An Improved Apparatus for use in Railway Carriages for Resting or Supporting Part of a Traveller's Body.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus for use in Railway Carriages for Resting
or Supporting Part of a Traveller's Body.
1, BENEDICT THEODOR WOLF, of Aarhus, in the Kingdom of Denmark,
Merchant, 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 invention relates to apparatus designed to furnish a comfortable support
either for the head or for one of the arms, according to desire, when travelling in
railway carriages. The apparatus can easily be packed away in a small compass,
and may thus be carried by the traveller in his pocket, and can, when it is desired
to use it, be readily made use of in a compartment.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 represents a view of the under side of my improved apparatus.
Figure 2 is a section of the same on the liner Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a section of part of a railway carriage compartment illustrating the
use of my apparatus.
The apparatus consists of a pillow a applied to an elastic metal plate b¹, b² of a
form corresponding to that of the pillow, which plate is supported by a strap c
suspended from the luggage rack B, Figure 3, above the seat A by means of
hooks dat its two ends. The pillow is stuffed on its upper side, in order to afford
a soft bed for the portion of the body to be supported by the apparatus. The
under part, on the contrary, is preferably covered with a somewhat rigid material,
such as skin or leather.
To the metal plate 61, 62 which forms the bed of the pillow, the latter may be
secured, for example, by means of skin or leather caps at its ends, in which caps
the ends of the elastic metal plate can be inserted.
In the drawing the metal plate is shewn made in two portions b¹, 62 united by a
hinge joint f,, the portion overlapping the other portion 6' to a small extent at
the hinge, so that the plate may possess the necessary rigidity, to resist the
pressure of the portion of the body which rests upon it; the hinge however allows
the two portions of the plate to be pressed together in the opposite direction.
This is of importance for the convenient carriage of the apparatus, inasmuch as
during this period the metal plate is separated from the pillow, and its two parts
are placed opposite one another whilst the pillow is folded by itself and loosely
applied to the folded metal plate, the apparatus thus occupying less space than if
the metal plate were not divided. The apparatus may, of course, be constructed
in such a manner that the plate, 2 is fitted inside the pillow or cushion a with
the same result. In this case it is of advantage to construct the plate of a single
piece, without a hinge in the middle. Furthermore, an undivided plate might also
be made use of in the construction in which the cushion or pillow lies loosely upon
the plate, as a
general rule however it will be preferable, on practical grounds, to
employ the plate consisting of two parts as above described. The metal plate b1, b2
is connected to the supporting strap by means of a number of loops k attached to
the plate, and through these the strap is loosely passed. In the metal plate and
also in the pillow, a portion of the margin is cut out, in case the user might wish
to support his forehead on the apparatus; in which case the nose will of necessity
take up its position in the depression h. One, or if desired, both ends of the
supporting strap c can be so made as to allow of its being lengthened or shortened
at will, for example, as shewn in Figure 2, by allowing the strap to pass freely
through a ring i arranged in the supporting hook d and providing the end of the
strap with a small hook ; which can be hooked into the holes of which a row is

page_text: arranged along the strap and which it is of course advisable to strengthen with
eyelets or in some other suitable manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for use in railway carriages, for resting or supporting part of a
traveller's body consisting of a pillar or cushion which is supported by an elastic
plate of metal or other similar material resting in a strap or loop the two ends of
which are adapted to be suspended by means of hooks from the luggage rack,
for example, in a compartment of a railway carriage, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. In apparatus of the kind claimed in Claim 1 dividing the elastic plate into
two parts united by means of a hinge, one part of which plate overlaps the other to
a certain extent at the hinge so that the two parts cannot shut together under the
pressure of the part of the body which rests upon the pillar or cushion, but are free
to be closed one upon the other in the opposite direction, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
3. In apparatus of the kind claimed in Claim 1 connecting the pillow with the
metallic plate by means of caps on the ends of the former in which the ends of the
metallic plate are inserted, substantially as herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawing.
4. In apparatus of the kind claimed in Claim 1 connecting the plate with the
straps by means of loops upon the former through which the latter passes freely,
substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.
Dated the 25th dow of March 1802
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant..