US2746203A - Chair shoe - Google Patents

Description

J. A. GIBAS May 22, 1956 CHAIR SHOE Filed Nov. 25, 1955 Fig.6

JNVENTOR. Joseph A. Gibas BY W6. mvrmuj y.

ATTORNEY United States Pater CHAIR SHOE Joseph A. Gibas, Denver, Colo.

Application November 23, 1953, Serial No. 393,615

2 Claims. (Cl. 45-137) This invention relates to a stop, and more particularly to a wall-engaging stop adapted to be attached to a leg of an article of furniture, such as a chair.

Articles of furniture which are disposed adjacent a wall often tend to produce unsightly marks on the wall or cause other damage to the same, as through a portion of the article which extends rearwardly rubbing along or hitting the wall. In particular, the upper edge of the back of a chair or the rear edge of other articles of fumiture, such as divans and the like, often cause such damage. Also, an article such as a desk may have a ledge which tends to mark or damage the wall. Attempts have been made to overcome this condition, as by attaching buttons or similar elements provided with a soft covering, such as a pile fabric, to the edge of the article which otherwise would engage the wall, so that the soft fabric will contact the Wall, rather than a comparatively hard or sharp edge of the article of furniture. While such buttons and the like tend torreduce the physical damage done to the wall, at the same time any movement of such buttons along the wall tends to produce unsightly marks. Thus, such buttons and the like have not solved the problem satisfactorily. Also, it has been proposed to attach an open, cup-shaped stop to the floor, for engagement by the bottom of a chair leg or the like, to prevent the back of the chair from engaging the Wall above. However, such stops are fixed, and do not readily permit shifting of the chair. Thus, if the chair is moved out of position, as, happens frequently, and then moved back toward the wall, it more than likely will happen that'the legs willmiss the fixed stops and the same are then superfluous.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a novel stop for an article of furniture; to provide such a stop which may be attached to aleg of such article and will remain with the article when moved; to provide such such a stop which is particularly adapted to engage a lower portion of a wall, such as a baseboard, to prevent an upper portion of the article from contacting the wall thereabove; to provide such a stop which may exist in more thanone form; to provide one such form which is particularly adapted to be utilized with a floor having a relatively smooth surface, such as linoleum, tile or the like;"to provide another such form which may be utilized with any type of floor surface and is more securely attached to the leg of such an article; and to provide a further form which is quite simple and thereby readily and cheaply constructed.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale and partly in outline, of a chair placed in a room and showing the manner in which one form of stop constructed in accordance with this invention may be attached to the rear legs of the chair to prevent the chair from marring or damaging the wall;

' similar floor covering.

2,746,203 Patented May 22, 1956 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one form of stop coll: stmcted in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale and taken at the position of line 33 of Fig. 2, which includes a portion of the chair leg to which the stop is attached;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of an additional form of stop constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section, taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fi 7 is a horizontal section taken at the position of line 7-7 of Fig. 5, and showing also the leg of a chair or the like, to which the stop is attached; and

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal Vertical section similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating a further form of stop constructed in accordance with this invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, a chair C, which rests on the floor 10 of a room and having rear legs 11. and a back 12, is constructed in a manner generally common to chairs, i. e., the upper end of the back 12 extends to a point rearwardly of the rear legs 11. Thus, if the chair is placed adjacent a Wall 13, when the chair is moved during normal use, the upper edge of the back 12 is often forced into engagement with the wall, thereby marring or damaging the wall. In accordance with this invention, a stop S is mounted on each of the rear legs 11, preferably adjacent the lower end thereof, the stops S extending rearwardly from the legs 11 a distance sufiicient to engage a portion of the wall adjacent the floor 10, normally a baseboard 14, usually formed of wood, metal or other material which is considerably more resistant to marking or damage than the surface of the Wall 13 thereabove, which is usually plaster, either painted or covered with wall paper. As will be evident, the length of stop S is such that the remainder of the chair, and particularly the back 12, is spaced from the wall.

The stop S may be constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 2, i. e., a flat, generally rectangular but elongated body, preferably rounded at the corners and formed of relatively firm rubber or other suitable material and provided adjacent one end with an aperture 16 conveniently formed as a plurality ofradially extending slots connected at the center, such as in the shape of a cross with tongues 17 between the slots. Each slot maybe extended to accommodate larger legs, as by cutting the slots to one of scored circles 18. The size of cross 16 is preferably slightly less than the cross sectional area of the leg 11 at the point of attachment, so that the leg will be firmly gripped at the aperture. Thus, when the stop is pulled up the leg and adjusted for position, a slight bead 19 may be formed around the leg with tongues 17 extending up the leg, as in Fig. 3, thus enabling the leg to be gripped tightly and the stop attached in a desired position, at a suitable height above the floor and with a stop extending rearwardly from each rear leg of the chair.

