Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 24th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping
Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
I, ANDREW HENRY BAIRD, of 22 Dutton Street, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My present invention relates to that class of collapsable berths described in the
Specification to Letter Patent granted to me, numbered 20816 and dated
30th November 1891, and the objects are to dispense, as far as possible, with
sliding pieces, to render the berths more readily adaptable to the configuration of
the space in which they are placed and, generally, to simplify the details of
construction and reduce the cost of manufacture.
I will describe my invention as applied to a set of berths on board ship for
steerage passengers.
Each set comprises an upper and a lower tier of berths which are supported by
two parallel ranks of uprights, and opposite bars of the ranks are connected
together by two cross bars from which the bedding is carried.
The articulation of the adjacent bars of each rank whereby they are adapted to
collapse, is as follows;-
Each upright is connected to its neighbour in the rank by means of two pivoted
links, but instead of one of the pivots being made to slide, as described in my prior
Specification referred to, both pivots are fixed to the respective uprights; in order
therefore to allow the uprights to collapse, the alternate uprights only are guided
at the top and bottom, those in between being shorter to allow them and their
connecting cross bars to rise as the links pivot when the berths collapse, and
to fall as the berths are extended. The length of the rising and falling
uprights is such that when the berths are extended they rest on the floor or on
the bottom guide rail.
There may be separate pivots for each link, or the one pivot may serve for
two links, and the pivots are usually attached to the brackets on the uprights
which support the cross bars. The links are preferably made of tubing so that
as they lie horizontally at the same level as the cross bars, when the berths are
extended, they form the head and foot rails.
The cross bars are connected to the brackets on the uprights by double hinge
joints, so that they can pivot to a slight extent either vertically or horizontally,
relatively to the uprights, in order that the berths may be adapted to suit the
contour of the deck, sides, or bulkhead of the ship.
The uprights may be made in the form of tubes, or channel, angle or tee irons
may be used.
In a somewhat simpler arrangement the cross bars instead of being connected to
the brackets on the uprights by double hinged joints, may be connected by a
single hinge joint, the bracket itself being adapted to pivot to a limited .extent
about the upright and form the second hinge for horizontal pivotal motion.
In some cases I prefer to make the rising and falling uprights only just long
enough to carry the pivote of the links, in which case they do not rest on the floor
when the berths are extended but are supported by a locking device on the pivoted
inks.

page_text: Additional head. and foot rails may, of course, be provided, and there may be
more than the two cross bars connecting the uprights.
Dated this 22nd day of May 1895.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26 Castle Street, Liverpoo!,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Collapsable Bedsteads, Sleeping
Berths, and the like, specially applicable to Ships' Berths.
I, ANDREW HENRY BAIRD, of 22 Dutton Street, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, 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 present invention relates to that class of collapsable berths described in the
Specification to Letters Patent granted to me, numbered 20816 and dated
30th November 1891, and the objects are to dispense, as far as possible, with
sliding pieces, to render the berths more readily adaptable to the configuration of
the space in which they are placed and, generally, to simplify the details of
construction and reduce the cost of manufacture.
I will describe my present invention with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Figs. I, II, and III, which are respectively end elevation, side elevation, and
sectional plan on the line A. A., show the general arrangement of a set of twelve
berths, arranged in two tiers, six upper and six lower; of these, four are shown
extended, four partially collapsed, and four completely collapsed.
Figs. IV, V, and VI show, to a larger scale, details of construction, Fig. IV
being a section on B. B. of Fig. V, Fig. V being a section on C. C. of Fig. IV,
and Fig. VI being a sectional plan on D. D. of Fig. IV.
Figs. VII, VIII and IX, show modifications in detail, T bars being used in
place of tubes for the uprights; these views are analogous to Figs. IV, V
and VI, except that Fig. VII is not in section.
Throughout the drawings, similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures, and in the case of sections, the direction in which they are viewed is
indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane
of section.
