New or Improved Roller Device for Preventing Furniture from Damaging Walls and other Objects with which it may come into Contact.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th June, 1899-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Roller Device for Preventing Furniture from
Damaging Walls and other Objects with which it may come into
Contact.
I, PAUL MARTIN RENTSCH, of 16, Jungfernstieg, Hamburg, Germany,
Upholsterer, 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:-
1
This invention relates to a novel addition to furniture by the employment of
which injury to the walls, wall papers upholstery and the like is prevented, as by
means of a roller device the walls cannot come into contact with the actual pieces
of furniture, but only with an elastic ball or roller which revolves against the wall
as soon as the piece of furniture so fitted is moved. The furniture can thus be
pushed about in all directions without any risk of damage to the walls or even of
scratching the wall paper or upholstery.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1
is a section, Figure 2 a front view, and Figure 3 a back view with the closing
plate removed.
a is a roller or ball, which may be made of an elastic or resilient material,
or provided with a covering of such material. This roller a is adapted to rotate
upon a pin or spindle which is fixed in bearings e, which latter project from a
revolving plate d. This revolving plate d is circular and is supported on all sides
by balls contained within the cylindrical casing b. This casing b is made in such
a manner that the revolving plate d can be put in from the back thereof and after-
In the casing b
wards he closed by means of a closing plate c which is laid in.
is formed a ball race or groove, in which balls f run easily when the plate d
is turned, and in the plate d towards its outer edge a ball race or groove is also
provided, on the side towards the closing plate c, and balls g can also be placed
between the movable plate d and the closing plate c, and thus the plate & rolls
entirely on the balls both on its sides and edges so that by avoiding contact with
the walls of the cylinder 6 the most easy revolution of the plate d is obtained.
It will be seen that the axial line of the roller a does not coincide with the centre
line of the revolving plate d but (as seen in Figure 1) is slightly higher up, so
that in whatever direction the roller a may be moved the plate d moves accord-
ingly quite automatically, so that the axis of the roller comes to be at right angles
to the direction of motion.
By means of this new device, which may be made at a very low cost, injury to
the walls, wall papers, or upholstery can be entirely obviated, and as may easily
be seen, such an arrangement can be attached to furniture without the need of any
alterations being made in the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
A voller device for attachment to furniture for the protection of walls, wall

page_text: paper or upholstery, which roller device consists of a movable roller a, mounted
on a revolving plate d, arranged to turn on balls f, g, in any direction substantially
as described with-reference to the drawings.
Doted this 28th day of June 1800
P. M. RENTSCH,
Per W. H. Beck,
Agent, 115, Cannon Street, London.