Replacement furniture glide

A replacement furniture glide includes a shell assembly and a foot assembly. The shell assembly includes an upper portion forming a chamber adapted to receive a conventional furniture glide affixed to a furniture leg. A lower portion extends downward from the upper portion. The shell assembly is divided vertically into multiple sections. The foot assembly includes an upper mounting member and a lower floor engagement member that is connected to the mounting member. The shell assembly lower portion is received within an upwardly extending cavity in the foot assembly mounting member to releaseably lock the shell assembly sections together. The shell assembly sections are separated by withdrawing the shell assembly lower portion from the foot assembly mounting member cavity to unlock the shell assembly sections.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to furniture glides, and more particularly to furniture glides that attach to an existing furniture glide.

Furniture glides are available in a variety of styles and constructions, but an essential purpose is to provide an upper portion for receiving a furniture leg and a lower portion defining a sliding surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,991,974, “Swivelling Furniture Glide”, and 6,154,923, “High Hold Furniture Glide”, and U.S. Publication US2002/0088082A1 describe glides of the type having a three main components: (1) a ferrule including a bottom wall, an upstanding cylindrical side wall extending from the bottom wall and defining a socket for receiving a furniture leg, and clip means within the socket, for engaging a received furniture leg, (2) a swivelable glide support shell affixed to the bottom wall of the ferrule, and (3) a glide base affixed to the support shell and defining a substantially flat sliding surface for contacting the floor.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,982, “Self-Attaching Sliding Support for Articles of Furniture”, describes another type of glide that does not have a ferrule or swivel capability, but rather consists of a generally cup-shaped, unitary body of a resilient element for gripping the legs and an integrated slidable base element for contact with the floor.

In these and other known furniture glides, the sliding surface for contacting the floor is of a material specifically chosen for surface on which the furniture glide will rest. Typical base element materials include steel (usually selected for carpeted floors), hard plastics such as nylon or polyethylene (typically selected for tile floors and older vinyl flooring products containing asbestos), or soft plastics (typically selected for vinyl flooring products that do not contain asbestos and wood floors). The sliding surfaces composed of soft plastics are subject to wear.

Traditionally, the furniture glide must be replaced if the furniture is moved to a different location and the base element material is not appropriate for use with the floor at that location. Similarly, furniture glides having a sliding surface composed of soft plastics or felt have been replaced when the sliding surface experienced excessive wear.

SUMMARY

There is provided a replacement furniture glide comprising a shell assembly and a foot assembly. The shell assembly includes an upper portion forming a chamber adapted to receive a conventional furniture glide affixed to a furniture leg. A lower portion extends downward from the upper portion. The shell assembly is divided vertically into multiple sections. The foot assembly includes an upper mounting member and a lower floor engagement member that is connected to the mounting member. The shell assembly lower portion is received within an upwardly extending cavity in the foot assembly mounting member to releaseably lock the shell assembly sections together. The shell assembly sections are separated by withdrawing the shell assembly lower portion from the foot assembly mounting member cavity to unlock the shell assembly sections.

The shell assembly upper portion includes an opening adapted to receive the furniture leg or a portion of the conventional furniture glide.

The foot assembly mounting member may include an outer ring and an axial sleeve extending upward from an intermediate floor, with an inner wall of the outer ring and an outer wall of the axial sleeve forming the cavity for receiving the shell assembly lower portion. The shell assembly lower portion may have a substantially cylindrical shape and the foot assembly mounting member outer ring and an axial sleeve may form an annular cavity.

The shell assembly lower portion projects downwardly from a proximal end to a distal end and may have a projection disposed intermediate the proximal end and the distal end that extends laterally outward from an outer surface of the shell assembly lower portion. In this variation, the inner wall of the foot assembly mounting member outer ring include a circumferential slot that receives the projection of the shell assembly lower portion to releaseably lock the shell assembly sections together.

The lower surface of the shell assembly upper portion or the upper surface of the foot assembly mounting member may include a slot adapted to receive a tool for separating the foot assembly from the shell assembly.

The foot assembly mounting member sleeve may include an axial opening extending from an upper surface of the sleeve. A bumper member composed of a compressible material positioned in the opening has a head projecting upwardly beyond the sleeve upper surface.

The foot assembly floor engagement member is fixedly connected to the foot assembly mounting member by an adhesive or a weld. The foot assembly floor engagement member may also be connected to the foot assembly mounting member by a protrusion that extends radially outward from an outer sidewall of the mounting member that is received in a circumferential slot in an inner sidewall of the floor engagement member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference toFIGS. 1-3, a replacement furniture glide10in accordance with the disclosure includes a foot assembly12and a shell assembly14that mounts the foot assembly12to a conventional furniture glide16affixed to a furniture leg.

