U.S. patent application number 12/082054 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-23 for roll-up furniture leg floor protector.
Invention is credited to Pierre Desmarais.
Application Number | 20080258023 12/082054 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39871253 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080258023 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Desmarais; Pierre |
October 23, 2008 |
Roll-up furniture leg floor protector
Abstract
The present invention relates to a furniture leg floor
protector. The invention is an improvement over the prior art in
that firstly it has a flexible upper sleeve which is stretchable
and adapted to receive a leg of many dimensions. This overcomes
previous problems with floor protectors which after a certain age
and wear, and because of semi-rigid construction, tend to fall off
the furniture legs. The invention also presents a method of
installing the felt pad on the bottom of the floor protector by
means of molding around the pad during molding of the floor
protector. This not only fixedly secures the pad to the rest of the
floor protector in an integral manner; but also alleviates applying
the pads to the floor protector by means of adhesive as a second
step in the manufacturing process after molding.
Inventors: |
Desmarais; Pierre; (Cantely,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY LLP
227 WEST MONROE STREET, SUITE 4400
CHICAGO
IL
60606-5096
US
|
Family ID: |
39871253 |
Appl. No.: |
12/082054 |
Filed: |
April 8, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/188.9 ;
248/345.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C 7/002 20130101;
A47B 91/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/188.9 ;
248/345.1 |
International
Class: |
A47B 91/00 20060101
A47B091/00; A47B 95/00 20060101 A47B095/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 20, 2007 |
CA |
2,585,597 |
Claims
1. A furniture leg floor protector adapted for use with furniture,
comprising: a semi-rigid body of rubber-like material; said body
including a lower, circular side wall, a bottom wall, and a lower
circumferential lip; said protector further comprising a
stretchable flexible circular upper side wall; said lower circular
side wall, said bottom wall, said circumferential lip, and said
stretchable flexible circular upper side wall being integrally
formed together as one during molding; said protector further
comprising a pad; said pad being adapted to fit below said bottom
wall and within said circumferential lip and be permanently affixed
to said semi-rigid body during said molding.
2. A method of manufacturing a furniture leg floor protector, as
claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of: (a) placing said pad
in a friction-fitted centralized position on the bottom of an
injection mold; (b) injecting a transparent rubber-like material,
such as plasticized thermoplastic elastomer, into said mold over
and around said pad; and (c) removing said protector with said
permanently affixed pad from said mold after cooling and
setting.
3. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein
said pad is a felt-like substance comprised of any one of the group
of polyester, wool, nylon, rayon, Teflon, and cotton.
4. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein
said pad is comprised of a mixture of any two of the group of
polyester, wool, nylon, rayon, Teflon, and cotton.
5. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein
said flexible stretchable circular upper side wall is thinner than
said lower circular side wall.
6. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said upper side wall in a first position is folded downwardly for
shipping and handling, and in a second position is folded upwardly
to engage a furniture leg during installation.
7. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 5 wherein
said upper side wall in a first position is rolled down around said
lower side wall during shipping and handling; and in a second
position is unrolled to engage a furniture leg frictionally during
installation.
8. A furniture leg floor protector, as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the circumference of a top edge portion of said upper side wall is
less than that of said lower side wall.
9. A furniture leg floor protector, as claimed in claim 8, wherein
said upper side wall is tapered inwardly and upwardly.
10. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein
an upper most portion of said upper side wall is thinner than a
lower most portion of said upper side wall.
11. A furniture floor protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein an
outer side of said upper side wall is concave and an inner side of
said upper side wall is convex; and the circumference of a top
portion of said upper side wall is less than the circumference of a
bottom portion of said upper side wall.
12. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein a
top portion of said upper side wall is of the same thickness as a
lower most portion of said upper side wall.
13. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the thickness of said upper side wall decreases from a lower most
position to an uppermost position.
14. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad is round with planar top and bottom surfaces.
15. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad includes a convex lower outer surface.
