Floor protectors for furniture legs and casters and methods of making and using same

A floor protector adapted for use with furniture having at least one leg with a foot portion, the floor protector comprising:

• a tube of shrinkable material that can be shrunk by application of heat or other suitable means;
• the tube having at normal temperatures a predetermined unshrunk cross-sectional size large enough to permit the tube to receive said foot portion and a shrinkage rate sufficient for the tube to be shrunken to a cross-sectional size that is smaller than the foot portion so that, when the tube is placed over the foot portion and shrunk by application of heat or other suitable means, the tube will conform to and adhere to the underlying foot portion and secure the floor protector to the foot portion.

A floor protector adapted for use with furniture having at least one leg with a foot portion, the floor protector comprising:

• a tube of heat-shrinkable thermoplastic material selected from a group including polyurethane, polyolefin, fluoropolymer (such as fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polyvinylidene fluoride (e.g., Kynar™), polyvinylchloride (PVC), neoprene, silicone elastomer and fluoroelastomer (e.g., Viton™).

A method of installing a floor protector onto a foot portion of a furniture leg, comprising the steps of:

• fitting over the foot portion a tube of shrinkable material having a predetermined unshrunk cross-sectional size large enough to receive the foot portion, the shrinkable material having a shrinkage ratio sufficient for the tube to be shrunk to less than a cross-sectional size of the foot portion;
• and
• shrinking the tube by application of heat or by other suitable means to cause the tube to shrink at least until the tube has conformed to the underlying surface of the foot portion to such an extent as to secure the floor protector to said leg.

A method of making a floor protector adapted for use with furniture having at least one leg with an end having a width smaller than a girth adjacent the end, the floor protector comprising a tube of shrinkable material that can be shrunk by application of heat, or by other suitable or appropriate means, the method comprising providing a preform comprising a base portion and an integral tube portion, the cross-sectional size of the tube portion being significantly less than the cross-sectional size of the base portion, and stretching the tube portion to a size sufficient to accommodate said girth.

A floor protector adapted for use on a caster of a caster unit attached or attachable to an item of furniture or other movable object comprises 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, the cross-sectional size and the shrinkage ratio being such that, when shrunk, the tire will conform to the caster and adhere thereto.

A floor protector for attachment to a foot portion of an item of furniture or other moveable item, or to a caster of a caster unit attached or attachable to an item of furniture or other movable item, the floor protector comprising a tube of heat-shrinkable material having, at normal room temperatures a cross-sectional size sufficient to fit onto said foot portion or caster, and a shrinkage ratio such that, when shrunken, the tube will grip the foot portion or caster, at least part of the interior of the tube being provided with heat-sensitive or hot-melt adhesive that will melt at temperatures required to shrink the tube onto the foot portion or caster, such that the adhesive will melt contemporaneously with the shrinking of the tire and, when cooled, adhere the shrunken tire to said foot portion or caster.

A method of installing a floor protector onto a caster of a caster unit attached or attachable to furniture or other movable equipment, comprising the steps of:

• fitting over the circumference of the caster an unshrunk tire comprising a shrinkable material;
• the shrinkable material having a shrinkage ratio greater than a ratio between a cross-sectional size of the unshrunk tire and a maximum diameter of the caster wheel;
• applying heat or other suitable means to cause the tire to shrink at least until the tire conforms to the underlying surface of the caster to such an extent as to secure the floor protector to said underlying surface.

A method of attaching a floor protector to a foot portion of an item of furniture or other movable item, or to a caster of a caster unit attached or attachable to an item of furniture or other movable item, the method comprising the steps of fitting onto the foot portion or caster a tube of unshrunk heat-shrinkable material having heat-sensitive or hot-melt adhesive applied to at least a part of the interior of the tube, applying sufficient heat to shrink the tube of heat-shrinkable material onto the foot portion or caster and also to cause the adhesive to melt and on cooling of the tube and foot portion or caster adhere the cooled adhesive adheres the tube to the foot portion or caster.