US2469425A - Self-aligning furniture foot - Google Patents

Description

May 10, 1949. A. A. ANDERSEN SELF-ALIGNING FURNITURE FOOT Filed May 13, 1946 INVENTOR 14277109 A. ANDEESEN ATTORNEY Patented May 10, 1949 in the past from tubularelement's and'fiifficulty has been'experienced in providing feet for such elements; Many-tables, chairs and otherarticles of furniture made of tubular sections-have been previously provided With feet made of rubber or rubber composition, these 'eleme'ntsbeing slipped upon the lower ends of the legs soas t'o prevent such lower ends from-scarring, in'denting;"cut-' ting or-otherwisedamaging the- -floo'r', rug-lino leum or other surface upon which the -articlef-oi furniture is positioned. The 'difii'culty with such removable 'feet is that 'they readily fall off and become lost. In other instances the'lower' end ofthe tubular leghas been provided with apermanent metal cap but such caps-areunsig'htly and when a chair istilted, the edge of such cap causes a material indentation in the supporting surfaceand inmanyinstances causes th'e'chair t v p The present invention is particularly directed to a furniture foot con-struction which accommodates itself to irregularities in the supporting surface and maintains a firm"hold upon such supportingsurfaceeven though'thechair or other article of furniture is tilted. 1

It is to be remembered that many articles' of tubular furniture are used on patios and'other enclosures surfaced with tile, and because of the inherent irregularity of tile floors, normal-tubular furniture is not stable thereon; The improved construction of the present inventionobviates'thi's difiiculty, renders the articles stable even though in a tilted position, and may-"embody a resilient or noise-absorbingpad whichelimina'tes theu'n desired clatter of metallic furniture '-upon'- 'stone or tile flooring.

The present invention-also relatest'o anovel method of constructionand assembly so that "the resulting foot is smooth, attractive and'virtiially irremovable accidentally. Generally stated, therefore, the invention" relat-es to a self-adjusting furniture foot'construc tion including a tubular'leg-portion ananchor member within such'tubular' portion and space'd from the lower end thereof, and a root member provided with a virtually hemispherical upper surface 'yieldably pressed against the lower end of the tubular leg,'the footmernb'erdncluding a'base adapted torest against the floor'while the leg portion may assume a variety of angular positions with respect'to such base.

object or thepresentinvention, therefore} isf-to disclose and provide an improved "sen-ad J'ustingfurniture foot. 1 further object of the inventio'n'is to disclose and provide asimple an'd efii-cient methodof as" sembling 'a self adjusting furniture foot; v i

still -'further object of the invent-ionis to disclose a self-aligning foot construction wherein a foot mem'ber' is arig'ularly movable in a variety of directionstvith respect to the axis of a leg; such foot-member bein'g 'yieldably retained in contact withtheleg in'all positions.- l I143 Again,---an object of the invention'is to disclose and'prov-ide'a method of construction' 'wherein the various elements may be combined for 'cooperative relation in" a-simple" and efiicient manner These and'other objects, advantages and-adap tati'ons of the invention will become i apparent to' those 'skilled in I the art from the following description of certain illustrative forms embodying theinvention. W i v- -In the-description," reference will be'hadto the appended drawingain which: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section 'th-roughga foot constructed in 1 accordance with "the :present invention, i J: :Fig. 2-isa transverse section taken along the plane 11- -11 'ofFig. 1. -a 1 Fig'iz3ris a side elevation showing. a position which may be assumed by 'the foot wh'enqthe article *of furniture of which-the foot is a part; vti te g r :l '1 l. Fig; -isa transverse section through a modified'fo'rm 'of'constructionr. I '0 i 2:: The lower portion of a tubular legf'ofzan- :artie cle offu'rniture ig'indicated at 1185' The'lowei' end of such tubular leg portion is provided with a seat and. the scat is preferablyvirtually conical, as' indicated at l l. It will be noted'thatfsudh seat faces invvardly toward the'longitudinal axis ofthe tubular portion' llli' lt may be conical or it may be concave an'd the edges of the seat may be rounded so a-s-to impart a smooth surface'a'nd properly blend with" the inner and outer surfaces of the tubularportion-H1;It is tobe're niembered, moreover, thatthe tubular'portion l0 'ma'y'be continuous with the entire -'leg--of the chair or other article of"furniture or"such=portion 'Hlunay'be a shorttubular'me'mber capable of being' att'ached to the 'loWer endofany article of furniture whether the upper port ons or-main portion; of the leg is tubular" ors'olid. *In -otlfer words; the construction of the presen't invention is adapted for useon' legs" made completely from tubular materials and to legs made of solid materials such as wood.

An anchor member, .generally indicated at I2, is positioned within the tubular portion I and spaced from the lower end thereof. The anchor member l2 may consist of a strip of metal having bent end portions i3 and i4 and some means for locating and holding a spring centrally within the tubular portion Hi. In Fig. 1 such means comprise an indentation or arcuate central portion 55 formed in the metal strap or anchor l2.

In the event the anchor member I2 is made from a separate strip of material, various methods of positioning and holding the strap within the tubular portion it may be employed. One method which has been found to be extremely effective comprises springing or deflecting the metallic tubular member Ill into the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, slidably inserting the preformed anchor member l2 into the tube until it assumes a desired position spaced from the end of the tube, and then releasing the deflecting pressure so as to cause the tube Ill to assume its normal circular form, whereupon the anchor is compressed and held Within the tube.

When this method of operation is employed the end portions [3 and IQ or the ends of the anchor i2 are spaced a distance substantially identical to the internal diameter of the tube Ill. The end portions l3 and M may be dispensed with if desired. After being positioned within the tubular portion ill in the manner stated, the anchor may be flash or spot welded to the walls of the tube.

