Improvements in and in the Manufacture or Furniture Castors.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in and in the Manufacture or Furniture Castors.
We, JOSIAH COOPER and FRANCIS GEORGE BENSLY, both of Little King Street,
in the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has relation to improvements in and in the manufacture of
castors for furniture, and pertains in the one part to bowl or roller castors, and in
another part, to dumb castors or feet which have no roller action but simply slide
along a floor.
The principal object of our improvements is a silent castor, adapted to run
easily on polished floors or carpets without marking or otherwise injuring the
same, which is attained by the employment of felt as the tread or contact surface,
or by the bowls or feet being made from blocks of felt reinforced where neces-
sary with metallic supports, which prevent the flattening, or preserve the shape
of the felt parts when applied to castors for use in connection with heavy articles
of furniture.
In carrying out one form of our invention as applied to a castor having a run-
ning bowl, the said bowl is made from a solid circular block of felt of suitable
dimensions, having a central hole through which is passed a metallic bush or
sleeve forming a bearing for the axis of the bowl directed between the horns of
the castor body and taking through the said sleeve, the ends of which carry cir-
cular plates or reinforcing washers, of a diameter and substance sufficient to sup-
port the sides of the bowl and prevent the distortion or flattening of the same by
the weight coming upon it. The said reinforcing washers may be secured to the
bush ends and clamped against the sides of the felt howl either by screwing or by
threading them on and rivetting or spreading over the bush end parts onto their
outer faces, or the one washer may be solid with, and form as it were a head end
to, the bush, with the other washer being screwed, rivetted or otherwise secured
in position.
The washer plates may have square or angular middle piercings and be strung
onto a like-sectioned middle part of an axle pin, whilst the outer edges or other
parts of the plates are impressed into the sides of the felt for securing them to the
bowl. The outer faces may be grooved to receive the turned in parts of the
washers, which might in such a case, be somewhat of a cup section and have
attached or solid pivots or trunnions on their outer faces.
Instead of the bowl being formed from a single block of felt it may be made
from a series of discs, clamped together upon a bush or cross pin and either
having reinforcing outside washers, or metal plates may be arranged alternately
between the felt discs for the purpose of stiffening the bowl.

page_text: As another form, the bowl may be made in two sections with their opposed
sides sunken to receive an internal reinforcing block or thick metal plate, which
has a square or other hole to receive either a corresponding sectioned cross pin
having pivot or journalled ends, or a central bush for the axle of the bowl. In
this form the outside washers may be dispensed with. A modification of this
would be to employ a stout metal ring as the reinforcing medium, which is
embedded within, or comes between the sections of, the felt bowl.
As a further form of castor bowl, the contact surface may be in the form of a
ring of solid felt, preferably having a dovetail or expanded inner part. This ring
or tread is clamped between a pair of plates or hub sections, strung upon a cross
pin or axis, with their outer parts having overhanging edges adapted to embrace
the dovetail base or inner portion of the felt ring.
Or a solid metallic hub, cross pierced for the pivot pin, or having solid or
attached trunnion ends, may have a peripheral groove or channel within which
the base or inner edge parts of a felt ring or tread is placed and
secured there by turning over or embedding the metallic edges of the groove
into the material of the felt tread. Or a felt surface may be applied and
secured to a metallic hub or body part by screws or pins with sunken or
embedded heads, or by other suitable means.
As a still further form of our invention, the foundation or hub of the bowl may
be made of two bushed plates or sections, with the bushed parts coming together
and the plates embracing the felt bowl, with the whole of the parts being
assembled together and the felt prevented from rotating on the hub by cross pins,
bolts or their equivalent, or the felt bowl or tread may be prevented from rotat-
ing by serrations upon the opposed faces of the clamping plates, whose sectional
hub parts may socket each other, but the felt parts may in any of the forms
described be prevented from rotating by cross pins, screws or ribs, or by millings
or the like upon the washer or reinforcing plates being made to embed into the
softer material of the felt.
As a still further modification I make the hub of two sectional parts,' but with
the outside plates dished or sunken so as to form flanges, in which case the middle
parts of the hub of the bowl are set back and any extensions or protuberances
on the faces lie in a plane inwards of the sides of 'the felt parts.
In carrying out our invention as applied to a dumb castor or furniture foot in
which the contact surface has a sliding instead of a running action upon a floor,
the same, in one form, consists of a metallic socket secured to the leg of an article
of furniture by a screw or otherwise, with the hollow socket part of the same
inside wormed to be adapted to receive a solid felt block, which is screwed into
position and is retained.
In carrying out our invention as applied to a dumb castor or furniture foot in
which the contact surface has a sliding instead of a running action upon a floor,
the same, in one form, consists of a metallic socket secured to the leg of an
article of furniture by a screw or otherwise, with the hollow socket part of the
same inside wormed to be adapted to receive a solid felt block, which is screwed
into position and retained by the threads of the screw impressing or embedding
themselves into the material of the said block, the bottom of which comes upon
the floor and forms the tread or sliding surface.
Or the block may be forced by pressure into the socket and retained in place
y frictional contact only, or it may have a circumferential collar formed upon
its edge, or a metallic collar secured around its side, over which the edge of the
socket may be turned, or the said collar may form an abutment for an inside-
screwed union ring or coupling adapted to be wormed onto outside screw-threaded
part of the socket itself.
The carrier for the block may also be taper socketted or undercut, and the felt
may be compressed between heated dies and forced through the contracted mouth
into the cavity after which it is allowed to resume its normal dimensions.
It is proposed to cut out the felt parts from solid sheets of suitable thickness

