Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Nov., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 29th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 30th Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping
Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
I, ANDREW HENRY BAIRD, of Irwell Chambers, 6 Fazakerley Street,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
My present invention is specially applicable to ships' berths for steerage
passengers, and will, in the first place, describe it with reference to such
application, but it is applicable generally to bedsteads and sleeping berths which
are required to collapse into little space when not in use.
As the number of steerage passengers is liable to great variation, it is usual to
provide for them sleeping accommodation of a portable character and only to set up
as many berths as may be required for the time being, so as to leave as much clear
space as possible in the 'tween decks; according to the ordinary construction of such
berths, considerable labour is expended in setting up and taking them down and in
removing and storing the various parts, and according to my present invention [
minimise such labour by providing berths and fittings therefor, adapted to be
collapsed into very small space and then slid or raised out of the way when not
required, without the necessity of taking the parts asunder.
I prefer generally to arrange such berths in sets of four or six,-a lower pair
placed side by side, with a similar upper pair or pairs vertically above the
lower pair.
The sets of berths may be arranged to collapse horizontally or vertically as may
be preferred; in the former case I support the head ends of all the berths of the
set by means of a series of upright pickets or bars articulated together by means of
a lazy tong arrangement of short diagonal pivotted links near their top ends and a
similar arrangement near their bottom ends; this arrangement allows the pickets
to be collapsed, while preserving their parallelism, into very small space, when the
berths are not required. The pickets extend the height of the 'tween decks and
are guided by suitable tracks above and below, and small wheels may be fitted to
some of the pickets to support the weight and reduce friction; the lower track is
preferably portable. The foot ends of the berths are supported in a similar
manner.
The bottom of each berth may be formed in one or more parts arranged to hinge
into a vertical plane, but I prefer to form them of longitudinal bars or pickets
articulated together in the same manner as that already described.
It will be
seen that the construction described allows each set of berths to be readily
collapsed in a horizontal direction into comparatively little space, in which
condition they can be slid, along the tracks, up to the ship's side or bulkhead;
suitable fastenings are provided to secure the structure in position when collapsed
or when opened.
In cases where it is preferred to collapse the structure vertically I arrange the
supporting pickets horizontally and articulate them as before; the sides of the
berths are either arranged to fold into the horizontal or they may be formed of
longitudinal pickets articulated so as to collapse vertically. I provide suitable
lifting gear for raising the berths close under the deck above, as they are collapsed,
and in order to stiffen the structure, I provide stanchions at the corners, hinged to
the deck above, which are folded up and secured when the berth is raised.
In articulating the pickets, I prefer to pivot the centres of the diagonal links to
the alternate or main pickets the ends of the said links are pivotted alternately to
the alternate intermediate pickets which consequently move longitudinally slightly

page_text: in opposite directions as the pickets are collapsed on account of the increase in the
length of the diagonals of the parallelograms formed by the links; these inter-
Imediate pickets are a little shorter than the main pickets. I do not limit myself
however to the precise details of the method of articulation as any suitable method
may be used.
While I have described my invention as applied to sets of berths for steerage
passengers on board ship it is to be understood that it may be equally well applied
to single bedsteads or berths in any case where economy of space is a consideration;
in such cases one or both tracks may be dispensed with."
Dated this Twenty-eighth day of November 1891.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping
Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
I, ANDREW HENRY BAIRD, formerly of Irwell Chambers, 6 Fazakerley
Street, but now of Oriel Chambers, 14 Water Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention' and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:—
My present invention is specially applicable to ships' berths for steerage
passengers, and I will, in the first place describe it with reference to such
application, but it is applicable generally to bedsteads and sleeping berths which
are required to collapse into little space when not in use.
As the number of steerage passengers is liable to great variation, it is usual to
provide for them sleeping accommodation of a portable character and only to set up
as many berths as may be required for the time being, so as to leave as much clear
space as possible in the 'tween decks; according to the ordinary construction of such
berths, considerable labour is expended in setting up and taking them down and in
removing and storing the various parts, and according to my present invention
I minimise such labour by providing berths and fittings therefor, adapted to be
collapsed into very small space and then slid out of the way when not required,
without the necessity of taking the parts asunder.
I prefer generally to arrange such berths in sets, each set consisting of an upper
berth or berths placed vertically over the lower berth or berths.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figs. I to VII show a set of eight berths,-four upper and four lower,-con-
structed according to my invention; Figs. VIII to X1 and XII to XIV show
modifications. Fig. I is an end elevation showing the berths extended. ready for
use, Fig. 1 shows the berths collapsed, Eig. III is a side elevation and Fig. IV is
a plan; Figs. V to VII are detail views drawn to larger scale,, Figs. VI and VII
being sectional elevations on the lines A. A, and B, B, respectively of Fig: V.
Figs. VIII, IX, X and XI are views analogous respectively to Figs. I, II, III
and IV and illustrate a single pair of berths suitable for a state room. or the like.
Fig. XII is a. view analogous to Fig. I and shows two of a series of berths, the
method of articulation being modified so that any one of the berths may be
individually collapsed one. berth. is shown extended and another partially
collapsed. Fig. XIII and Fig. XIV are respectively sections on the lines C, C,
D, D, of Fig. XII.
