IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING MATTRESSES AND IN IRON BEDSTEADS USED IN CONJUNCTION THEREWITH
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION,
We GEORGE LAMB SCOTT of Manchester in the County of Lancaster, Engineer
and ISAAC CHORLTON of 19 Blackfriars Street, Manchester aforesaid Spring
mattress manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING MATTRESSES AND IN IRON BEDSTEADS USED IN
CONJUNCTION THEREWITH "to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the mounting and supporting of metallic spring or
woven wire mattresses and has for its principal objects to dispense with the
ordinary wooden frames, to provide for the straining of the mattress without
distorting the framing of the bedstead, and to simplify the construction of the
latter. According to our invention we so construct the mattresses as that they
shall be self contained so that they can be stretched or extended before being
applied to the bedstead frame. In the ordinary construction of metallic bed-
steads corner brackets project from the posts and the rails are connected therewith
by means of dovetail joints the ends of the members composing the spring.
mattress being attached to the rails when applied directly to the frame work of the
bedstead. According to our improvements when constructing a bedstead specially,
adapted to receive our mattress and frame we dispense with the dovetail joints and,
mount four standards on the aforesaid corner brackets which are extended so as to
furnish sufficient support to the standards. To render these standards more secure
we prefer to form the base of each standard with a side flange and also with
tongues or strips which enter corresponding grooves or slots in the corner bracket :
a bolt or bolts securing the parts together. The two standards at each end of the
bed are connected together by means of a cross bar or tubular or hollow stay or
rail having its ends attached to the tops of the standards in any suitable manner
but we prefer to provide a box recess at the top of the standards into which the
ends of the cross stay are passed and in which they are held by set screws so as to
provide for a certain amount of adjustment. To keep the two standards at each
side at any required distance apart we employ a tubular or hollow stay which
enters sockets in the standards. To prevent the said stay from buckling under the
strain of the mattress we apply a straining or tie rod beneath the stay a strut-or
struts being interposed beneath the stay and the rod The ends of the straining
sod are passed through the standards and are drawn and held tight by means of

page_text: lock-nuts. A similar straining rod may also be applied to the end rails herein
before referred to if desired We may use solid rods or flat or sectional bars instead
of the hollow stays and may use more than one stay to connect the standards.
The mattress is secured to and stretched between the said end rails the standards
and connecting parts thus sustaining the entire strain of the mattress. By this
construction we not only relieve the bedstead proper from the strains of the
mattress but we are also enabled to dispense with the usual side rails and so to
effect a considerable economy in manufacture. When it is desired to apply the
herein before described mattress and frame to existing bedsteads we provide the
standards with dovetails to fit the existing dovetail brackets. We prefer however
when applying such dovetail joints to reverse the ordinary disposition of the parts
and to place the enlarged portion of the conical dovetail beneath instead of above
and in order to obtain means for making a better fit of the parts we may provide
the male portions of such dovetail joints with fitting strips either cast on or after-
wards applied. In the case of existing bedsteads where the dovetail joints are not
available or are not required we provide each of the said standards with a flat base
which rests upon the brackets or side rails of the bedstead frame a clip being
applied to prevent sidewise movement. Our improved mattress and frame is also
applicable to ship's berths.
We GEORGE LAMB SCOTT of Manchester in the County of Lancaster Engineer
and ISAAC CHORLTON of 19 Blackfriars Street Manchester aforesaid Spring Mattress 1
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SPRING MATTRESSES AND IN IRON BEDSTEADS USED IN CONJUNCTION
THEREWITH" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying
drawings:-
-Our Invention relates to the mounting and supporting of metallic spring or
woven wire mattresses and has for its principal objects to dispense with the
ordinary wooden frames, to provide for the straining of the mattress without
disturbing the framing of the bedstead and to simplify the construction of the
latter. According to our invention we so construct the mattresses as that they
shall be self contained so that they can be stretched or extended before being
applied to the bedstead frame. In the ordinary construction of metallic bedsteads
corner brackets project from the posts- and the rails are connected therewith by
means of dovetail joints the ends of the members composing the spring mattress
being attached to the rails when applied directly to the frame work of the
bedstead.
According to our improvements we mount four standards on the aforesaid corner
brackets. The two standards at each end of the bed are connected together by
means of a cross bar or tubular or hollow stay or rail having its ends attached to

