be done easily by the operator e.g. by his or her not having to bend down.

Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism for castor wheels which may be manually actuated at or near the usual contact point. As an alternative, the locking mechanism may be activated by a foot (or other body part) of the operator.

3 According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheeled trolley having a base, a body extending upwardly therefrom, wheel means mounted to be swivelable with respect to the base, locking means to prevent said wheel means from swivelling, and actuating means for said locking means, said actuating means being located within or adjacent to said body at a point remote from said base.

The body is preferably in the form of a cage of metal and/or wire.

The trolley is adapted to be moved by manual power exercised at any height convenient to the operator, usually between waist and shoulder height.

In this case, the actuating means may be located at a height from the ground equal to or less than an average operator's shoulder height.

The actuating means may comprise a lever connected to a rod and adapted to cause substantially vertical movement of said rod.

The rod may extend downwardly within or adjacent to the body and through the base to be connected to said locking means which extend through the axle of a castor of the swivelable wheel.

The castor may have a plate extending substantially horizontally within and across its axle, said plate having a notch.

4 In this case, the locking means may be moveable substantially vertically into and out of engagement with the notch.

It is preferred that actuation of the lever means causes said rod to rise and cause said locking means to rise out of engagement with the notch to allow the castor to swivel freely.

In this case, the castor will become locked when the actuating means is no longer actuated, and gravity or bias means, such as a spring, will cause the rod to fall allowing said locking means to fall or be urged onto the plate for engagement with the notch when that is next aligned with the locking means.

The trolley preferably has two wheels swivelable at all times and two wheels selectively swivelable.

In this case, each selectively swivelable wheel may have a respective locking means and actuating means.

Alternatively, each selectively swivelable wheel may be provided with a respective locking means, both of which are actuated by a single actuating means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lockable castor wheel, substantially as described above.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a roll cage embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a view, partially in cross-section, of a lockable castor as used in the invention; and Figure 3 is a plan view of an axle of the castor of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a schematic side elevation of a typical roll cage. As can be seen, it comprises a base 1 with mesh sides 2 extending upwardly to form a cage within which materials may be held for transportation. Attached to the base 1 at a first end are a pair of lockable castor wheels 3, the construction of which will be described in more detail below.

Attached at a second end are a pair of castor wheels 4 permanently swivelable. The cage is usually manoeuvred by an operator grasping an upright member 6 of the cage, usually at about shoulder height, i.e. in the region marked 5 in Figure 1. The cage may be pushed, or pulled, with steering allowed by virtue of the swivelable castor wheels 4 at the second end. Usually, the lockable castor wheels 3 are locked in a fore and aft disposition to ensure that the cage moves in a reasonably straight line (except where turning is required).

Each of the first pair of selectively swivelable castor wheels 3 comprises a U-section fork 7 in which the wheel itself is journalled at 8. The fork 7 is fixed to an axle 9 so connected by means of ball race 10 to the base 1 that the fork 7 and the wheel is swivelable with respect to the base 1.

6 A plate I I extends, substantially horizontally, within the axle 9 and across its width. it is provided with a notch 13, shown as a rectangular notch, although other shapes may be possible. A correspondingly shaped, in this case rectangular, locking member 12 is movable vertically into and out of engagement with the notch 13. The notch 13 and the locking member 12 are so shaped and disposed that they correspond lockingly when the castor 3 is in a predetermined alignment.

Movement of the locking means 12 is by means of an actuating lever 15 disposed adjacent region 5 of the upright member 6. Movement of the actuating lever 15 is transmitted by means of a rod 14 to the locking member 12. As shown in Figure 1, the rod 14 may be cranked to allow proper alignment of the locking member with the axis of the axle 9.

In an alternative, the actuating lever 15 may be disposed nearer the base so as to be actuatable by a foot of the operator.

In operation, the locking member 12 is usually at its lowermost point where at least a part of it is co-linear with the plate I I and lodged in the notch 13 therein. In this condition, the castor wheels 3 are locked in a fore and aft disposition to allow normal travel of the roll cage.

When it is desired to move the roll cage sideways or at an angle into a confined space, the lever 15 is actuated and, if necessary, may be held actuated, since it is adjacent to the normal operator contact point 5. This will raise the rod 14 and thereby move the locking member 12 out of engagement with the notch 13. This allows the castors 3 to be freely swivelable.

7 When the actuating lever 15 is moved or disposed oppositely, the rod and locking member 12 will be moved, will fall under gravity or be urged downwardly by a spring (not shown) and rest on the plate 11. As the roll cage is moved, the castor wheels 3 will swivel until they reach a predetermined alignment, usually in fore or aft disposition, at which point the locking member 12 will fall or be urged into the notch 13 and lock the castor wheels 3 in that position.

The above describes a trolley where the position is that the castors 3 are normally locked but can be unlocked by actuation of the lever 15. It would be equally possible to apply the invention to a trolley where the normal position was to have the castors 3 swivelable and operation of the lever 15 actuates locking by movement of the locking member 12 into engagement with the notch 13. An opposite movement of the lever 15, possibly biased by a spring, would then allow disengagement of the locking member 12.

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Claims (15)

1. A wheeled trolley having a base, a body extending upwardly therefrom, wheel means mounted to be swivelable with respect to the base, locking means to prevent at least one said wheel means from swivelling, and actuating means for said locking means, said actuating means being located within or adjacent to said body at a point remote from said base.

2. A trolley as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body is in the form of a cage of metal and/or wire.

3. A trolley as claimed in either claim I or claim 2, which is adapted to be moved by manual power exercised at a height generally convenient to the operator, usually between waist and shoulder height, and in which the actuating means is located at a height from the ground equal to or less than the height of an average operator's shoulder.

4. A trolley as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuating means comprises a lever so connected to a rod that movement thereof is adapted to cause substantially vertical movement of said rod.

5. A trolley as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rod extends downwardly within or adjacent to the body and through the base to be connected to said locking means, said locking means being located within the axle of a castor of the swivelable wheel.

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6. A trolley as claimed in claim 5, wherein the castor has a plate extending substantially horizontally within and across its axle, said plate having a notch.

7. A trolley as claimed in claim 6, wherein the locking means is moveable substantially vertically into and out of engagement with the notch.

8. A trolley as claimed in claim 7, wherein actuation of the lever means causes said rod to rise and thereby cause said locking means to rise out of engagement with the notch to allow the castor to swivel freely.

9. A trolley as claimed in claim 8, wherein the castor becomes locked when the actuating means is no longer actuated, and gravity or other bias means, such as a spring, causes the rod to fall allowing said locking means to fall or be urged onto the plate for engagement with the notch when that is next aligned with the locking means.

10. A trolley as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the trolley has two wheels swivelable at all times and two wheels which are selectively swivelable.

11. A trolley as claimed in claim 10, wherein each selectively swivelable wheel has a respective locking means and actuating means.

12. A trolley as claimed in claim 10, wherein each selectively swivelable wheel is provided with a respective locking means, both of which are actuated by a single actuating means.

13. A wheeled trolley substantially as described herein with reference to the Figures of the accompanying drawings.

14. A lockable castor wheel comprising a plate extending substantially horizontally within and across an axle of the wheel and provided with a notch, and locking means moveable substantially vertically into and out of engagement with the notch.

15. A lockable castor wheel as claimed in claim 14, further comprising actuating lever means to cause said locking means to rise out of engagement with the notch to allow the castor to swivel freely.

16, A lockable castor wheel as claimed in claim 15, further comprising bias means, such as a spring, to urge said locking means onto the plate for engagement with the notch when rotation of the axle of the wheel next causes alignment of the notch with the locking means.