The anchor i2 may be made of resilient metal so that it may be slightly deformed prior to and during insertion within the tubular member In, and then allowed to expand within the tubular member l0, whereupon it may be held in position by the expansive resiliency of the anchor member within the tube, the desired resiliency being attained by the curved portion [5.

It also has been found desirable to attach the end iii of spring I! to the anchor member l2 prior to the introduction of such anchor into the tubular portion H).

A foot member, generally indicated at 2!], also is provided, such foot member including a substantially fiat base 2| and a virtually hemispherical upper surface 22. The foot member 28 may be hollow in order to reduce weight. In its referred form, the radius of the hemisphere 22 is greater than one-half the outer diameter of the tubular portion iii, so that when such foot member is applied to the end of the tubular portion, the seat H will contact with the surface of the hemisphere and the base 2| may assume various angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tube Ill.

The lower end of the spring ll, indicated at 18, is adapted to cooperate with an object attached to the foot 23. The foot 29 may be provided with a lug 23 provided with a port or opening through which the end N3 of the spring [1 may extend. In actual practice, however, the tube, anchor member and spring have been assembled; the spring I! is extended, attached to the foot 20, and then allowed to pull the foot into contact with the seat H on the lower end of the tubular portion H].

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the

foot 20 is also provided with stop means limiting the movement of the tubular end portion over the hemispherical surface 22. Such stop means may take the form of a circumferential protuberance 24 carried by the foot, such protuberance being capable of engaging the lower marginal edge of the tubular portion II] when the axis of the tube is at an appreciable angle with the plane of the base 2|. The base 2| may be raised so as to reecive a disc or pad 25 of pressed fibre, rubber composition, gasketing material, or other suitable substance capable of distributing the load and at the same time deadening or dampening the contact between the foot and a supporting structure.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing a position assumed by the parts when a, chair, for example, provided with the improved foot construction, has been tilted. It will be noted that the base of the foot member is in fiat contact with the ground or supporting surface even though the tubular portion 10 (which is a continuation of the leg) is at a material angle to the floor. Cutting of the floor, linoleum, or other surfacing is thus prevented and slippage is eliminated.

Fig. 4 illustrates a somewhat modified construction, the foot member in this instance being provided with an axial port 26 through which the lower end or stem it of the spring l'l' mayextend. The end l3 may be a virtually straight piece of wire which is inserted through the port 26, pulled outwardly so as to place the spring l1 under tension, and then bent over a washer 21 previously slipped upon such wire so as to anchor the end of the spring within the foot member 20'. It also will be noted that in this modified form of construction the interior of the foot member has been provided with an outwardly directed locking recess 28 adapted to receive and positively hold the base pad 25'.

It is to be understood that the washer 21 may either bear against the inner surface of the foot member or such washer may be larger and bear against the edges of the recess in which pad 25 is held. In a still further modification, the pad 25 may be provided with an eye through which the lower end l8 of the spring may extend.

Although the foot members 20 and 20' illustrated are hollow, it is to be understood that solid foot members may be employed and the bases of such solid foot members maybe provided with pads suitably cemented or otherwise attached thereto, or the lower surface or base of such pads may be knurled or otherwise roughened to prevent slippage.

Various changes and modifications may be made from the specific illustrative forms described hereinabove. All such changes and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with an inwardly facing virtually conical seat; an anchor member extending transversely across the interior of the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end; a foot member provided with a base and a virtually hemispherical upper surface adapted to slidably contact the seat on the lower end of the tubular portion; and spring means connected to the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion.

2. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with an inwardly facing virtually conical seat; an anchor member extending transversely across the interior of the tubular portion and spaced'from said lower end, said anchor being provided with means for locking and holding a spring centrally within the tubular portion; a foot member provided with a base and a virtually hemispherical upper surface adapted to slidably contact the seat on the lower end of the tubular portion; and spring means connected to the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion.

3. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with an inwardly facing virtually conical seat; an anchor member extending transversely across the interior of the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end; a foot member provided with a base and a virtually hemispherical upper surface adapted to slidably contact the seat on the lower end of the tubular portion; and spring means connected to the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion, said foot member including stop means limiting movement of the tubular end portion over the hemispherical surface.

4. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with an inwardly facing virtually conical seat an anchor member extending transversely across the interior of the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end; a foot Y member provided with a base and a virtually hemispherical upper surface adapted to slidably contact the seat on the lower end of the tubular portion, the radius of the hemisphere being greater than one-half the outer diameter of the tubular portion; and spring means connected to the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion.

5. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with an inwardly facing virtually conical seat; an anchor member extending transversely across the interior of the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end;

a foot member provided with a base and a virtually hemispherical upper surface adapted to slidably contact the seat on the lower end of the tubular portion, the radius of the hemisphere being greater than one-half the outer diameter of the tubular portion; and spring means connected to the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion, said foot member including stop means limiting movement of the tubular end portion over the hemispherical surface.

6. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with a seat; an anchor member within the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end; a foot member including a virtually hemispherical upper surface; and spring means positioned within the tubular portion and between the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion.

7. A self-adjusting furniture foot construction comprising: a tubular leg portion, the lower end thereof being provided with a seat; an anchor member within the tubular portion and spaced from said lower end; a foot member including a virtually hemispherical upper surface; and spring means positioned within the tubular portion and between the anchor and foot member for yieldably urging the foot member against the end of the tubular portion, said anchor member being held Within the tubular portion by the resiliency of the walls of the tubular portion.

ARTHUR A. ANDERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 710,073 Pratt Sept. 30, 1902 1,658,244 Lewis Feb. 7, 1928 1,761,502 Sullivan June 3, 1930 1,903,687 Scha-cht Apr. 11, 1933

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