Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Casters – Sliding
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-11
2001-04-24
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Casters
Sliding
C248S346110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219882
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a glide assembly for use with the leg of piece of furniture, such as, for example, a chair, desk or a stool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Glides are used upon legs of furniture to provide a wearing and sliding surface for the furniture, and for decorative considerations. Hollow tubular legs extending from a chair or table are specific examples of furniture legs and the glide is mounted upon the leg end so as to contact the floor. The glide provides a smooth wearing surface for the furniture leg thereby avoiding abrasive sliding by the relatively rough or sharp tube end. Glides are provided both as inside gripping and outside gripping with respect to the typically hollow tubular legs of the furniture.
Glides should have the ability to swivel or change the angle of inclination of the floor-engaging surface with respect to the furniture leg (that is, two degrees of freedom of movement, typically plus or minus 15 degrees) in order to present a level surface to the floor when the furniture leg tilts. Similarly, glides should have the ability to absorb impact as would be expected during the lifetime of the piece of furniture. It is important, however, to maintain sturdy construction and low manufacturing costs. Low manufacturing costs can typically be achieved by a design with a reduced number of parts.
An example of a prior art glide which is inner gripping is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,621 entitled “Glide Assembly with Inside Holding Clip”, issued on Apr. 30, 1991 to Bock and assigned to the present assignee of this application. This prior art glide assembly is inner-gripping with an outer sleeve for mounting upon the end of tubular member. The glide further has an interior upright pedestal with outwardly extending gripping prongs for insertion into the tubular member.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a glide which engages a tubular member, such as the leg of a chair, table or similar piece of furniture.
It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a glide with the ability to change the inclination of the floor engaging surface with respect to the furniture leg.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a glide which can absorb impact during the expected life of the piece of furniture.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a glide which includes a reduced number of components in order to reduce manufacturing costs.
These and other objects are attained by providing a glide which includes a circumferential flange that is shaped to spread evenly the loads into the shell. The varying thickness of the bottom and side walls connecting to the flange are designed to flex slightly to attenuate the impact loads as they are transferred to the shell. The glide also has a lip under the flange that allows the shell to be crimped around the glide with less stress induced into the glide while securely holding the glide. The shell design allows an increased crimp angle around the glide to hold it securely without excessively stressing the glide. The male portion of the pivot joint ball is incorporated into the shell. A rivet and a washer/retainer are designed to hold the shell securely to the ferrule while allowing the shell to swivel freely through the full range of plus or minus fifteen degrees.
The ferrule has a female portion of the ball joint stamped into its base to receive the ball portion of the shell. This provides a large surface area joint to transfer the loads from the glide to the leg with minimal stresses induced in either the ferrule or the shell. There is a large hole in the bottom of the ball to allow the rivet and shell space to swivel through the required range. The present invention can include an inside-holding or an outside-holding clip within the ferrule.
The inside-holding clip is pushed into the ferrule and includes upwardly pointing barbs on the three lower legs of the clip to engage the interior of the furniture leg and to resist being pulled back out. These three legs of the clip additionally are used to transfer the loads from the glide to the furniture leg. The inside-holding clip further includes three upwardly extending arms at a somewhat reduced radius with downwardly pointing barbs to engage the inside of the hollow tubular leg of the piece of furniture. The outside-holding clip includes circumferential ring to engage the outside of the furniture leg. An inwardly sloped flange is formed on the top of the ferrule to hide the outside-holding clip.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3722026 (1973-03-01), Wilhelmi
patent: 5010621 (1991-04-01), Bock
patent: 5042764 (1991-08-01), Carpinella et al.
patent: 5611635 (1997-03-01), Schutte et al.
patent: 5882137 (1999-03-01), Epp et al.
patent: 5991974 (1999-11-01), Carpinella
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Knight Anthony
Patel Vishal
Pitney Hardin Kipp & Szuch LLP
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