Improvements in and connected with Ships' and other Berths or Beds.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 24th Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Ships' and other Berths
or Beds.
1, EDWARD ROWCLIFFE BILLINGTON, of Cambridge Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Spring Mattress Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference, mainly, to those types or kinds of ships' and other
berths and beds which are adapted to fold or move out of their normal horizontal
position when not being used for their primary purpose, namely, for sleeping or
lying upon.
The chief objects of the present invention are to construct and provide berths of
this type or kind, which shall be simple in construction and mode of operation, and
safe; and, when of the folding up kind which are adapted to move upwards out of the
way when not in use, shall, when so folded or moved, occupy little space.
A berth provided with and operating according to this invention consists as
follows:-
The frame of the berth is supported at both ends by studs, pins, or their equivalent,
the point of support being disposed between the extremities of the end bars of the
berth frame, and the bearings for supporting the berth frame are mounted on or fixed
to the back or end bulkhead, or other surface, or bracket, as the case may be, as
circumstances or conditions of the application may render it desirable or necessary.
The frames are provided with an outer lee-rail or board which is adapted to be moved
as the herth is moved or folded. The motion of this outer lee rail or board consists in
being moved upwards and into a vertical position-or a position approaching the
vertical,--as the outer part of the berth frame moves upwards, and by such movement
of the berth frame. The means by which the desired motions of this outer lee rail or
board is effected, consists in provided rods or bars at each end of the berth supported
at one end to the bulkhead, or other surface, or a bracket, and at the other to the lee-
rails or boards, preferably above the level of the frame. Thus if the fixed end of
these rods or bars be mounted in suitable spots or points in relation to the point or
support of this frame, a suitable motion is provided, and the desired positions of such
boards or rails, when the frame is in either horizontal or folded positions, are
obtained.
The inner lee rail, or its equivalent, is made of such a height as to hold the bedding
between the berth and the bulkhead when it is folded up; and in order to have the
frame close to the bulkhead, at the same time as employing such high board, such
board must of course be made to move in, and then out, as the frame is folded up
(and vice versa as it is swung down), otherwise it could not work. The movement
according to this invention is given to this lee rail (or its equivalent) by the bulkhead
itself, against which the rail is caused to bear as the frame is swung up or down.
Suitable rollers are provided on the lee rail, say at each end, to provide an easy
motion; and a pathway may also be provided on which said rollers run, such pathway
baving an outwardly curved lower end for the purpose of giving the rail a gradual
and easy inward movement at the commencement of the swinging down of the berth.
The rail or its equivalent is always kept outwards, (i.e., in a vertical position to the
plane of the berth frame,) in either of its normal positions, by springs.

page_text: The joints of the motion bars at their fixed ends are so constructed that they may
be readily fixed or put in position, or taken off, at will; and are provided with a
locking device by which they may be held securely when mounted, or in position.
I also provide in connection with the berth, locking bolts or devices, by which the
berths are locked when in their position for use, or when folded. These locking
devices may be conveniently arranged at or near the bearing for supporting the berth
frame or the inside corners; or, according to another arrangement they may be
disposed at the outside corner of the berth frame.
In cases in which the latter mode of locking is employed in connection with berths
which fold, and turn downwards when not in use, and are adapted to serve as a back
rest for a second berth below, when used as a seat, the locking bolt is arranged or
adapted to fit or slip into suitable shoes or stops provided or fixed on the end bulk-
heads or other surface, and to serve also as the means by which the outside of the
berth frame is supported when in use.
In such a case these bolts may be arranged to lie within, or alongside, the outside
bar of the berth frame, and are provided with handles by which they may be pushed
to and fro; which handles also, when turned into slots or recesses provided for them,
keep the bolts in an unlocked position (and also a locked one if desired). To cause
the bolts to automatically move into the shoes, when it is required to fix the berth in
its horizontal position, a spring is provided, and arranged to act on the ends of the
bolts and press them both outwards when they are released. These devices may also
be used to support the berth at the inside, and by this means the berths can be readily
taken down, or put in position.
