Felt laminated to plastic leg tip

Abstract

A floor saver for furniture comprising a felt sole laminated to a plastic part. Felt protects hard floor surfaces from scratches and reduces sound made by a furniture leg being dragged across a floor. The plastic part is molded and comprises a support platform and a joining part mounted directly or with an angle around or within a leg tip by means of glue, nails or screws. A piece of felt, having a thickness between 1 and 3 mm comprising resin injected into the felt, is melted jointly with the plastic part. Plastic and felt are both heated before being strongly pressed together, resulting in one inseparable device. This way, the floor saver will resist the shear stress responsible for the sliding of a felt piece away from the furniture leg much better than were it only attached to the furniture leg with a sole adhesive.

1 . A plastic-felt combination ( 40 ) to be used under a furniture leg ( 21 ,  23 ), said combination comprising:
 a plastic ( 52 ) piece comprising means to attach to said leg and   a piece of felt ( 28 ) comprising means for sliding against a hard floor surface and a resin-injected felt area ( 46 ) compatible with said plastic ( 52 ) piece;   
     said resin-injected felt area when fused with a part of said plastic piece by means of a fusion process resulting in a heat-fused area ( 47 ) wherein first particles of said plastic piece are fused with second particles of said resin-injected felt area ( 46 ) over a thickness allowing resistance to shear stress. 
   
   
       2 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said thickness of said heat-fused area ( 47 ) corresponds to a fusion area between of 200 to 1500 microns of said resin-injected felt area and of said plastic. 
   
   
       3 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said thickness of said resin-injected felt area ( 46 ) corresponds to an area of resin penetration of 1 to 4 mm within layers of said felt ( 28 ) holding felt together. 
   
   
       4 . The combination of  claim 2  wherein said heat-fused area ( 47 ) comprises plastic particles mingled with said felt particles all over said thickness. 
   
   
       5 . Processing of a plastic-felt combination ( 40 ) comprising the following steps:
 choosing a plastic piece comprising means of attaching to a furniture leg;   choosing a piece of felt ( 28 ) comprising an inferior surface comprising means for sliding against a hard floor surface and a resin-injected superior surface;   heating said plastic piece at high temperature until particles of said plastic fuse;   heating said felt piece at high temperature until particles of said felt fuse;   superposing said piece of plastic and said felt piece and strongly pressing said pieces together and letting them cool down; said pieces once pressed developing a new composite resistant to mechanical stresses.   
   
   
       6 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said heat-fused area, made of fused particles, is inseparable since no ambient temperature would allow a new fusion bringing both materials back to a liquid state and to their separation. 
   
   
       7 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said piece of plastic is previously molded and wherein said felt piece is previously cut out, said pieces later fused together. 
   
   
       8 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said piece of plastic is made of plastic or any other strong synthetic material that will melt, such as a rubber-like plastic, that has the ability to be molded and fused to felt like material. 
   
   
       9 . The combination of  claim 1  w herein said felt piece is made of felt or any other sliding material that can be cut and fused to plastic or a similar material. 
   
   
       10 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein means to attach comprise an upper part of said piece of plastic intended to be inserted or wrapped around a furniture leg allowing said combination to stick to said furniture leg. 
   
   
       11 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein means of attach comprise a support platform ( 34 ) lying on an inferior limit of said upper part of said piece of plastic, said upper part defining a male part ( 32 ) that goes into said furniture leg, said support platform being a bulge of a cylindrical part to allow said furniture leg to rest on a surface other than the floor. 
   
   
       12 . The combination of  claim 11  wherein said support platform is joined to said felt piece by fusion. 
   
   
       13 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said means of sliding on a surface corresponds to said felt piece when thickness is sufficient to support wearing against said surface, and said thickness is sufficient to support a heat-fused area. 
   
   
       14 . The combination of  claim 12  wherein said support platform ( 34 ) is oriented with an angle to adapt to an inclined furniture leg. 
   
   
       15 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said means of attaching comprise a support platform ( 34 ) lying on an inferior limit of said upper part of said piece of plastic, said upper part defining a floor protector that wraps around said furniture leg, said support platform being a thick bottom allowing said furniture leg to rest on a surface other than the floor. 
   
   
       16 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said means of attach comprise a male part ( 32 ) allowing said floor protector to be inserted within a hollow furniture leg. 
   
   
       17 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein said means of attach comprise a female part ( 36 ) allowing an external floor protector to wrap around a chair leg ( 23 ). 
   
   
       18 . The combination of  claim 17  wherein said male part ( 32 ) is a nail intended to be nailed into a wood furniture leg. 
   
   
       19 . The combination of  claim 17  wherein said male part ( 32 ) is a screw intended to be screwed into a wood furniture leg. 
   
   
       20 . The combination of  claim 17  wherein said male part ( 32 ) is a metal screw for a metal furniture leg. 
   
   
       21 . A plastic tip to be used under a furniture leg ( 21 ,  23 ), said plastic tip comprising:
 a plastic ( 52 ) piece comprising an upper part comprising means to attach to said leg and   a lower part comprising felt means for sliding against a hard floor surface and junction means compatible with said plastic ( 52 ) piece and comprising a resin-injected felt area ( 46 );   said junction means comprising a fused area wherein first particles of said plastic piece are fused with second particles of said resin-injected felt area ( 46 ) over a thickness allowing resistance to shear stress.