:
Throughout the drawings similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures and, in the case of sections, the direction in which they are viewed is
indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane
of section.

page_text: Referring first to Figs. I to VII, 1 are a series of upright bars, preferably
tubular as shown, which constitute the main portion of the framework of the
berths; all the head and foot uprights are respectively articulated together by
the pivoted links 2 and each pair of corresponding head and foot uprights are
rigidly connected by the longitudinal bars 3.
The uprights are supported below by the wheels 4 adapted to run on rails in the
channels 5 recessed into the deck and are steadied above by the slotted ends. 6
adapted to slide on the T guides 7 fixed to the overhead deck beams; in the
arrangement shown, the channels 6 are intended to remain permanently in
position if preferred they can be made portable and fixed as required on top
of the deck.
The lower ends of each of the links 2 are pivoted to their respective uprights by
the pins 8 secured to the latter and their upper ends are pivoted together by the
pins 9 formed as prolongations of the longitudinal bars 10 which extend from head
to foot of the berths. The pins 9 are adapted to slide in the slots 11 (Fig. 1)
formed in the uprights and the corresponding upper and lower pins are connected
by the tie rods 12 (Figs. V and VI) housed within the uprights. When the berths
are collapsed, as shown in Fig. II, the pins 9 slide up the slots 11 and the object of
the tie rods 12 is to make the upper and lower links 2 act equably and so preserve
the parallelism of the uprights.
The sides of the berths are formed by the longitudinal bars 3 and 10 and the side
boards 13 slung from the bars 10 by the metal straps 14; as the bars 10 lift away
from 3 when the berths are collapsed, the boards. 13 cannot be permanently.
attached to 3, but when the berths are extended the centre straps 14' are fastened
to the bars 3, with the double object of steadying the boards and transmitting part
of the weight to the hars 10.
The bottoms 15 of the berths are formed of canvas or other suitable material
secured to the bars 3 by the eyelets 16.
The berths are generally so arranged, that when not required they can be
collapsed and slid close against the ship's side or a bulk-head, suitable fastenings
being provided to hold them in either position.
Figs. VIII to XI, as already stated, show a form of my invention specially
suitable for use in state-rooms or the like where space has to be economised;
this form of berth is intended to stand against a wall or bulk-head 19 to which
the adjacent uprights are preferably secured and against which the berths may
be collapsed.
.
The arrangement of the pivoted links 2' is somewhat different to that already
described, their tie rods 12 being external to the uprights, and the longitudinal
bars 3 are all rigidly attached to the uprights.
The bottoms of the berths are, in this arrangement, formed of spring mattresses 17
having rigid frames 18 pivoted centrally to the central uprights, so that they can
be swung into a vertical plane, as indicated by the arrows r, when the berths are
to be collapsed.
The arrangement shown in Figs. XII to XIV permits each berth of the series
to be individually collapsed. This is effected, as shown, by making the articulation
of each berth self-contained; in Fig. 1, the pivots 8 and 9 as well as the tie rods 12
are common to the two sets of pivoted links 2 of the two adjacent berths and in
consequence all the berths must collapse simultaneously.
In Figs. XII to XIV the pivoted links 2 of each berth have their own
independent pivots and tie rods 12 so that any berth may be collapsed inde-
pendently of the others.
In this form, the uprights are preferably of H section, as shown, and the
longitudinal connections forming the sides of the berths are rigidly attached to
the uprights.
While I have described my invention with reference to its use on board ship
it is to be understood that it may be equally well applied in barracks, hotels,
railway carriages, or other places where economy of space is a consideration.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is ;-
1. The improved collapsable berths which consist of a number of upright bars
such as arranged in two ranks, the opposite bars of the ranks being connected
by horizontal bars such as 3 which form the support for the bedding, and the bars
of each rank being so articulated together and guided at the bottom and top by
fixed guide rails that they can be collapsed in a vertical plane without losing their
parallelism, substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The improved collapsable berths which consist of a number of vertical bars
such as arranged in two ranks, opposite bars of the ranks being connected
together by horizontal bars such as 3, which form the support for the bedding,
the upright bars of each rank being constrained to move parallel to each, other
in a vertical plane by having their ends guided at bottom and top by rails such
as 5 and 7, the adjacent bars being connected together by two sets of pivoted
links which have their lower ends pivoted to the uprights and their upper ends
guided by the uprights; the corresponding upper ends of the two sets of links
being connected together by connecting rods such as 12, substantially, as described
and illustrated.
3. In collapsable berths of the kind herein described, attaching the pivoted
links 2 to the upright bars 1 and connecting rods 12 by independent pivots so that
the berths may be collapsed individually, substantially as described and illustrated
in Figs. XII, XIII, and XIV.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved collapsable
berths, substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. I to VII.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts forining the improved collapsable
berths, substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. VIII to XI.
6. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved collapsable
berths, substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. XII to XIV.
Dated this 28th day of September 1892.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant."