US2633599A - Furniture glide - Google Patents

Description

Ap 7, 1953 R. E. DoLAN FURNITURE GLID Filed April 28, 195o Patented Apr. 7, 1953 UNITE-D Sy TATES ICE .FURNITURE GEIDE Richard E. polari, Sudbury, Application April 28, 1950,. Serialv No.. 315"8.81"5

(Cl. 16a-42') 1 Claim. l

This invention relates to an improved furniture glide for' use with furniture of the type having supporting legs formed of vmetal tubing.

It is now the custom to enclose the lower ends of such furniture legs with protective casings, commonly referred to as furniture glides, utilizing materials such as metal, rubber, plastic, and other substances. None of these .materialsvhas been found to' be entirely satisfactory. Thus the metal type of glide, usually made of steel. tends to lose its nickel' vor chrome finish by cra-cking or chipping away, which allows objectionable rusting action to occur. Also, metal glides are not as easily secured to -furniture legs of the metal tubi-ng type, since if the glides are constructed of a diameter which permits ready installation over bottoms of furniture legs, these glides rather easily fall off, and during' shipping operations especially become lost. Expensive replacement*l is then necessary. To remedy these faults an effort has been made to employ flexible or plastic materials. Such materials, however, are found to be lacking in durability. Particularly the boti tom edges of tubular type furniturelegs wllloften, after a short time, cut through the plastic glide and the latter member must then be thrown away.

It is an object of the present invention to deal with the problems indicated and `to provide a simple, cheap, and efficient form o'f furniture :leg glide which is highly resistant vto wear and which may be solidly secured in place so as to resist dis-v placement throughout the period of life of the article of furniture. It is valso an objectief the invention to provide a glide which is not subject to rusting, or other deteriorating effects, such as are indicated above. Still another object is to provide means for achieving a desirable cushioning action as well as absorbing noise where a silent type of glide is desired.

These and other objects and novel features will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the furniture glide of the invention installed on a furniture leg;

Fig. 2 is another view in elevation and partial cross-section further illustrating the glide construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is another view in elevation and partial cross-section, indicating a modification of the invention;

2 elements of the invention separated from one another; and' Fig. '5 -is `a cross-sectional view taken on the line E-S of Fig. l.

The inventionis in part 'base-d lupon a recognition nof the fact that -soi'ne forms of synthetic plastic materials `when constructed in the shape of tubular 'member of a Adiameter substantially the same as, or slightly larger than, the diameter of a 'furniture leg of 'the tubular type', will very tenaclously cling thereto and `will resist slipping on when subjected `to forcek ordinarily encountered 'in theV working vvlife `o the 'article of furniture.

-I'have discovered thatthis ability of some types of plastic lmaterials to resist slipping off may be liii-ade use of tornare desirably secure a metal type of glide casi-ng in suitable operating relationship to a metal furniture leg of the tubular type. By utilizing the holding force resulting from enf gagement of the plastic body with the furniture leg and 'by further provid-ing for solidly securing the plastic member to thefxnetal glide casing, I am enabled to furnish 'a `very desirable composite glide structure which overcomes man-y of the difliculties heretofore encountered.

Thus, in Figs. 1, :2 and-'5 of the drawings, nu-

meral l0 denotes a 'tubular/sleeve or liner which `is preferably formed of `Iavplastic material such as polyethylene, 'for example.' "This-'tubular member l0 isvfformed with 'a lclii'i'meter corresponding to, or vslightly larger than, 'the outer diameter of la lfurillture leg l! of the tubular type. The liner i0 lis `forced on over the tubular leg l2 into a po sltlcn :suon as thatsuggested in Fig. 2, for example, with the lower edges of the liner being located substantially fiushwith the bottom edges of the tubular member I2.