page_text: the tops of the standards in any suitable manner. To keep the two standards at
each side at any required distance apart. we employ a tubular or hollow stay which
enters sockets in the standards. To prevent the said stay from buckling under the
strain of the mattress we apply a straining or tie rod beneath the stay. The
mattress is secured to and stretched between the said end. rails the standards and
connecting parts thus sustaining the entire strain of the mattress By this
construction we not only relieve the bedstead proper from the strain of the mattress
but we are also enabled to dispense with the usual side rails and so to effect a
considerable economy in manufacture.
Reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings will render the description of
our invention more clear. In the said drawings Fig: 1 is an end view Fig: 2 a
side view and Fig: 3 a plan of a mattress constructed in accordance with our
invention. In the said Figs: a is the mattress proper consisting of a fabric of
woven wire indicated by dotted lines; b. b. are the aforesaid standards and c. c. are
the corner brackets which are cast formed or fixed upon the posts or end frames of
the ordinary metallic bedstead one of these posts being partly represented at d. In
the example the standards are formed with "dovetail" projections which are shaped
to fit in the ordinary dovetail sockets and are cast with bolts for further security
but the method of attachment of the standards may be varied and in the cases of
bedsteads specially constructed we may in some cases extend the corner brackets
so as to furnish a large base to receive the two standards. To render these
standards more secure we may in some cases form the foot of each standard with a
side flange or with side flanges and with tongues or strips which enter corresponding
grooves or slots in the base on the corner bracket as shown at Fig: 6 which is a
plan view of a base cast or formed on the bedstead post d. The tops of the two
standards b¹ are connected together by means of a cross rail e. which is bolted to
the standards in such a manner as that their distance apart can be regulated by
turning a right and left hand nut f. upon a rod or tube f¹. which also connects
together the two standards or by other suitable means. The tops of the
standards b. are provided with slides or ways in which nuts travel and to the upper
ends of these nuts is secured the cross rail el. The wire fabric constituting the
mattress is attached by both ends to the two cross rails e, e¹. Screws g. are mounted
within the slides in the upper ends of the standards b. By turning these screws by
means of a key the rail e. can be caused to recede from the rail e. whereby the
mattress can be tightened to any required extent. To resist the strain caused by
this tightening and also to connect together the two sets of standards and the end
frames of the bedstead, tubular struts h. and tie rods i are employed. The ends of
the struts h. on each side of the mattress enter cavities in the standards or are
screwed or secured therein The ends of the rods pass through brackets projecting
from the lower parts of the standards and are secured by means of nuts which are
tightened up so that the tie rod takes the strain and prevents the bending of the
strut h. If thought desirable a support or strut may be introduced between the
struth and the tie-rod . It will be seen that the strain when the wire mattress is
tightened is contained within the mattress frame so that the posts or end frames
of the bedstead are not bent or disturbed. We do not confine ourselves to the
forms of the standards nor to the means for tightening the mattress nor to the use
of tube in the making of, the struts h as angle, tee, channel or other suitable
section of iron or steel might be employed in lieu of the tubular form.
Figs: 4 and 5 illustrate a modification adapted more particularly for application
to an ordinary or to a complete bedstead provided with side rails as is usual. One
of the said side rails is represented by k. in Fig: 4. and both appear in section in
Fig: 5. Resting partly upon the corner brackets c. c. and partly upon the side rail
on each side of the bedstead are two blocks or standards b. b. which are connected
in each case by means of a struth and a tie rod i and are provided with cross rails
carrying the mattress proper and in the cases of the blocks b. with tightening
screws as in the example previously described Each block or standard is formed
with downward projecting lips or ribs at l. to prevent, sidewise movement, When

page_text: uniting the hereinbefore described standards b. to the corner brackets by means of
dovetails we may reverse the ordinary disposition of the parts and place the
enlarged portion of the conical dovetail beneath instead of above and in order to
obtain means for making a better fit of the parts we may provide the male portions
of such dovetail joints with fitting strips either cast on or afterwards applied.
: The herein before described improved mattress and frame is also applicable to
ships berths,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:
1. The combination of the metallic, spring or woven wire mattress or fabric with
the other parts to form a complete mattress for application to the head and foot
frames of bedsteads or to complete bedsteads or to ships berths substantially as set
forth and indicated hereinbefore and in and by the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination of the metallic, spring or wire mattress or fabric with the
standards connected longitudinally by means of struts and tie rods and transversely
by means of cross rails to which the ends of the said fabric are secured one or both
of these cross rails being adjustable to effect the tightening of the wire or chain
surface forming the mattress substantially as and for the purpose set forth and
indicated.
3. The mounting or fixing of the complete mattress comprised in the second
claim herein upon the corner brackets of the foot and head frames of a metallic
bedstead so as to dispense with the ordinary side rails.