16. A furniture leg floor protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pad includes a central aperture.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from Canadian Patent
Application no. 2,585,597, filed in Canada Apr. 20, 2007.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to furniture leg floor protectors,
and more particularly those adapted for use with chair, table,
stool, sofa, or any other furniture leg.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Furniture leg floor protectors have commonly been in use for
many years. These are used to avoid damage to for example hardwood
floors when a chair or table is moved. They also reduce noise in
the classroom where children tend to move their desks and chairs
around often making an irritating noise.
[0004] Almost all furniture leg floor protectors suffer from two
problems which the present invention seeks to solve. Most present
day floor protectors are injector molded out of a transparent,
rubber-like material such as plasticized thermo-plastic elastomer.
The product is semi-rigid, including the upper sleeve with circular
side walls. The upper sleeve is adapted to receive a leg of
furniture such as a chair or table. After the molding process, a
pad is applied to the bottom of the elastomer rubber-like body on
the bottom thereof. The pad may be constructed of wool or felt. The
pad can also be formed of a deformable resilient material to
stabilize the object to give a support surface. The pad is usually
secured to the floor protector body by mechanical bonding or
adhesive bonding.
[0005] The addition of the pad is an extra step in the
manufacturing process, which must sometimes be done by hand and
thus is labor intensive. Moreover, overtime the adhesives tend to
wear out, and by constant movement of the furniture leg, the pad
finally becomes detached and a new pad must be added. The other
problem with the semi-rigid elastomer protectors is that the upper
sleeve, after significant use, becomes somewhat enlarged and the
protector tends to fall off the chair or table leg.
[0006] Attempts to increase friction and long life of the upper
sleeve of a floor protector have been mildly successful. For
example, in United States Publication No. 2004/0123421 A1, a
corrugated sleeve having folds therein to increase friction has
been utilized. It would appear however that the complexity of the
molding process could make this option uneconomical.
[0007] The present inventor has set out to remedy these two
problems. With regard to the first, the present inventor has found
by surprise that if, a for instance, a 100% wool felt is placed in
a mold in a centralized position on the bottom of the mold with
some frictional fit within the mold, that when the injection
molding process takes place, the thermo-plastic elastomer is
injected in the mold and surrounds the felt on its top planar
surface and also forms a circumferential lip around the pad. Once
set, cooled and removed from the mold, the pad becomes an integral
part of floor protector, and cannot be separated therefrom without
damage. That is to say, it is permanently affixed.
[0008] With regard to the second problem, by molding the floor
protector with an upper flexible, stretchable sleeve, i.e. a
circular side wall, the protector can be rolled up or folded up the
chair leg during installation and frictionally stretches and
adheres to the chair leg, constantly exerting an inward force
towards the leg and thus preventing the floor protector from
falling off the furniture leg. Moreover, in the folded down or
rolled down sleeve position, the protector is smaller and easier to
ship and handle, as it takes up a smaller volume.
[0009] Therefore, it is the first object of this invention as to
provide an easier way to attach a pad of felt to the bottom of a
floor protector. The second object of the present invention is to
increase friction between the upper sleeve or circular side wall of
the protector and the furniture leg.
[0010] Therefore, this invention seeks to provide a furniture leg
floor protector adapted for use with chair and table legs
comprising: a semi-rigid body of rubber-like material; said body
including a lower, circular side wall, a bottom wall, and a lower
circumferential lip; said protector further comprising a
stretchable flexible circular upper side wall; said lower circular
side wall, said bottom wall, said circumferential lip, and said
stretchable flexible circular upper side wall being integrally
formed together as one during molding; said protector further
comprising a pad; said pad being adapted to fit below said bottom
wall and within said circumferential lip and be permanently affixed
to said semi-rigid body during said molding.
[0011] This invention also seeks to provide a method of
manufacturing a furniture leg floor protector comprising the steps
of: (a) placing said pad in a friction-fitted centralized position
on the bottom of an injection mold; (b) injecting a transparent
rubber-like material, such as plasticized thermoplastic elastomer,
into said mold over and around said pad; and (c) removing said
protector with said permanently affixed pad from said mold after
cooling and setting.