As will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 2, the member l0 is secured around the inner peripheral surface of an external slide casing or glide I4, the bottom of which is arranged in abutting relation to the bottom edges of the tubular member I2. It will thus be seen that the liner l0 constitutes a holding vmeans for maintaining the slide casing Il in a relatively fixed position around the lower end ofthe leg l2, and by reason of the relatively strong holding force of the plastic material composing the liner, the vunit will resist separation under all ordinary conditions of usage.

In order to properly secure the liner to the slide casing I4, there is further provided a rib or beading I6 extending around the lower outer periph- Fig. 4 is an assembly view showing the Vglide 55 eral edge oi the liner I0, as suggested in Figs. 2

and 4. Against this beading or rib is engaged the uppermost edge I8 of the slide casing I4, which edge is preferably turned or clinched over the beading so that a positive locking effect is achieved. The casing member I4, for the purpose of facilitating forming or drawing its edge I8 over the bead I6, may be formed of a metal such as aluminum, brass, stainless steel, and the like, which metals are highly durable and which are substantially resistant to attack by rusting.V

It will beapparent that the slide casing I 4 provides a metal armor directly in contact with the bottom edges of the tubular member I2 and thus furnishes a relatively durable metal body portion at points of greatest wear, and especially between the bottom edges of the furniture leg and surface on which it may be supported. It will also be apparent that the plastic, by reason of its holding properties with respect to the metal tubing of the leg I2, combines with the casing to provide a strong coupling, thus eliminating any likelihood of the glide being dropped olf or lost, either in shipping operations or in actual usage. At the same time the locking effect derived from combining a lower beaded portion on this plastic liner with a wiped or drawn metal edge, completes the combination to ensure permanent attachment of the casing to the plastic body.

It is also pointed out that the plastic liner, presenting as it does an extended neck portion rising upwardly above the clinched or curled edge of the casing, offers an excellent opportunity for introducing desirable color effects of a novel character, enhancing the appearance of the glide. In Fig. 4 there has been illustrated the liner and casing in separated relation, with the casing being shown with its upper edge in an unformed cylindrical shape preparatory to being passed over the plastic insert and drawn or spun into a clinched position.

There also may be introduced into the glide construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a means for providing for what is sometimes referred to in the trade as a silent glide. In this silent glide form of the invention, illustrated in Fig. 3, the external metal casing I4 is separated from the bottom edges of the tubular member I2 by a cushioning member 20 comprising, preferably, a disk of rubber, or similar resilient substance, The outer peripheral edges of thev rubber disk 20 may extend beyond the bottom edge of the tubular member I2 to lie against the bottom section of the beading IB on the liner I 0 and thus extend the cushion area. It is found that 4 this combination of elements tends to reduce transmission of sound and shock from the casing to the tubular leg, with the result that an article of furniture so equipped may slide across a supporting surface with very little noise ensuing.

It will be evident that I have provided a novel and eiicient furniture glide which can be made into a highly attractive unit and which may be cheaply constructed and assembledto compete with other types of glides. The diiiiculty of breaking or cutting through, common with plastic materials, is eliminated, and yet the desired holding effect of the plastic is retained, with all likelihood of separation of the glide from the furniture leg being substantially eliminated. A much ,longer life glide is achieved; rusting is avoided; and various color eifects may be developed.

While I have herein shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that I Wish to cover all forms and modifications of the invention which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

A furniture glide for use with the bottom end of a leg of that type having an open tubular lower extremity, said glide comprising a tubular sleeve of relatively hard plastic material having substantially uniform inner diameter throughout its length for frictionally engaging the bottom end of said leg, the bottom end of the plastic sleeve having 4its marginal edge thickened, and a casing including a ilat bottom portion extending the full width of said leg for directly receiving upon its inner `face the bottom portion of said leg for supporting the latter, the marginal portion of the casing being bent upwardly and inwardly for snugly embracing the enlarged thickened edge portion of the sleeve to completely contain the same to prevent expansion and rupture when the parts are positioned on the end of said leg.

RICHARD E. DOLAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Singer Apr. 4, 1950

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