With additional reference toFIGS. 3 and 4, the shell assembly14has an upper portion18defining a chamber20adapted to receive a conventional furniture glide16. In the example shown inFIG. 3, the conventional furniture glide16includes an upper segment22having a generally frustoconical shape and a lower segment24for engaging a floor surface. The shell assembly upper portion chamber20has a shape that is complementary to the shape of the conventional furniture glide16to ensure that the shell assembly14may be installed on the conventional furniture glide16and to limit relative motion between the shell assembly14and the conventional furniture glide16. Accordingly, the shell assembly upper portion18may include an upper segment26having a generally frustoconical shape forming an upper reduced portion28and a lower expanded portion30defining an outer edge32. The upper segment26defines a substantially circular opening34at the reduced portion28having a diameter36substantially equal to, or slightly greater than, the outer diameter38of the upper end40of the conventional furniture glide16whereby the upper end40of the conventional furniture glide16extends through opening34. The lower segment42may have an inverted generally frustoconical shape, forming an upper expanded portion44and a lower reduced portion46or a cylindrical shape.

A cylindrical lower portion48projects longitudinally from a proximal end50to a distal end52and defines a passage54extending from the proximal end50to the distal end52. A laterally extending shelf56connects the lower portion proximal end50to the upper portion18. A projection58disposed intermediate the proximal end50and the distal end52extends laterally outward from the outer surface60of the lower portion48.

With additional reference toFIGS. 6-9, the shell assembly14comprises first and second shell halves62,64. The first shell half62includes a number (np) of pins66that extend from the shell half face. The second shell half64includes a number (no) of openings70extending from the shell half face72into the shell half body74, where no is greater to or equal than np. The diameters of the pins66and openings70are selected such that the surface76of the pins66frictionally engage the surface78of the openings70when the shell halves62,64are mounted together while allowing the shell halves62,64to be separated without the use of tools. The pins66may be integrally formed with the first half shell body80.

With additional reference toFIGS. 5 and 10, the foot assembly12includes a mounting member82and a floor engagement member84that is fixedly connected to the mounting member83. The floor engagement member84is composed of a material chosen for surface on which the furniture glide10will rest. For example, the floor engagement member84may be composed of steel if the floor is carpeted. Alternatively, the floor engagement member84may be composed of a relatively soft and/or resilient material such as a soft plastic if the floor is wood or a vinyl flooring product that does not contain asbestos. In the example where the floor engagement member84is composed of a relatively soft and/or resilient material, the mounting member82provides mechanical support to the floor engagement member84. The floor engagement member84may be connected to the mounting member83by an adhesive layer86disposed between the floor engagement member inner surface and the mounting member outer surface, a weld or by other means. The floor engagement member84may further be connected to the mounting member82by a protrusion88that extends radially outward from the outer sidewall90of the mounting member82and is received in an associated circumferential slot92in the inner sidewall94of the floor engagement member84.

In the example shown in the Figures, the mounting member82has a substantially circular shape and has a rounded outer surface96. Similarly, in the example the floor engagement member84has a shape that substantially conforms to the shape of the mounting member outer surface96. An outer ring98and an axial sleeve100extend upward from an intermediate floor102of the mounting member82. A circumferential slot104in the outer ring inner sidewall106receives the lower portion projection58to lock the first and second shell halves62,64together as described in greater detail below. An axial opening108originating at the upper surface110of the sleeve100may extend to the mounting member outer surface96, as shown inFIG. 3, or may terminate at a point intermediate the sleeve upper surface110and the mounting member outer surface96. A bumper member112composed of a compressible material may be positioned in the opening108with the domed head114of the bumper member112projecting upwardly beyond the sleeve upper surface110. The bumper member head114engages the bottom surface116of the installed conventional furniture glide16when the replacement furniture glide10is installed to dampen any movement between the conventional furniture glide16and the replacement furniture glide10.

The replacement furniture glide10is installed by inserting the installed conventional furniture glide16into one of the first and second shell halves62,64and then the other of the first and second shell halves62,64, with the first shell half pins66being inserted into the second shell half openings70. Frictional engagement between the surfaces76,78of the pins66and the openings70will retain the shell assembly14in place while the shell assembly lower portion48is inserted into the cavity118between the outer ring98and the inner sleeve100of the foot assembly mounting member82. The replacement furniture glide10may be removed by inserting the blade tip of a screwdriver or similar tool into slots120provided in the bottom surface122of the lower segment42of the shell assembly upper portion18(FIGS. 1,2,3and4) and applying an upward or downward force to the screwdriver handle whereby the blade forces the shell assembly lower portion48out of cavity118. After the foot assembly12is removed from the shell assembly14, pulling the two shell halves62,64away from each other provides sufficient force to overcome the frictional engagement between the surfaces76,78of the pins66and the openings70to allow the shell halves62,64to be separated.