Improvements in Ships' and other Berths, Cots, and Bedsteads.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left. 26th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 1st Nov., 1800
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' and other Berths, Cots, and Bedsteads.
I THOMAS KENDRICK of Summer Lane Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My improvements have reference principally to the lee rails or side rails of ships'
and other berths but are also applicable to the side rails of cots and bedsteads and the
objects of the said improvements are to facilitate the raising and fixing and lowering
and folding of the said side rails and also the ready change of position of the said
rail so as to convert at pleasure the head end of the berth into the foot end and the
reverse.
I will describe my invention in connection with a ship's berth.
To the angle iron to which the lee or side rail is attached I affix two knuckles one
near the head end of the angle iron and the other near its middle. Each of these
knuckles is divided into two portions somewhat resembling the knuckles of a door
hinge and a knuckle on the bottom of the said rail engages between the said two
knuckles. A pin passing through these knuckles forms a hinge joint on which the
side rail can turn. When the bed has to be made the rail is turned down on its joint
into a vertical position. When the berth is not in use and the sacking has to be
raised into a vertical position the side is folded flat upon the sacking before the latter
is raised. When the berth is in use the side rail requires to be raised on its joint into
a vertical plane and fixed in that position. This is effected in the following way. The
middle knuckle of the joint, that is the knuckle carried by the bottom of the side rail,
is of less diameter than the divided knuckle fixed on the angle iron and one part of
the said divided knuckle is hollow so that the middle knuckle can by sliding
joint pin enter into and be withdrawn from the hollow part of the said divided knuckle.
The side rail is thus made capable of a slight sliding motion in addition to the on its
joint. I avail myself of this slight sliding motion to effect the fixing of the side rail
in its upright position. The hollow in the fixed knuckle into which the knuckle of
the rail passes has at top a slot, into which when the rail is slid in the direction of the
head of the berth the neck of the knuckle of the rail passes and supports the rail in
its upright position.
on the
In order however to fix the side rail firmly in its vertical position I employ a
fastening consisting of a conical termination on the top of the side rail. This
cone when the side rail is raised into its vertical position takes into a socket either
on the head of the pillar or on the partition of the cabin or bulkhead. By turning
down a hinged catch carried by the said socket the said cone may be prevented from
passing out of the said socket and the side rail be thereby firmly locked in position.
In order to convert either end of the berth into the head end I employ the following
arrangement of parts. I fix a rod immediately above the angle bar the said rod
extending the whole length of the berth. At the middle of the angle bar I fix a lug
through which the said rod passes. Each end of this lug is conical and has a rib at
top and bottom. The lee or sliding rail terminates at each of its bottom angles in a
socket through which the rod passes. The inner side of each socket has the figure of
a hollow cone of a size and shape fitting it to pass on to the solid cone of the middle
lug. The said hollow cone has slots in which the ribs on the solid cone engage
fix the rail in its vertical position. Instead of the conical parts described and in con-
junction with ribs and slots the said conical parts may be replaced by pyramidal parts
in which case the ribs may be dispensed with. At each end of the rod on which the
rail slides is a collar capable of turning on the said rod. The inner side of this collar
has a recess into which when the rail is pushed home the outer end of the socket of
the rail passes. A pin or projection in the said recess takes into an inclined or screw
and

page_text: like groove on the socket and on turning the said collar the said pin engages in the
said groove and fixes the rail into the position in which it has been brought. The
said collar may have a handle or thumb plate by which to turn it. The application
of my invention to berths other than ships' berths as well as its application to cots and
bedsteads differs in no essential respect from its application to a ship's berth as
hereinbefore described.
· Dated the 14th day of January 1890.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ships' and other Berths, Cots, and Bedsteads.
I THOMAS KENDRICK of Summer Lane Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My improvements have reference principally to the lee rails or side rails of ships'
and other berths but are also applicable to the side rails of cots and bedsteads and the
objects of the said improvements are to facilitate the raising and fixing and lowering
and folding of the said side rails and also the ready change of position of the said rails
so as to convert at pleasure the head end of the berth into the foot end and the
reverse.
I will describe my invention in connection with a ship's berth.
To the angle iron to which the lee or side rail is attached I affix two knuckles one
near the head end of the angle iron and the other near its middle. Each of these
knuckles is divided into two portions somewhat resembling the knuckles of a door
hinge and a knuckle on the bottom of the side rail engages between the said two
knuckles. A pin passing through these knuckles forms a hinge joint on which the
side rail can turn. When the bed has to be made the rail is turned down on its
joint into a vertical position. When the berth is not in use and the sacking has to be
raised into a vertical position the side is folded flat upon the sacking before the latter
is raised. When the berth is in use the side rail requires to be raised on its joint into
a vertical plane and fixed in that position. This is effected in the following way. The
middle knuckle of the joint, that is, the knuckle carried by the bottom of the side rail
is of less diameter than the divided knuckle fixed on the angle iron and one part of
the said divided knuckle is hollow so that the middle knuckle can by sliding
on the
joint pin enter into and be withdrawn from the hollow part of the said divided knuckle.