General Description
[0012] The furniture leg protector of the present invention is a
one piece plastic elastomer body with a felt pad, preferably 100%
wool, embedded in the bottom during the molding process. The
protector can take many shapes, providing that there is sufficient
friction between the upper sleeve/circular side wall and the chair
leg. The pad can be rounded or have an aperture therein or simply
one piece with planar top and bottom surfaces. After molding, the
pad must protrude slightly from the elastomer body in order to have
proper contact with the floor. The upper sleeve is generally
constructed to be much thinner than the lower circular wall, which
must be more rigid to support the bottom of the chair leg. The
thickness of the sleeve can diminish from the bottom to the top,
i.e. the remote end which provides access for the chair leg during
installation. It may also be tapered or in some cases cone-shaped.
In other embodiments, the sleeve upper side wall can have a concave
outer side and a convex inner side. It is of course possible to
also have an upper sleeve or upper side wall of equal thickness in
the form of a cylinder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention will be described in detail in conjunction
with the following, wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a transverse cross section and top view of a prior
art floor protector;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of a prior art floor
protector;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section of the embodiment
shown in FIG. 3, wherein the upper circular side walls have been
rolled down for transport and pre-installation;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross section of the embodiment
shown in FIG. 3, wherein the upper sleeve or side walls have been
folded down for transport and pre-installation;
[0019] FIGS. 6, 6a, and 6b are a longitudinal cross section, top
view, and bottom view, respectively, of another embodiment of the
present invention;
[0020] FIGS. 7, 7a, and 7b are respectively a longitudinal cross
section, top view and bottom view of another embodiment of the
present invention;
[0021] FIGS. 8, 8a, and 8b are respectively a longitudinal cross
section, top view and bottom view of a cylindrical embodiment of
the present invention;
[0022] FIGS. 9, 9a and 9b are respectively, a longitudinal section,
top view, and bottom view of another embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIGS. 10, 10a and 10b are respectively a longitudinal cross
section, a top view, and bottom view of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3;
[0024] FIGS. 11, 11a and 11b are respectively a longitudinal cross
section, a top view, and bottom view of another embodiment of the
invention;
[0025] FIGS. 12, 12a and 12b show an embodiment of the invention
showing a curved felt bottom pad;
[0026] FIGS. 13, 13a, and 13b show a circular bottom pad, having
planar top and bottom surfaces; and
[0027] FIGS. 14, 14a and 14b show a bottom pad having a circular
aperture in the center thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] FIG. 1 shows a prior art furniture leg floor protector
device. It has a bottom wall (3). The configuration is generally
cylindrical and it is basically composed of an elastomer
rubber-like product. A pad or felt (5) is added by double face tape
to the bottom of bottom wall (3) and a screw adheres the protector
to a furniture leg bottom portion in the normal course of
construction.
[0029] FIG. 2 shows another prior art floor protector. It is
comprised of a furniture leg floor protector having a semi-rigid
circular body (2). A bottom wall (3) is integrally molded as a part
of the circular body (2). A circumferential lip, descending from
body (2), is marked (10). A pad 5 is paced in the recess below
bottom wall (3), and secured with pressure sensitive hot-melt
adhesive.
[0030] FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the present
invention. It is a longitudinal cross section. One notes that the
upper circular, flexible, stretchable wall (8) is much narrower
than the lower circular wall (7). Wall (8) has an outside surface
(8a) and an inside surface (8b). The lower portion of lower
circular wall (7) also includes a circumferential lip (10). This is
adapted to seat a typical circular wool pad or felt (11) which is
planar in design on its upper and lower surfaces. Lower circular
wall (7) is semi-rigid and has an outer side (7a) and an interior
side (7b). It is integrally connected to bottom wall 9 and
circumferential lip (10). The advantage of the upper circular wall
(8) is that it becomes, with lesser thickness, very flexible and
adapted with greater friction to adhere to a bottom of a chair leg
or table leg. The thicker lower portions (7), (9), (10), provide
some rigidity to the floor protector.
