US 5,010,621 AGranted

Glide assembly with inside holding clip

AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.

InventorRobert E. Bock

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An inner-gripping glide assembly with an outer sleeve for mounting upon the end of a tubular member, which glide has an upright pedestal with outwardly extending gripping prongs for insertion into the tubular member and wherein a relatively wide gap is provided between the pedestal and sleeve so as to allow the tubular member to nest against the bottom surface of the sleeve thereby allowing maximum penetration by means of the pedestal-mounted gripping prongs into the tubular member and avoidance of plating-process flashing which may be formed upon the inner wall surfaces of the tubular member within the vicinity of the open end thereof.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An inner gripping glide assembly for mounting upon a tubular member, wherein said tubular member has an inner surface and an outer surface, comprising:

an upper sub-assembly, for mounting said glide assembly upon said tubular member, comprising a substantially cup-shaped housing having an upstanding peripheral wall for engaging said outer surface of said tubular member, and an end wall for engaging a lower open end of said tubular member, an aperture being defined within said end wall of said housing;
and a tubular clip comprising a body having a longitudinal axis, a first lower end of said body being engaged with said end wall of said housing, and a plurality of resiliently flexible gripping prongs extending downwardly from a second upper end of said tubular clip body at a predetermined acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said tubular clip body and integrally formed therewith as a single piece for resiliently and flexibly engaging said inner surface of said tubular member so as to retain said upper sub-assembly, and said glide assembly, upon said tubular member, said tubular clip body and said prongs having the same relatively small thickness dimension such that said prongs are resiliently flexible and wherein the outer diametrical extent of said tubular clip body is only slightly greater than the inner diametrical extent thereof whereby the outer peripheral surface of said tubular clip body is remotely spaced from said inner surface of said tubular member so as to permit said prongs to undergo substantial flexure toward and away from said tubular clip body in order to accommodatingly engage said inner surface of a particular one of a plurality of tubular members having different internal diametrical dimensions;
a lower sub-assembly having a floor-engaging base of said glide assembly mounted thereon;
and
means, engaged at one end thereof with said lower sub-assembly, and projecting upwardly through said aperture, defined within said end wall of said housing of said upper sub-assembly, and said tubular clip body such that a second end thereof engages said second upper end of said tubular clip body, for coupling said lower sub-assembly to said upper sub-assembly.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

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Abstract

An inner gripping glide assembly for mounting upon a tubular member, wherein said tubular member has an inner surface and an outer surface, comprising:

an upper sub-assembly, for mounting said glide assembly upon said tubular member, comprising a substantially cup-shaped housing having an upstanding peripheral wall for engaging said outer surface of said tubular member, and an end wall for engaging a lower open end of said tubular member, an aperture being defined within said end wall of said housing;
and a tubular clip comprising a body having a longitudinal axis, a first lower end of said body being engaged with said end wall of said housing, and a plurality of resiliently flexible gripping prongs extending downwardly from a second upper end of said tubular clip body at a predetermined acute angle with respect to said longitudinal axis of said tubular clip body and integrally formed therewith as a single piece for resiliently and flexibly engaging said inner surface of said tubular member so as to retain said upper sub-assembly, and said glide assembly, upon said tubular member, said tubular clip body and said prongs having the same relatively small thickness dimension such that said prongs are resiliently flexible and wherein the outer diametrical extent of said tubular clip body is only slightly greater than the inner diametrical extent thereof whereby the outer peripheral surface of said tubular clip body is remotely spaced from said inner surface of said tubular member so as to permit said prongs to undergo substantial flexure toward and away from said tubular clip body in order to accommodatingly engage said inner surface of a particular one of a plurality of tubular members having different internal diametrical dimensions;
a lower sub-assembly having a floor-engaging base of said glide assembly mounted thereon;
and
means, engaged at one end thereof with said lower sub-assembly, and projecting upwardly through said aperture, defined within said end wall of said housing of said upper sub-assembly, and said tubular clip body such that a second end thereof engages said second upper end of said tubular clip body, for coupling said lower sub-assembly to said upper sub-assembly.

2 more elements