The stop S of Figs. 4-7 is particularly adapted to 'be placed directly on the floor and to be attached to the floor by a' suction eftect, although such temporary attachment to the floor may not be desired for all chairs and is thus applicable primarily to relatively smooth floors, such as formed of linoleum, tile, wood and the like. In other words, no suction eifect can be expected on a rug or The stop 8' may be rounded at a narrow end 20 and wider at the opposite end 21. In addition, a portion 22 of the stop is higher adjacent the wider end and this higher portion is provided with an aperture 23 adapted to engage the rear leg 11 of the chair, as in Fig. 7. The aperture '23 may be round for round chair legs, or rectangular for rectangular chair legs. The underside of the stop S is hollow or recessed, with the wall formed thereby extending from the aperture 23 to a 'floor engaging bottom edge 24. The outside of the stop may slope sharply downwardly and outwardly from the portion to the wider end 21 and also at each side of the aperture, while the upper portion of the wall, as in "'Fig. 5, may slope downwardly 'but more gradually on the top, fro-m 'theportion 22 to a toe portion 26 adjacent the. narrow endZfl. The underside of toe 26 is spaced from the bottom edge 24, and thereby also from the floor, a suificient distance merely to provide a hollow for producing suction, While the aperture 23 has sufficient vertical engagement with the chair leg to hold the stop in position by friction. As will be evident, the stop S of Fig. 4 isslipped onto the chair leg only a distance sufficient to permit both the leg and stop to rest on the floor simultaneously, and when the chair is moved to a desired position, a suction eifect may be obtained by applying pressure on top of the toe portion 26, as by stepping onit.

In the stop S" of Fig. 8, a vertically elongated aperture is formed adjacent the wider end 21, for engagement with the chair leg over a sufficicnt distance that the stop will be securely held in position and will not tend to twist around the leg. The aperture '30 may be round or rectangular for either round or rectangular chair legs. The 'stop S" may be solid, except for the aperture 30, and the outer surface thereof may be similar in shape to the outer surface of stop .5 of Fig. 4, i. e., the outer surface may slope sharply downwardly from the upper end of the higher portion 22, through which aperture 30 extends, to the Wider end 21' and also to each side of the higher portion, while the upper surface 25' slopes more gradually to a toe portion 26. The bottom 31 of the stop S is preferably fiat, so that it may rest on either a bare floor or a rug, although the stop S may also be moved to any desired vertical position on the chair leg.

Each of the stops S, ,S' and S" may be made, as by molding, from a suitable material, such as a relatively firm rubber, which does nothave the stretch and flexibility of latex but does have suflicient resiliency to grip the chair leg, and at the same time has suflicient resistance to flexing or bending that the upper portion of the chair will be maintained in spaced position with respect to the wall when the stops on the rear leg are engaged with the lower end of the wall, normally the baseboard. The rubher need not .be new, but may be reclaimed, or suitable other plastic materials may also be utilized. In general, a material similar to that utilized in conventional mats for office chairs, is quitesuitable.

It will be observed that the stop S of Fig. 2 may be slightly thicker than the wall of the stop S of Fig. 4, in order to provide sufficient resistance to endwise forces, since the shape of the stop S provides additional resistance to endwise forces, and the suction on the floor, it used, further increases resistance to movement of the chair leg toward the wall. Also, the stop S" of Fig. 8 has a greater resistance to endwise forces than merely a flat strip. a

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the stop of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects herein set forth. While several forms are illustrated and. each has specific advantages, each acts effectively to prevent the upper portion of a chair or other article of furniture from engaging or damaging the wall. Each is readily attached to or mounted on the rear leg of a chair or other article of furniture, and each tends to stay in a rearwardly extending position. Thus, the stops can be mounted on the chair legs at a lower point, at which a wall portion, usually the base board which is resistant to impact, will be engaged by the rear end of the stop. The stop S of Fig. 2 is relatively inexpensive to make, while the stop S of Figs. 4-7 is particularly useful when the floor is smooth and the chair is not intended to be moved about to any great extent. The stop S" of Fig. 8 provides a greater area for gripping contact with the leg of a chair or the like, and thereby tends less to be twisted out of position accidentally, than the stop S of Fig. 2. Any of the stops can be readily made in molds having suitable shapes, and also can be made of inexpensive materials.

As will .be understood, various changes can be made. Thus, the portion of the stop S or S" which engages or grips the chair leg maybe made of rubber or the like, and the remainder of the stop .of a less flexible material, such as a fiberboard, plastic or the like. The outer ends of the slots of aperture 16-of Fig. 2 may be enlarged, to reduce any tendencyforthe material to tear. Also, holes at positions spaced from the ends of the aperture slots a distance corresponding to that of scored lines 18 may be utilized, to provide markers for cutting and also to provide enlargements at the ends of the slots when the slots are cut to the respective holes.

Although several diiferent forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, and variations indicated, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist and various changes made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A wall-engaging stop for attachment to a leg of an article of furniture, comprising an elongated body formed of a firm rubber or the like, said body being narrower at one end and wider at the opposite end, said body being recessed on the underside and higher at the wider end and said higher end having a vertical aperture therein having a side wall for engaging said leg and forming a seal therewith, the outside of said body sloping relatively sharply downwardly and outwardly from the upper end of said aperture to the bottom at each side thereof and to said wider end, said wall sloping more gradually downwardly from said aperture toward said narrow end to a toe portion whose sides taper to said narrow end and said excess extending substantially the full length of said body and into said aperture, so that a suction eflfect may be produced by downward pressure upon said toe portion.

2. A wall-engaging stop for attachment to a leg of an article of furniture, as defined in claim 1, wherein said aperture is circular.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 182,006 Wilcox Sept. 5, 1876 1,086,200 Michie Feb. 3, 1914 1,394,301 Woolsey Oct. 18, 1921 1,901,377 Roe Mar. 14, 1933 1,906,590 Hewson May 2, 1933 1,912,728 Roe June 6, 1933 2,281,684 Fijux May 5, 1942

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