A suitable construction of frame of berth or bed bottoms, or mattresses, of the
herein described and other kinds, consists in the employment of tubes for said side
and end members, and connecting said tubes at the corners by elbow pins or sockets,
adapted to fit inside or outside said tubes, and said tubes being mitred to form a good
joint or connection. In making, the tubes are mitred at each end, and then the angle
pins or sockets are shipped or forced into or over the ends of the tubes. Additional
fastenings in the form of pins, or locking devices, or the like, may be employed if
desired.
The material I prefer to use as the supporting material, in these berths or beds is a
metallic elastic one such as woven wire, chain, chain and spring, or the like.
It will be understood that the particular berths more particularly set forth above,
are only employed for the purposes of description as examples, and that therefore the
improvements according to the invention are not confined to such particular con-
structions and arrangements; also it is to be understood the converse arrangement
and purposes of them may be used when desired, or advantageous to do so.
Dated 26th day of February 1890.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.
1
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Ships' and other Berths
or Beds.
:
I, EDWARD ROWcliffe Billington, of Cambridge Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Spring Mattress Manufacturer, 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 :-
This invention has reference, mainly, to those types or kinds of ships' and other
berths and beds which are adapted to fold or move out of their normal horizontal
position when not being used for their primary purpose, namely, for sleeping or
lying upon.
The chief objects of the present invention are to construct and provide berths of
this type or kind, which shall be simple in construction and mode of operation, and

page_text: safe, and when of the folding up kind which are adapted to move upwards out of the
way when not in use, shall, when so folded or moved, occupy little space.
A berth provided with and operating according to this invention consists as
follows
The frame of the berth is supported at both ends by studs, pins, or their equivalent,
the point of support being disposed between the extremities of the end bars of the
berth frame, and the bearings for supporting the berth frame are mounted on or
fixed to the back or end bulkhead, or other surface, or bracket, as the case may be,
as circumstances or conditions of the application may render it desirable or necessary.
Th frames are provided with an outer lee-rail or board which is adapted to be
moved as the berth is moved or folded. The motion of this outer lee rail or board
consists in being moved upwards and into a vertical position-or a position approaching
the vertical, as the outer part of the berth frame moves upwards, and by such
movement of the berth frame. The means by which the desired motions of this
outer lee rail or board is effected. consists in providing rods or bars at each end of
the berth supported at one end to the bulkhead, or other surface, or a bracket, and at
the other to the lee-rails or boards, preferably above the level of the frame. Thus if the
fixed end of these rods or bars be mounted in suitable spots or points in relation to
the point or support of this frame, a suitable motion is provided, and the desired
positions of such boards or rails, when the frame is either in horizontal or folded
positions, are obtained.
The inner lee rail, or its equivalent, is made of such a height as to hold the bedding
between the berth and the bulkhead when it is folded up; and in order to have the
frame close to the bulkhead, at the same time as employing such high board, such
board must of course be made to move in, and then out, as the frame is folded up
(and vice versa as it is swung down), otherwise it could not work. The movement
according to this invention is given to this rail (or its equivalent) by the bulkhead
itself, against which the rail is caused to bear as the frame is swung up or down.
Suitable rollers are provided on the lee rail, say at each end, to provide an easy
motion; and a pathway may also be provided, on which said rollers run, such
pathway having an outwardly curved lower end for the purpose of giving the rail a
gradual and easy inward movement at the commencement of the swinging down of
the berth. The rail or its equivalent is always kept outwards, (i.e., in a vertical -
position to the plane of the berth frame,) in either of its normal positions, by
springs.
I also provide in connection with the berth, locking bolts or devices, by which
the berths are locked when in their position for use, or when folded. These locking
devices may be conveniently arranged at or near the bearing for supporting the berth
frame or the inside corners; or, according to another arrangement they may be
disposed at the outside corner of the berth frame.
In cases in which the latter rode of locking is employed in connection with berths
which fold, and turn downwards when not in use, and are adapted to serve as a back
rest for a second berth below, when used as a seat the locking bolt is arranged or
adapted to fit or slip into suitable shoes or stops provided or fixed on the end bulk-
heads or other surface, and to serve also as the means by which the outside of the
berth frame is supported when in use.
