Improvements in or relating to Folding or Collapsible Bedsteads.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd June, 1898-Accepted, 6th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Folding or Collapsible Bedsteads.
I, JOHN RUSSELL, of Heworth, near York, in the County of York, Machinist,
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 follow-
ing statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in or relating to folding or collapsible
bedsteads which are particularly applicable for hospital purposes.
Its object is to avoid removing the bolts and clips that are usually employed
for stretching a spring mattress on, say, an iron bedstead; and to save time by
providing simple, ready, and effective means for enabling the bedstead to be easily
folded when it is required to be removed from one room or ward to another, and
the spring mattress readily secured in position.
In the drawings hereunto annexed:-
:―
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 an end elevation, and Fig. 3 a plan looking
at the top of a bedstead constructed according to this invention.
Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively a side elevation, end elevation, and plan looking
at the top of the female portion of the corner block, drawn to a larger scale than
Figs. 1 to 3. Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are respectively a side elevation, elevations of
opposite ends, and a plan looking at the top of the male portion of the corner block,
drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1 to 3.
Fig. 11 is a side elevation, Fig. 12 an end elevation, and Fig. 13 a plan looking
at the top of a bedstead constructed according to this invention but with a modified
corner fixing or retaining piece.
Figs. 14 and 15 are an enlarged sectional elevation and plan looking at the
top of the modified corner piece.
Figs. 16 and 17 are an enlarged elevation and plan of clip employed for retaining
the spring mattress in position.
Figs. 18 and 19 are an enlarged elevation and plan of clip.
Like parts in all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.
According to this invention the bedstead may be constructed of any suitable
material, such as say for example, of iron, arranged in a somewhat similar manner
to the iron bedsteads with spring mattresses.
A is the head piece or rail, B the foot piece or rail, C C¹ the end rails respectively
arranged in front of the head and foot pieces; and D the woven spring mattress,
all of which may be of the usual and ordinary construction.
But instead of making the dovetails E E of the corner blocks F (which are
usually made in two portions, namely a male portion E and a female portion E
to fit each other, and cast respectively on or otherwise secured to the pillars A¹ B¹
and side and end rails of the bedstead) with their smallest portions at the lowest
part of the block, I reverse their position and arrange the smallest part e of both
the male and female portions to be at the top as shown at Figs. 4 to 10. By this
means, when the mattress D is stretched, it is not so liable to spring out of posi-
tion as when the dovetails are arranged in the ordinary way.

page_text: On the underside of each of the female portions E¹ of the corner blocks, say,
which are fixed on or attached to the pillars of the head and foot rails is arranged
a plate G which is held in position, either by lugs y cast or otherwise fixed on
or to the corner block, or by lugs and a set screw or rivet gl. The bottom plates
may be arranged either to slide in or out of position or turn on the set screw or
rivet and to extend over the dovetail recess formed in the female portion E¹ of the
corner block, to which they are attached, for holding the male dovetail portion
in position. Or the male portion E may be made of less depth than the female
portion E to permit of the pins and lever I,-shown at and hereafter fully
described with reference to Figs. 11 to 13,-being employed in place of the
plate G, in which case the pins E2 would pass underneath the male portion E and
be operated simultaneously by the lever I.
Similar plates to G may also be provided on the side of the corner block F, if
desired, for preventing undue lateral strain.
The male portions E of the dovetail, (which fits into the recesses forming the
female portion E¹ of the corner block) or vice versa, may be cast, fixed, or other-
wise formed on or attached to the side bars H which are arranged to cross each
other in say X form, and to be jointed or pivoted together at the point of inter-
section, say at h. The side bars H may also be jointed or pivoted at h¹ to the
lower ends of the pillars A¹ B' of bedstead.
The spring mattress D may be secured by rivets or other suitable means to the
underside of top plates C C¹ fixed to, say, the male portions of the dovetails, and
these top rails may be arranged to take the place of the end rails and stretchers
usually employed.
Side and end rails may be used in addition to the top rails if so desired but
they are not shown in the drawings.
At Figs. 11 to 13 instead of making the male and female portions of the corner
pieces in the ordinary dovetail form as shown at Figs. 4 to 10, I arrange the
corner pieces F which are fixed on or attached to the pillars A¹ B¹ to be shaped
as shown at Fig. 14, and the downwardly projecting piece El which forms a hook
to take the place of the conical shaped wall of the recess in the female portion
shown at Figs. 4 to 6. In this arrangement an angle bar C or C³ extending nearly
the full width of the bed takes the place of the male portion E, shown at Figs. 7
and 10, and its ends are made to pass under and be retained in position by the
downwardly projecting piece E¹ against which the inner edge of the angle bar
abuts as shown at Fig. 14. The upper ends of the side bars H, which are pivoted
on rod H', may in this arrangement be bent or turned at or about a right angle
and rivetted to the angle bars C or C¹ as shown at h Fig. 15. In order to prevent
the angle bar C or C₁ from working out of the horizontal position after its ends
have been placed in engagement with the downwardly projecting piece E', pins ³,
which pass through the side bars H at each corner piece F (see Figs. 14 and 15),
are made to enter holes or recesses f in the corner pieces.
The pins E2 respectively at the head and foot rails are operated by the hand
lever I pivotted to the rail C or C³. The inner ends of the pins E2 being prolonged
and jointed to the said lever at points respectively above and below its fulcrum
as shown at Fig. 12. By this means whenever the hand portion of lever I is
moved in the direction of arrow 1 the pins E2 will be withdrawn from the recesses f
to permit of the bedstead being folded up. But when the handle portion of lever I
is moved in the direction of arrow 2 the pins E2 will be moved so as to project
into the recesses f; thus providing a quick and ready means for securely fixing
in position, and as quickly and readily unfastening it for folding up.
The wire mattress or webbing D, which is of the usual and ordinary construction,
may be rivetted to the rail C at the head A between the top of the rail and a
clamping piece C2, or if desired the clamping piece may be dispensed with.
But at the foot B of the bedstead I prefer to use the following arrangement,
namely the end of the wire webbing or mesh D which forms the spring mattress
is rivetted or otherwise secured between the clamping pieces C2 C3 (see Figs. 16)

