Improvements in Securing Castors to Pianofortes, Legs of Metallic Bedsteads, and other Furniture.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in Securing Castors to Pianofortes, Legs of Metallic
Bedsteads, and other Furniture.
I, JOHN PARRY of Gillott Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Patentee, 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 reference to castors for metallic bedsteads and other furniture
and for pianofortes, and the said invention consists in the improvements herein
described in securing the said castors on to their centre pins, so as to dispense with
the necessity of rivetting over the end of the pin, which pins are usually cast in the
legs of the bedstead to project from the lower end thereof; or are fixed to a socket
or plate on the leg or other part of the furniture or otherwise secured thereto. This
invention can be similarly applied to those castors which are formed with or fixed to
their centre pin the said centre pin turning in the leg or part to which the castor is
secured.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings in which
Fig. 1 represents in sectional side elevation and Fig. 2 in inverted plan a bedstead.
castor secured to its central pin in accordance with this invention; Fig. 3
is a front view of the same with the castor bowl removed; Fig. 4 shews a
side elevation of the castor separately; Fig. 5 illustrates in sectional side elevation
and Fig. 6 in plan a modification of my invention; Fig. 7 is a front view
of the same with the castor bowl removed and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the
castor separately. The remaining Figures illustrate further modifications of my
Invention as hereinafter described.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
Referring firstly more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 a is the centre pin of the
castor cast or otherwise secured to the leg b. c is the castor horn piece which is of
ordinary form and d is the castor bowl. The pin a is provided with a circular groove e
just below the central boss of the horn piece c and the lower end a¹ of the central
pin a is tapered or rounded off.

page_text: According to my invention I fix in the horn piece c a cross wire bar f which
passes through holes in the horns and may be secured thereto either by rivetting or
by one or other of the ends being clenched over the horn piece (see Figs. 2 and 6).
This spring wire bar fis by preference of steel and it is fixed in the horn piece so
that when the horn piece is in position on the pin the wire bar will engage in the
groove e.
On threading the horn piece c, with its wire bar fon to the pin a, the
end a¹ will come into contact with the wire bar and force it sideways into a slightly
bowed shaped and when the castor horn has been pushed home the wire bar will
spring into the groove e and thus secure the castor horn in position on the pin and
allow of its turning round freely. If it is required to remove the castor horn c from
the pin a the wire bar f has to be pressed sideways so that it will clear the end a¹ of
the pin.
In the modification illustrated by Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 the wire bar f is fixed higher
up the horn piece and the front of the hole in the castor horn piece in which the
centre pin works is open so as to expose the groove e in the pin and enable the wire
bar to engage therewith when the horn piece c is threaded on to the pin a as above
described. In this example the lower end of the boss of the horn piece c can if pre-
ferred be cast solid as shewn so that the end of the central pin a will not project
therethrough.
In the modification illustrated by Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12, the wire bar f is bent
into a C-shaped loop the ends of which are turned inwardly and pass through holes
in the horn piece (these holes being by preference in the boss thereof) and project
inwardly so that when the castor horn piece is threaded on to its central pin a as
above described the ends of the bar f will be forced apart and then spring together
again and engage with the groove e and secure the castor horn in position. Or only
one end of the loop f may pass through into the groove e the other end lying
against the boss outside.
In the modification illustrated by Figs. 13 and 14 the wire bar f is bent into some-
what the shape of a split cotter and inserted in the hole g in the castor horn piece
so that its ends will engage with the groove e in the pin. The halves of the bar f
are bent apart at fl so as to snap into the hole g and spring forward into the
groove e when the horn piece is threaded onto its pin a.
Fig. 15 shews part of a bedstead leg and a castor and illustrates how the wire
loop hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14, can be applied to
those castors which have their central pin formed with or attached to the movable
part of the castor so as to turn within the leg or other part to which the castor
is fixed. The wire loop fis of similar shape to that illustrated by Figs. 13 and
14 and is inserted through the hole g in the leg so that its front end will spring
into and engage with the groove e in the castor pin when the latter is pushed up
into the leg. The wire loop is secured in place by its bulged part f¹ springing
out into the recess h in the leg.
The modifications illustrated by Figs. 9 to 14 both inclusive can be applied to
securing ball and other castors on to their centre pins similarly as above described
with reference to roller castors.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
is :-
1st. Securing a bedstead or other castor on to its centre pin by means of a
spring wire bar or loop, constructed and secured to the horn piece or movable
part of the castor substantially in the several ways described and illustrated, which
springs into a groove in the said centre pin when the castor is threaded thereon
substantially as described and illustrated.
2nd. The combination with a castor horn piece of the spring wire bar f fixed
at its ends thereto so as to cross the central hole therein for the purpose and
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by Figs. 1 to 8 of the
accompanying drawings.

page_text: 3rd The combination with a horn piece or other movable part of a castor, of
the spring wire loop f secured thereto, one end or both ends of the said loop
projecting into the central hole of the said horn piece or movable part, for the
purpose and substantially as herein before described and illustrated by Figs. 9, 10,
11 and 12 and by Figs. 13 and 14 of the accompanying drawings.
4th. Securing castors to the legs of metallic bedsteads and other furniture by
means of the wire loop f secured to such leg and engaging with a groove in the
central pin of the castor substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
Fig. 15 of the accompanying drawings.