Improvements in Attaching Wire Mattresses to Metallic Bedsteads. Cots, Couches, Ships' Berths, and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug.. 1895
Complete Specification Left; 13th May, 1896-Accepted, 13th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Attaching Wire Mattresses to Metallic Bedsteads.
Cots, Couches, Ships' Berths, and the like.
I, LEONARD HAWKES BRIERLEY, of the Firm of Brierley and Sons, of
Essington Works, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention has reference principally to metallic bedsteads of the kind
commonly called combination bedsteads, that is, bedsteads in which an independent
wire mattress or sacking frame is dispensed with, the said wire mattress or sacking
being attached to and strained upon the bedstead frame but my said invention
is also applicable to cots, couches, ships' berths and the like. My said invention
consists of the improvements hereinafter described in attaching the end bars of the
mattress to the said bedstead or other frame whereby the strain of the said mattress
is thrown mainly on the side bars of the bedstead or other frame and the liability of
the cast iron dovetail joints to break in consequence of the said strain is thereby
wholly or in great part avoided.
I will describe my improvements in connection with a metallic bedstead.
In carrying out the said improvements with respect to the non-adjustable end of
the mattress according to one arrangement of my invention, I form on each of the
two pillars of that end of the bedstead to which the non-adjustable bar of the
mattress is to be attached, a collar or enlargement at a short distance above
the corner block and I form on the end of the corner block or on the end of
the he part of the dovetail block cast on the side bar of the bedstead, a vertical rib
or projection.
In attaching or connecting the wire mattress to the bedstead the non-adjustable
end bar is passed preferably by an end wise motion under the collar on the pillar and
in front of the vertical rib or projection on the corner block or on the casting on
the side bar. Consequently on the adjustment of the tension of the mattress the
strain is thrown on the side bars of the bedstead, the non-adjustable end bar of the
mattress bearing against the ribs or projections on the corner blocks or on
the castings on the side bars, the collars on the pillar preventing the end bar of the
mattress from rising, by which rising motion it would become disengaged from the
vertical ribs or projections against which it bears. The collars on the pillars and
the ribs on the corner blocks or on the castings on the side bars are formed
preferably by the casting process.
Instead of a collar on the pillar an shaped pin or bar may be chill cast in the
corner block, one arm or branch of the pin being vertical and parallel with
the pillar and the other or horizontal arm or branch over-hanging the corner
block.
According to another arrangement of my invention I use in place of or in
addition to the collars, horizontal projecting pins chill cast in the neck between the
collar and the corner block, or where the collar is dispensed with the said pins are
preferably chill cast in a boss on the top of the corner block. When the said
horizontal pin is used in place of the collar it may be made at such a height as to
fit upon the upper side of the end bar of the mattress or to take into a hole in the
said end bar. Where it is used in addition to the collar the said pin takes into a
hole in the end bar.

page_text: In carrying out the said improvements with respect to the adjustable end of the
mattress I attach to the bedstead frame by any of the means hereinbefore described
a bar of wood or metal in a similar position relative to the adjustable end of the
bedstead to that which the non-adjustable end bar of the mattress occupies with
regard to its corresponding end of the bedstead and to this bar I attach the
adjustable end bar of the mattress by means of the usual straining screws.
My improvements may be applied either to both ends of the mattress or
to one end only. In the latter case I prefer to apply my improvements at the foot
end of the bedstead.
By the attachment of the end bar or end bars of the mattress to the side bars in
the ways herein before described the use of either or both of the end bars of the
bedstead frame may be dispensed with.
The application of my improvements to metallic cots, couches, ships' berths and
the like differs in no essential respect from its application to metallic bedsteads as
hereinbefore described.
Dated this Seventeenth day of August 1895.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Attaching Wire Mattresses to Metallic Bedsteads,
Cots, Couches, Ships' Berths, and the like.
I, LEONARD HAWKES BRIERLEY, of the Firm of Brierley and Sons, of
Essington Works, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
1.
My. invention has reference principally to metallic bedsteads of the kind
commonly called combination bedsteads, that is, bedsteads in which an independent
wire mattress or sacking frame is dispensed with, the said wire mattress or sacking
being attached to and strained upon the bedstead frame, but my said invention is
also applicable to cots, couches, ships' berths and the like. My said invention
consists of the improvements hereinafter described in attaching the end bars of the
mattress to the said bedstead or other frame, whereby the strain of the said
mattress is thrown mainly on the side bars of the bedstead or other frame and the
liability of the cast iron dovetail joints to break in consequence of the said strain is
thereby wholly or in great part avoided.
I will describe my improvements in connection with a metallic bedstead.
