Improvements relating to Wire and other Suspension Mattresses for Beds.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 10th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Wire and other Suspension Mattresses for
Beds.
I LEONARD NORMAN BARROW of The Thorns, Slough, in the County of
Buckingham, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates more particularly to wire-wove mattresses for double beds,
which, being suspended at the ends and sides from the frame of the bedstead, have,
by reason of their width, a tendency to become depressed at the centre, to the
great discomfort of the sleepers, who are thus unable to lie without effort near the
sides of the bed.
The object of my invention is to provide a support for the middle of the mattress,
so that there may be a level surface for the sleepers to rest on.
According to my invention, I attach to the bed frame, at the foot thereof, about
the middle of its width, a strong rope of wire or other suitable material. The rope
having been passed beneath the mattress, is attached at the other end to a drum or
pulley keyed on a shaft extending across the head of the bed.
By rotating this shaft by means of a handle or lever, the rope is wound on the
drum, and shortened to any desired extent, thus giving support to the mattress at
the middle of its width.
A ratchet and pawl are arranged to secure the shaft when the drum is wound up
to tighten the rope, which is again slackened when required by disengaging the
clutch.
By preference, a tension spring is inserted at some point in the rope or cord, so
as to give a certain amount of elasticity, and avoid too great rigidity in the
mattress support.
It will be obvious that suspended mattresses other than those made of woven wire
may be similarly supported at the middle of the width by a tension cord or band
arranged in accordance with my invention.
n
1
1
1000
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Wire and other Suspension Mattresses for
Beds.
I LEONARD NORMAN BARROW of The Thorns, Slough, in the County of
Buckingham, Gentleman, 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 relates to suspension mattresses for double beds, which, owing to
the manner in which they are supported from the frame of the bedstead, have, by
reason of their width, a tendency to become depressed at the centre, to the great
discomfort of the sleepers, who are thus unable to lie without effort near the sides
of the bed.
The object of my invention is to provide a support for the middle of the mattress,
so that there may be a level surface for the sleepers to rest on.
According to my invention, I attach to the bed frame, at the foot thereof, about
the middle of its width, a strong rope of wire or other suitable material. The rope

page_text: having been passed beneath the mattress, is attached at the other end to a drum or
pulley keyed on a shaft extending across the head of the bed.
By rotating this shaft by means of a handle or lever, the rope is wound on the
drum, and shortened to any desired extent, thus giving support to the mattress at
the middle of its width.
A ratchet and pawl are arranged to secure the shaft when the drum is wound up
to tighten the rope, which is again slackened, when required, by disengaging the
clutch.
By preference a tension spring is inserted at some point in the rope or cord, so
as to give a certain amount of elasticity, and avoid too great rigidity in the
mattress support.
In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated a suspension mattress with my
invention applied thereto.
Fig. 1 is a side view, and Fig. 2 a plan.
The mattress may be of any of the approved forms, having a wooden or other
suitable frame, with a flexible material, such as woven wire or canvas, stretched
thereon.
In the mattress selected for illustration, the flexible material is canvas attached
by coiled tension springs to the frame, at the head and foot of the bed.
A is the supporting wire or cord, passing longitudinally beneath the centre of the
suspended mattress, and attached at one end to the foot of the bed frame B, in any
suitable manner. The other end of the cord A is attached to a pulley c, keyed on
a transverse rod C, mounted in bearings attached to the frame B, at the head of the
bed. D is the lever for turning the rod C and pulley c, and winding up the cord A.
a is a coiled tension spring inserted in the cord A for giving elasticity thereto. d is
a ratchet wheel on the rod C, and d' is a pawl engaging with the ratchet, to prevent
backward rotation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
The employment, as hereinbefore described and illustrated, in connection with
suspension mattresses, of a supporting cord passing longitudinally thereunder, at
about the middle of the width, the said cord being capable of receiving tension in
the manner explained, to support the middle of the bed, for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 9th day of November 1893.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.