IMPROVEMENT IN CASTERS AND IN ROLLERS FOR THE SAME OR ANALOGOUS OBJECTS
Year: 1885

page_text: Analogous Objects.
I STEPHEN COFFIN MENDENHALL of Richmond in the county of Wayne and
State of Indiana, United States of America, (present business address Cincinnati,
Ohio), Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for AN
IMPROVEMENT IN CASTERS AND IN ROLLERS FOR THE SAME OR ANALOGOUS
OBJECTS to be as follows:-
My improvement relates: first, to means for facilitating the rotation of the.
spindle of a caster; second, to the socket or top arranged to be applied to the
furniture leg or other part and within which the spindle is adapted to rotate or
swivel; third, to the oscillatory connection between the said spindle and the floor
wheel axle fourth, to means for preventing the access of dust to the caster socket ;
fifth to the floor wheel; and sixth to the axle thereof and means of attaching the
same to the truck or housing.
The fourth and fifth parts of my invention are applicable equally to casters for
furniture and to skates or other similar articles.
In carrying out the first part of my invention I employ one or more annular
series of horizontal rollers flat or nearly so, placed around the spindle at the bottom
thereof or at both bottom and top and arranged to run loosely in a chamber or
chambers provided therefor within the castor socket.
In carrying out the second portion of the Invention I form the socket or top of
the caster in two or three parts. The vertical barrel forming the socket proper
may be cast in one piece and subsequently cored out; or may be cast in halves and
fixed together by rivet. In either case the bottom of the socket consists of a cap-
plate which is provided with a central aperture for the spindle and which is
fastened to the upper portion of the socket by rivets or screws, by simply driving
or pressing one part on the other so that their friction will retain them together, or
by upsetting a circular lip on one over a flange provided on the other as preferred.
The cylindrical portion of the socket is made with vertical or spiral ribs either
cast or stamped thereon for facilitating the attachment of the caster to the furniture:
leg or other part.
In carrying out the third part of my invention I provide the axle casting with a
horizontal cylindrical bearing placed below the mechanical axis of the axle and
adapted to be occupied by a horizontal arm upon the bottom of the caster spindle.
The result of this construction is that the line of transmission of force from the
ת.

page_text: spindle to the axle and so to the floor-wheels, is brought down as nearly co-incident
as possible with the floor, and thus the tendency of the caster truck or housing to
tip sidewise is reduced to a minimum. An obvious equivalent construction to this
is formed by reversing these parts, the horizontal arm being formed upon the axle
casting and the cylindrical bearing therefor in the bottom of the spindle.
By this construction also the floor wheels and their axles are allowed slight
liberty of vertical oscillation when necessary by reason of irregularities in the floor
surface.
In carrying out the fourth part of my invention I provide around the spindle at
the point of entry into its socket a soft felt or equivalent washer, which while
producing little friction will prevent the ingress of dust in the said socket.
In carrying out the fifth part of my invention I mould a floor roller or wheel of
glass with an axial opening within which I drive or fix a bushing, preferably of
some elastic and durable material such as vulcanized fibre, hard rubber or hard
wood. This bushing is fixed in place by means of wedging out one or both of its
ends into a chamfer or recess provided in the axial opening of the roller. The
periphery of the roller is made with spiral or circular corrugations upon the other-
wise flat bearing surface. To secure a more perfect anti-friction bearing within the
roller I provide anti-friction boxes made of two cup shaped cases telescoped together
and having an annular series of flat anti-friction rolls contained within them.
The sixth part of the invention relates to the floor-wheel axle and consists
in means for holding it securely within its housing in such a manner as to prevent
the breakage of the said housing when the ends of the axle are swaged. For this
purpose I provide upon one or both ends of the axle a shoulder against which the
prong or prongs of the saddle bear when the axle is placed in position therein.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Casters and in Rollers for the same or
Analogous Objects.
