Patent Publication Number: US-2006016949-A1

Title: Protective guard

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The disclosed embodiments of the present invention concern a protective guard device for use with various types of structures in order to protect a surface from an object. For example, embodiments are described to protect a surface from a tubular leg of a piece of furniture. These embodiments may also stabilize the furniture and/or resist slippage of the legs with respect to the support surface. Another embodiment relates to protective guards which are adapted to secure to equipment, walls, doors, posts or other surfaces to protect them from the impact of or stress from objects or other equipment.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Furniture plays a significant role in everyday life. The various uses of furniture, whether in the home or workplace, include the need to store items, display items, or provide other types of work surfaces. Also, various types of commercial furniture, such as display racks and the like are widely used in stores, showrooms, etc.  
      Certain types of furniture, such as chairs, desks, tables, benches, equipment stands, stools and the like, include a plurality of legs or support members which normally engage a surface to support the furniture thereon. These legs are commonly rigid tubular members of round, oval, square-shaped and rectangular is cross-section. In addition, some designers create openings of other, non-standard shapes into which a protective cap may be installed.  
      The necessity of having these types of furniture has become commonplace and manufacturers have been able to appeal to consumers&#39; desires by constructing them to have a variety of unique designs and shapes. Most furniture is inherently designed to be a durable commodity so that its owners may enjoy a significant lifetime of use from it.  
      Where an article of furniture is supported on a floor or other surface, there is the need to avoid damage or abrasion to support surfaces on which legged structures rest. For furniture used indoors, this support surface is typically either carpeting or wooden floors. For outdoor furniture, such as patio furniture, the support surface may be concrete, brick, tile, decking and the like. Regardless of the support surface encountered, one runs the risk that manufacturing imperfections may either scratch or tear the surface; similar damage may occur when the furniture shifts or slides across the surface. Even where no manufacturing defects are present, the presence of a sharp edge on the support leg may damage the support surface.  
      Another concern is the potential for furniture to slip, particularly when the supporting surface is wood, tile, or vinyl. This is most prevalent for tables, chairs, sofas and the like which experience lateral disturbances in normal use. Slippage can be annoying, causing drinks to spill when a table is bumped, and dangerous when someone&#39;s weight is put to bear on a piece furniture and it gives way.  
      A further concern regards the stability of legged furniture. Either a manufacturing defect has left the legs of unequal length or the furniture is placed on an uneven surface. This results in an undesirable unsteadiness. For furniture which is not normally moved, it is not uncommon for one to place a shim, or its equivalent under one or more of the support legs in order to balance the furniture on the support surface. For seated structures, inadequate leveling can also result in discomfort or injury to the user.  
      A related concern regards the protection of equipment, sliding door frames or wall surfaces from damage due to impact or vibration transmitted through contact with an object or surface. When zealously opening a sliding door the door frame can severely impact the casing or frame. Similarly, when opening a regular door, the door knob or door stop can impact the wall thus causing damage. Likewise, exercise machines, industrial equipment, etc. can create vibrations and impacts which can damage their support surfaces or the equipment.  
      In an effort to alleviate these problems, several types of protective devices have been developed, for example, end caps and bumpers. End caps are typically plastic, cup-like devices which are mounted over the foot portion of the leg or, in the case of tubular legs, into the end cavity of the foot. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,673 issued to Beshore on Oct. 28, 1997 teaches a protective glide device which is adapted to interface between the cupped foot portion of patio furniture and a support surface to prevent abrasion and stability. U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,153 issued to Allan on Dec. 30, 2003 teaches a furniture foot which is attached to the base of a leg and protects the underlying floor. The device is intended for attachment, via fasteners or adhesives, to furniture legs which are constructed of solid materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,877 issued to Swy et al. on Jul. 18, 2000 teaches a glide attachment plate for furniture legs which provides stability and prevents abrasion but does not prevent slippage.  
      Bumpers, on the other hand, are typically pads of cushioning material that is of a type to absorb shock forces. Such materials can include felt, rubber (both natural and synthetic), plastic, foamed synthetics, paperboard and the like. In any case, the bumper material may be secured to a surface intended for protection or to the object that may come in contact with the surface. It is also known to mount the bumper material to a support body, such as a piece of plastic material that, in turn, provides a mounting structure for the material to the surface or object.  
