AN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF SUSPENSION FOR BEDS AND SEATS TO PREVENT SEA SICKNESS ON BOARD OF SHIPS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Lebacq of No 6 Rue du Nord Bruxelles Belgium
for an invention of AN IMPROVED SYSTEM OF SUSPENSION FOR BEDS AND
SEATS TO PREVENT SEA SICKNESS ON BOARD OF SHIPS.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Lebacq at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th March 1882.
FRANÇOIS LEBACQ of No 6 rue du Nord Bruxelles Belgium AN IMPROVED
SYSTEM OF SUSPENSION FOR BEDS AND SEATS TO PREVENT SEA SICKNESS ON
BOARD OF SHIPS
This system differs from the one described in my provisional specification of the
24th October last (No. 4651) inasmuch as I do away with the four columns and the
upper frame; the bed is suspended by one support in the center, or two supports,
one at each extremity, the said support or supports being bent in such a manner as
to hold the cone above the bed. The superior diameter of the cone is about eighteen
inches in diameter and the inferior one about ten, these diameters can vary
according to requirements. The cone may be made of wood, metal or wood pro-
tected by metal. In the cone is a rundle of round solid india rubber having a
diameter equal to that of the cone at the middle of its thickness. Upon the rundle
of india rubber is placed a round plate of metal, with a cavity or groove at its
inferior circumference, to lodge the said rundle of india rubber under which is
placed another plate of metal, with a plain surface, to prevent the said rundle of
india rubber from going down too low when working in the cone under the pressure
of the upper plate with its groove. Through the two plates are four holes per-
mitting two or four bent iron branches to be screwed to the upper plate, the other
extremities of the said branches being equally screwed to the iron support of the
bed, which bed is thus suspended on the rundle of solid round india rubber which
can move in every sense, allowing thus the bed to remain always in a perpendicular
position notwithstanding the rolling of the vessel-The whole of the above system
Prins 631

page_text: rests on two boxes without a lid, the surface of which is equal to that of the frame;
one of the boxes being placed upside down, inside the other; the bottom of the
exterior box is fixed on the floor of the vessel; consequently the exterior box
follows the vessel in all her motions during the pitching and the vertical motion.
The other box, the interior one, being placed upside down, inside the other, its
bottom is upwards and supports the whole weight of the system, the said weight
comprising the supports, the bed and the person laying or sitting on the bed. The
bottom of this interior box is always maintained at the same level, and it con-
sequently always maintains at the same level the whole system, paralysing thus
the effects of the pitching and the vertical motion by means of a mechanism the
description of which is as follows:
Inside the boxes, and fixed on the bottom of the exterior box, are four spiral
springs, one at each corner, on which rests the interior box, suspending thus the bed
into the air-the two boxes are hermetically shut by means of a piece of leather
acting as bellows, nailed round the bottom of the interior box and the top of the
exterior one. During the pitching and the vertical motion, when the vessel plunges,
a valve, at the bottom of the exterior box, aspires the air in such a manner as to
fill up the two boxes with it, to prevent the interior box plunging with the exterior
one.
To sum up:
The upper mechanism placed above the boxes prevents the bed from following
the movements of the rolling of the vessel, this bed being suspended in a cone, on
a movable rundle of india rubber which causes the bed to remain always in a
perpendicular position notwithstanding the movements or motion of the vessel-
the other mechanism placed in the boxes prevents the effects of the pitching and
the vertical motion in maintaining always at the same level the bottom of the
interior box which supports the whole system.
I claim also the right of resting my bed on one oval cone with one or two
conterpoises in the box in order to maintain always the bed in a horizontal
position.
I can apply the above systems to all sorts of beds and seats