In such a case these bolts may be arranged to lie within, or alongside, the outside
bar of the berth frame, and are provided with handles by which they may be pushed
to and fro; which handles also, when turned into slots or recesses provided for them,
keep the bolts in an unlocked position (and also a locked one if desired). To
cause the bolts to automatically move into the shoes, when it is required to fix the
berth in its horizontal position, a spring is provided, and arranged to act on the ends
of the bolts and press them both outwards when they are released. The device may
also be used to support the herth at the inside, and by this means the berths can be
readily taken down or put in position.
'I
A suitable construction of frame of berth or bed hottoms, or mattresses of the herein
described and other. kinds, consists in the employment of tubes for said side and end

page_text: members, and connecting said tubes at the corners by elbow pins or sockets, adapted
to fit inside or outside said tubes, and said tubes being mitred to form a good joint
or connection. In making, the tubes are mitred at each end, and then the angle
pins or sockets are shipped or forced into or over the ends of the tubes. Additional
fastenings in the form of pins, or locking devices, or the like, may be employed if
desired.
The material I prefer to use as the supporting material, in these berths or beds is
a metallic elastic one, such as woven wire, chain, chain and spring, or the like.
Illustrations of berths constructed in accordance with this invention which is above
generally described, are given in the drawings hereto annexed. These drawings form
a part of this Specification and are marked with figures and letters of reference corre-
sponding with those used in the following description of them.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a folding berth when in the horizontal position
and ready for use.
Figure 2 is a plan of part of said berth, and Figure 2A is a plan shewing, the
construction of support of the berth to a bulkhead or other surface.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation shewing the berth when in its folded position.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 5 is a detail in section, shewing a turn
down sofa berth arranged and constructed according to this invention. And
Figures 6 and 7 are details, shewing a modification of bolt fixing device.
Figure 8 is a detail, shewing the construction of berth bottom herein referred to.
With reference in the first instance to Figures 1, 2, 2 and 3, a are the end, and
the side members of the berth bottom; e is the outer lee rail of the berth; / is the
inner rail of the berth; k is a bracket fixed to the bulkhead or surface and
supporting the berth; c is a bracket fixed to the bulkhead or surface I used to
support the outer end of the berth at each corner, when in a horizontal position.
The berth frame end members a are provided with trunnions a' which fit into
corresponding journals provided on the bracket k. These journals are open at the
top, and so render the placing of the berth in position, or its removal from its
bearings, easy. The outer lee rail e, and inner rail i, are supported on the outer and
inner side bars b, respectively, of the berth frame, by ring bearings or sleeves d which
are fixed on such rails and move freely about the tubular bars. The motion which
is performed by the rail e, when the berth is being folded up, is controlled by a
link at each end, such link being connected to the bracket by a bolt pin f¹, and
to the lee rail e by a pin joint at ƒ².
The inner rail is normally pressed towards the longitudinal bulkhead or surface m
by springs fixed to the inner side tubular bar of the frame, and to the rail i itself.
The friction of the rail on the surface m, due to the pressure of the springs j, is
diminished by an anti-friction roller fixed to each end of the rail, such roller being
arranged to run on rails m¹ on the bulkhead or surface m. The rail m' shewn in the
figures forms part of the bracket k, and is curved at its lower end to render the
commencement of the upstroke of the rail i easy, when the berth is being turned
down from its folded position. It will be plain that when the berth is folded with the
clothes in it, such clothes are prevented from falling down between the berth and the
bulkhead or surface m by the rail i, or in other words such clothes are at all times
held in the berth by that rail, when the berth is folded up. The berth is conveniently
fixed in its folded position, by a cabin hook o and eye o¹.
In the arrangement of sofa berths illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the outer tube b
of which the berth bottom is made, is provided at each end with a bolt having an
operating handle 62, working in a bayonet joint slot 63, and with a spring behind
such bolt, normally pressing it outwards. When the berth is in a horizontal position
the handle 2 is so turned, that the bolt is free to move outwards, the movement being
effected by the springs 4, and the end of the bolt engaging in the shoe c fixed to the
transverse bulkheads or surfaces 1. To hold and lock the bolts back, they are first
drawn back by their handles 2, and then turned round, so that such handles engage
with the circumferential portion of the slot 63.