In carrying out the said improvements with respect to the non-adjustable end of
the mattress according to one arrangement of my invention, I form on each of the
two pillars of that end of the bedstead to which the non-adjustable bar of the
mattress is to be attached, a collar or enlargement at a short distance above
the corner block and I form on the end of the corner block or on the end
of the he-part of the dovetail block cast on the side bar of the bedstead, a vertical
rib or projection.
In attaching or connecting the wire mattress to the bedstead, the non-adjustable
end bar is passed preferably by an end wise motion under the collar on the pillar
and in front of the vertical rib or projection on the corner block or on the casting
on the side bar. Consequently on the adjustment of the tension of the mattress the
strain is thrown on the side bars of the bedstead, the non-adjustable end bar of the
mattress bearing against the ribs or projections on the corner blocks or on
the castings on the side bars the collars on the pillars preventing the end bar of the
mattress from rising, by which rising motion it would become disengaged from the

page_text: vertical ribs or projections against which it bears. The collars on the pillars
and the ribs on the corner blocks or on the castings on the side bars are formed
preferably by the casting process.
Instead of a collar on the pillar an L shaped pin or bar may be chill cast in the
corner block, one arm or branch of the L pin being vertical and parallel with
the pillar and the other or horizontal arm or branch overhanging the corner
block.
.
.
According to another arrangement of my invention I use in place of or in
addition to the collars horizontal projecting pins chill cast in the neck between the
collar and the corner block, or where the collar is dispensed with the said pins are
preferably chill cast in a boss on the top of the corner block. When the said
horizontal pin is used in place of the collar it may be made at such a height as to
fit upon the upper side of the end bar of the mattress or to take into a hole in the
said end bar. Where it is used in addition to the collar the said piu takes into a
hole in the end bar.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in perspective one of the
corners of a combination bedstead to which the wire mattress is attached according
to one of the arrangements of my invention.
Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 and 9 represent other or modified arrangements of
my invention hereinafter particularly described.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawings.
I will first describe the arrangement Figure 1 and the connection thereto of the
non-adjustable end bar of the wire mattress.
To each of the vertical pillars a of the bedstead I attach, preferably by the chill
casting process by which the she-part a³ of the corner block is attached to the said
pillar, a collar or enlargement a¹ and on the he-part of the corner block,
which he-part is chill cast on the side bar b, 1 form a rib or projection b.
The non-adjustable end bar c of the wire mattress d is attached to the bedstead by
passing the non-adjustable end bar c by an endwise motion under the collar a¹ and
in front of the vertical rib 62 the said end bar c, when the mattress is attached to
the bedstead, occupying the position indicated in dotted lines. By the arrangement
described the strain due to the tension on the wire sacking d of the mattress is
thrown wholly on the side bars 6 of the bedstead frame the end bar c of the
mattress bearing against the vertical rib or projection 6' and being held to its seat
on the corner block a², 6 by the collar a' on the corner pillar a of the bedstead.
Instead of forming the vertical rib or projection for receiving the strain due
to the tension on the wire sacking of the mattress on the he-part 62 of the corner
block the said vertical rib or projection may be formed on the she-part a' of the
said dovetail corner block. This arrangement of my invention is represented in
the perspective view Figure 2. In this figure two projections a³, a³ in line with
each other are represented on the she-part a' of the dovetail corner block, the
inner side of the end bar c of the mattress d when attached to the bedstead bearing.
against the said projections as is indicated in dotted lines.
Figure 3 represents an arrangement in which the collar on the pillar of the
bedstead above the corner block is dispensed with. In this arrangement an L pin
marked e is chill cast in the she-part a³ of the corner block so that its horizontal
arm overhangs the corner block. In other respects the arrangement Figure 3 is
substantially the same as the arrangement Figure 1.
The pine in the arrangement last described may be cast in the part a² of
the dovetail corner block so that its horizontal arm is but a short distance above
the said corner block as represented in Figure 4. In this case, holes are made
in the back or outer side of the end bar c of the mattress for the horizontal arms
of the pins to take in and engage with. The end bar c of the inattress is
attached to the bedstead in the following manner. The end bar c is tilted so that
when the holes in it are presented to the horizontal arms of the pins e the

page_text: said bare can be pushed home on the said pins and its inner edge depressed in
front of the vertical rib or projection 61 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 4.
Figure 5 is a modification in which a horizontal pin f chill cast in the neck
between the collar a¹ and the corner block a³ is employed in addition to the said
collar a' the end bar c being engaged with the said pin substantially in the way
described with respect to the arrangement represented in Figure 4.
Figure 6 represents a modification of my invention in which a longitudinal or
side projecting rib or projection at on the she-part a of the corner block is
employed in conjunction with the vertical cross rib or projection & on the he-part b
of the said corner block. The end bar of the mattress to be used in connection
with this bedstead has a slot or groove in its underside for the longitudinal or side
rib or projection a to engage in.
