ALEXANDER F. OSBORN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO
HARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

SLIDING SHOE FOR FURNITURE.

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER F. OSBORN, citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sliding Shoes for Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sliding shoes or feet for use in place of wheeled casters on metal bedsteads or other furniture having tubular legs or supports provided with caster retaining sockets, and the object thereof is to produce a strong and durable sliding shoe or foot for this purpose which is of simple, strong and durable construction, which can be readily applied to the furniture, and which will be securely retained in place by coöperating parts of the shoe and leg or socket without the necessity for any additional fastening means. To this end the shoe or foot consists of a knob or plug of suitable material, such as glass, provided with an extended smooth bottom surface adapted to rest and slide upon the floor or supporting surface and with a shank which fits in the tubular furniture leg or retaining socket and has a part adapted to interlock with an internal lug or part of said leg or socket for securing the shoe therein.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view detached of a furniture shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lower portion of a tubular leg provided with the shoe. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the leg and shoe separated. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the shoe. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section in line 5—5, Fig. 2.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the shoe or foot and B a retaining socket therefor which may be the tubular leg of a metal bedstead or other tubular or socket-like part in which the shoe or foot is adapted to be secured to serve as a supporting foot for an object.

The foot or shoe is made of a single piece of material suitable for the purpose, preferably glass, and preferably consists of an enlarged knob-like base portion a having a substantially flat smooth bottom surface and rounded edges, and a cylindrical shank a' adapted to be inserted into the leg or socket B. When the shoe is in place in the

leg the end of the leg abuts against and rests on the enlarged base and the latter forms an ornamental foot or base enlargement for the leg.

The shank of the shoe is provided with an angular groove C which coöperates with an internal lug or part d on the leg or socket to form a sort of bayonet joint for securing the shoe in the leg or socket. Preferably the groove is shaped as shown in the drawings, the portion e thereof extending longitudinally along one side of the shank or plug from the upper end thereof, and connecting with a circumferential portion e' which extends from the lower end of the longitudinal portion part way around the shank. The circumferential portion of the groove tapers or decreases in width, and also preferably in depth as it recedes from the longitudinal portion of the groove. The lug d on the leg or socket can be formed in any convenient way, as, for instance, by forming an indentation which will project into the inside of the leg, or by punching inwardly the thickened seam portion of the leg.

To secure the shoe in the leg or socket the end of the shank is inserted in the leg or socket with the lug or projection d registered with the inner end of the groove e and is shoved into the tube until arrested by the engagement of the enlarged base of the shoe with the end of the leg. The shoe is then turned so as to cause the lug d to enter and move along in the circumferential part of the groove, the shoe being forcible turned far enough to wedge the lug d tightly and securely in the tapering or wedge-shaped groove. The enlarged base of the shoe is thus drawn tightly up against the end of the leg or socket and the shoe is firmly secured in place.

The shoe is thus exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, is readily applied, and there are no parts to work loose, break or get out of order, or to detract from the neat ornamental appearance of the leg.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a tubular leg or socket constituting a fixed part of an article of furniture, of a shoe having an enlarged base portion provided with a hard, smooth surfaced bottom adapted to readily slide on a supporting surface and with an integral reduced shank which extends into and