I STEPHEN COFFIN MENDENHALL of Richmond in the County of Wayne and
State of Indiana, United States of America, Manufacturer do hereby declare the
nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My improvement relates; first, to means for facilitating the rotation of the
spindle of a caster; second, to the socket or top arranged to be applied to the

page_text: furniture leg or other part and within which the spindle is adapted to rotate
or swivel; third, to the oscillatory connection between the said spindle and the
floor-wheel axle; fourth, to means for preventing the access of dust to the castor
socket; fifth, to the floor-wheel; and sixth, to the axle thereof and means of
attaching the same to the truck or housing. The fourth and fifth parts of my
invention are applicable equally to castors for furniture and to skates or other
similar articles.
In carrying out the first part of my invention, I employ one or more annular
series of horizontal rollers, flat or nearly so, placed around the spindle at the bottom
thereof or at both bottom and top and arranged to run loosely in a chamber or
chambers provided therefor within the caster socket.
In carrying out the second portion of the invention I form the socket or top of
the caster in two or three parts. The vertical barrel forming the socket proper may
be cast in one piece and subsequently cored out; or may be cast in halves and fixed
together by rivet.
In either case the bottom of the socket consists of a cap-plate which is provided
with a central aperture for the spindle and which is fastened to the upper portion
of the socket by rivets or screws, by simply driving or pressing one part on the
other so that their friction will retain them together, or by upsetting a circular lip
on one over a flange provided on the other as preferred.
The cylindrical portion of the socket is made with vertical or spiral ribs either
cast or stamped thereon for facilitating the attachment of the caster to the furniture
leg or other part.
In carrying out the third part of the invention I provide the axle casting with a
horizontal cylindrical bearing placed below the mechanical axis of the axle and
adapted to be occupied by a horizontal arm upon the bottom of the caster spindle.
The result of this construction is that the line of transmission of force from the
spindle to the axle and so to the floor-wheels is brought down as nearly co-incident
as possible with the floor, and thus the tendency of the caster truck or housing to
tip sidewise is reduced to a minimum. By this construction also the floor wheels
and their axles are allowed slight liberty of vertical oscillation when necessary by
reason of irregularities in the floor surface. An obvious equivalent construction to
this is formed by reversing these parts, the horizontal arın being formed upon the
axle casting and the cylindrical bearing therefor in the bottom of the spindle.
In carrying out the fourth part of my invention I provide around the spindle at
the point of entry into its socket a soft felt or equivalent washer, which while
producing little friction will prevent the ingress of dust in the said socket.
In carrying out the fifth part of my invention I mould a floor roller or wheel of
glass with an axial opening within which I drive or fix a bushing, preferably of
some elastic and durable material, such as vulcanized fibre, hard rubber or hard
wood. This bushing is fixed in place by means of wedging out one or both of its
ends into a chamfer or recess provided in the axial opening of the roller. The
periphery of the roller is made with spiral or circular corrugations upon the other-
wise flat bearing surface. To secure a more perfect anti-friction bearing within
the roller, I provide anti-friction boxes made of two cup-shaped cases telescoped
together and having an annular series of flat anti-friction rolls contained within
them.
The sixth part of the invention relates to the floor-wheel axle and consists
in means for holding it securely within its housing in such a manner as to prevent
the breakage of the said housing when the ends of the axle are swaged.
For this purpose I provide upon one or both ends of the axle a shoulder against
which the prong or prongs of the saddle bear when the axle is placed in position
therein.
And in order that the said Invention may be more clearly understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings
more fully to describe the same.

page_text: DESCRIPTION of the Drawings.
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the preferred form of the invention
applied to a caster having a single floor-wheel or roller.
Figure 2 is a similar view of the invention as applied to a two-wheel caster.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the form shown in Figure 2 with the downwardly
projecting neck on the socket omitted.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the form shown in Figure 1.
Figures 5 to 9 inclusive show in vertical section various modifications of these
forms of socket, spindle and floor-wheel housing.
Figures 10 and 11 are similar views showing the application of the horizontal
anti-friction rollers and the oscillating connection with the floor-wheel axle to
a caster in which the spindle is fixed directly to the furniture instead of bearing in
a socket fixed therein.
Figure 12 is a horizontal sectional view of one of the forms of horizontal anti-
friction bearings for the spindle.
