Improvements in Spring Supports for Upholstery.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 20th Dec., 1892-Accepted, 21st Jan., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring Supports for Upholstery.
I, JOHN ATKINSON STAPLES, of Bay View Terrace, Newburgh in the State
of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Springs for chairs, bed bottoms, etc., have heretofore been made as an inverted
cone or spiral, the base or larger portion being upwardly and the smaller end being
connected to wires. In some instances the spring has rested upon a wire bent up
in the form of a loop through which a key or wire has been inserted.
In other instances two wires have been employed for the spring to rest upon and
the parts have been interlocked with a cross wire or key.
Where two wires or supports are made use of for the spring or range of springs,
there is difficulty in introducing the cross wires or keys, and where but one wire
has been employed the base of the spring was liable to displacement laterally, and
such base might turn sideways or partially rotate upon the supporting wire.
The object of the present invention is to support a spring or ranges of springs
upon a single wire, so that the parts are locked together in such a way that the
base of the spring cannot be displaced laterally and it is impossible for the spring
to be turned or partially rotated around the single wire.
With this object in view the supporting wire is corrugated in a vertical plane
and the intersecting wire or key is also corrugated in a vertical plane, and the
corrugations bear such a relation to the circular coil of the wire at the smaller
end of the spring that when the end of the wire is passed below one corrugation
and over the next corrugation and the spring revolved until the end of the wire
is interlaced all the way round, the interlocking of the corrugations and the
pressure of the wire of the spring against the corrugations of the supporting
wires is such that the parts are firmly bound together and the coil of wire at
the smaller end of the spring, not being entirely circular but slightly enlarging
or volute in form, wedges against the corrugations of the supporting wire and
key or crossing wire, in such a manner that the further rotation of the spring,
in introducing the same into position, is stopped, and the parts are bound firmly
by a wedging action which renders the attachment to the single wire as firm and
reliable as though the spring were a part of the supporting wire.
The corrugated supporting wires are of a suitable length to pass from one side
to the other of the chair seat, bed bottom or other article of upholstery, and the
ends of the supporting wires may be bent upwardly and outwardly to rest upon
and be secured to the top edge of the seat frame, or said ends may only be bent
upwardly and formed with eyes for the reception of screws or nails by which the
supporting wire may be secured to the seat frame.
Dated this 20th day of September 1892.
BREWER & SON.
A gents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring Supports for Upholstery.
I, JOHN ATKINSON STAPLES, of Bay View Terrace, Newburgh in the State
of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
5 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 :-
Springs for chairs, bed bottoms, etc. have heretofore been made as an inverted

page_text: cone or spiral, the base or larger portion being upwardly and the smaller end being
connected to wires. In some instances the spring has rested upon a wire bent up
in the form of a loop through which a key or wire has been inserted.
In other instances two wires have been employed for the spring to rest upon and
the parts have been interlocked with a cross wire or key.
Where two wires or supports are made use of for the spring or range of springs,
there is difficulty in introducing the cross wires or keys, and where but one wire
has been employed the base of the spring was liable to displacement laterally, and
such base might turn sidewise or partially rotate upon the supporting wire.
The object of the present invention is to support a spring or ranges of springs
upon a single wire, so that the parts are locked together in such a way that the
base of the spring cannot be displaced laterally and it is impossible for the spring
to be turned or partially rotated around the single wire.
With this object in view the supporting wire is corrugated in a vertical plane
and the intersecting wire or key is also corrugated in a vertical plane, and the
corrugations bear such a relation to the circular coil of the wire at the smaller
end of the spring that when the end of the wire is passed below one corrugation
and over the next corrugation and the spring revolved until the end of the wire
is interlaced all the way round, the interlocking of the corrugations and the
pressure of the wire of the spring against the corrugations of the supporting
wires is such that the parts are firmly bound together and the coil of wire at
the smaller end of the spring, not being entirely circular but slightly enlarging
or volute in form, wedges against the corrugations of the supporting wire and
key or crossing wire, in such a manner that the further rotation of the spring,
in introducing the same into position, is stopped, and the parts are bound firmly
by a wedging action which renders the attachment to the single wire as firm and
reliable as though the spring were a part of the supporting wire.
The corrugated supporting wires are of a suitable length to pass from one side
to the other of the chair seat, bed bottom or other article of upholstery, and the
ends of the supporting wires may be bent upwardly and outwardly to rest upon
and be secured to the top edge of the seat frame, or said ends may only be bent
upwardly and formed with eyes for the reception of screws or nails by which the
supporting wire may be secured to the seat frame.
In the drawing,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view representing the spring and the supporting wires.
Fig. 2 is a magnified diagram illustrating the respective depth of corrugation in
relation to the size of the wires employed, and
Fig. 3 shows one of the supporting wires separately, and two crossing wires in
section.
The supporting wire A is of a suitable length to pass from one side to the other
of the chair seat, hed bottom or other article of upholstery, and with a chair seat
the ends of this wire may be bent upwardly and outwardly to rest upon and be
secured to the top edge of the seat frame, as shown in my British Patent dated
May 10, 1892, No. 8857, but I have represented the ends of such wire as passing
upwardly and provided with eyes 2 for the reception of screws or nails by which
the same may be fastened to the seat frame of a chair, sofa, or similar article, and
the horizontal or nearly horizontal portion of the supporting wire A is made with
corrugations 3 which are preferably uniform and extend across the horizontal
portion of the support, so that the springs B can be connected therewith at any
desired point; this gives facility for the introduction of two or more springs upon
the supporting wire at any desired places so as to adapt the springs to the chair
seat or other upholstery.
The cross wire or key C is to be corrugated with corresponding bends to the
wires A for the purposes named. Upon reference to the diagram Fig. 2 it will
be observed that the depth of the corrugations is such that when one corrugated
wire is laid across the other corrugated wire, the necessary space is provided for
the small coil 4 at the end of the spring to be interlaced by rotating such spring,

