AU755473B2 - Furniture foot - Google Patents

Description

WO 00/28860 PCT/A U99/01 009 1 FURNITURE FOOT Technical area This invention relates to the area of furniture and in particular to improvements in feet that are found on many types of furniture.

Background to the invention On many types of flooring including tiles, floor boards, parquetry floors, cork floors and slate floors it is well known that existing furniture feet are prone to slide. This can result in scratching or scuffing of the floor and may also be unsafe for the furniture user as the furniture may slide from under them.

An aesthetic problem also arises with furniture items which are meant to be configured in a certain manner but in practice slide apart leaving gaps between them.

There exist a range of such feet which permit easy manoeuvrability of furniture over such surfaces but none provide the ability to maintain the furniture item in position once located.

WO 00/28860 PCT/AU99/01 009 2 Outline of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide a furniture foot which maintains furniture in a required position and minimises any damage to an underlying floor.

The invention is a foot device for use with furniture which device includes a rigid portion having a body with a first face which contacts the furniture and a second face which is directed towards a floor with low slip material protruding from at least one recess in the second face.

Preferably the resilient material is located in an annular groove which is concentric with the mid point of the foot device body.

It is also preferred that where ease of furniture movement is desired the second face is provided with a curved outer periphery and at least one recess through which means for connecting to the furniture may pass.

It is further preferred that, where the foot device is required to support in situ furniture legs or supports, a recess be WO 00/28860 PCT/A U99/01009 3 provided in the first face to accommodate said legs or supports.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by way of non limiting example two specific embodiments thereof, in relation to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures In these drawings: Fig. 1 shows the components of a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows the components of Figure 1 assembled; Fig. 3 shows the above embodiment of the invention located on the furniture and angled for movement; Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the second face of a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the first face of the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

In a first embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 the foot device 10 has a body member 11 made, preferably by injection moulding, of a hard polypropylene plastic with a face having a recess 14 into which WO 00/28860 PCT/A U99/01 009 4 a ring 20 of a low slip material such as Santoprene, which has a high coefficient of friction when placed on a floor, can fit.

The arrangement is such that the ring protrudes from recess 14 so that when the furniture item is standing upright the ring provides a good grip on the floor surface.

This face is also provided with a curved periphery 12 so that tilting the furniture item 40 as shown in Figure 3 causes the ring 20 to cease contacting the floor and the furniture item can slide on the curved periphery 12. The foot device is attached to the furniture item 40 by a screw 30 passing through an aperture 16 in recess The body shape may be of any shape or height desired although it is envisaged that it will most likely be circular or rectangular.

The ring material and body material likewise may be of any desired material however it is envisaged that the body be made of a hard plastic which has good dimensional stability and would slide well over a floor while the ring which can be of a soft material has good gripping qualities. Because the major portion of the ring is in the recess 14 deformation of this is restricted.

WO 00/28860 PCT/A U99/01009 In another embodiment of the invention 50 the foot device can stand alone and be used to support existing furniture legs or other devices such as castors fitted thereto. In the example shown in Figures 4 and 5 a face 51 incorporating the grip ring is provided to contact the floor while the opposing face 52 of the device is provided with an excised portion 60 capable of holding a wheel device in situ when such a castor or the like is attached to a furniture item.

This arrangement permits a wheel mounted item of furniture to be held in a given position with the additional benefit of not marking the floor. It is envisaged that the shape of the excised portion 60 may be varied to fit any particular furniture mount or to directly receive a leg of a piece of furniture being supported by the device.

Whilst we have described herein two specific embodiments of the invention it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any combination of the features previously described and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (7)

1. A foot device for use with furniture which device includes a rigid portion moulded from a hard plastic material having a body with a first face which contacts the furniture and second face which is directed towards a floor with a ring of soft low slip material retained within and protruding from an annular groove in the second face the annular groove being concentric with the mid point of the foot device body and being constructed so as to restrict deformation of the ring of low slip material when force is applied to the foot device.

2. A foot device as claimed in claim 1 wherein when the furniture to which the device is fitted is in a use position, the soft low slip material is in contact with the floor and acts to prevent movement of the furniture but, when the furniture is to be moved, on tilting of the furniture the soft low slip material is moved from contact with the floor and part of a hard plastic periphery of the body contacts the floor and presents a bearing surface to allow the furniture to readily be slid along the floor.

S3. A foot device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the periphery of the body adjacent the low slip material is curved to permit ready movement along the floor.

4. A foot device as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3 in which means are provided whereby the first face can be fastened to an article of furniture.

A foot device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the fastening is by means of at least one fastening device passing through an aperture in the second face.

6. A foot device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first face is provided with a recess adapted to receive and hold in position in the recess a mount for a _furniture item.

7. A foot device according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. a