Patent Publication Number: US-7712184-B1

Title: Caster wheel having integrated braking means

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
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   REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
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   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the field of caster wheels, more specifically, a caster wheel with an electrical braking system. 
   B. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   As a preliminary note, it should be stated that there is an ample amount of prior art that deals with caster wheels. As will be discussed immediately below, no prior art discloses a caster wheel with an integrated electrical braking system. 
   The Lange Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,373) discloses a caster wheel for a dolly or a cart that has an electrically activated brake which prevents rolling and turning movement of the wheel. However, the caster wheel braking system is not a component that screws into the top mounting bracket of the caster. 
   The Strong Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,695) discloses a dampening or braking system for a wheel for a dolly or a cart in which an electrically controlled pin is activated to press against the wheel. Again, the electrically controlled braking system is not a component that screws into the top mounting bracket of a caster wheel. 
   The Lin Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,746) discloses a caster wheel braking system in which a pin or other device is pressed against the wheel to prevent movement. However, the pin presses against a lower cam and disk that act as a brake to stop or impede the rotational movement of the caster wheel. 
   The Milbredt Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,641) discloses a manually operated brake and steering lock for the caster wheel of a rolling device in which a person presses a spring activated tab against the wheel. However, the manually operated brake is not electrically operated, and is not a component that is screwed into the top mounting bracket of the caster wheel. 
   The Neumann Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,702) discloses a device for preventing the movement of a caster wheel from rolling and swiveling in which a device is pressed against the wheel. However, the locking device does not attach to the top surface of the caster wheel mounting bracket. 
   While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a caster wheel electronic braking system that screws into the top surface of the caster wheel mounting bracket. In this regard, the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means involves a standard caster wheel and an electronic braking component that screws into the top surface of the caster wheel mounting bracket. The electrical braking component includes a solenoid that moves a pin up and down to impact a spring-loaded brake mounted underneath the caster wheel mounting bracket. 
   An object of the invention is to provide a caster wheel with integrated electrical braking means that screws onto the top surface of the caster wheel mounting bracket. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide an electronic braking component for a caster wheel that will stop the caster wheel from rotating when the rake is engaged upon the caster wheel. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide a caster wheel with electrical braking means that is easy-to-use, simplistic in design, effective, and affordable. 
   These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
   In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means in detail, it is to be understood that the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means. It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention: 
     In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a front, isometric view of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a front, isometric view of the invention with the electronic braking component separated to reveal the bolt, which screws into the top surface of the caster wheel mounting bracket; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the invention; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the invention along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3  with the brake in the off position; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the invention along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3  with the brake in the on position; and 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a diagram of the various components of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
   Detailed reference will now be made to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in  FIGS. 1-6 . A caster wheel having integrated electrical braking means  10  (hereinafter invention) includes a caster wheel  11  and an electrical braking component  12 . 
   The electrical braking component  12  has a bolt  12 A along a bottom surface and a threaded opening  12 B along a top surface. The electrical braking component  12  also includes a solenoid  13 , and a pin  14 . The solenoid  13  is electrically wired via wiring  13 C to a power switch  15 , which is wired to a battery power source  16 . 
   The caster wheel  11  has a mounting bracket  11 A, and a ball bearing  11 B. The electrical braking component  12  is secured to the caster wheel  11  by screwing the bolt  12 A of the electrical braking component  12  into a threaded opening  11 C on the mounting bracket  11 A. 
   The ball-bearing  11 B of the caster wheel  11  enables the caster wheel  11  to rotate about the mounting bracket  11 A, which in turn enables rotation of the electrical braking component  12 . The threaded opening  12 B enables the electrical braking component  12  to be secured to the bottom surface of an object (not shown) for which the invention  10  is being used in the same fashion as if the caster wheel  11  had been directly attached to said object. 
   The pin  14  attaches to a brake  16 , which is positioned adjacent a spring  17  located on the bottom surface of the mounting bracket  11 A. The spring  17  insures that a biasing force is placed upon the brake  16  as well as the pin  14 . The spring  17  biases the pin upwards to insure unintentional braking of the caster wheel  11  without powering the solenoid  13 . However, it shall be noted that the total force output of the solenoid  13  must be enough to overcome the biasing force of the spring  17  in addition to a braking force required to successfully stop the caster wheel  11  via the brake  16 . 
   The pin  14  attaches to the brake  16  via an attaching means comprising welding, bolting, screwing, molding, or adhesive. The pin  14  and the brake  16  are made of a material comprising metal, rubber, durable plastic, aramid fibers, carbon fibers, or wood. 
   It is envisioned that the invention  10  be adapted for all typical applications including caster wheels. The invention  10  may be integrated into either an existing caster wheel or part of a new caster wheel. The simplicity of the construction of the invention  10  sets the invention  10  apart from the prior art because of the ease in converting the invention  10  to use with an existing caster wheel or a new caster wheel. 
   With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention  10 , to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and the manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention  10 . 
   It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. 
   While the embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, certain modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to modify the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.