      While all of these prior art devices are advantageous in their own right, there remains a need for an improved protective guard which can be interposed between a foot portion of a legged object and a support surface to provide stability to the legged structure while preventing slippage and unnecessary damage to either the structure or the support surface. There is also a need for a protective guard which can be interposed between two contacting or impacting bodies and act as a bumper or vibration damper to prevent damage from their impact with the contacting surface.  
     SUMMARY OF THE ASPECTS OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      One aspect of at least some of the exemplary embodiments is to provide a new and useful device for the protecting furniture legs and support surfaces from damaging one another.  
      It is another aspect of at least some of the exemplary embodiments to provide a device which resists slippage of furniture legs upon support surfaces.  
      A further aspect of at least some of the exemplary embodiments is to provide a device which aids in stabilizing furniture upon support surfaces.  
      Still a further aspect of at least some of the exemplary embodiments is to provide a protective guard to act as bumper or vibration damper and reduce the impact of one object against another or otherwise protect against damage between two surfaces.  
      The present invention broadly concerns protective guards adapted to protect a surface from an object, such as protecting a floor against damage by the leg of an article of furniture or to act as a bumper, for example, between a sliding door and a doorframe. According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the protective guard includes a guard body that has a base portion with a pad cavity on a first side thereof. A pad is disposed in the pad cavity and is secured to the guard body such that a first portion of the pad fills the pad cavity and second portion of the pad protrudes out of the pad cavity.  
      In the exemplary embodiments, the base portion includes a margin that surrounds the pad cavity, and this margin has a base outer surface that is formed along a first radius of curvature so that the base outer surface is arcuate shape. In one embodiment, the pad has a pad outer surface formed along a second radius of curvature that is generally the same as the first radius of curvature so that the pad outer surface is generally continuous with the base outer surface.  
      In several of the embodiments, the margin of the base portion that surrounds the pad cavity includes a lip that forms a shoulder, and the base portion includes a shank portion extending on a second side thereof oppositely of the pad cavity. While this shank portion may be solid, in the disclosed embodiments, the shank portion is formed by a wall that surrounds a shank cavity. This shank portion terminates at a chamfered upper edge. The shank is adapted to be forced for a force fit insertion into a tubular member, such as a leg of an article of furniture. In this configuration, an edge portion of the tubular sidewall of the tubular member abuts the shoulder formed by the lip.  
      The pad may be constructed of a non-slip material, such as polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomere, thermoplastic olephin elastimere and polyvinyl chloride. To this end, also, the pad may be formed of a deformable, resilient material so as to help stabilize the object against a support surface. The pad may nest, in close-fitted relation, in the pad cavity and may be secured to the guard body, for example, by thermal/chemical bonding, mechanical bonding or adhesive bonding. One exemplary embodiment provides for mechanical bonding by forming at least one but preferably a plurality of holes in the base portion. The pad then includes a securing structure that includes a plug extending through the hole and an enlarged securing portion that has dimensions larger than the hole. Where a plurality of holes are provided, a plug extends through each hole. In this embodiment, the enlarged securing portion is a pad backing that joins the plugs to one another. In another embodiment, the enlarged securing portion is a disk-shaped button.  
      In one embodiment, the protective guard has a mounting element disposed on a second side of the base portion that is opposite the first side thereof. This mounting element is then adapted to secure the guard body to a surface to be protected. The mounting element, for example, may be double sided adhesive tape or one member of a hook and loop fastener. In this disclosed embodiment, the second side of the base portion has a mounting cavity formed therein, and the mounting element is received in the mounting cavity. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the end portion of a furniture leg including a protective guard according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the guard shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a side view in elevation of the guard of  FIG. 2  with an end portion of a furniture leg shown in phantom;  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken about lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view as in  FIG. 4  showing the guard body with the pad removed;  
       FIG. 6  is a side view in cross-section, similar to  FIG. 4 , showing a guard according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a bottom plan view of the guard shown in  FIG. 7 ;  
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken about lines  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 ;  
       FIG. 10  is a side view in cross-section, similar to  FIGS. 4 and 6 , showing a guard according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 11  is a side view, similar to  FIG. 3 , showing a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention concerns protective guards. Some of the exemplary embodiments provide stability to a legged object while at the same time preventing damage to either the legged object or the supporting surface upon which it rests and providing resistance to slippage of the legged object with respect to the support surface. As is known, the guard also helps stabilize the article of furniture. Another embodiment relates to protective guards which are adapted to secure to equipment, walls, doors, posts or other surfaces to protect them from the impact of or stress from objects or other equipment.  
