IMPROVEMENTS IN TABLES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Vaile, of Basinghall Street, in the City o
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TABLES."
Sealed the 29th May 1868, and dated the 3rd December 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Vaile at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd December 1867.
T, SAMUEL VAILE, of Basinghall Street, in the City of London, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TABLES," to be
as follows:-
The chief object of my Invention is to construct dining or other ordinary
tables in such manner that they may readily be converted into billiard,
bagatelle, or other game tables. For this purpose I construct the underside
of the top of the table or part thereof in the form of the top of a billiard or
game table, and I fit this top upon pivots or otherwise in order that it may
[Price 8d.]

page_text: be reversed when required. One of the side rails of the table is free to slide
out and in, and when it is required to convert the dining table into a game
table this rail is moved out, the top turned over on its pivots, and the sliding
rail moved in over the side of the table so as to hold it down, the opposite
side of the table being held down by the fixed rail at the other side; or other
means may be adopted for securing the top.
My Invention of the sliding rail and pivoted or reversible table top may
be applied to other purposes; for instance, a portfolio or other article may be
secured to the underside of the table top. and the top reversed when
required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Vaile in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
June 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. SAMUEL
VAILE, of Basinghall Street, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did for Herself. Her heirs and successors. give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Vaile, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Vaile.
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I. the said
Samuel Vaile, my 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TABLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Samuel Vaile, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my. 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 Oflice within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE. that I, the said Samuel Vaile, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
The chief object of my Invention is to construct dining or other ordinary
tables in such manner that they may readily be converted into billiard,
bagatelle, or other game tables. For this purpose I construct the underside
of the top of the table or part thereof in the form of the top of a billiard or
game table, and I fit this top upon pivots or otherwise in order that it may
he reversed when required. One of the side rails of the table is free to slide
out and in, and when it is required to convert the dining table into a game
table this rail is moved out, the top turned over on its pivots, and the sliding
rail moved in over the side of the table so as to hold it down, the opposite
side of the table being held down by the fixed rail at the other side; or other
means may be adopted for securing the top.
My Invention will be fully understood by the accompanying Drawings,
which represent a combined dining and billiard table.
Figure is a top view, and Figure 2 a side elevation of the table as
a dining table; Figure 3 is a top view with the top reversed to bring
the billiard table into position for play; Figure 4 is a central longitudinal
section of the table as a dining table; and Figure 5 a similar section as a
billiard table: Figure 6 is an end view of the table as it appears when being
furned over or reversed; Figure 7 is a cross section of the table as a dining
fable.
a, a, are the two fixed end rails of the table, and b, c, the two side rails:
the rail is fixed, but the rail is free to slide as hereafter explained. The
dining-table top is composed of three (or it may be composed of more than
three) pieces or leaves d. d. e; the two end leaves d, d, are narrow and fixed
to the end rails a, a, or they may be made to slide when an extending table
is required, while the middle part e is free to be turned over as hereafter
explained., is the frame of the billiard table screwed to the underside
of the leaf e of the dining table; g, g, are the cushions of the billiard table:
is the slate or other bed of the billiard table; i is a strong bar carried
longitudinally through the frame of the billiard table and fixed at its
extremities in bearings . . which are screwed down to the end rails of the
table: 1, are -shaped castings or brackets by which the dining and
billiard table tops are suspended in and revolve on the bar i; m, m, are
grooved or slotted guides screwed to the end rails a, a; n, n. are bars on the
sliding rail 'c, and free to slide in the guides m, m.

page_text: The action is as follows:-Suppose it is desired to convert the dining table
into a billiard table the sliding rail c is first drawn out, as shown in Figure 6
and in dotted lines in Figure 3. The two tops are then turned over on the
bar as a centre until the under part of the dining-table top e comes under
the fixed side rail b; the sliding rail c is then moved in so as to come over the
opposite side of the top e and hold it down. The table is now in position as
à billiard table. To change it again into a dining table the same movements
iake place. In some cases I construct the table so that only a portion of the
side rail is free to slide out. I thus avoid any weakness which might exist
when the whole of the rail is moveable. This modification is represented in
Figures 8 and 9. c is the fixed portion, and c' the sliding portion of the rail:
b is the other side rail, which is a fixture as before. 1 connect a part o of the
dining-table top to the sliding portion c¹, and a corresponding part p to the fixed
rail at the opposite side; these parts o and p do not therefore turn over. In
Figure 8 the parts c' and o are shown as moved out, and in Figure 9 as
returned to position. When the table top to be turned is so wide that half the
width is greater than the height of the centre of the bar i on which it turns,
that is to say. so wide that it could not turn over on this bar because of
coming in contact with the floor, 1 adopt an arrangement for moving the bar i
out of the centre line of the table, so that the narrow part of the table being
downwards in turning the floor is cleared; the bar is then moved back to
the centre and the table secured by the sliding rail. This arrangement will
be understood by Figures 10, 11, and 12. Figure 10 is a top view of the
bar it carries at each end a bar q, represented in side view in Figure 11.
Figure 12 is a top view of a bearing secured to the end rails of the table.
The bars are received in these bearings, and are free to slide therein so as to
move the bar out of the centre line of the table. The bars q are provided
with rollers to facilitate their movement in the bearings.
My Invention of the sliding rail combined with the pivoted table top may
be applied to other purposes; for instance, a portfolio or other article may be
secured to the under side of the table top, and the top turned over when
required.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First. The general arrangement or combination of parts of tables, sub-
stantially as herein-before described and represented in the accompanying
Drawings, whereby a dining or ordinary table can be converted into a game
table, and vice versa, or whereby the table top or a portion of the table top

page_text: can be reversed in order that the underside thereof can be made use of, as
herein-before explained.
Second. Constructing tables in which one of the rails or a portion of one
of the rails can be moved out and in, substantially as and for the purpose
herein-before described and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, he said Samuel Vaile, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of June One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-eight
S. VAILE. (L.S.)