Improvements in Spring Mattresses, Pillows, Cushions, and the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 22nd Jan., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring Mattresses, Pillows, Cushions, and the like.
I, JAMES ALFRED JARVIS, of 18, Cyrus Street, Percival Street, Goswell Road,
in the County of Middlesex, Mattress Maker, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in spring mattresses, pillows, cushions,
and the like.
In carrying it into effect, I take pieces of wire of steel, or other resilient metal,
and bend them into the shape of a V or W, preferably the latter; forming, in
The
the act of bending, spiral springs at one or more of the angles of the letter.
sides may be of double length, having spirals formed therein at half length, and
hooks and eyes (or equivalent devices) at their extremities.
These spring-sections, made as above described, are connected together by the
hooks and eyes above mentioned, and such additional wires as may be required,
according to the contour of the article to be made; care being taken that the
spring-sections are placed in the direction of the pressure.
Any suitable covering-preferably of wire-netting-may be made use of.
Dated this 27th day of August 1888.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Spring-mattresses, Pillows, Cushions, and the like.
1, JAMES ALFRED JARVIS, of No. 18, Cyrus Street, Percival Street, Goswell Road,
in the County of Middlesex, Mattress Maker, 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:—–
My invention relates to improvements in spring mattresses, pillows, cushions,
and the like.
In carrying it into effect, I take pieces of wire of steel, or other resilient
metal, and bend them into the shape of a V or W, preferably the latter, forming,
in the act of bending, spiral springs at one or more of the angles of the V or W.
The sides may be of double length having spirals or eyes formed therein at half
length, and hooks and eyes, or equivalent devices, at their extremities.
These spring-sections made as above described are connected together by the
hooks and eyes above mentioned, and by such additional wires as may be required,
according to the contour of the article to be made, care being taken that the
spring-sections are placed so that their several resiliencies shall be as exactly as
may be practicable in the respective lines of pressure.
In order that my invention, and the means by which it is to be carried into
practical effect, may be thoroughly understood, I will now describe the same in
detail, referring in so doing to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken
as part of this specification and read therewith.
Fig. 1 is a plan of a short side W spring-section made with one spring and
four eyes.
Fig. 2 is a plan of a long side spring-section made with one spring, two
eyes in the corners, connecting eyes in the sides, and either hooks or eyes at the
ends of the sides.
Fig. 3 is a plan of a corner of a mattress constructed according to my invention.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a wedge-bolster constructed according to my
invention.
Referring to Fig. 1. a is the spiral spring; b, b, the springers; c c the angle-
eyes; d, d, the sides; and ff, the end eyes. In Fig. 2, a is the spiral spring ;
, the springers; c, c', the angle eyes; d, d, the sides; e, e, the side eyes;
and f, f, the end eyes.
An examination of Fig. 3 will illustrate my system of connecting together spring
sections such as those described above, in such a way as to produce a spring-mattress,
but I wish it to be distinctly understood that although the figure illustrates what I
consider to be the best method of making a mattress by the assemblage of spring
sections, I do not confine myself exactly to the method illustrated, but may vary the
same, provided that the mattrass produced shall depend for its structure and resilience
upon the assemblage and mutual connection of spring-sections made as illustrated in
either Figs. 1 or 2, or in both of them.

page_text: The side of the mattress is made of short side spring-sections. The two to the left
are connected by closing the end eyes ff of one, through the end eyes of the other.
The following short side spring sections are connected by closing their end eyes f
through the angle eyes c of the preceding sections.
The end of the mattress is illustrated as being made of long side spring-sections,
the corner section being joined to the adjacent side section by passing the end eyes fi
of the former through the angle eyes c of the latter; and the remaining sections, as
many as may be required, are connected together as described with reference to the
mattress-side.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G are transverse lines of long side spring-sections, those forming
a line being duly joined by their eyes c¹¹. These lines are joined to both sides at
regular intervals, an interval being equal to the length of the side of a short side
section, inasmuch as the mattress side is made up of short side sections, to the end
eyes fof which the transverse lines are connected.
I wish to point out that my reason for using short side sections for the mattress side
is, that it may possess twice as much resilience than if long side sections were used;
and it is to further achieve this result, that the sections of the transverse lines
connected to the mattress-side are connected by their angle eyes c¹ and. not by their
end eyes f¹. The other sections of the said transverse lines are placed alternately so
as to distribute their resiliencies.
The mattress end and the transverse lines are braced by medium size sections H,
arranged preferably diagonally and alternately as shewn in the figure. These medium
sections are necessarily rather longer in the sides than the short side sections
above described.
The mattress-end is further braced to the next transverse line by a second set of
braces 1. These are short side sections arranged alternately. They connect with the
middle and end eyes of the sections of the mattress-end and next transverse line
alternately.
Fig. 4 illustrates the application of my invention to the production of an article
having one of its sides at an angle less or more than a right angle with the adjacent
sides, as, for instance, a wedge bolster. The shape of the spring-sections between the
sloping and a flat side are modified accordingly, and such additional connecting wires
as may be desirable are also used.
The back of the bolster is made of strong long side sections, having corner
springs instead of angle eyes; and parallel with the back, I run a second line of
long side sections down the middle of the bolster. For the purpose of distinguishing
the two, capitals instead of lower case are used for the reference letters of the former.
The corner springs are also introduced into the sections of this second line.
Between the bolster-top and bottom, I arrange a series of short side sections. The
top sides are necessarily longer than the bottom sides, and the angle eyes are
replaced by corner springs c². V wires connect the said spring sections by their
corner springs to the wires h which form the front edge of the bolster.
The front edge wires and the section sides d' are braced together by V wires i;
and single braces j complete the top and bottom of the pillow.
The advantages of my invention, especially when applied to. mattresses, may be
summarized as follows:-
The ordinary wood frames are dispensed with, and the weight of the mattress
consequently diminished one half.
When a mattress constructed according to my invention is lain upon, it will give
only at the points, or along the lines, of pressure, instead of as in the ordinary spring
mattresses over the whole surface.
The mattress is not rigid like the ordinary spring mattresses, and is therefore much
more easily carried from one room to another, or up or down a staircase, without
scrubbing the doors or walls, inasmuch as it can be bent this way or that as may be
required.
I wish to point out that as the use of spring sections, each one more or less a
duplicate of the other and provided with its own connecting devices, I can dispose

page_text: them in such relative positions, that their resiliencies may be fairly distributed, and
the mattress, or whatever it may be, strengthened where extra pressure has to be
borne, by doubling the spiral springs in the sections, or by using shorter sections so
as to double the number of springs.
It has already been pointed out that the spring sections are always so placed that
their resiliencies shall be in the lines of pressure, so that in making a couch-pillow,
the sections will be arranged radially, their connected and adjacent sides forming the
neutral central line thereof.
I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to form springs on wires forming
the supporting parts of mattress-frames for the sake of imparting resilience thereto,
but I wish it to be distinctly understood that I lay no general claim to forming a
helical spring in such a wire but,
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 combination of V- or W-shaped wires, having helical springs and hooks and
eyes formed thereon, with each other, and when necessary with connecting wires,
substantially as the said combination is herein before set forth.
2. The novel system of making mattresses, pillows, wedge bolsters, cushions, and
the like, as herein before set forth.