IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTORS FOR FURNITURE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Simons, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CASTORS
FOR FURNITURE."
Sealed the 17th December 1858, and dated the 5th July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Simons at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th July 1858.
I, EDWARD SIMONS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CASTORS FOR FURNITURE," to be as follows:-
My improvements relate principally to ball castors, that is to say, to castors
in which a sphere of metal or other hard substance is employed instead of the
roller or bowl of the ordinary castor. The said sphere is enclosed in a hemi-
spherical cup, and prevented from falling out of the said cup by means of a
ring screwing into the mouth of the said hemispherical cup. I mount the
ball or sphere upon an axis, on either end of which axis is a small roller.
The ends of the said axis and its rollers engage in a groove at the mouth of
the cup or socket, the upper part of the said groove being formed by the edge
of the cup, and the lower edge of the groove by the ring which screws into
the cup; the sphere is thus capable of motion on its horizontal axis, while the
said axis is capable of moving in a horizontal plane. I sometimes place two
small rollers at each end of the axis, one of each pair of the said rollers

page_text: moving in a horizontal plane and the other in a vertical plane; the motion
of the axis is thereby facilitated. Instead of a sphere a roller nearly re-
sembling the ordinary castor bowl may be employed. I sometimes mount the
cup or socket upon a horizontal arm turning on the leg of the furniture
instead of mounting the socket upon the leg itself. The said arm turns upon
the leg, and the socket turns upon the arm in addition to the motions already
described. Where, instead of a sphere, I use a bowl of the ordinary form,
I enclose the same in a case enclosing rather more than one half of the bowl,
the said case being provided with three rollers, one ats top, and the other
two at its bottom. The said rollers support the bowl in its case, and facilitate
its motion by acting as antifriction rollers. I sometimes make a dome at the
bottom of the socket, which said dome may or may not turn upon a centre.
A sphere of glass or other hard substance revolves in the annular channel
between the edge and centre of the dome. The sphere has free motion both
of revolution around the axis of the dome and of rotation on its own axis, and
is held in its place by the turned in edge of the dome or otherwise. Instead
of a dome, I sometimes employ a quarter or other portion of a dome, and
I sometimes make the sphere turn upon a horizontal axis fixed under the
said dome. In the last-mentioned cases the portions of a dome in which the
sphere is situated turn upon centres.
In making ball castors of the ordinary form I make the cup in which the
ball is held either fixed upon the socket or capable of turning upon the said
socket, and immediately over the ball or sphere I place a small roller, either
concave or convex in figure, which said roller much facilitates the motion of
the sphere. The said rollers may be employed in any of the castors herein-
before described, to which they are applicable. Instead of a sphere I some-
times place in the cup a second cup turning freely, and carrying a horizontal
axis having a bowl or roller. The said axis does not cross the centre of the
dome, but is on one side of the said centre. A small roller on an axis parallel
to the former may be employed to keep the former in its place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Simons in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
SIMONS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send a
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One-
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,.
the said Edward Simons, Her special licence that I, the said Edward.
Simons, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the-
said Edward Simons, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any.
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there--
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,-
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and.
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE--
MENTS IN CASTORS FOR FURNITURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Edward Simons, my executors or administrators, by an instrument.
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Simons, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
My improvements relate principally to ball castors, that is to say, to castors
in which a sphere of metal or other hard substance is employed instead of the
roller or bowl of the ordinary castor. The said sphere is enclosed in a hemi-
spherical cup, and prevented from falling out of the said cup by means of a
ring screwing into the mouth of the said cup, or by the mouth of the said
hemispherical cup being turned inwards.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents .in vertical section,
Figure 2 in plan, and Figure 3 in elevation, a ball castor constructed
according to my Invention. a is the sphere or ball supported in the hemi-
spherical cup b; c is a small roller fixed in the neck d at the top of the cup b,
the axis e of the said roller c being fixed across the neck d. The roller c has
a concave figure, as represented in Figure 2. I sometimes make the roller
against which the sphere or ball works of much larger size than that
represented in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 represents in vertical section, and Figure 5 in plan, a ball castor
made according to the last described modification of my Invention; the
roller f, against which the ball or sphere 9 bears, having a length exceeding