Referring first to Figs. I to V1; each set of berths comprises two parallel
ranks of uprights 1, 2, shown of tubular form in Figs. 1 to VI, opposite
uprights being connected by the cross bars 3 and 4; of these, the bars 3 are
preferably of T section, and serve to carry the spring mattresses 5, which are
hooked into the palms of the T bars so as to be readily detachable; one of these
mattresses is shown in Fig. III, but of course any suitable pattern may be used.
The bars 4 in conjunction with the flat bars 6 and 7 form sides for the berths,
and are preferably of the double section shown in Fig. IV, the ends being made
solid for attachment to the uprights, and the slot serving for the reception of the
bars 7.
The bars 3 and 4 are attached to the uprights by the fittings 8 secured thereto,
and the bolts 9; it will be seen that these attachments form hinges which permit
the berths to assume, in plan, the contour either of a rectangle, (as shown), or a
parallelogram, so as to adapt them to suit the contour of the sides or bulkheads of
the ship.
The articulation of the adjacent uprights of each rank, whereby they are adapted
to collapse and preserve their parallelism, is as follows ;-
Each upright 1 is connected to its neighbour 2 in the rank by means of two

page_text: pivoted links 10, but instead of one of the pivots 11 thereof being made to slide,.
as described in my prior Specification referred to, both pivots are fixed to the
respective uprights; in order, therefore, to allow the uprights to collapse, the
alternate uprights 1 only are guided at the top and bottom, the remaining
uprights 2 being shorter, to allow them and their connecting bars 3 and 4, to rise
as the links pivot in collapsing, and to fall as the berths are extended. The
uprights are fitted with wheels 12 adapted to run on the floor or deck or in.
a track, and their upper ends are guided in fixed tracks 13. The length of the
uprights 2 is preferably such that when the berths are extended they rest on the
floor or deck; in some cases I may, in order to steady these uprights, provide
within each a secondary upright, with a wheel below and guided above by the
track 13; the uprights 2 would slide on these secondary uprights and be steadied
laterally thereby, the uprights 2 in this case being made no longer than necessary
and resting on stops on the secondary uprights.
The links 10 form head and foot rails when the berths are extended, and of
course additional head and foot rails may be provided if desired.
Referring now to Figs. VII to IX; in these views a modification in detail is
shown, by substituting T bars in place of tubes in the case of the uprights. The
construction is in other respects substantially identical with that already described,.
the fittings 8 being, in this case, rivetted to the webs of the T bars, and each
link 10 baving its independent pivots 11. In order to save space when collapsed,
the rising and falling uprights 2 are made with a shallow centre web, so that these
uprights are housed within the others when collapsed; this feature is best seen by
reference to Fig. IX.
The flat links 10 may be provided with short lengths of rounded bar iron on.
which to rest the knees when entering the berth.
It is to be understood that I make no claim herein broadly to collapsable berths.
consisting of guided uprights linked together to preserve their parallelism and
connected by longitudinal bars to carry the bedding, as these are described in
my prior Specifications to Letters Patent No. 20816 of 1891 and No. 10749
of 1894, but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
0
1. The hereindescribed improvement in collapsable berths supported by two
ranks of uprights articulated by links, which consists in adapting the alternate
uprights to rise and fall and fixing the pivots of the links thereto whereby the use
of sliding pivots is obviated; substantially as described and illustrated.
2. In collapsable berths; in combination, the uprights 1 guided above and
below, the uprights 2 adapted to rise and fall, the longitudinal connecting bars 3
and 4, and a system of linkage consisting of independent links 11 adapted to
preserve the parallelism of the uprights and to permit the berths to be individually
extended or collapsed; substantially as described and illustrated.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved collapsable
berths, substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. I to VI.
4. The details of construction substantially as described and illustrated in
Figs. VII to IX.
Dated this 22nd day of February 1896.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26 Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.