      A first embodiment of the present invention is therefore shown in  FIGS. 1-5 .  FIG. 1  shows a lower end portion  11  of a leg  10  of a representative article of furniture that has a protective guard  20  mounted thereto. Lower end portion  11  with guard  20  is resting on a support surface  1   6 . As shown here, the end portion  11  of the leg  10  is a square, hollow tube including a tubular leg side wall  12  forming a leg cavity  14 , although other cross-sectional configurations are certainly possible. The leg wall  1   2  terminates in a leg end edge  13 . The leg  10  may be that of a chair, a desk, table, sofa or any other structure which is intended to rest upon a support surface  16 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the guard  20  is shown here and includes a guard body  22  and a pad  24 .  FIG. 3  shows a side elevational view of the guard  20  and  FIGS. 4 and 5  shows a sectional, side view of the guard  20 . As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the guard body  22  includes a shank  26 , a base portion  28 , a lip  32  and an outer surface  36 .  
      Still referring to  FIG. 4 , the shank  26  is formed by a surrounding insert wall  27  that thus defines a shank cavity  30 . The insert wall  27  is sized to force fit within the leg cavity  14  of the foot portion of the leg  10  and to ensure that the shank  26  remains inserted within the foot portion  10  during normal usage of the furniture.  FIGS. 1, 3  and  4  show the guard  20  inserted into the foot portion of the leg  10 . The proximal end of the insert wall  27  is affixed to the base portion  28  and a lip  32  extends outwardly from the base portion  28  to define a shoulder. The lip  32  is sized to cover the edge  13  of the leg end, as can be seen in  FIGS. 1, 3  and  4 , and thus protects the leg end edge  13  from damaging the support surface  16  or vice versa. To facilitate the insertion of the shank  26  into the leg cavity  14 , the distal end of the insert wall  27  terminates in an edge  29  which is formed as a chamfer  31 . Referring to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4, 5 , it can be realized that the protective guard  20  need not include the cavity  30  shown in this embodiment so that it would have a solid shank.  
       FIG. 5  shows the guard body  22  without the pad  24 . Here it can be seen that the base portion  28  has a peripheral margin  31  that includes lip  32 , and this margin  31  has a generally curved outer surface  36  which extends outwardly beyond the insert wall  27 . The base portion  28  also includes a pad cavity  34  which is sized to receive the pad  24  so that a portion of the pad  24  completely fills pad cavity  34  with another portion protruding out of the pad cavity. In  FIG. 2  the pad cavity  34  and pad  24  are shown to be of a shape geometrically similar to the shape of the cross-section of the foot portion  10 . However, one skilled in the art can realize that other shapes can be employed. The guard body  22  is an integral one-piece molding using a rigid, impact-resistant material which can include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, high density polyethylene or polypropylene, among others.  
      As seen in  FIG. 1 , the pad  24  rests upon the support surface  16  and transfers the load of the end portion  10  through the guard body  22  to the support surface  16 . The pad  24  is constructed of a soft, non-slip material which can include polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomer, thermoplastic olefin elastomer or polyvinyl chloride, among others. Some of these materials may be selected for their excellent resistance to wear. The pad  24  may be sized and constructed of a material soft enough and resilient enough to conform to uneven support surfaces  16  to provide stability and slip-resistance for the furniture. Thus the material could be a deformable, resilient material.  
      The pad  24  may be affixed to the guard body  22  in a variety of means. The first embodiment in  FIGS. 1-5  shows the cap  24  affixed to the guard body  22  by a “two-shot” injection molding manufacturing process as is known in the art. Here, the two materials are bonded by a thermal/chemical process. This is by no means the only way in which to join the guard body  22  and pad  24 . For example, they may be joined by adhesives or by mechanical bonding structures, such as, rivets, screws and bolts, or as described below.  
