Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 28th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 31st May, 1887.
We ISAAC CHORLTON of Blackfriars Street, Manchester in the County of Lancaster,
spring mattress manufacturer, and GEORGE LAMB SCOTT, also of Manchester,
aforesaid Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the castors which are applied to articles of furniture to
facilitate the movement of the same and consists partly of improvements in a former
invention of one of us the said George Lamb Scott for which former invention he
obtained the grant of Letters Patent number 3887 of the year 1877. In the said
former invention he so mounted the axle of the castor wheel as that it was free to
move in a straight line from one side to the other of the vertical axis of motion of the
swivel frame in which the said wheel axle was mounted. This movement of the said
axle to the extent set forth in the specification descriptive of the said former invention
was found in practice not to be so advantageous as was expected at the time the said
Letters Patent were obtained. According to our invention we permit the straight
movement of the axle or of the axle bearing or bearings in the swivel frame but we
limit such movement to the extent that the wheel shall be able to move from the outer
end of the swivel frame into a central position so that its centre is in line with the
said vertical axis but shall not be permitted to move across and beyond the said
vertical axis. When the said wheels or any of them are in this central position they
sustain the load with little or no strain upon the vertical swivel pin so that the
durability of the castor is increased and there is less tendency for the failure which so
often occurs in the ordinary castor owing to the indirect way in which the strain duo
to the load is transmitted to the supporting wheel. In the application of our improved
castor to the legs of metal bedsteads we form or provide the swivel frame with a
taper or cylindrical stump which is designed to swivel in a bearing formed in a boss
which projects from the bottom of a metal ferule or socket piece which is adapted to
Price &dl

page_text: be secured to the bottom of the tubular log of the bedstead. When the end of the
said leg is pinned screwed or secured within the said ferule the boss in which the
bearing is formed passes into the hollow leg so that a comparatively long bearing can
be obtained whilst keeping the castor wheel near to the connection with its load
whereby the parts are rendered less liable to failure from ordinary causes. To cheapen
the cost of production we in some cases or in all cases form the bearing or the swivel
stump or both by means of a chill or of chills. The method of attachment may be
varied by dispensing with the ferule or socket formation and by securing the castor
by means of the said boss which may be screwed or otherwise fixed in the tubular leg.
Dated this 27th day of July 1886.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Furniture Castors and in the Methods of Applying
the same.
We ISAAC CHORLTON of Blackfriars Street, Manchester in the County of Lancaster
Spring Mattress Manufacturer, and GEORGE LAMB SCOTT, also of Manchester afore-
said, Engineer, 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 and accompanying drawings —
Our Invention relates to the castors which are applied to articles of furniture to
facilitate the movement of the same and consists partly of improvements in a former
invention of one of us the said George Lamb Scott for which former invention he
obtained the grant of Letters Patent number 3887 of the year 1877. In the said
former invention he so mounted the axle of the castor wheel as that it was free to
move in a straight line from one side to the other of the vertical axis of motion of the
swivel frame in which the said wheel axle was mounted. This movement of the said
axle to the extent set forth in the specification descriptive of the said former invention
was found in practice not to be so advantageous as was expected at the time the said
Letters Patent were obtained. According to our invention we permit the straight
movement of the axle or of the axle bearing or bearings in the swivel frame but we
limit such movement to the extent that the wheel shall be able to move from the
outer end of the swivel frame into a central position so that its centre is in line with
the said vertical axis but shall not be permitted to move across and beyond the said
vertical axis. When the said wheels or any of them are in this central position they
sustain the load with little or no strain upon the vertical swivel pin so that the
durability of the castor is increased and there is less tendency for the failure which
so often occurs in the ordinary castor owing to the indirect way in which the strain
due to the load is transmitted to the supporting wheel.
And in order that our said invention may be properly understood we will now
proceed more particularly to describe the same reference being had to the annexed
sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1 is partly a vertical section and partly a side view of our improved
castor shown applied. to a tubular support a say for example the leg or post of a
bedstead.
Fig. 2 is a view at right angles to Fig. 1.
The castor consists of a swivel frame 6 forming as usual a double jaw to contain the
roller c.
A stump or stud d is rivetted or screwed firmly to the said frame and is
also rivetted or secured loosely so as to turn in a boss e which enters the interior of
the tubular leg a and is or may be secured therein by a pin or screw if thought
necessary. The lower part of the stud d is formed with a tapering collar or ruff f
the inclined face of which bears against a similarly inclined recess formed in the
lower part of the boss e. We thus obtain an extended bearing surface, the conical

page_text: shape of which permits of wear without engendering sidelong motion or looseness
while the long stud d is also conducive to strength and steadiness. Each end of the
axes g of the roller c occupies a longitudinal sloth in each arm of the swivel frame b
the said slots being on one side only of the vertical axis of the castor and leg or
support so that on one side of the castor the centre of the roller shall not be permitted
to move across and beyond the said vertical axis. When the castor is in use the
slot allows the roller c to come into immediate action in whatever direction the article
of furniture may be pushed and when the axes of the roller c is at the inner end of
the slot the load is sustained with little or no sidelong strain on the vertical swivel
stud.d while even when the roller axes is at the other end of the slot, the sidelong
strain is considerably less than in the case of the ordinary castor. The durability of
the castor is thus increased. The inner end of the slot h is by preference not carried
past the vertical axes of the castor and the length of the slot should be only sufficient
to allow the frame b to swivel easily into its proper rolling position.
The method of attaching the castor to the support would of course be varied in
accordance with the nature of the said support. For example when this is of wood
the boss e would be of small diameter and would enter the material of the support, a
confining ring being formed on the base of the castor so as to prevent the leg
from splitting. Other methods of attaching our improved castor may however be
used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is :—
(1) The general arrangement application and construction of castors for supporting
articles of furniture substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.
(2) In a castor for supporting articles of furniture forming the swivel frame with
slots to receive the axes of the wheel or roller the said slots being situated on one
side of the vertical axes of the castor for the purposes and substantially as described
& shown.
1 1000