Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Casters – Sliding
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2001-12-04
Mah, Chuck Y. (Department: 3626)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Casters
Sliding
C016S04200T, C248S188900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324725
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of furniture, and more particularly to the field of furniture glides, and specifically to a furniture glide cap having stipples.
It is well known to provide a glide at a bottommost portion of a furniture leg to facilitate the sliding movement of the furniture across a floor. Glides are known to take a variety of forms, but may typically include an upper portion adapted to be attached to the leg of a piece of furniture and a lower portion having a smooth, low friction bottom surface for contacting the floor. A common application of such a glide is in school furniture, wherein a tubular shaped metal upper portion of the glide is attached to a tubular metal furniture leg by a friction fit, and a generally flat nylon or polyethelene lower portion is attached to the upper portion and provides a bottom surface for sliding across a tiled or linoleum floor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,621 issued to Bock on Apr. 30, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,972 issued to Guell on Dec. 15, 1992, disclose typical furniture glides as are known in the art.
It is known that debris such as dirt, small stones, and dust may become embedded in the bottom surface of a glide. Such debris is present on most floors, and it becomes embedded in the relatively soft nylon or polyethelene material of the glide during normal use of the furniture. Once the glide bottom surface entraps such debris, further sliding of the furniture across the floor can result in the scratching or marring of the floor. It is known to replace the glides on furniture when the amount of debris entrapped in the bottom surface of the glide becomes excessive. Such replacement is time consuming and expensive, and it often requires special tooling for the removal of the discarded glide.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, there is a particular need for an improved glide for furniture that is less susceptible to the entrapment of debris on the bottom surface. There is also a need for a simple and inexpensive method for replacing a degraded glide on an article of furniture.
A furniture glide is described herein having an upper portion adapted to be attached to a piece of furniture and a lower portion attached to the upper portion and having a bottom surface for contacting a floor, wherein the bottom surface includes a plurality of stipples. Such stipples may preferably be hemispherical protrusions from the bottom surface of the glide comprising a maximum of 20% of the area of the bottom surface.
A method of repairing an article of furniture having a glide is also disclosed herein, the method including the steps of: forming a cap having a bottom surface comprising stipples and an inner surface opposed the bottom surface, and attaching the cap to the glide so that the inner surface of the cap contacts the bottom surface of the glide.
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Beusse James H.
Beusse Brownlee Bowdoin & Wolter P.A.
Mah Chuck Y.
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