An Improved Ball-caster.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 15th Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Ball-caster.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM BARKER, of 131 Strand, County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, (a communication to me from abroad by John Elmer Treat and Joseph
Augustus Treat, both of Orion, County of Oakland, State of Michigan, United
States of America,) do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
It is the purpose of this invention to produce a ball-caster in such form that it may
turn in all directions and always upon a shaft, the construction being such as to
produce an efficient caster capable of sustaining the wear usually brought upon such
a device.
In carrying out my invention I secure to the leg or other convenient part of the
piece of furniture, a bifurcated shank in the lower ends of which is suitably journalled
a small shaft. This shaft is formed at its ends with suitable collars to resist the wear
put upon the journals, and is preferably of flat section except at a point midway its
length, where it is enlarged and provided with an aperture at right angles thereto.
A second shaft of suitable length is passed through and finds a bearing in the
aperture aforesaid. At the ends of this second shaft are suitably secured two halves
of a hollow ball, which when in place are separated a distance rather greater than the
thickness of the firstnamed shaft; the distance being limited by the length of the
above referred to second shaft. By this arrangement, the two halves of the ball-
forming when together a whole sphere--are enabled to turn upon the one shaft, or the
other shaft, or upon both shafts simultaneously, and in any direction. In order to
ensure the proper working of the caster, I may make one or more grooves in the
surface of the component parts of the ball, and which grooves impinge upon the
carpet and cause the ball to rotate.
Dated this 28th day of November 1889
FREDERICK WILLIAM BARKER.
By his Agents,
Horn & Son.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Ball-caster.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM BARKER, of 151 Strand, London, Middlesex, Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, (a communication to me from abroad,
by John Elmer Treat, and Joseph Augustus Treat, both of Orion, in the County of
Oakland, and State of Michigan, United States of America,) and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The herein-described invention relates to a certain new and useful improvement in
casters, and the following is a full, clear and exact description of the same, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this Specification.
In the said drawings,
Figure I is a view in elevation, showing parts in section, of a caster embodying
my invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the same.
Figure 3 a sectional view at right angles to that illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a separate view of the different parts constituting the ball and its

page_text: Figures 5, 6, and 7 show different methods of constructing the balls.
It is the purpose of my invention to produce a ball-caster in such form that it may
turn in all directions and always upon a shaft, the construction being such as to
produce an efficient caster capable of sustaining the wear usually brought upon such
a device.
In the drawings, A represents. the leg of a piece of furniture-as, for instance, a
chair or other device.
B is the shank of my caster. This shank may be of any desired form. Thus it
may be in the form of a screw, as shown, adapted to enter a hole in the furniture, or
it may be in the form of a cap, such as is common with caster-shanks, or in any
⚫other form.
To the shank B is journaled a shaft C, and through this at right angles is a
shaft D. The latter is housed within and unites the two halves or spherical
segments E and E¹ of the ball. The axes of these shafts intersect each other. The
shaft C is preferably flattened at c, so as to permit the two semi-spherical segments
to come quite closely together, while at the same time it is given suitable breadth
in the direction of the plane of separation of the two segments. The shaft C is
enlarged upon the interior of the ball at c', so as to afford a long hub or bearing upon
the shaft B of the ball. This long bearing prevents any tilting of the ball with
respect to the shaft C and causes it to move with steadiness and without wabbling.
It also prevents the spherical segments from rubbing against the portion c of the
shaft, and so not only prevents wear upon the shaft, but upon the edges of the
segments as well and greatly strengthens the shaft. The outer ends of the shaft C
are enlarged at c² so that a large and substantial journal may project therefrom into
the shank B of the caster, or large spuds from the shank may enter into the ends
of the shaft without regard to the diminished thickness of the shaft at c.
engagement of the ends of the shaft C is effected by springing the ears or legs of
the supporting fork inward toward the ends of the shaft, thereby causing spuds upon
one of the parts to enter corresponding spud-orifices in the other part, or the orifices
in the journal. Either of the supporting shank or the axis C may be made into a slot
so as to allow the axis c to have not only a rotary motion on its longitudinal centre
but a partial polar motion on its equational centre thereby avoiding a dead-centre
when one end of axis D is upon the floor, substantially as shown in Figure 8.
This
The operation of the device will now be understood. The ball may roll freely upon
the shaft D and may likewise rotate the shaft C. In this way, no matter in what
direction the furniture may be pushed, the caster will rotate either about a single
shaft or will rotate about both shafts simultaneously. The spherical segments E E
are hollowed upon the interior, so as to admit an elongated bearing c¹ for the shaft C,
the segments themselves being fastened together by the shaft D. The segments may
be struck up from one or more pieces of sheet metal, as shown in Figure 5, in which
the parts el are secured to the segments E E¹ by soldering; or, as shown in Figure 6,
the parts e may be fastened in place by folding in over its edge the edge of the
segment E or E¹; or, again, it may be cast or struck up as in Figure 7 or its
equivalent.
It will be observed that the shaft D is journaled directly in the shaft C, and
the shaft D may therefore be made of steel or other metal which will sustain a
large amount of wear.
A caster of this character, it is apparent, will be easy in its action, since the ball
turns about the shaft D close to the centre of the ball, and turns with equal ease
the shaft C within its journals.
I would have it understood that instead of journaling the shaft D through the
shaft C it may be driven or otherwise seated firmly in the said shaft C, and the discs
or semi-spheres E E¹ may in that event be journaled loosely, so as to revolve upon
the said shafts.
In order to shift the ball off of the dead-centre, should it happen to be in a position.
in which the plane dividing the two sections is horizontal, I purpose to provide the
exterior of the segmental sections with one or more grooves e¹, the purpose being to

page_text: deflect the ball and cause it to rotate the shaft C. This is effected by the carpet
impinging against and within the said groove or grooves as the caster is drawn over
the said carpet. These grooves may or may not be employed.
The caster can also be made of two or more balls so that when one centre might
be dead the other or others would not be as shown in Figure 9. The socket or
support of the ball may or may not be movable upon a horizontal axis.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. A ball-caster composed of the segmental sections E E' and provided with one
or more grooves e¹, substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. A caster consisting of two semi-spherical segments united rigidly by an axis, a
plate with a thickened central portion at right angles to the said axis, said axis
journaled through the plate, the large ends formed integral with the extremities of
the plate beyond the peripheries of the segments, an I in connection with said enlarged
ends and forked supports adapted for engagement with each other by bending the
ends of the fork toward the ends of the plate, thereby causing large spuds on one
part to enter large spud-orifices in the other part, substantially as described, said
plate being of less breadth than the diameter of the segments.
3. In a ball-caster, the combination, with the segments E E¹, each of the segments
struck up from a single piece of metal, of the strengthening-pieces e, also struck up
from pieces of metal and united with the inner faces of the segments E E¹, substantially
as described.
Dated this 27th day of August 1890.