System for mounting a wheel on a bed

Abstract

A wheel mounting system is comprised of a bearing that is adapted to be positioned between a wheel and the foot tube of a bed. The bearing is comprised of two halve split bearings that are adapted to be fit together to make the complete bearing. The split bearings are adapted to be forced into the wheel and held onto the foot tube by the wheel. A method for mounting a wheel to the foot tube of a bed is comprised of the step of positioning split bearings on the end of a foot tube of the bed with a rib on an interior surface of the split bearings in alignment with an annular groove in the end of the foot tube. The foot tube is then held in a fixture with a backup surface of the fixture abutting the flange of two split bearings. Next, a wheel is forced onto the split bearings while holding the split bearings in place axially with respect to the foot tube by the backup surface, thereby protecting the integrity of the split bearings and assuring that the rib on the interior of the split bearings is maintained in alignment with the annular groove in the end of the foot tube.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.