page_text: and to shape the same by turning them in a lathe or otherwise. Or cut-out discs
may be taken and operated upon by dies, which are preferably in a heated state,
in order to give the desired shape thereto.
T : 1011.
1000
Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Furniture Castors.
We, JOSIAH COOPER and FRANCIS GEORGE BENSLY, both of Little King Street,
in the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
This invention has relation to improvements in and in the manufacture of
castors for furniture, and pertains in the one part to bowl or roller castors, and in
another part, to dumb castors or feet which have no roller action but simply slide
along a floor.
The principal object of my improvements is a silent castor, adapted to run easily
on polished floors or carpets without marking or otherwise injuring the same,
which is attained by the employment of felt as the tread or contact surface, or
by making the bowls or feet from blocks of felt reinforced where necessary with
metallic supports, which prevent the flattening or preserve the shape of the felt
parts when applied to castors for use in connection with heavy articles of
furniture
.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents an elevation of a furniture
castor provided with a silent and non-scratching bowl in accordance with one
form of our invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the said bowl, which is provided with a tread
or wearing surface of felt, separately.
Figure 3 represents an edge view of the bowl, whilst Figures 4 and 5 show
respectively two different sections of it the one being taken upon the dotted line
and the other at right angles thereto upon the dotted line a¹ Figure 3.
Figure 6 shows the several component parts of the improved castor bowl,
separately and in section, whilst Figure 7 is a separate elevation of one of the
side plates.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures
of the drawing.
In carrying out this form of our invention as applied to a castor having a
running bowl, the said bowl is made from a solid circular block of felt a, of suit-
able dimensions, having a central hole a', through which is passed a metallic bush
or sleeve b, forming a bearing for the axis c of the bowl directed between the
horns c', of the castor body, and taking through the said sleeve, the ends of
which carry circular plates or reinforcing washers d of a diameter and substan
sufficient to support the sides of the felt body of the bowl and prevent the dis-
tortion or flattening of the same by the weight coming upon it. The said rein-
forcing washers are provided, on their edges, with a series of teeth d¹, which are
ferced inwards into the material of the felt to prevent the same rotating upon the
bush. These plates, in the form shown, are secured to the ends b', of the bush
and at the same time clamped against the sides of the felt bowl by rivetting and

page_text: expanding the same into the conical or countersunk holes 2, but they may also
be secured by screwing or by threading them on and rivetting or spreading over
the bush end parts onto their outer faces, or the one washer may be solid with,
and form as it were a head end to the bush, with the other washer being screwed,
rivetted or otherwise secured in position.
The washer plates may have square or angular middle piercings and be strung
onto a like-sectioned end part of the middle bush to prevent them twisting or
rotating around the said bush. The outer faces may be grooved to receive the
turned-in parts of the washers, which might, in such a case, be somewhat of a
cun section and have attached or solid pivots or trunnions on their outer faces.
Instead of the bowl being formed from a single block of felt, it may be made
from a series of discs, clamped together upon a bush or cross pin and either
having reinforcing outside washers, or metal plates may be arranged alternately
between the felt discs for the purpose of stiffening the bowl.
Another form of noiseless castor bowl is represented in Figure 8, in which the
felt body part is made in two sections a¹, a², with their opposed sides sunken at a³
to receive an internal reinforcing block or hollow internal liner e, which has a
square or other hole to receive either a central bush b, with rivetted ends b¹,
wherein a castor pin may pass, or the castor may be fitted with a corresponding
sectioned cross pin having pivot or journalled ends, which take their bearing
direct in the horns of the castor. In this form the outside washers d, may be
used, or they may be dispensed with altogether. A modification of this would be
to employ a stout metal ring as the reinforcing medium, which is embedded
within, or comes between the sections of, the felt bowl.
Figure 9 represents a castor bowl which only differs from that shown in
Figures 1 to 6 by having a lighter central sleeve of the same thickness through-
out, thus saving cost of manufacture from the fact that the ends do not require to
be necked or reduced in diameter to fit them to the side plates. This form of
bowl is marked with the same letters of reference as that in the said Figures 1 to 6.
In the bowl shown in section in Figure 10 the contact surface may be in the
form of a ring a, of solid felt, preferably having a dovetail or expanded inner
part a. This ring or tread is clamped between a pair of plates or hub sec-
tions d, e, strung upon and secured by rivetting or otherwise to a cross bush
or sleeve b, adapted to receive the castor pin, and with their outer parts having
overhanging edges d³ adapted to embrace the dovetail base or inner portion of the
felt ring. These clamping plates d¹, d, may also be made from sheet metal, as
represented in Figure 11, with shoulders, on their inner sides onto which a
tube or outer sleeve f, forming an annular bed for the feet body or tread a,
takes, whilst the parts are held together by a bush or sleeve b, with rivetted outer
ends d¹.
Or a solid metallic hub, cross pierced for the pivot pin, or having solid or
attached trunnion ends, may have a peripheral groove or channel within which
the base or inner edge parts of a felt ring or tread is placed and
secured there by turning over or embedding the metallic edges of the groove
into the material of the felt thread. Or a felt surface may be applied and
secured to a metallic hub or body by screws or pins which are passed through the
felt and take into the metal core, whilst the heads of the pins are sunken below,
or flush with, the tread surface of the felt.
As a still further form of our invention the two side or outer plates d, may be
secured to the foundation or hub b, (which may be cast or formed integral with
one of the said plates) with the felt tread secured between them in such a manner
as to effectually prevent it from rotating on the hub, by cross pins g, bolts or
their equivalent as represented in Figure 12, or the felt bowl or tread may be
prevented from rotating in any of the forms herein described by serrations upon
the opposed faces of the clamping plates, or by millings or the like upon the
washer or reinforcing plates being made to embed into the softer material of the
felt.