The side rail is thus made capable of a slight sliding motion in addition to the motion
on its joint. I avail myself of this slight sliding motion to effect the fixing of the
side rail in its upright position. The hollow in the fixed knuckle into which the
knuckle of the rail passes has at top a slot into which when the rail is slid in
the direction of the head of the berth the neck of the knuckle of the rail passes and
supports the rail in its upright position. In order however to fix the side rail firmly
in its vertical position I employ a fastening consisting of a conical termination on the
top of the side rail. This cone when the side rail is raised into its vertical position
takes into a socket either on the head of the pillar or on the partition of the cabin or
bulkhead. By turning down a hinged catch carried by the said socket the said cone
may be prevented from passing out of the said socket and the side rail be thereby
firmly locked in position.
In order to convert either end of the berth into the head end I employ the following
arrangement of parts. I fix a rod immediately above the angle bar the said rod
extending the whole length of the berth. At the middle of the angle bar I fix a lug
through which the said rod passes. Each end of this lug is conical and has a rib at
top and bottom. The lee or sliding rail terminates at each of its bottom angles in a
socket through which the rod passes. The inner side of each socket has the figure of
a hollow cone of a size and shape fitting it to pass onto the solid cone of the middle

page_text: Ing. The said hollow cone has slots in which the ribs on the solid cone engage and
fix the rail in its vertical position. Instead of the conical parts described used in
conjunction with ribs and slots the said conical parts may be replaced by pyramidal
parts in which case the ribs may be dispensed with. At each end of the rod on which
the rail slides is a collar capable of turning on the said rod. The inner side of this
collar has a recess into which when the rail is pushed home the outer end of the
socket of the rail passes. A pin or projection in the said recess takes into an inclined
or screw like groove on the socket and on turning the said collar the said pin
engages in the said groove and fixes the rail in the position in which it has been
brought.
The said collar may have a handle or thumb plate by which to turn it.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in perspective a portion of a ship's berth to which a lee
rail or side rail jointed according to my invention is applied the said rail being
represented in its raised upright and fastened position for use;
Figure 2 represents the same with the lee rail turned down onto the sacking and
Figure 3 represents the lee rail turned down into a vertical position for making
the bed.
Figure 3 represents in longitudinal section and cross section one of the pairs of
knuckles on the sacking frame and one of the knuckles on the lee rail drawn to a larger
scale.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 3ª.
C
a is the side angle bar of the berth frame to which bar a the lee or side rail bis
attached; cccc2 are two pairs of knuckles secured to the angle iron or bar a to
which knuckles the lee rail is jointed. One of the pairs of knuckles c, c² is situated
near the head end of the berth and the other pair near the middle of the berth. Each
end of the lee rail b carries a knuckle d at its bottom. These rail knuckles d, d.
engage respectively between the pairs of knuckles c c²; c c² (see Figures 2 and 3) on
the angle bar a of the berth when the lee rail is to be lowered or turned down. By
means of the pins e e passed through the three engaged knuckles c c² d; c²d binge
joints are formed on which the lee rail b can turn. It will be seen by an examination
of the enlarged view Figure 3 that the part c of each pair of knuckles ce² is hollow
and is slotted at top and that each of the knuckles d on the lee rail b is of less
diameter than the said hollow knuckles c so that the rail knuckles d d can by a
sliding motion on their joint pins e pass into the hollow knuckles c or pass into the
openings between each pair of knuckles c c.
C
When the lee rail knuckles d, d are situated within the hollow knuckles c, c the
said lee rail is supported in the upright position Figure 1 by the necks of the said rail
knuckles lying in the slots in the said hollow knuckles and the lee rail is incapable of
turning on its hinge joints.
By sliding the lee rail 6 towards the foot end of the berth its knuckles d, d
sliding on the joint pins e, e are withdrawn from the hollow knuckles c, c and
brought into the openings between the pairs of knuckles e c²; c c² as represented
in Figures 2 and 3. The lee rail b is now unsupported and can be turned down
upon its joint pins e, e either onto the sacking as represented in Figure 2 or
turned down vertically below the sacking frame for making the bed as illustrated
in Figure 3. The fastening for fixing the lee or side rail in the vertical position
Figure 1 consists of a socket fixed on the partition g of the cabin or bulkhead
or on the head of the pillar of the berth when a pillar is employed. This socket f
carries a hinged catch of the construction seen in the enlarged view Figure 10.
