AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR CHAIRS, TABLES, AND OTHER FURNITURE
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of " AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR CHAIRS, TABLES, AND OTHER FURNITURE."
A communication from abroad by Armand François Mauchain, of Geneva,
Switzerland.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th October 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR CHAIRS,
TABLES, AND OTHER FURNITURE" [A communication from abroad by Armand
François Mauchain, of Geneva, Switzerland.]
Furniture casters have heretofore been manufactured in such a manner that the
spindle or support for the roller is capable of a certain movement independently of
the part by which the caster is fixed to the leg of the table or other piece of
furniture. By employing an elastic device such as a spring or a piece of india-
rubber placed between these two parts of the caster an elastic pressure is obtained
which has the result of permitting pieces of furniture provided with such casters
and placed on an uneven floor to rest on all their feet at the same time, and
therefore to stand in perfect equilibrium, either or any of the casters becoming
contracted or extended more or less, according to the construction of the floor upon
which they are situated. But all the systems which have been heretofore proposed
or tried for this purpose have been abandoned for the reason that they are either
complicated or work imperfectly; moreover the fixing of these casters as heretofore
constructed to the lower part of the legs of furniture is difficult, inasınuch as
holes of considerable dimensions have to be made in the legs, which consequently
are required to be clumsier than is the case with ordinary furniture. But the
greatest objection to the systems heretofore in use is that the moving parts of
the caster are so arranged as to be subjected to a double friction which necessitates

page_text: a very careful fitting, and even when this is done the working is often faulty,
and there is unequal pressure upon the internal movable spindle or rod.
According to my present Invention these defects are obviated or lessened, and I
provide an improved elastic caster which is more simple in construction and works
more satisfactorily than those heretofore in use. The spring which I employ is
entirely protected from dust, and works energetically and evenly by pressure on
the extremity of the movable spindle, which is guided entirely in its socket, and it
works very easily with but slight friction and without any unequal pressure.
This caster is fixed to the legs of furniture in the same manner as any ordinary
casters.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a roller arranged to revolve
as is usual upon a pin fixed between the arms of a supporting piece, to which is
adapted a cylindrical vertical spindle; this spindle is arranged to have free play
within a sccket, closed at its upper end, and having at its lower end a flange by
which it is fixed to the leg of the furniture, while the said socket is inserted within
an aperture made for it in the said leg. The vertical spindle is formed with a
piece which limits the play of the spindle in the socket. In the socket above the
spindle is placed a spiral spring by which the elasticity of the caster is obtained.
When the leg of a piece of furniture provided with this caster happens to stand
above a hollow part of the floor the spring is free to expand until the caster rests
on the floor, but when the leg rests on an elevated part of the floor the spindle is
pressed back in its socket and compresses the spring.
I may in some cases (for instance upon furniture which is not often moved about)
employ a button or similarly-shaped piece in place of a roller.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
April 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR CHAIRS, TABLES,
AND OTHER FURNITURE." A communication from abroad by Armand François
Mauchain, of Geneva, Switzerland.
Furniture casters have hitherto been manufactured in such a manner that the
spindle or support for the roller is capable of a certain movement independently of
the part by which the caster is fixed to the leg of the table or other piece of
furniture. By employing an elastic device such as a spring or a piece of india-
rubber placed between these two parts of the caster, an elastic pressure is obtained
which has the result of permitting pieces of furniture provided with such casters
and placed on an uneven floor to rest on all their feet at the same time, and there-
fore to stand in perfect equilibrium, one or other of the casters being depressed or
elevated more or less according to the condition of the floor upon which they are
situated.
But all the systems which have been heretofore proposed or tried for this purpose
have been abandoned for the reason that they are either complicated or work
imperfectly; moreover the fixing of these casters as heretofore constructed to the
lower part of the legs of pieces of furniture is difficult, inasmuch as holes of con-
siderable dimensions have to be made in the legs, which consequently are required
to be larger and clumsier than is the case with ordinary furniture. But the
greatest objection to the systems heretofore in use is that the moving parts of the
caster are so arranged as to be subjected to a double friction which necessitates very
careful fitting, and even when this is done the working is often faulty, and there
is an unequal strain upon the internal movable spindle or rod.
According to the present Invention these defects are obviated or lessened, and I
provide an improved elastic caster which is more simple in its construction and
works more satisfactorily than those heretofore in use. The spring which I employ is
entirely protected from dust, and acts with a full and uniform pressure on the
extremity of the movable spindle, which is guided entirely in its socket, and works
very easily with but slight friction and without any unequal strain. This caster is
fixed to the leg of a piece of furniture in the same manner as any ordinary
caster.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of my improved caster with the spring
extended.
Figure 2 is a similar view with the spring compressed.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a roller arranged to
revolve in the ordinary manner upon a pin o, carried by the arms of the supporting
piece A, to which is attached a cylindrical rod or spindle B; this spindle B is
arranged to have free play within a socket C closed at its upper end, and having
near its lower end a flange D, by means of which it is fixed to the leg E, while the
socket C is inserted within an aperture provided for it in the said leg. The vertical
spindle is formed with a recess a, which in combination with screws or pins b
serves to limit the movement of the rod B in its socket. In the said socket above
the spindle is placed a spiral spring F, by which the elasticity of the caster is
obtained. When the leg of a piece of furniture provided with this caster happens
to stand above a hollow part of the floor the spring is free to expand until the
caster rests on the floor, as shown in Figure 1, but when the leg rests on an elevated

page_text: part of the floor the spindle B is pressed back in its socket and compresses the
spring, as shown in Figure 2.
I may in some cases (for instance, upon furniture which is not often moved about)
employ a button or similarly shaped piece in place of a roller.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
The elastic caster for furniture in which the rod or spindle is supported and
guided in a socket inserted in the leg of the piece of furniture, a spring being
interposed between the end of the socket and the extremity of the rod or spindle,
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
WM PODT TAVE