Figure 13 is an axial section of one form of the floor-wheel or roller.
Figure 14 is a similar view of another form thereof. Figure 15 is a vertical
section of the form of anti-friction box applied to the floor-wheel or roller shown in
Figure 14.
1 is a floor-wheel or roller of a caster, skate or similar article. It is herein
shown applied to casters alone, its axle 2 supporting the spindle 3 through the
medium of the saddle or housing of the represented or other similar or preferred
forms. 44 are a number of borizontal anti-friction rollers arranged in series
around the spindle within the bottom of the furniture socket. The faces bearing
upon the spindle and the sides of the socket are flat, but the sides resting upon the
bottom plate of the socket may be curved, as shown in Figure 1 to adapt them to
present as small a frictional surface as possible; or be perfectly flat, as shown in
Figure 2 and later Figures. 5, 5, are other similar rollers arranged within a box 6
consisting of two cups telescoped together and placed within the top of the
furniture socket shown in Figure 1.
These rollers in the top of the socket may be dispensed with and those in the
bottom used alone, the feature of this portion of the invention being broadly
the use of loose horizontal rollers arranged to take up horizontal strain between
the spindle and its socket. The rollers may, as shown in Figure 12, be hollow,
being cut from sections of tubing; or they may be solid, being cut off of pieces of
gun rod. They may be of such size and placed in the socket in such number as to
be retained in position by impact upon each other. Or they may as shown in
Figure 8, be made with axial projections to occupy annular grooves in either the
top or bottom of the chamber in the socket in which they revolve. It is under-
stood that in this last case there is no bearing upon the said axial projections, they
serving merely to retain the rollers within the socket in the event of a removal of
the spindle therefrom.
It is obvious however, that if the rollers be placed in the chamber in such
number as shown in Figure 12 the same object will be accomplished. The
spindle 4 may receive the weight of the furniture directly upon the top through
the medium of the anti-friction ball 7; or upon the vertical anti-friction roller S
supported upon a pin 9 which is fixed in the saddle, as shown in Figure 1 or in
lugs projecting upwardly from the axle casting, as shown in Figure 2. Or if
desired, both of these forms may be combined, the weight being distributed
between the ball 7 and roller 8 by means of spring 10 placed under the steel
bearing pin 11 of the spindle, which spring yields until the roller 8 finds bearing
upon the bottom plate of the socket.
It is obvious that the loose horizontal anti-friction rollers 4, 5, are not limited in
their application to a socket top which is to be fixed directly to the furniture leg
or other part. They may be supported, as shown in Figure 9 upon a plate formed

page_text: on the floor-wheel housing. In this case the spindle used occupies a cylindrical
socket forced into the furniture leg as in former Figures.
In Figures 10 and 11 however, I have shown the spindle applied directly to the
furniture leg or other part and occupying a socket which is supported directly upon
the floor-wheel housing or axle casting and in which horizontal anti-friction rollers
are arranged in a manner similar to that already described.
To any of these forms a felt or other washer 12 may be applied around the
spindle for preventing the entrance of dust to the working parts of the caster.
Various methods are shown for forming the furniture socket. It is preferably
made in two parts, the two vertical parts 13, 14, forming when put together the
cylindrical portion of the socket, being cast or struck up separately and united at
top by a rivet 15 and at bottom by a cap-plate 16. This cap-plate may be fixed
to the upper part of the socket by the screws which at the same time serve to
fasten the socket to the furniture leg or other part, as shown in Figure 8; or the
cap-plate may be forced onto or into the upper portion of the socket, as shown in
Figures 6 and 7 respectively; or it may be fixed by turning its vertical rim 17
over the horizontal flange or enlargement forined upon the said upper part of the
socket, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 5.
In Figure 2 I have shown the cap-plate 16 provided with a downwardly pro-
jecting neck 19 for surrounding the spindle and strengthening it in case of sudden
strain thereon.
The horizontal enlargement or chamber of the socket within which the anti-
friction rollers rest may, or may not, as desired, be provided with a smooth ring 18
to provide a level bearing for the said anti-friction rollers.