page_text: the end of the wire passing under one of the corrugated wires and over
the next, and when the spring has been rotated completely or nearly so, the
wires bind tightly together; in other words, the corrugations of the wire are
slightly sprung by the introduction of the wire of the spring between them, and
the smaller end 4 of the spring is a circle or nearly so corresponding to the lengths
of three or more corrugations, so that such spring occupies the bottom or recesses
of the corrugations and such smaller end of the spring being slightly a volute
form as well as an inclination in the upward twist of the spiral, such spring wedges
tightly and outwardly in the corrugations as well as upwardly under one wire and
downwardly over the adjacent wire.
In consequence of this construction the crossing corrugated wires interlock with
each other and no end movement can be given of one wire in relation to the other,
and no movement of the spring upon either wire can be given endwise of such wire,
because the wire of the spring is retained within the corrugations of the crossing
wires, and looseness is prevented by the wedging action aforesaid, hence the spring
cannot move upon either wire, neither can the spring be rotated around the wire
because the interlocking of the corrugated wires gives a base of resistance equal
to the depth of the corrugations, and there is no tendency for the parts to become
loose when the spring is compressed, and one part cannot move on the other, hence
there will not be any noise as the spring is compressed or relieved.
In chair and bed bottoms it is advantageous to corrugate the crossing wires
throughout the entire length of the horizontal portions, and these corrugations
should be reasonably close together in order that the intersections of the wires may
be easily varied to bring the springs nearer together or further apart, and in the
angles of chair bottoms and in places where a length of cross wire is not required,
a section of the corrugated wire such as between the lines and 6, forming a key
may be employed for each spring base, and it is always advantageous to make the
corrugations in the crossing wires to correspond or nearly so in their depth and
shape so that the action in the reception of the spring will be uniform at all sides
of the spring.
In consequence of the corrugations being substantially continuous and such
corrugations being comparatively small, a great facility is given for interlocking
the crossing wires at different distances apart and for introducing the springs
upon the crossing wires, and the corrugations prevent the springs from slipping
laterally, and a spring support corrugated as aforesaid is to be distinguished from
a spring support of wire that is looped only at the places where the springs are
attached thereto, and in consequence of the spring support being corrugated
throughout its length, a small amount of elasticity is given to the wire itself that
lessens the tendency of the wire to break.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is:
First. The combination with a wire spring in which the coil of wire is circular
or nearly so at the smaller end, of corrugated interlocking crossing wires with
which the nearly circular end of the spring is interwoven so as to wedge tightly
above and below the respective corrugated wires and bind the interlocking wires
together and the wire of the spring into the corrugations of the interlocking wires,
substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination with a supporting wire that is corrugated upon its
horizontal or nearly horizontal portion, of a crossing key similarly corrugated and
interlocking with the corrugations of the supporting wire, and a wire spring having
a nearly circular coil at the smaller end thereof interwoven above and below the
crossing wires and into the corrugations of the same, so that the respective parts
are tightly wedged together, substantially as set forth.
Third. The combination with the upholstery springs, of supporting wires having
corrugations throughout their nearly horizontal portions and bent upwardly at the

page_text: ends and terminating with eyes or connections by which the ends of the wires are
secured to the wooden frame, the corrugations in the wires being adapted to receive
the wires of the springs at the lower ends of such springs to prevent the springs
slipping upon the wires, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The combination with upholstery springs, of supporting wires crossing
each other beneath the respective springs, such wires having corrugations sufficiently
close together to allow the position of the intersections to be varied to adapt them
to the position of the springs, and the corrugations forming receptacles for the coils
of wire at the ends of the springs, whereby the springs are held in position by
the corrugations of the wire, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination with the upholstery springs, of supporting wires having
ends that are adapted to being secured to the seat frame, the substantially horizontal
portion of one or more of the crossing wires being corrugated to form receptacles
for the coils of wire at the ends of the springs and with which wires the spring is
interwoven so as to bind tightly above and below the crossing wires and hold the
wires and springs firmly together, substantially as specified.
Dated this 20th day of December 1892.
J. A. STAPLES.
Brewer & Son.