US640761A - Ball-caster. - Google Patents

Description

No. 640,76l. I Patented Ian. 9, I900.

.1. H. GODDEN.

BALL EASTER. filed Feb. 18, 1899, Renewed Nov. 16, 189

i odel.)

UNITEDI STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. GODDEN, OF EMMETSBURG, IOYVA.

BALL-CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,761, dated January 9, 1900. Application filed February 18, 1899. Renewed November 16, 1899. Serial No. 737,249. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. GODDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Emmetsburg, in the county of Palo Alto and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture-Casters and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention is designed to simplify, cheapen, and lighten the construction of furniture-casters of the ball variety, to enable the parts to be quickly assembled, to reduce the number of parts to the smallest amount possible, and to lessen the handling, which is an item entering into the cost of production.

The caster consists of a base-plate to be attached to the leg of a table, chair, or other article of furniture and formed with a boss chambered to receive the antifriction-balls and having its edges or sides indented or re cessed, a roller-ball seated against the antifriction-balls, and a casing for holding the roller-ball in place slipped upon theaforesaid boss and retained in place by having portions pressed into the indentations of the boss, said indentations having their walls inwardly sloping, grooved, or undercut, so as to interlock positively with the inwardly pressed portions of the casing and prevent displacement thereof.

The invention also consists of the novel details of construction and peculiar combination of parts, which hereinafter will be more fully described, illustrated, and finally claimed.

In the following description and in all the views of the drawings corresponding and like parts are referred to and designated by the same reference-numerals.

Figure 1 is a vertical central section of the caster, showing it applied to an article of furniture. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the base-plate inverted, the cooperating parts being removed. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, parts being broken away, showing the walls of the indentations straight and grooved to receive inwardly-bent portions of the casing. Fig. 4. is a detail view of the casing prior to assembling the parts of the caster. Fig. 5 is a view of the casing as it will appear when fitted to to the article of furniture 4. The edges or sides of the boss are indented or recessed, as shown at 5, to afford clearance for the fastenings when attaching or removing the caster from the article of furniture and to receive the pressed-in portions 6 of the casing 7. The walls of the indentations may slope inwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, or be straight and have grooves 8, as shown in Fig. 3. The purpose of having the walls inclined or grooved is to secure a positive interlocking between them and the casing.

The boss has pockets 9 in its face to receive the balls 10, against which the rollerball 11 obtains a seat. The edges of the boss are smooth and straight, so as to admit of the casing 7 slipping thereon. The casing is open at its, ends and of a size to fit snugly upon the boss. The lower end of the casing is inturned to engage with the roller-ball and hold it in place. After the balls 10 have been dropped into the pockets 9 and the roller-ball 11 has been seated thereon the casing 7 is slipped upon the boss and parts of its upper edge portion are pressed inward to conform to and interlock with the indentations 5, as shown at 6. The upper edge portions of the casing are pressed inward by a swaging-tool of special construction or by any convenient ways and means for carrying into efiect the intent of the invention.

The caster when constructed for trunks, boxes, and the like has its body 12, corresponding to the boss 2, devoid of a flange, so as to enter a mortise or bore in the cleat or bottom of a trunk or box. The edges of the body are indented for the upper portion of the casing to be pressed into, and the indentations slope inwardly or converge outwardly, so as to retain the casing 7 in place. A flange 13 extends outward from the lower portion of the casing and bears against the lower side of the part to which the caster is fitted, as

2 eidvei shown most clearly in Fig. 6, The perimeter of the outer flange or support, whether it be the base 1 or the part 13, is continuous and uninterrupted, thereby avoiding spaces for the lodgment and accumulation of dust, lint, and foreign matter, which would be the case if the edge of the flange or base were notched or intercepted. The indentations 5 of the body 2 or 12 are devoid of angular corners and being comparatively Wide, shallow, and "vertically disposed do not tend to collect foreign matter and add so'niewhat to the appearance of the caster by giving it a fluted outline.

From the foregoing it is obvious that minor changes in the construction, details, form, and proportions of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the nature of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. A caster of the type specified comprising a base having a boss provided in its sides with indentations beginning at the lower end of the boss and ranging upwardly and increasing'in width and depth as they approach the upper end, a roller-ball seated against antifriction devices applied to the lower face of the boss, and a casing for holding the rollerball in place slipped upon the boss and having portions below its top edge, in contradistinction to extensions or tongues projecting vertically from said top edge, deflected inward into the indentations of the boss and interlocking therewith and giving a fluted appearance to the caster, substantially as specified. r r

2. In a furniture-caster, the combination of a base having openings at intervals in its outer edge for the reception of fastenings and having a pendent boss-formed in its edges with indentations in line with the said openings, a roller-ball seated against a'ntifriction devices applied to the boss, and a casing slipped upon the boss and having portions pressed into the indentations thereof to interlock therewith and provide clearancespaces for the fastenings by means of which the caster is secured to the part to which it is applied, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

7 JOHN H. GODDEN. [L. s] Witnesses:

H. C. SHADBOLT, A. O. TURNER.

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