To turn down the berth from its horizontal position, all that is necessary to do is to

page_text: A
withdraw the bolts 6 from the shoe c, and allow the berth to swing down into the
position shewn in dotted lines in Figure 4. When in this position, it (the berth)
serves as a back rest to the herth below, which will in most cases be a fixed one.
rail c¹ is provided in the longitudinal hulkhead or surface in the path of the bolt b
so as to form a railway, as it were, for the ends of the bolts to bear upon when the
berth is moved up or down in case such bolts are not held back by the locking
arrangement. The inner bar and the mode of supporting the inner side of the upper
berth, are preferably identical with those just described with reference to the outer
side;
that is to say, the inner tube is provided at its two ends with bolts b',
springs and shoes analogous to c, fixed to the longitudinal buikhead or surface 1.
By this means it will be seen that the whole of the upper berth can be very readily
put in position or taken out.
In the modification shewn in Figures 6 and 7, the spring is dispensed with, and
the circumferential portion of the slot 63, is provided at the opposite end to that shewn
in Figure 5. In this case both the outward and inward movement of the bolt b¹ is
effected by hand, and the locking of it takes place when in its outward position, that
is, when it is engaged with the shoe c.
The detail of construction of a ship's berth bottom frame shewn in Figure 8 (which
construction is also applicable to mattresses or bed bottoms generally), consists in the
employment of tubes for the end members a and side members b, said tubes being
mitred at their ends and connected together, by corner elbow sockets s fitting over
said tubes; or, an equivalent elbow pin may be fitted inside the tube ends. The tubes
may be fixed by forcing them onto the sockets 8, or by riveting or pinning them
thereon; or both these means of fixing may be used. The effect of this combination
or construction is, that a mattress so made is simple, cheaply made, strong, of neat
appearance, and compact.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be perforined, I wish it to be understood that I am
aware that it has previously been proposed to construct ships or like berths with a
moveable supplementary berth frame or bedding support which is hinged to the berth
frame and whose movement about its hinges is effected by its bearing on or working
in contact with the bulkhead or other surface, and I make no claim to berths so
constructed. I wish to have it also understood that the invention is not confined to
the particular construction of folding up berths particularly set forth with reference to
the drawings, as the parts may be constructed and applied in different manners
to those shewn in the drawings; as for instance, in lieu of the brackets c shewn
in Figures 1 to 3, the means for holding the berth in a horizontal position set
forth with reference to Figures 4 and 5 may be used in their stead; also such means
may be used if desired in lieu of the trunnion support specified with reference to
Figures 1, 2 and 3; also the outer lee and inner rails of the berth may be made of
wood as shewn in the drawings, or of metal and of different forms as may be desired;
but what I claim in respect of the herein described invention is:-
1. In a
ship's or like berth adapted to fold up to a vertical or nearly vertical
position, for the purposes described, an inner rail or equivalent device connected
in connection with the berth side bar, and adapted to move about same,
and normally pressed outwards towards and onto the bulkhead or other surface ;
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
to or
2. In a ship's or like berth adapted to fold up and from the horizontal to a vertical
or nearly vertical position for the purposes described, the inner side rail i, rollers h
thereon, rail m' and springs j, arranged and operating as set forth with reference to
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
3. In a ship's or like berth adapted to fold up from a horizontal to a vertical or
nearly vertical position, for the purposes described, a movable outer lee rail, the
movement of which is effected automatically when the berth is being folded up.
4. The means substantially as described for moving the outer lee rails of ships or
other berths, consisting of a bar, such as f, connected with the bulkhead or other

page_text: surface, and to the rail, in such a manner, that as the berth is folded up, the rail is
pressed outwards in the manner set forth.
5. The folding berth arranged, mounted and adapted to operate as set forth with
reference to Figures 1 to 3.
6. The bolt mechanism or means substantially as berein described by which the
outer sides or inner sides, or both inner and outer sides, of ships or other berths are
supported and operated substantially as set forth.
7. The particular combination and construction of bolt, spring, and side bar, of
ships' or like berths, as set forth with reference to the drawings.
8. A mattress for ships' berths and other purposes, such as ordinary mattresses or
bed bottoms. consisting of side and end bars formed of tubes connected together at
the corners substantially as set forth with reference to Figure 8, the supporting
material being stretched and held under tension between the end bars thereof.
Dated this 26th day of November 1890.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.