      With reference to  FIG. 6 , a second embodiment of the protective guard  120 , shows the guard body  122  and pad  124  mechanically joined wherein the pad  124  is affixed to the guard body  122  by a securing structure that includes fingers in the form of plugs  142  and an enlarged securing portion in the form of a pad backing  140  that is integrally molded with plugs  142 . Plugs  142 , affixed to the pad  124  and backing  140  protrude through base portion holes  144  within the base portion  128 . In this embodiment, the pad  124 , plugs  142  and pad backing  140  are integrally formed by injection molding the selected pad material into the guard body  122  thus creating the defined geometry of the pad  124 .  
      Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 7-9 . Here the protective guard  220  is configured to be received by a circular foot portion of a furniture leg. As in the previous embodiments, the guard  220  includes a guard body  222  and a pad  224 . Also similar to the other embodiments, the insert wall  227  of the shank  226  is formed to force fit within the circular cavity of the foot portion. As seen in  FIG. 8  the pad  224  is circular in shape and concentric with the guard body  222 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , the pad  224  is affixed to the base portion  228  by a securing structure in the form of plugs  242  which extend through base portion holes  244  and which terminate in enlarged, disc-shaped buttons  246 , sized to be larger than the base portion holes  244  to prevent the pad  224  from being removed from the guard body  222 . Similar to the second embodiment, the pad  224 , plugs  242  and buttons  246  may be formed by injection molding the material within the guard body  222 . It should also be appreciated that the pad  224  can also be affixed to the guard body  222  by either of the means discussed in the first two embodiments.  
      As seen in  FIG. 9 , the pad  224  has an outer pad surface  250  which is curved at a selected radius to produce a surface generally continuous with the radius of curvature of the base portion outer surface  236 . In this manner there is less likelihood of the pad  224  catching on any imperfections in or roughness of the support surface thus causing the pad  224  to mechanically peel from the guard body  222 . One skilled in the art can appreciate that the pads  24  and  124  found in the previous two embodiments, respectively, can also be similarly curved to prevent the same mechanical peeling effect.  
      Yet another means of affixing the pad to the guard body is shown in  FIG. 10 . In this embodiment, the protective guard  320 , guard body  322  and pad  324  are similar to those discussed in the first embodiment. Here, however, the pad  324  is affixed to the base portion  328  with an adhesive  360 . The adhesive  360  can be of a number of commercially available types selected to adequately bond the pad  324  to the guard body  322 .  
      A further embodiment of the present invention, shown in  FIG. 11 , involves the use of the protective guard  420  as an impact and vibration absorbing bumper. Here, and similar to the previous embodiments, the guard  420  includes a pad  424  and a base portion  426 . In this embodiment, the base portion  426  is of a solid shape with a planar rear surface  442  and extends as a continuation of arcuate surface  436 . Affixed to the rear surface  442  is a mounting element  440  which can be double-stick adhesive tape, one member of a cooperative hook-and-loop fastener, or other materials known within the art which can serve to adhere the rear surface  442  to a wall, door frame or other surface. A mounting cavity  444  may also be placed within the rear surface  442  for positioning and mounting of the mounting element  440 . The pad  424  is constructed of a soft, flexible material of the types mentioned previously for pad  24  in the first embodiment.  
      The various features of the different embodiments may be incorporated into any of the embodiments. This includes, for example, the shape of the guard body, the means for attaching the pad and the curvature of the lip and pad. One skilled in the art also can realize that the guard body  20 ,  120 ,  220 ,  320  or  420  can be sized and shaped to attach to a variety of cross-sectional shapes of furniture legs and other mounting fixtures including, but not limited to: rectangular, triangular, polyhedral, and elliptical. It should also be appreciated that the shape of the pad  24 ,  124 ,  224 ,  324 , and  424  can also be of a variety and is not limited to those shown herein.  
      Accordingly, the embodiments of present invention has been described with some degree of. It should be appreciated, though, that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.