page_text: The felt tread of our noiseless or silent castor, instead of being made from a
solid ring or block of felt with a central hole to receive the bush of the axle as
described and represented in the whole of the preceeding arrangements, it may
be made from a strip of thick felt the ends of which may either abut or be
bevelled to overlap and form a flush ring, and the tread itself is secured to the
hub or internal support by screws or otherwise. Further, the said felt body may
be made in two halves or sections a, a, suitably secured together and to the
foundation of the bowl, as represented in Figure 13, or it may be formed from a
length or strip of felt, which is wound spirally around the middle hub and
between the end plates as shown in Figure 14 or a strip of felt may be wrapped
around a metal hub, which may be of a sheave figure, with the sleeve or bush for
the castor pin and the retaining plates all formed solid by casting or otherwise.
Also, in some cases, we may dispense with the sustaining cheeks and side plates
and make the bowl as represented in Figure 15 simply of a solid block of felt a,
retained upon a middle sleeve or bush d, by turning up or slightly expanding the
outer ends of the same.
In carrying out our invention as applied to a dumb castor or furniture foot in
which the contact surface has a sliding instead of a running action upon a floor,
the same in the one form represented in Figure 16, consists of a metallic socket a,
secured to the leg of an article of furniture by a screw or otherwise, with the
hollow socket part a¹ of the same inside wormed to be adapted to receive a solid
felt block b, which is screwed into position and retained by the threads of the
screw impressing or embedding themselves into the material of the said block,
the bottom of which comes upon the floor and forms the tread or sliding surface.
Or the block b may be forced by pressure into the socket a and retained in place
by frictional contact only as represented in Figure 17 or it may have a circum-
ferential collar b₁ (as in Figure 18) or an annular shoulder 62, (as in Figure 19)
formed upon its edge, or a metallic collar secured around its side to form an abut-
ment for an inside-screwed union ring or coupling c adapted to be wormed onto
outside screw-threaded part a¹ of the socket itself, or the block may be secured by
turning the metal edge of the socket over or under the collar or shoulder.
The socket carrier for the block may also be slightly tapered or undercut inter-
nally, and the felt may be compressed between heated dies or otherwise, and
forced through the contracted mouth into the cavity after which it is allowed to
resume its normal dimensions within the inside of the socket and is there retained.
It is proposed to cut out the felt parts from solid sheets of suitable thickness
and to shape the same by turning them in a lathe or otherwise. Or cut-out discs
may be taken and operated upon by dies which are preferably in a heated state,
in order to give the desired shape thereto.
i
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:―
First A noiseless or silent and non-scratching castor bowl, having a tread,
facing, or body part made of felt, substantially as described and set forth.
Secondly: A noiseless or silent and non-scratching castor, consisting of a felt
body part having a metal sleeve or bush for the castor pin substantially as
described and set forth in Figure 15.
Thirdly A noiseless or silent and non-scratching castor, consisting of a felt
body part having a metal sleeve or bush for the castor pin, and with its sides
sustained by plates or cheeks, substantially as described and set forth.
Fourthly: A noiseless or silent and non-scratching castor, consisting of a felt
body part made of cupped sections, in conjunction with an internal metal liner
and a middle bush or axle, with or without side plates or cheeks, substantially
as described and set forth in Figure 8.
Fifthly A noiseless or silent and non-scratching castor, consisting of
felt

page_text: body part in combination with a middle pin or axle and with or without retain-
ing side plates or cheeks, substantially as herein described.
Sixthly: A noiseless or silent and non-scratching dumb castor, with the foot
or tread surface made of felt and secured to the socket or body of the castor in
the manner or by the means substantially as herein described and set forth.
Datad this 21st day of Avant 1800
JOSIAH COOPER,
FRANCIS GEORGE BENSLY,
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicants.