Improvements in Metallic Bedsteads, Cots, and Couches.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in Metallic Bedsteads, Cots, and Couches.
We EDWARD LAWSON of the firm of R. L. Crosbie and Company of
No 36 Charlotte Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick Metallic
Bedstead Manufacturers and RICHARD GEORGE HODGETTS of N° 61 Coventry
Road Birmingham aforesaid Manager of Works do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC BEDSTEADS COTS AND
COUCHES " to be as follows:-
Our invention consists of the improvements herein after described in connecting
the metallic or other elastic sacking attached to end bars to the framing of the
metallic bedstead cot or couch the said sacking being commonly employed as or in
substitution of a mattress.
We will describe our invention in connection with a metallic bedstead.
We connect the said sacking to two cross bars preferably angle bars one crossing
the bedstead frame near the head and the other near the foot. The said bars
terminate with the heportions of dovetail joints which engage with the hollow
portions of dovetail joints carried by vertical brackets or arms fixed to the side bars
of the bedstead frame and near the ends thereof. The said dovetail joints are
preferably situated horizontally so that the engagement of the he-dovetails with
the hollow dovetails is effected by motion in a horizontal plane instead of a vertical
plane as in the dovetails connecting the framing of the bedstead together.
The strain produced by the sacking being in the direction in which the parts of
the dovetail joints engage with one another the said strain tends to hold the parts
firmly together.
In applying our invention to ordinary bedstead frames we employ two side bars
having blocks cast upon them near their ends which blocks fit upon the angle iron
of the ordinary side framing. The vertical brackets or arms carrying the hollow
dovetails are connected to the ends of the said side bars and the cross angle bars
carrying the he-dovetails being connected by means of the dovetail joints to the
said side bars a frame is formed on which the sacking is stretched and which
frame together with the sacking may be lifted from the bedstead frame without
taking it to pieces.
;
By our improvements the separation of the parts is very readily effected for
storage and for transit.
}
Although we prefer that the parts of the dovetail joints connecting the cross
angle bars with the side bars shall engage together by a horizontal motion yet
they may be made to engage together by a vertical motion with nearly the same
effect.
;

page_text: Improvements in Metallic Bedsteads, Cots, and Couches.
We EDWARD LAWSON of the firm of R. L. Crosbie and Company of
N° 36 Charlotte Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Metallic
Bedstead Manufacturers and RICHARD GEORGE HODGETTS of N° 61 Coventry
Road, Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of Works do hereby declare the nature of
our Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC BEDSTEADS, COTS AND COUCHES
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
"
"
. Our invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in connecting
the metallic or other elastic sacking attached to end bars to the framing of the
metallic bedstead, cot or couch, the said sacking being commonly employed as or in
substitution of a mattress.
We will describe our invention in connection with a metallic bedstead.
We connect the said sacking to two cross bars, preferably angle bars, one crossing
the bedstead frame near the head and the other near the foot. The said bars
terminate with the he-portions of dovetail joints which engage with the hollow
portions of dovetail joints carried by vertical brackets or arms fixed to the side
bars of the bedstead frame and near the ends thereof. The said dovetail joints are
preferably situated horizontally so that the engagement of the he-dovetails with
the hollow dovetails is effected by motion in a horizontal plane instead of a
vertical plane as in the dovetails connecting the framing of the bedstead together.
The strain produced by the sacking being in the direction in which the parts of
the dovetail joints engage with one another, the said strain tends to hold the parts
firmly together.
In applying our invention to ordinary bedstead frames we employ two side bars
having blocks cast upon them near their ends, which blocks fit upon the angle iron
of the ordinary side framing. The vertical brackets or arms carrying the hollow
dovetails are connected to the ends of the said side bars and the cross angle bars
carrying the he-dovetails being connected by means of the dovetail joints to the
said side bars, a frame is formed on which the sacking is stretched and which
frame together with the sacking may be lifted from the bedstead frame without
taking it to pieces.
By our improvements the separation of the parts is very readily effected for
storage and for transit.
Although we prefer that the parts of the dovetail joints connecting the cross
angle bars with the side bars shall engage together by a horizontal motion yet
they may be made to engage together by a vertical motion with nearly the same
effect.
:-
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which our invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in perspective a metallic bedstead provided with our
improvements, the elastic or other sacking or wire mattress being omitted;
Figure 2 represents in side elevation partly in section; Figure 3 in back elevation
partly in section and Figure 4 in plan, a portion of the foot end of the bedstead
drawn to a larger scale.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1. 2. 3 and 4.