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Francis Lebacq in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
September 1882.
FRANCOIS LEBACQ, of 6, Rue du Nord, Bruxelles, Belgium
"AN IMPROVED
SYSTEM OF SUSPENSION FOR BEDS AND SEATS TO PREVENT SEA-SICKNESS ON
BOARD OF SHIPS"
My invention has for its object novel methods of constructing and arranging
the parts of a bed to be used at sea, so that it is affected neither by the rolling
nor the pitching of the vessel, in which it is placed, and is not subject to the
oscillation caused by the motion of the vessel, but allows the person using
it to maintain a horizontal position whatever may be the inclination of the
latter.
This method of arrangement serves to prevent sea-sickness, so that by the use of
the invention persons making sea voyages will no longer have to dread a malady
so distressing in its effects.
The invention may be applied not only on board ships, but also to railway and
other carriages or vehicles, and constitutes a great advance in means of easy and
pleasant travelling.
In the accompanying drawing which is in illustration of my invention Figure 1
represents a longitudinal section on the line A. B. through the complete bed.
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line C. D. Figures 3 and 3
respectively transverse and longitudinal sections of the frame or case C. Figures 4
and 4 shew similar sections of the frame or case B. Figures 5 and 5
similar sections through the frame or case A.
shew
shew
Figure 6 is a perspective view shewing the method of attaching one of the guide
plates T.
A is the lower frame or case of the bed.
B is an intermediate frame or case.
C is the upper frame containing the bed itself.
S¹, S, are inclined supports inside the frame A.
S³, S*, are central supports in the lower part of the frame A.
g, g, g, g, are friction rollers interposed between the inclined ends of the
frame A and those of the intermediate frame B. G, G', are central wheels arranged
between the springs R, and R¹, on the one side and R¹¹, and R³ on the other side,
which are attached at one end to the central supports S³, S, and at the other end
to the sides of the frame B. T, T, are guide plates for the wheels G, G¹.
c, c', are pivots fixed to the ends of the upper frame of the bed C and turning in
eyes or bearing cllc, fixed upon the ends of the frame B.
The entire apparatus as shewn consists, first, of the fixed rectangular wooden
frame A having neither top nor bottom, which is provided on the interior of each
of its sides with supports S, S¹¹, S³, S*, also preferably of hardwood. Second, of
the moveable wooden frame or case B the ends of which are inclined and remain
parallel to the longer side of the supports S¹, S", whatever position the external
case A may take longitudinally, that is to say from the pitching of the vessel, the
frame B from its weight and peculiar shape remaining always horizontal.
This movement as described of the one frame within the other is effected by
means of the two wheels G, G', arranged on each side of the frame A, and the
rollers g, g¹. g, g³, guided and fixed in the same way as the wheels G, G', with
which the inclined faces of the latter are provided.
These rollers and wheels are preferably of metal covered with india rubber, or of
hardwood, and may be more or less in number as required.

page_text: The wheels G, G¹, are guided by the bars T which are jointed upon two pins or
pivots, their upper ends being attached to the moveable frame B and the lower ends
to the support S³.
Third, of a third frame C, stuffed or padded having at the upper parts of its ends
two pivots or axes turning in eyes c fixed upon the top of the inclined ends of the
moveable frame B.
Or the frame C may be suspended in two yokes.
This method of arrangement allows the frame C to remain always unaffected by
the rolling motion of the vessel. The frame C is fitted with a mattress and other
bed furniture, and its edge is finished with a border of polished wood from
which is suspended drapery D hanging round and covering the whole of the
apparatus.
It will be seen that the method of arrangement and operation of the frame B in
the lower frame A serves to neutralize the inclination of the bed caused by the
pitching of the vessel; whilst the arrangement and operation of the frame or bed C
in the intermediate frame B neutralize the inclination caused by the rolling of the
vessel, that is to say in the direction of its width or from larboard to starboard
and vice versa. Consequently, that the bed itself retains constantly its desired
horizontal position.
The apparatus as hereinbefore described and shewn may be applied not only to
ships, but to other means of locomotion, as for instance to ambulances, to railway
or other carriages, and it may be made in wood, iron, or other suitable material,
and of a shape and size which may be varied according to the different circum-
stances or conditions under which it is to be used; and such modifications may be
made in its details, as for instance in the method of attaching the rollers g, gl, gl, g³,
the wheels G, G¹, and the bearings c, c¹, c¹¹, c³, and I do not confine myself to the
precise form and arrangement shewn in the drawings, which may be varied to suit
varying circumstances, but having described my invention and the manner in which
it is to be performed. I claim :-
The method of construction and arrangement consisting of three frames or cases,
fitted and connected together by means of rollers, pivots, links, and springs so that
the bed remains automatically in a horizontal position, substantially as described
and shewn in the drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francois Lebacq, have hereunto set my hand
and seal this fourth day of September in the year of our Lord 1882.
Ti
TED INA