The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 20, 1994
Filed:
Feb. 08, 1993
Jeffrey A Rippe, Cypress, CA (US);
Northrop Corporation, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
A retracting caster assembly is provided with a frame, a lever, a spring, a roller, and a manual retracting bolt. The lever is pivotally connected to the frame. The roller is connected to a first end of the lever. A spring loading member connects the spring to a second end of the lever. The spring biases the lever at a first position with the roller extended from the frame. The manual retracting bolt is adapted to manually move the lever to a second position with the roller retracted. The lever is suitably sized, shaped, and connected to the frame to hold the frame at a minimum predetermined distance from the ground until a predetermined weight is applied to the frame, at which point the linkage and lever arrangement decreases the mechanical advantage of the spring as the roller retracts, thereby minimizing the force required to retract the roller.