page_text: one half of the diameter of the ball or sphere g. The curve of the roller f
is of the same radius as that of the ball or sphere g.
I sometimes make the roller against which the ball or sphere bears of the
form represented at h, in Figure 6, which said Figure 6 represents a plan of
the socket of a castor made according to this modification of my Invention.
In the castors represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the socket marked
i in the said Figures, by which the castor is secured to the leg of the table or
other article of furniture, may either be made in one piece with the cup in
which the ball or sphere is supported, or the said socket i may turn upon the
neck of the said cup, as will be understood by an examination of Figures 1
and 4.
Figure 7 represents in vertical section, and Figure 8 in plan, another
castor constructed according to my Invention. In this castor the ball or
sphere is mounted upon a horizontal axis 7, on either end of which axis is
a small roller m. The ends of the axis and the rollers m engage in the
annular groove n near the mouth of the cup o, in which the ball k is held;
the upper part of the said groove n being formed by the edge of the cup o,
and the lower side of the said groove by a ring, which is screwed in or other-
wise fixed to the lower edge of the cup o, or by the turned in edge of the said
cup.
The ball or sphere k is thus capable of rotation in a vertical plane on
its horizontal axis 7, and the said axis is capable of motion in a horizontal
plane.
I sometimes mount the cup or socket in which the ball or sphere works
upon a horizontal arm, the said horizontal arm turning upon the leg of the
furniture instead of mounting the socket directly upon the leg of the furniture
itself.
Figure 9 represents in vertical section a castor constructed according to
this part of my Invention. The cup or socket p is supported upon the arm q,
attached to the lower end of the furniture leg r. The socket p has motion.
upon the axis s in the arm q, and the arm q has motion about the axis t upon
the leg of the furniture. The said arm 9 thus turns upon the leg r, and the
socket p turns upon the arm q in addition to the motions of which the ball or
'sphere is capable.
Instead of enclosing the ball or sphere in a nearly hemispherical cup, I
sometimes make a dome at the bottom of the socket in the manner repre-
sented in Figures 10, 11, and 12, Figure 10 being a vertical section,
Figure 11 a plan of the under side, and Figure 12 an elevation of this
inodification of my Invention. is the dome fixed on the bottom of the
On the under side of the dome u is an
socket by means of the pin w.

page_text: annular channel x between the edge and centre of the dome; y is a ball or
sphere, which has free motion both of revolution round the axis w of the
dome, and is also capable of rotation on its own axis. The ball or sphere y
is held in the channel x by the turned in edge u¹ of the dome u, or otherwise.
I sometimes dispense with the socket v, and attach the dome u to the leg of
the furniture by means of a screw in place of the axis w, the said screw
taking into a plate fixed on the bottom of the leg.
Instead of a dome, I sometimes employ a quarter or other portion of a
dome turning on an axis or centre, as illustrated in Figures 13 and 14,
Figure 13 representing a vertical section, and Figure 14 a plan, of the under
side of a castor constructed according to this modification of my Invention.
is the portion of a dome turning upon the centre; 1 and 2 is the ball or
sphere, held in its place by the turned in edge 3 of the portion of a dome.
I sometimes modify the last described castor in the manner illustrated in
Figure 15 of the Drawing, the said Figure 15 being a plan of the under side
of the castor. This modification of my Invention resembles that described
with reference to Figures 13 and 14, excepting that in the castor, Figure 15,
I employ a bowl or roller 4 in place of the ball or sphere used in the castors
previously described. The bowl or roller 4 has a hole passing through it,
through which said hole the curved axis 5 passes, the said axis 5 being fixed
at its ends to the ends of the portion of a dome 6. The said bowl or roller 4
is capable of a rotatory motion upon the axis 5, and also of a sliding motion
upon the said axis, as well as a motion about the centre 7, which latter
motion it partakes with the portion of the dome 6.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I
claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, constructing ball castors in the manner described with reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say,
supporting the balls or spheres of ball castors by means of rollers of the forms
described, the said rollers being situated immediately over the said balls or
spheres, the said rollers being fixed in necks surmounting the nearly hemi-
spherical cups in which the balls or spheres work.
Secondly, constructing ball castors in the manner described with reference
to Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, supporting
the ball or sphere of a ball castor_ upon a horizontal axis, the said axis being

page_text: terminated by rollers engaging and working in an annular groove near the
mouth of the hemispherical, cup containing the ball or sphere.
Thirdly, constructing ball castors in the manner described with reference to
Figure 9 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, giving ball castors
motion around the leg of the furniture to which they are applied, as well
as motion about the axis of the hemispherical cup containing the ball or
sphere.
Fourthly, constructing ball castors in the manner described with reference
to Figures 10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, sup-
porting the balls or spheres of ball castors in an annular channel on the under
side of a dome, instead of in an hemispherical cup.
Fifthly, constructing ball castors in the manner described with reference to
Figures 13 and 14 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, supporting
the balls or spheres of ball castors in a quarter or other portion of a dome
having motion about a centre.
Lastly, constructing castors in the manner described with reference to
Figure 15 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, supporting the bowl
or roller of a castor upon a curved axis fixed in a portion of a dome, the said
bowl or roller having both a sliding and a rotatory motion upon the curved
axis, and the portion of a dome having rotation about the axis of the leg of
the furniture to which the castor is affixed.
In witness whereof, I, the said .Edward Simons, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw.
EDWARD SIMONS. (L.s.)