[0031] FIG. 4 shows a rolled storage position longitudinal cross
section of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The upper circular side
wall or sleeve (8) being thin, is able to be rolled downwardly to
abut lower side wall (7). Lower side wall (7) has an inside wall
(7b) and an outside wall (7a). Similarly, the bottom wall (9),
which is integrally joined to lower circular side wall (7) during
molding, has an upper side (9a) and a lower side (9b). The pad or
felt (11) is adapted to fit upwardly under the bottom side (9b) of
the bottom side wall. FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal conventional
shipping and handling configuration of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 5 shows another shipping and handling configuration of
an embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3. Thinner flexible
and stretchable side (8) has been folded downwards to be adjacent
to lower circular side wall (7). Felt or pad (11) remains attached
after the molding process, thus the present invention, as shown in
FIG. 5 or FIG. 4, can be shipped in a relatively compact state to
save volume requirements.
[0033] FIGS. 6, 6a and 6b show a variant of the present invention.
Upper circular side wall (8) is concave outwardly, and adjoins
lower side wall (7). This concave wall increases flexibility and
fits more furniture leg shapes. The curved conical shape increases
grip at the top of the protector.
[0034] FIG. 7 shows another variant of the present invention
wherein the semi-rigid circular lower side wall (7) merges almost
imperceptibly into the upper side wall (8). The two walls
apparently having the same thickness. The circumference of the top
portion of flexible, stretchable side wall (8) at its top is
significantly less than the circumference of circular side wall
(7). A felt (11) has been appropriately applied to the product.
[0035] In FIG. 8, the cylindrical side walls are basically vertical
with no tapering. Upper side walls (8) are perfectly in line with
lower side walls (7). This particular embodiment of the invention,
with a cylindrical shape, improves production speed, but is not as
strong.
[0036] It should be understood that the embodiments shown in FIGS.
6, 7 and 8 are not preferred embodiments of the invention, since
their ability to frictionally attach to furniture legs are
limited.
[0037] FIGS. 9, 9a, and 9b show a variant of the present invention.
There is a tapered side wall (8) commencing at the top of the lower
circular side wall (7) and ending at the upper end of the side wall
(8). This tapered wall increases stability at the bottom of the
protector, and its curved conical shape, which is concave on the
outside of the side wall (8) and convex on the inside of the side
wall (8), increases grip at the opening of the protector.
[0038] FIG. 10 shows another variant of lower circular side wall
(7) and upper circular side wall (8) which is tapered inwardly and
upwardly and the side wall (8) is thinner at the top than at the
bottom. The usual lower circumferential lip 10 surrounds the felt
pad (11), which is situated under the bottom wall (9).
[0039] FIGS. 11, 11a and 11b, showing a longitudinal cross section,
a top view and a bottom view, respectively, show a substantially
cylindrical upper and lower sleeve. However, there is a tapered
wall to increase stability at the bottom of the protector. The
cylindrical shape improves production speed, because it's easier to
remove from the mold. The upper circular side wall (8) can, for the
purposes of shipping and handling, be either folded downwardly or
rolled downwardly, as its flexibility and stretchability is
significantly greater than that of lower circular side wall
(7).
[0040] FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, show longitudinal cross sections of
varying embodiments of the invention, along with their counterparts
12a, 13a and 14a top views, respectively, and 12b, 13b and 14b
bottom views, respectively.
[0041] In FIG. 12, pad (11) has a bottom side which is outwardly
convex.
[0042] In FIG. 13 the pad or felt (11) has a planar upper surface
and a planar lower surface and is circular in form.
[0043] Finally, in FIG. 14 a pad or felt is shown having an
aperture (13). It is believed that injection through the bottom
hole could increase clarity of the product and visual appeal. In
terms of production, a hole or aperture (13) in felt or pad (11)
will decrease cost and not particularly sacrifice stability.
[0044] In conclusion, it is to be understood that the two specific
improvements in this invention are (1) the flexible, stretchable
upper side wall, circular in form, adapted to frictionally engage a
furniture leg of any dimension, and (2) the manufacture of the
integrally molded furniture leg protector, wherein the injection
molding takes place on and around the pad or felt. It is a novel
and effective way to ensure fixation of the pad or felt to the
thermoplastic elastomer body to ensure long life of the
product.
* * * * *