IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTORS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JOHN DANIEL SPRAGUE of 20 Parliament Street, in the City of Westminster,
Inventor and Patentee do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTORS" to be as follows:-
"
This invention has for its object the construction of castors in such a manner that
they may roll in any direction with very much less friction than such articles
usually work with.
The invention consists of a hollow or solid ball or sphere of iron or steel, and a
hemispherical holder, cup, or socket made of gun metal, or brass or other suitable
alloy, metal or material, the hollow of which is slightly larger in diameter than
the ball. It is to be understood that the holder or socket does not extend below
the upper half of the ball. From the outside of the upper part of this holder or
socket is thrust through suitable holes or slots made for the purpose, the two ends
or poles of a horse shoe or other suitably formed magnet, the two ends or parts
thereof, where exposed on the inside of the cup being curved to suit the hollow of
the cup or holder. When the ball is inserted in the cup; socket, or holder, it will
be retained therein [without any support from the bottom] with sufficient force to
prevent its falling out, but will at the same time be capable of revolving in any
direction with great freedom, when drawn over the surface it is to roll upon. The
cup, holder or socket is provided with a flange, socket, or other appropriate
contrivance by which it may be fastened to the article of which it is to form a
part. Castors made in accordance with this invention are not limited to any
particular size.
0
1004

page_text: I JOHN DANIEL SPRAGUE of 20 Parliament Street in the City of Westminster,
Inventor and Patentee do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTORS" and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention has for its object the construction of castors in such a manner
that they may roll in any direction with very much less friction than such articles
usually work with.
In order that the invention may be more easily understood drawings are attached
hereto of which the following is a description.--Fig 1 is an elevation of the improved
castor formed with a ball and magnet, the magnet being placed vertically, and a
sectional elevation of the cup, the three parts together forming the castor. Fig 2 is
a horizontal section through A. B Fig 1, and Fig 3 is a similar section showing the
broad sides of the magnet placed at right angles to those in Figs 1 and 2. Fig 4 is
a plan of the castor with the magnet placed horizontally. Fig 5 is a section
through C, D Fig 4, and Fig 6 is a section through E F Fig 4. In each of the Figs
similar letters refer to the same parts..
The invention consists of a hollow or solid ball or sphere G of iron or steel and a
hemispherical holder cup or socket H made of gun metal or brass or other suitable
alloy metal or material, the hollow of which is slightly larger in diameter than the
ball. It is to be understood that the holder or socket does not extend below the
upper half of the ball. From the outside of the upper part of this holder or socket
is thrust through suitable holes or slots made for the purpose, the two ends or
poles of a horse-shoe or other suitably formed magnet I, the two ends, or parts
thereof J J where exposed on the inside of the cup being curved to suit the hollow
of the cup or holder and to correspond with the ball.-When the ball is inserted in
the cup, socket or holder it will be retained therein [without any support from the
bottom] with sufficient force to prevent its falling out, but will at the same time be
capable of revolving in any direction with great freedom when drawn over the
surface it is to roll upon. The cup, holder, or socket is provided with a flange K or
a nocket or other appropriate contrivance by which it may be fastened to the article
of which it is to form a part, a mortice or hole being made in the furniture
to receive the magnet in the case of the application of such a castor as is
shown in Fig 1. When it is desirable to increase the magnetic power within a
limited space the magnet may be formed of several bars of a reduced size combined
together.
In some cases it may be found advantageous to increase the lower surface of the
magnet so as to dispense with a separate cup, a piece of insulating material being
fixed between the poles of the magnet.
Castors made in accordance with this invention are not limited to any particular
size.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim.is,
The construction of castors made of magnetized steel, and an iron or steel ball,
with or without an independent cup or holder made of insulating material, arranged
as herein described and shown in the drawings.