The top of the head end of the lee rail 6 has a slotted conical termination i as best
seen in Figure for the hinged catch h to take into. When the lee rail 6 has been
turned on its hinges and lifted into the position represented in Figure 1 and its
knuckles d d engaged by a sliding motion with the hollow knuckles c c on the
sacking frame the conical end i of the said lee rail is at the same time engaged

page_text: with the fixed socket f. By now turning down the hinged catch h from the dotte:l
line position to the full line position represented in Figure 10 the said catch engages
with the slot in the conical end i and the lee rail is thereby firmly locked in its
upright position. The unlocking of the lee rail b is effected by lifting the hinged
catch into the dotted position Figure 10 when the knuckles of the lee rail may by a
sliding motion be removed from the hollow knuckles on the sacking frame and the
turning down of the lee rail effected as hereinbefore described.
Figure 4 represents in perspective a ship's berth to which my arrangement for
converting either end of the berth into the head end by means of the sliding lee rai!
and adjuncts is applied; Figures 5 and 6 represent in side elevation parts of the same
drawn to a larger scale
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
k is the fixed rod above the angle har a of the sacking frame the said rod k
extending the whole length of the berth as represented: 11 is the double ended lug
at the middle of the berth, each end of the lug having a pyramidal figure (see the end
elevation of Figure 5). The fixed rod k passes through the lug 2 m is the lee rail
of the berth capable of a sliding motion on the fixed rod k. Each bottom angle of
the lee rail carries a socket marked respectively n, n2 through which the fixed rod k
passes. It will be seen by an examination of Figure 5 that the bore or interior of the
sockets n n² has a figure corresponding with the pyramidal end of the lug 1, 12 so
that either socket can by a sliding motion be passed onto the said pyramidal end of
the lug opposite which it is situated.
.
When it is wished to make the right hand end of the berth the head end the lee
rail m is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 4 so as to cause its
socket n to pass upon the pyramidal end of the lug.
When it is wished to make the left hand end of the berth the head end the lee
rail m is moved in the opposite direction to that indicated by 'the arrow so as to cause
its socket n² to engage upon the pyramidal end 12 of the lug. The lee rail m is fixed
in either position by means of a collar pp2 at either end of the fixed rod k the said
collars being capable of a partial rotation on the said rod by means of handles q, q.
The interior of each collar p and p² carries a pin or stud r and the back of each
socket is provided with an inclined or screw like grooves (see Figure 5). When the
lee rail m has been moved to either end of the rod k the back end of one or other of
the sockets n or n² enters one or other of the collars p or p² so as to bring the pin or
stud in the collar opposite the inclined groove s at the back of the socket. By then
turning down the handle g the socket is partly rotated and its stud made to engage
with the grooves and thereby fix the lee rail in the position in which it has been
brought.
Instead of the pyramidal shaped ends 1, 12 of the lug the said ends may be
replaced by cones as hereinbefore described and in place of the pyramidal ended
or cone ended lug the arrangement represented in perspective in Figure
employed.
may
be
Figures 8, 9 and 10 represent parts of the same drawn to a larger scale.
In this modified arrangement the sockets on the lee rail are replaced by the
clutches t, t (one of which is shown separately, in Figure 9) to engage with a fixed
clutch stopu (shown separately in Figure 8) at the middle of the sacking frame a.
When the lee rail m is moved in either direction one of its clutches t interlocks with
the fixed clutch stop u. The lee rail in taking the changed position causes the slotted
conical end w of one of the clutches t to take into one of the sockets f and by then
turning down the hinged drop catch represented separately in Figure 10 it takes
into the slot in the said conical end w and locks the lee rail in its adjusted position.
By causing the clutch stop u to project over the sacking frame a as seen in Figure 8
the lee rail m can be turned down vertically.
The application of my invention to berths other than ships' berths as well as its
application to cots and bedsteads differs in no essential respect from its application to a
ship's berth as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim
as my invention of "Improvements in Ship's and other Berths, Cots and Bed-
steads
"
--
First The arrangement or combination of the parts hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Fignres 1, 2, 3, and 3ª of the accompanying drawings for jointing the
lee rails of berths and the side rails of cots and bedsteads to the sacking frames of the
same for permitting of the raising lowering and folding of the said lee or side rails;
that is to say, the combination of the divided pairs of knuckles c c² on the sacking
frame with the knuckles d, d on the lee or side rail the latter knuckles being capable
of sliding into and out of the hollow knuckles of the pairs of divided knuckles for the
purposes and substantially as described and illustrated; also the arrangement of the
parts of the fastening described and illustrate for locking the lee or side rail in its
upright or normal position for use.
Secondly-The arrangement or combination of parts hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings for converting either
end of the berth cot or bedstead into the head end; that is to say, the combination
with the sliding lee or side rail of the berth cot or bedstead of the sockets n n² and
the middle lug 12 (or the modified lug described) on the sacking frame for the
purposes herein before described, together with the combination of parts p p² r and s
for fastening the rail at either end of the sacking frame; also the modified parts
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 for the same
purposes.
Dad the 05th day of Santember 1890