US955162A - Caster. - Google Patents

Description

E. H. HUMPHREY.

GASTEE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1909.

Patenfied Apr. 19,1910.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

c EDWIN HALL HUMPHREY, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 NATHAN S. COVEY, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA.

GASTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

Application filed July 2, 1909. Serial No. 505,687.

To all whom it'mcy concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN HALL HUM- rnnEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Corry, in the county of- Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Caster, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of furniture caster, and the invention aims, primarily, to provide a construction of caster which will be valuable commercially.

Incidentally, the invention aims to provide a caster which may be readily formed; from sheet metal blanks and will be inexpensive to manufacture.

A further aim of the invention is to provide a caster in which the socket and the pintle are both of hollow form and are stamped or otherwise formed from sheet metal blanks, and incidentally to so form these elements of the caster as to obviate any appreciable friction.

The caster embodying the present invention includes, among other elements, a socket, which is, as above stated, tubular, and this socket has stamped from it a resilient tongue which has frictional engagement with a reduced portion-ofthe pintle of the caster and serves to retain the pintle in the socket, there being arranged wlt-hin the socket also a bearing ball which is normally at the upper end of the socket and a ainst which the upper end of the pintle ears,

this ball being retained in the socket when the pintle is removed therefrom, by the spring-tongue above referred to.

In the accompanying drawings :-'-Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the caster constructed in accordance with the present invention, the same being shown as-, sembled with a chair or similar furniture leg. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pintle member of the caster, a portion of the lower carrying head thereof being shown in condition before being completed. Fig. 3

is a view in perspective of the socket member of the caster. Fig. 4 is a lan view of the blank from which the pintle member is formed. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the blank from which the socket member is formed.

In the drawings the blank from whichthe socket member is formed is shown as having a body portion, indicated by the nuend of the blank. The body of the blank is then rolled to cylindrical form, and the projections 7 are pressed so that they will form a hollow conoidal end, whichis indicated in-Fig. 3 of the drawings by the numeral 9. In this said Fig. 3 of the drawings, and in Fig. 1, the shank of the socket member is indicated by the numeral 10. The widened portion 8 of the blank 6 is then pressed into concavo-convex cup like form to afford a cup-like head, which is indicated by the numeral 11, and axially from which projects the shank 10 of the socket member; The widened portion 8 of the blank above described forms only a portion ,of the head 11, inasmuch asa concavo-convex cover. 7

blank isfitted upon the convex side of the headll. and is formed over the edge of the same, as indicated by the numeral 12, thisblank being indicated by the numeral. 13, and being formed axially with an opening 14, which registers with the lower end of the shank 10. In assembling the socket member of the caster with a furniture leg, the shank 10 is insertedin the usual bore in the end of the leg, and the head 11 at the lower end of the shank will then have its concavity presented upwardly and will bear at its edge against the lowerend of the said furniture leg, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. For a purpose which will be presently explained, the shank 10- is stamped with'an lntegral resilient tongue 15, which is sprung inwardly and is indentedas at 16 inwardly of its free extremity.

The roller-carrying member of the caster embodies a roller-carrying head, which is formed from a blank havin a mid portion indicated by the numeral 1 and wings 18 which roject from the lateral edges of the said mid portion and are bent downwardly as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and have rotatably mounted between them a roller, indicated by the numeral 19. From the other edges of the mid portion of the head blank there project integral wings indicated by the numeral 20, and these wings are formed in their outer edges each with a notch 21, for a purpose which will be pres- ,entlyexplained. In addition to the rollercarrying head, the pintle member of the caster embodies a pintle proper which ismdicated-by the numeral 22, and, intermediate of its ends, is formed with a reduced portion indicated by the numeral 23-. TlllS pintle is formed from a blank substantially as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the blank being in the form of an oblong strip having its intermediate portion narrowed, as indicated by the numeral 24. In forming up this blank, the portions to each side of this narrowed portion 24 are stamped into substantially semi cylindrical form, and the blank is then folded upon itself at its said narrowed portion 24, to bring the edges of the semi-cylindrical portion into mutual engagement, whereby a cylindrical shank will be afforded.

The end portions of the blank are not pressed into semi-cylindrical form, as stated above, in referring to the portions to each side of the narrowed portion, but retain their fiat form, and are bent to extend at right angles tothe axis of the pintle, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings and indicated by the numeral 25. In assembling the pintle with the roller-carryin head, the lower end of the pintle is dispose with its wings 25, flat upon the mid portion 17 of the head, and the leaves or wings 20 are then folded over to confine the wings 25 between them and the said mid portion of the'head, the notches 21 in the meeting edges of the wings 2O aifordin a circular opening through which the pintle shank projects. The reduced portion .23 of the pintle'shank is formed by pressing the intermediate portion of the said shank,- .after it has been formed up from the blank, as will be readily understood. i

A bearing-ball 26 is inserted into the socket and normally seats at the upper hollow conoidal end thereof, and this ball affords a bearing for the upper end of the pintle shank, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1 of the drawings. It will be observed that when the pintle is inserted into the socket of the socket member, the spring tongueof this member will seat in, the reduced portion of the shank of the pintle member, and such engagement of the tongue in the reduced portion will result in the pintle being frictionally retained in the socket. It will further be observed that this tongue projects into the socket to such a degree as to retain the ball 26 therein when the pintle is removed.

It will further be understood from the foregoing description of the invention that the casters may be cheaply manufactured from sheet. metal blanks, of simple form, and that, as a matter of fact, they will be much more durable than casters having cast iron parts, which are extremely liable to become broken.

What is claimed is I 1. In a caster, a socket member formed from a sheet metal blank, the body of which has parallel edges, the said blank at one end being formed with curved edge extensions cut to afford a conoidal upper end, the blank at the other end being widened and formed into a concavo-convex head at the lower end of said socket member.

2. In a caster, a socket member formed from a sheet metal blank, the body of which has parallel edges, the blank at one end having portions so formed as to afford a convex upper end, the lower end of the blank being widened and struck back, whereby to afford a conoavo-convex head from the concave face of which the said socket roper projects axially, and a cover blank ormed over the convex face of said head and provided with an openin registering with the lower end of the soc et proper.

3. In a caster, a socket member and a pintle member comprising a roller-carrying head having its mid portion formed with integral leaves, and a pintle proper having wings at its lower end disposed against the said mid portion of the rollercarrying head, the leaves of the head being folded over to confine the wings of the pintle therebetween and the said mid portion of the head.

4. In a caster, a socket member, and a pintle member, the said pintle member comprising a roller-carrying head formed from a sheet metal blank having lateral wings dwnbent to afford portions between which the roller is mounted, the blank having leaves extending from its upper edges, and a tubu-, lar sheet metal pintle formed from a sheet metal blank bent upon itself at a point midway of its ends and havingits portion to each side of its middle stamped to substantially semi-cylindrical form, the said portions at their extremities having angularly projecting wings disposed against the upper face of the blank, the leaves of the blank of the head being folded over to confine the wings at the lower end oithe pintle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the resence of two witnesses.

' ED IN HALL HUMPHREY. Witnesses: ELLA O. Woon,

IL. VAN TASSEL.

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