The end of the spindle may be retained to axial position within the socket by
having a conical point as shown in Figures 7 and 9 or it may rest upon a ball 20
occupying a cavity in the end of the spindle, as shown in Figure 10; or a pin or
projection 11 on said spindle may occupy an anti-friction or other box or washer 6,
as shown in Figure 1 under one form, and another form of which without the
anti-friction rollers is shown in Figures 2 and 11. The ribs 22 upon the vertical
portion of the socket are arranged vertically or spirally and are cast on said socket
as shown in Figures 2 and 3; or in case the socket is made of wrought metal, are
stamped thereon, as shown in Figure 5.
In this latter case the spindle which is shown in said Figure in dotted lines, may
be held within the socket by ridge 23 stamped around the top thereof, occupying a
groove in the said spindle. Said spindle is fixed to the saddle or housing, which is
also here shown as made of wrought metal, by rivetting it against the shoulder 24
on said spindle, washers 25 being first placed on each side of the horizontal portion
of the saddle or housing to strengthen the same. The horns or forks 26 of the
saddle are stamped with bulged or rounded portions 27 for the purpose of
strengthening them.
This form of the invention is applicable to a caster having a single floor wheel.
In cases where the spindle is supported upon an axle casting between two floor-
wheels or rollers I arrange said axle casting with a horizontal cylindrical bearing,
as shown in Figures 2 and 10 which is adapted to receive a correspondingly formed
horizontal arm 28 on the bottom of the spindle. The floor-wheels and their axle
are thus allowed slight liberty of vertical oscillation when necessary by reason of
irregularities in the floor surface. An equivalent of this form is shown in Figure 8,
in which the arm 28 is formed upon the axle casting and occupies a cylindrical
bearing in the bottom of the spindle.
The floor-wheel or roller is made of glass with a corrugated bearing surface, as
shown at 29 to prevent the slipping of the roller laterally upon the floor.
In the process of moulding, the roller is formed with an axial opening, preferably
slightly tapering in one direction, which opening is subsequently bored out so as to
provide an even bearing for a bushing 30 of vulcanized fibre, hard rubber or hard
wood, which is driven into the larger end of the axial opening and which has its

page_text: other end fixed by wedging out into a chamfer or recess as shown at 31. Instead
of being made tapering the said opening may be made with chamfers or recesses at
both sides, as shown in Figure 14 both ends being then fixed by wedges as shown
at 31, 31. A bushing of vulcanized fibre or equivalent material is not only
valuable by reason of its elastic qualities in avoiding breakage of the roller due to
sudden shocks, but it is capable of high polish and can be employed without the
use of oil. In Figure 14 I have shown an improvement on the oil-less bushing
consisting of anti-friction boxes 32 formed of two cups telescoped together, each
having within it an annular series of vertical anti-friction rollers which are adapted
to revolve loosely upon the floor-wheel axle.
The floor-wheel axle is made with a shoulder at one or both ends, as shown in
Figures 13 and 14, respectively. Against this shoulder the horn of the saddle rests
when the end of the axle is placed therein and the head of the axle may then be
rivetted over without the danger of placing the said horn under any strain or
subjecting it to liability of breakage under the stroke of the haminer.
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
1. An anti-friction bearing for casters consisting of an annular series of loose
horizontal rollers arranged between the spindle and socket of the caster and
adapted to take up horizontal strain between the same.
2. A socket or top for casters formed with an upper cylindrical portion having
a horizontal flange and a cap-plate fixed thereon substantially as described.
3. An oscillating connection between the spindle and axle casting of a two floor-
wheel caster arranged below the horizontal plane of the floor-wheel axle.
4. A felt or equivalent dust ring surrounding the spindle to prevent the entrance
of dust to the working parts of the caster.
5. A glass floor-wheel and its bushing arranged substantially as described.
6. In a floor-wheel a vertical series of loose flat anti-friction rollers arranged
between the axle and the body of the roller, substantially as described.
7. A floor-wheel or roller having a corrugated bearing surface.
S. A floor-wheel axle shouldered at one or both ends for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 31st day of December 1885.