Floor protectors for casters

Abstract

To protect floors against marks or damage from casters , a shrinkable tire, for example, a piece of heat-shrink tubing, in its unshrunk condition, is fitted around the caster circumference and then is shrunken. The dimensions and shrinkage ratio of the shrinkable tire are selected such that, when shrunken onto the caster, the tire grips the caster securely. If desired, the frictional grip between the tire and the caster circumferential surface may be enhanced by applying to the interior of the unshrunk tire a hot-melt adhesive which will be activated by the heat applied to shrink the tire. Additionally or alternatively, the width of the tire may be greater than the width of the caster so that, when the tire has been shrunken onto the caster, marginal portions of the tire form flanges gripping the caster on opposite sides.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 383,577 filed Sep. 16, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims priority from U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 383,572 filed Sep. 16, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 082,054 filed Apr. 8, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to floor protectors, and, more particularly, floor protectors for use with casters for attaching, or attached, to a movable object to protect the floor when the object is moved. Examples of such objects include furniture, such as beds, chairs, tables, desks, privacy screens, room dividers, partitions and storage cabinets for files; and other objects such as equipment s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a floor protector adapted for use on a caster of a caster unit attachable or attached to an item of furniture or other movable objects, the floor protector comprising a tire of shrinkable material that can be shrunk by a predetermined shrinkage ratio by application of heat or by other suitable means, the tire having, at normal room temperatures, a predetermined unshrunk cross-sectional size that allows the tire to be fitted around the circumference of the caster said cross-sectional size and, the shrinkage ratio being such that, when shrunk, the tire will conform to the circumference of the caster and adhere thereto.

[0017]In embodiments of either aspect of the invention, at least part of the interior surface of the tire may be provided with an adhesive so that, once the tire has been shrunk onto the caster wheel, the adhesive bonds the tire to the caster wheel and provides additional security against the tire being accidentally dislodged, at least partially. Where the tire comprises heat-shrink material, the adhesive may be a heat-sensitive (hot-melt) adhesive that melts at temperatures similar to those required to shrink the tire; the hot-melt adhesive then being melted (activated) contemporaneously with the shrinking of the tire, conveniently using the same heat source.

Problems solved by technology

Some caster wheels are made of hard black synthetic plastics material, for example polyurethane, which may leave marks upon, or physically damage, certain types of flooring.

Disadvantages of such mats, however, is that they are relatively expensive, unsightly and may impair movement of the chairs.

According to their web site at http: / / www.tirebooties.com / CasterBooties_Caster_Tire_Covers.html, in addition to being complicated, the cover is not recommended for steel caster wheels or dual wheels and will not fit on casters with wheel brakes.

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