Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02672372 2009-07-23
Title:
FURNITURE LEG FLOOR PROTECTOR ADAPTED TO FIT SQUARE OR ROUND
LEGS OF VARYING DIMENSIONS
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to furniture leg floor protectors.
Background
Furniture leg protectors have commonly been in use for many years. These are
used to avoid damage, to for example, hardwood floors, when a chair or table
is moved.
They also reduce noise in the classroom where children tend to move their
chairs and
desks around, often making an irritating noise.
Almost all furniture leg floor protectors suffer from two problems, which the
present invention seeks to solve. Most present day floor protectors are
injection molded
out of plastic material. The product is rigid or semi-rigid including the
upper sleeve with
circular side walls. The upper sleeve is adapted to receive a leg of
furniture, such as a
chair or table. After the molding process, a pad is applied to the bottom
thereof. The pad
may be constructed of wool, felt, or some other suitable product. The pad can
also be
formed of a deformable resilient material, to stabilize the furniture to give
a support
surface. The pad is usually secured to the floor protector by mechanical
bonding or
adhesive bonding.
The addition of the pad is an extra step in the manufacturing process, which
must
sometimes be done by hand and thus is labor-intensive. Over time the adhesives
tend to
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wear out by constant movement of the furniture leg, the pad finally becomes
detached,
and a new pad must be added. The other problem with rigid or semi-rigid
protectors is
that the upper sleeve, after significant use becomes somewhat enlarged and the
protector
tends to fall off the chair or table leg.
With regard to the second problem, the present inventor developed an intricate
flexible upper sleeve to be rolled up and frictionally engage the chair leg
and prevent the
floor furniture leg protector from falling off the leg. This is described and
claimed in the
inventor's related published Canadian Patent Application No. 2,585,597.
Although the above-mentioned invention has been successfully installed in the
vast majority of applications, the inventor has found in cases of round chair
or table legs
of irregular or large dimensions, as well as square or rectangular furniture
legs, that these
leg protectors were not satisfactory. Therefore, the inventor has set out
herein a universal
furniture leg floor protector, adapted to be effectively applied to any chair
or table leg
regardless of dimension or configuration.
Now therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a furniture
leg
protector wherein the felt pad is permanently affixed during molding and the
protector is
adapted to be secured to any chair or table leg regardless of configuration or
dimension.
Summary of the Invention
Therefore, this invention seeks to provide a furniture leg protector adapted
for use
with furniture legs of all configurations and dimensions; said protector
comprising: a
lower semi-rigid body of rubber-like elastomeric plastic material; a friction
pad adapted
to be permanently and integrally attached to a bottom of said semi-rigid body
during a
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molding process; said protector also including a plurality of flexible upper
flat arms
integrally connected to said semi-rigid body during said molding process; said
flexible
upper flat arms being composed of the same rubber-like elastomeric plastic
material as
said semi-rigid body; said protector further comprising an elastic stretchable
retaining
band; said band adapted in operation to secure said flexible upper flat arms
on the outer
sides of said furniture leg upwardly from a bottom of said leg when said semi-
rigid body
and friction pad are correctly positioned on the bottom of said leg.
General Description
The furniture leg protector of the present invention is a one-piece plastic
elastomer body with a felt pad preferable 100% wool embedded in the bottom of
the
body during the molding process. The protectors can take many shapes providing
that
there are sufficient flexible arms, also part of the integral molding process,
to secure a
chair leg. The pad can be round or rectangular. After molding, the pad must
protrude
slightly from the elastomeric body in order to have proper contact with the
floor. The
upper flexible arms are generally molded to be as thick as or thinner than the
semi-rigid
base; the latter must be rigid enough to support the furniture leg. The
circular elastic
retaining band can be of varying dimensions, depending upon the application.
Generally,
the protector would be sold to the user with a plurality of retaining bands of
different
dimensions.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
The embodiments of the invention are described in conjunction with the
following
drawings:
Figure 1 illustrates varying side views of prior art furniture leg floor
protectors;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the components of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a top perspective view of the invention with three flexible arms;
Figure 4 is a perspective side view of the invention shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a top perspective view of the invention with five flexible arms;
Figure 6 is a top perspective view of the invention with six flexible arms;
Figure 7 is a bottom perspective view of the invention in place on a round
furniture leg;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the invention in place on a round furniture
leg;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the invention in the process of being
installed on a
square furniture leg, an application on a rectangular furniture leg is shown
in dotted lines;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the invention fully installed on a square
furniture leg,
dotted lines illustrate the invention applied to a rectangular furniture leg;
Figure 11 is a bottom perspective view of the invention shown in Figure 10,
dotted lines
illustrate the invention applied to a rectangular furniture leg; and
Figure 12 is an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein the mold and
felt used to
construct the invention are rectangular.
