IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS, SPRING MATTRESSES, AND OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING OR RECLINING UPON." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Gardner, Shopman, Rodger Lowe and
Joseph Wood, Furniture Dealers, James Wood, Shopman, and
James Pickering, Traveller, all of the City of Manchester, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS, SPRING MATTRESSES, AND
OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING OR RECLINING UPON."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Gardner,
Rodger Lowe, Joseph Wood, James Wood, and James Pickering
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 9th May 1871.
We, HENRY GARDNER, Shopman, RODGER LOWE and JOSEPH WOOD,
Furniture Dealers, JAMES WOOD, Shopman, and JAMES PICKERING,
Traveller, all of the City of Manchester, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS, SPRING MATTRESSES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING OR RECLINING UPON," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to those descriptions of bedsteads to the beds
or mattresses of which it is desired to give an elastic or springing
effect, and also to spring mattresses and other articles for sitting or

page_text: reclining upon, constructed in accordance with the Specification of an
Invention for which Letters Patent were granted to us on the First
day of February in this present year, and numbered 276, and consists
in constructing the head and bottom (or head alone) of the frame of
such bedstead or spring mattress higher than the sides, in order that
the elastic fabric or wire or other suitable network or lathwork, but
by preference our Patent diamond spring network constructed in
accordance with our Specification herein-before mentioned, (stretched
across or mounted upon such framework to form the support for and
at the same time to give the necessary elastic or springing effect to:
the bed or mattress) may be raised in the centre above the height of the
sides, and thereby improve the springing or clastic action and obviate
the tendency which has hitherto existed to form a stiff ridge near the
sides.
And instead of having the spring network affixed to the side of the 1
framework we sometimes affix it at each side to separate bars mounted
or suspended at the extremity of arms brauching from studs affixed to
the framework, and thus allow of such sides being depressed whilst a
person is getting in or out of bed.
These improvements are also in part applicable to the backs and seats
of sofas, chairs, scats, and backs of omnibuses, railway carriages, and
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Gardner, Rodger Lowe, Joseph Wood,
James Wood, and James Pickering in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
GARDNER, Shopman, RODGER LOWE and JOSEPH WOOD, Furniture
Dealers, JAMES WOOD, Shopman, and JAMES PICKERING, Traveller, all
of the City of Manchester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Henry Gardner, Rodger Lowe, Joseph
Wood, James Wood, and James Pickering, Her special licence that we,

page_text: the said Henry Gardner, Rodger Lowe, Joseph Wood, James Wood,
and James Pickering, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Henry Gardner, Rodger Lowe, Joseph Wood,
James Wood, and James Pickering, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS, SPRING MATTRESSES,
AND OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING OR RECLINING UPON," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Henry Gardner, Rodger Lowe,
Joseph Wood, James Wood, and James Pickering, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Gardner and James
Pickering, on behalf of ourselves and the said Rodger Lowe, Joseph
Wood, and James Wood, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment:
-
This Invention relates to those descriptions of bedsteads to the beds
or mattresses of which it is desired to give an elastic or springing
effect, and also to spring mattresses and other articles for sitting or
reclining upon, constructed in accordance with the Specification of an
Invention for which Letters Patent were granted to us on the First
of February in this present year, and numbered 276, and consists in
constructing the head of the frame of such bedstead or spring mattress
higher than the sides in order that the elastic fabric or wire or other
suitable network or lathwork, but by preference our Patent diamond
spring network (constructed in accordance with our Specification herein-
before mentioned) stretched across or mounted upon such framework
(to form the support for and at the same time to give the necessary
clastic or springing effect to the bed or mattress) may be raised in the
centre above the height of the sides and thereby improve the springing

page_text: or elastic action, and obviate the tendency which has hitherto existed
to form a stiff ridge near the sides.
And instead of having the spring network affixed to the sides of
the framework we sometimes affix it at each side to separate bars
mounted or suspended at the extremity of arms branching from studs 5
affixed to the framework, and thus allow of such sides being depressed
whilst a person is getting in or out of bed.
In order that this our said Invention may be the more readily seen and
understood, we have hereunto annexed a Drawing illustrative of our
improvements, and drawn to a scale of about one inch and a half to 1
the foot. Similar letters marked thereon being used to denote similar
parts in all the views.
Fig. 1 is a side view of a bedstead constructed according to our
Invention, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section of Fig. 1 through the
line -
-b; Fig. 3 is a side view of a frame or spring mattress having 1
our improvements applied thereto.
In Figs. 1 and 2, A is the head of the bedstead, and B the angle iron
sides of the frame, the angle iron head of such frame markod C being
raised as seen more clearly in Fig. 2 above the height of the sides, which
Over this frame we
are curved upwards to meet it as illustrated.
stretch and secure our Patent diamond spring network D herein-before
mentioned, and the effect of thus raising the head of such frame is to
raise the clastic network in the centre, thereby giving it a curved or
bellied form in transverse section, as seen in Fig. 2, which besides
improving the springing action obviates the tendency hitherto existing
to form a stiff ridge near the sides of the bedstead.
In Fig. 3 the frame E is constructed of wood or any other suitable
material with the head higher than the sides, as illustrated, in order
that the elastic surface stretched over and secured to such framework
may be thereby raised in the centre as herein-before described, thus
shewing the application of our improvements to a separate spring
mattress.
It will be readily apparent that any clastic fabric or network may be
affixed upon our improved frame or bedstead with similar advantage.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of ;
this our said Invention, together with the best methods with which we
are acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it

page_text: to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details,
relative proportions or dimensions of the several parts of our improved
frames of bedsteads and spring mattresses, as the same may be con-
siderably varied without departing from the principle of our Invention,
but what we claim is, constructing the head of the frames of bedsteads
and spring mattresses higher than the sides as and for the purposes
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Gardner and James
Pickering, for and on behalf of ourselves and the said Rodger
Lowe, James Wood, and Joseph Wood, havo hereunto set our
hands and seals, this Eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.