Or the longitudinal or side rib may be formed on the he-part 2 of the dovetail
corner block as is represented in Figure 7 where the said longitudinal rib is
marked. The end bar c to be used with the arrangement Figure 7 is represented
in Figure 74, the cross groove or slot in the underside of the end bar being
marked c³.
Or the longitudinal or side rib a (Figure 6) may be used in conjunction with
the longitudinal or side rib (Figure 7). In this case the cross groove or
slot in the underside of the end bar c of the mattress extends from the inner or
front side of the said end bar to the outer or back side of the said end bar.
.
In
Figure 8 represents a modification of my invention by the use of which a more
even surface is obtained for the ends of the mattress bar c to seat itself on.
this modification the dovetail parts of the corner block are arranged horizontally"
instead of vertically, the he-part of the dovetail block on the side bar engaging
with the she-part of the said block by a sliding motion from the inner side of the
part of the corner block. With this modified corner block I use the rib b¹ in
conjunction with a rib. on the outer top edge of the part of the said block,
an pine on the dovetail block a' being preferably employed to keep the end
bar from rising off the corner block when the tension is put on the wire sacking d
of the mattress. When the end bar c of the mattress is attached to the bedstead
the ends of the said bar seat themselves in the recesses formed by the ribs b', b₁
and prevent the side bars getting loose or out of position.
Instead of the he-parts of the dovetails engaging with the she-parts by an
outward motion of the side bar they may engage by an inward sliding motion of
the said side bar. In this modification the ribs b1, b on the he-part 63 of the corner
block are arranged as represented in Figure 7.
In carrying out the said improvements with respect to the adjustable end of the
mattress I attach to the bedstead frame by any of the means hereinbefore described
a bar of wood or metal in a similar position relative to the adjustable end of the
bedstead to that which the non-adjustable end bar of the mattress occupies with
regard to its corresponding end of the. bedstead and to this bar 1 attach the
adjustable end bar of the mattress by means of the usual straining screws.
Figure 9 represents in perspective a combination bedstead to which a wire
mattress is attached according to my invention. It will be seen by an examination
of this figure that an additional or straining bar g is employed to which the
adjustable end bar c¹ of the mattress is connected by the straining or tension
adjusting screws h in essentially the same way as the said adjustable end bar is
ordinarily connected to the end bar of the bedstead frame. The said additional
or straining bar is connected to one end of the bedstead frame in the same way as
the non-adjustable end bar of the said mattress is connected to the other end of
the said bedstead frame.
By the use of the last described arrangement of my invention the mattress
portion of a combination bedstead may be sent out in a rolled up condition for
convenience of transit and storage with its straining bar and straining or tension
adjusting screws in position and when required for use the said mattress may be

page_text: unrolled and readily attached to the bedstead the straining screws being used only
for adjusting the tension of the wire sacking of the mattress and not for fixing it
to the bedstead.
Although I have represented my invention in connection with the attaching of
mattresses having end bars of wood I wish it to be understood that my invention
is equally applicable to the attaching of mattresses having metallic end bars.
My improvements may be applied either to both ends of the mattress or to one
end only. In the latter case I prefer to apply my improvements at the foot end
of the bedstead.
By the attachment of the end bar or end bars of the mattress to the side bars
in the ways herein before described the use of either or both of the end bars of
the bedstead frame may be dispensed with.
The application of my improvements to metallic cots, couches, ships' berths and
the like differs in no essential respect from its application to metallic bedsteads
as herein before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "Improvements in attaching wire mattresses to metallic bedsteads,
cots, eouches, ships' berths and the like
First. Attaching wire mattresses to metallic bedsteads and the like by engaging
the non-adjustable end bar of the mattress and the additional or straining bar of
the said mattress or one only of the said bars, to the bedstead frame by the
construction and arrangement or combination of parts herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings the said construction and arrangement of
parts consisting in providing the corner pillars of the bedstead with a collar, or a
pin overhanging the top of the end bar of the mattress, or with an overhanging
collar and a pin, the pin in the latter case engaging in a hole in the said end bar
or providing the said pillar with a pin only for engaging in a hole in the said end.
bar and forming on the he- or she-parts of the corner block a cross vertical rib or
projection for the inner edge of the end bar to bear against the said corner block
being sometimes provided with an additional longitudinal or side rib for engaging
in a groove or slot in the underside of the end bar and thereby preventing end wise
motion of the said bar substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. In attaching wire mattresses to metallic bedsteads and the like, the
use in connection with the mattress of an additional end or straining bar connected
to the adjustable end bar of the mattress by straining or tension adjusting screws
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figure 9 of the drawings.
Thirdly. Arranging the dovetail or engaging parts of the corner blocks of
metallic bedsteads and the like, the inattresses of which are attached by the
construction and arrangement of parts claimed in the first claim, horizontally
instead of vertically for the purpose and substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated the Thirteenth day of May 1896.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.