page_text: a, a are the side bars and b, b the end bars of the bedstead framing connected to
the corner blocks c, c by dovetail joints e, e in the ordinary manner. The sides a, a
of the bedstead framing are represented as made of tubes but angle bars may be
substituted therefor. Fixed to the side bars a, a and near the corner blocks c, c,
are vertical brackets or arms d, d the tops of which are provided with hollow
dovetail joints; f, y are the head and foot cross bars to which the sucking or wire
mattress is connected. As the two sacking bars f, y are constructed alike and are
connected to the framing of the bedstead in the same manner, we will only describe
the foot cross bar g. The said sacking bar g terminates with he-dovetails h, h
which engage with the hollow dovetails in the tops of the vertical brackets or
arms d, d. The said dovetail joints at h, h are situated horizontally so that the
engagement of the he-dovetails with the hollow dovetails is effected by a motion in
a horizontal plane. The wide ends of the dovetail joints are situated outwards
and hence as the strain produced by the sacking is in the direction in which the
parts of the dovetail joints engage with one another the said strain tends to hold
the end bars f, y firmly together as will be understood by an examination of
Figure 1. The elastic or other sacking or wire mattress is hooked to holes in the
horizontal webs of the end sacking bars f, g; or the sacking or wire mattress may
be fastened to the bars f, g in any other convenient manner.
We prefer to make the sacking bar fat the head end of the bedstead about two
inches higher than that at the foot end of the bedstead but we do not limit
ourselves thereto.
Although we prefer to make the dovetail joints h, h on the ends of the sacking
bars f, g engage with the ends of the brackets or arms d, d by a horizontal motion
as represented, yet the said sacking bars may engage with the arms d, d by a
vertical motion. The side bars a, a of the bedstead framing and the sacking
bars f, g can be readily detached from the corner blocks e, e and replaced without
removing the sacking or mattress; and by withdrawing the sacking bars f, g from
the arms or brackets d, d on the side bars a, a the detached parts can be packed
into a small space for transit or storage.
Figure 5 represents in perspective an independent sacking frame constructed
according to our invention applied to an ordinary bedstead and Figure 6 represents
in side elevation and Figure 7 in end elevation a portion of the same drawn to a
larger scale.
The independent sacking frame in this arrangement consists of tubular side
bars i, i having at their ends the vertical brackets or arins k, k carrying the hollow
dovetails in which the he-dovetails of the head and foot sacking bars m, n are
engaged in the manner herein before described. Each side bar i of the sacking frame
has near its ends angular fixing blocks 7, which fit upon the side angle bars p, p
of the ordinary bedstead framing as represented in Figure 5 and thereby secure the
sacking frame to the bedstead. It will be seen by an examination of Figure 5 that
the vertical portions of the angular fixing blocks 1,1 are situated on the inner sides
of the bars p, p of the bedstead framing. The sacking or wire mattress is stretched
between the sacking bars m, n and the sacking frame carrying the sacking can be
lifted from the bedstead framing p, p without taking the said sacking frame to
pieces. The independent sacking frame Figure 5 may be fitted to any ordinary
bedstead framing by engaging the angle blocks 7, 7 with the side angle bars of the
bedstead framing.
In applying our invention to cots and couches we construct and arrange the
parts for connecting and carrying the sacking substantially as hereinbefore
described and represented with respect to metallic bedsteads.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that we claim as
our invention
First. The improvements in connecting the metallic elastic or other sackings
to the framings of metallic bedsteads, cots and couches herein before described and

page_text: illustrated in Figures 1. 2. 3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings; that is to say,
connecting the sacking to two end cross bars crossing the bedstead, cot or couch
framing near the head and foot of the same, the sacking bars being provided with
he-dovetails which engage by a motion, preferably in a horizontal plane, with
hollow dovetails made near the tops of vertical brackets or arms fixed near the
ends of the bedstead, cot or couch framing substantially as described and.
illustrated.
Secondly. The independent sacking frame herein before described and illustrated
in Figures 5. 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawings for fitting on an ordinary
bedstead, cot or couch framing the parts of the said independent sacking frame
being constructed and combined and used substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this Fifth day of January 1886