page_text: after which the pieces C2 C3 with the webbing between them is turned under the
webbing D. The webbing is then ready for being stretched in position and
secured in position to the foot rail C₁ by either of the clips J shown at Figs. 16 to 18.
The clip shown at Figs. 16 and 17 being for use with an angle bar, and the clip,
shown at Figs. 18 and 19 being for use with a flat bar. One end j of clip fits on
to the plates C2 C3 which are used to enclose the wire mesh D, the other end j¹ is
made to hook on to the lower portion of an angle bar or onto a flat bar which
serves as the end rail. To fix it in position the wire mesh D is opened out a little
during the rivetting of the plates CC together, just wide enough to allow the
clip to be forced between the mesh. The act of stretching the wire mesh tends
to close the gap thus made, and when the clip J is hollowed out at the sides as
shown at Fig. 18, it aids in preventing the wriggling out of position when not in
use.
By this means a ready and simple method is provided for tightening the wire
mesh or webbing D whenever it becomes slack. This is accomplished by simply
folding the mesh D round the plates CC thereby taking up its length and re-
attaching to the end rail C¹ by the clip J as described. Thus dispensing with the
usual winding and other bolts together with their winding keys, and washers,
and at the sametime enabling the frame to be held in position and the wire
webbing or mesh to be stretched simply by hooking on the clips J and then
pressing down the corners of the framework until the dovetails or their equivalents
are engaged in position.
In order to prevent the head A and foot B from falling further back than is
necessary during the hooking of the wire mesh D to the foot rail C₁ I provide
the studs K which may be fixed to, or be placed in position on the outside of the
side rails H of the folding frames at or about, say, an inch from the pillars A¹ B'₁
when the latter are in an upright position. By this means the head and foot can
fall back to, say, an angle of about seventy degrees thus leaving the hands free
to hook on the wire mesh D.
Or, as an alternative, a short pin or stud could be cast in the boss a or b which
forms the foot or base of the head and foot pillars so as to engage with the under
or lower edge of the side rails.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The improvements in folding and collapsible bedsteads consisting in making.
the dovetails of the corner blocks with their smallest portions at the top of the
block and retaining them in position by a plate attached to or fixed to the under-
side of said blocks, substantially as set forth and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In folding or collapsible bedsteads the combination of the head and foot B
which are retained at a predetermined distance apart by side rails H arranged
to intersect each other in an angular direction and to be jointed at their lower
ends to the pillars of the said head and foot, and to be armed at their upper ends
with the male portions of the corner piece adapted to fit into a female portion fixed
on said pillar and a spring mattress fixed to transverse rails at the head and foot
of the bedstead, all arranged and constructed substantially as herein described
and illustrated with reference to Figs. 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.
folding or collapsible bedstead the combination of head and foot pieces
kept at predetermined distances apart by side rails crossing each other and pivot-
ably connected at their centres, said side rails being jointed at their lower ends
to the pillars of the head and foot pieces, and fastened at their upper ends to
transverse rails arranged to pass under hooked projections formed on the corner
pieces fixed to said pillars, pins and their actuating levers for fixing the said rails
to the corner pieces, stops for preventing the head and foot pieces falling out of
3. In a

page_text: position during the fixing operation, and a spring mattress fixed to the head rail
and tautly connected to the foot rail by clips arranged at their ends to pass over
clamping plates in which the end of wire webbing or mesh is secured, all arranged
and constructed substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference
to Figs. 11 to 19 of the accompanying drawings.
1 1
1000