Detailed Description of the Invention
Figure 1 illustrates side views of the prior art and in particular the
invention
shown in the inventor's related Canadian Patent Application No. 2,585,597.
Similar to
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the present invention, the felt 2 is fixedly secured, during the molding
process, to the
lower rigid body 3. In Figure 1, the upper portion of the furniture leg floor
protector is
rolled upwardly or pushed upwardly around the chair leg. This is very
effective for the
majority of chair legs. However, it is found to be less effective for round
legs of unusual
dimensions and configurations, or for square or rectangular legs, which are
perpendicular
to the floor or oblique, i.e. slanted upwardly.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the basic components of the present
invention
shown generally as 1. There is a pad 2 generally made of felt, which during
the molding
process is integrally connected to a semi rigid base 3 by means of an
elastomeric rubber-
like plastic material 3 injected around the pad during the molding process.
Also formed
in the molding process and integrally connected to the base is a plurality of
flexible flat
arms 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The other components include clear plastic or rubber-
like
elastomeric stretchable bands for various furniture leg sizes; the smaller one
shown as 5a,
and the larger one is 5b. Any number of bands can be included as part of the
invention,
depending upon the dimensions and configuration of the chair or table leg to
be
protected.
Figure 3 is a top perspective view of a three-strap or flexible arm embodiment
with the regular felt embedded into the injected plastic 3 with flexible arms
6a, 6b and 6c.
These arms are adapted to adhere to the sides of a round furniture leg, and
then be
secured by the rubber-like elastomeric stretchable band.
Figure 4 is a bottom perspective view of the three-strap or flexible arm model
as
shown in Figure 3. One notes the felt 2 is secured to the plastic elastomeric
molded body
3 and arms 6a, 6b, and 6c are in the inoperative position.
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Figure 5 is a five flat flexible arm embodiment having five flexible arms,
namely
7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, and 7e. The felt 2 and the semi-rigid plastic molded body 3
are similar.
The five flat flexible arm embodiment would be more effective for a larger and
perhaps
unusually configured round furniture leg.
Figure 6 illustrates a six flexible arm embodiment, having flexible arms
integrally
molded to the semi-rigid base 3. These arms are indicated as 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d,
8e, and 8f.
Figure 7 is a bottom perspective view of a three flexible arm embodiment of
the
present invention, as applied to a round table leg 9. One notes that the round
furniture leg
9 and the bottom 9a with the felt 2 on the bottom, are secured by arms 6a, 6b,
and 6c. A
clear elastic band 5a secures the flexible elastomeric arms to the furniture
leg.
Figure 8 is a side perspective view of a round furniture leg 9 with the felt 2
on the
bottom and the flexible flat arms 6a and 6c (6b being hidden in this view)
secured
upwardly on the furniture leg 9 by a clear elastomeric band 5b.
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the clear band 5b being placed on the arms
4a,
4b, and 4c (4d being hidden in view) being pushed upwardly and securing the
felt 2 in
base 3 underneath on a square chair leg. The clear band in operation is
pressed upwards
to hold all of the flexible arms. Dotted lines show the possibility of
application on a
rectangular leg.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the 5b elastic band fully installed on a
square
furniture leg such that the visible arms 4a and 4b are totally secured along
the sides of the
square chair leg and the felt 2 is positioned immediately under the leg.
Dotted lines show
a rectangular leg.
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Figure 11 is a bottom view of a square chair leg 10 with a bottom 10a, having
flexible arms 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d duly attached to the sides of the leg of a
desk or chair by
the clear rubber band 5b. Dotted lines show a rectangular leg.
Figure 12 is an alternative embodiment of the present invention, wherein the
felt
11 is rectangular and the plastic rubber-like elastomeric molded base 12
encompasses the
felt 11, integrally molded to the base 12 are arms 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The
embodiment
shown in Figure 12 is particularly useful with rectangular chair or table
legs.
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