IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR AND WATER BEDS, PILLOWS, BOLSTERS, AND CUSHIONS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Ayckbourn, of Moreton Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Bed Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR AND WATER BEDS, PILLOWS, BOLSTERS, AND
CUSHIONS."
Sealed the 15th January 1864, and dated the 20th July 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Ayckbourn at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th July 1863.
I, FREDERICK AYCKBOURN, of Moreton Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Bed Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR AND WATER BEDS, PILLOWS, BOLSTERS, AND CUSHIONS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Air and Water Beds, Pillows, Bolsters,
and Cushions," relates to that class of beds which are formed of a number of
flexible air or water-tight tubes, which may be filled with air or water.
The present improvements consist, first, of a novel form or construction of
connection or junction piece for connecting the several tubes together. This
junction or connecting piece is formed of a short tube screwed at both ends to
enter the female screws of the inflated tubes which are screwed on to the
junction pieces up to a projecting flange on the central part thereof. I form
the beds of sections of three tubes each, the centre one of which is provided
with a short branch tube for inflating the bed. This central tube is closed by
a removeable cap piece provided with a thumb nut or screw, and when it is

page_text: desired to inflate the bed this thumbscrew must be removed, and a bellows or
inflating apparatus screwed therein. The air from the bellows will first pass
into the central tube, and from thence into the side tubes.
From the above it will be seen that all the tubes may be isolated by
unscrewing them from the connecting piece, and screwing into their ends a
cap pieco to close them. One or more tubes may therefore, if desired, be
filled with water and the other with air. For beds of four feet wide and more,
and intended for the use of two people, I make use of two sections of three
tubes cach, but which may be combined together in the same outer case or
tick. The two sections are entirely independent of each other, so far as the
inflation is concerned, and therefore when one person gets on to the bed he
will not disturb any one who is already lying down thereon. For pillows and
bolsters I arrange the air tubes from front to back, instead of longitudinally,
or from end to end, as in beds, and I make the tubes of a wedge form, so that
they will be higher or deeper at the back than at the front. This wedge-shape
form may be produced by forming the tick or outer case of the desired shape.
If preferred the tubes for the pillows and bolsters may be arranged longi-
tudinally.
It will be obvious that the same construction and mode of combining tho
nir tubes herein set forth in referenco to beds, pillows, and bolsters is also
applicable to sofas, couchos, lounges, settees, and other articles on which
persons may recline.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Ayckbourn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
AYCKBOURN, of Moreton Street, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Bed
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by IIer Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Frederick Ayckbourn, Her special license that I, the said Frederick
Ayckbourn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Frederick Ayckbourn, my executors, administrators, and assigns
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all

page_text: 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AIR AND WATER BEDS, PILLOWS, BOLSTERS, AND CUSHIONS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Frederick Ayckbourn, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Ayckbourn, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
==
My Invention of "Improvements in Air and Water Beds, Pillows, Bolsters,
and Cushions," relates to that class of beds which are formed of a number
of flexible air or water-tight tubes, which may be filled with air or water.
The nature of the present improvements will be best understood by referenco
to the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an end view, and Fig. 2 a
plan view, representing three inflated tubes connected together according to
the present improvements, which consist, first, of a novel form or construction
of connection or junction piece a, a, for connecting the several tubes b, b, b,
together. This improved junction or connecting piece, with the nozzles which
it connects together, is shewn detached and drawn upon an enlarged scale at
Fig. 8, and the several parts of which Fig. 3 is composed are shewn detached
in section at Figs. 4, 5, and 6. This connection is formed of a short tube c
screwed at both ends to enter the female screws d, d, of the nozzles, which are
secured to the inflated tubes. The scrowed ends of the short tubes c aro
screwed into the female screws d, d, of the metal or other nozzles until the
flanges of the nozzles are brought up to a projecting flange c' on the central
part of the screwed tube. I form the beds of sections cach consisting of three
or more tubes b, the centre one of which is provided with a short branch
tube e for inflating the bed. This central tube e is closed by a removeable.cap
piece f, provided with a thumb nut or screw, and when it is desired to inflato
the bed the thumbscrew of this cap piece, which is shewn detached at Figs. 7
and 8, must be removed, and a bellows or inflating apparatus screwed therein.
The air from the bellows will first pass into the central tube b', and from
thence into the side tubes b, b.

page_text: From the above description it will be seen that all the tubes b, b, may be
isolated by unscrewing them from the connecting pieces a, a, and screwing
into their ends a cap piccef to close them. One or more tubes 6 may there-
fore, if desired, be filled with water and the others with air. For beds of four
feet wide and more, and intended for the use of two people, I make use of
two sections of three tubes each, but these sections may be combined together
in the same outer case or tick. The two sections of tubes will be entirely
independent of each other, so far as their inflation is concerned, and therefore
when one person gets on to the bed ho will not disturb any one who is already
lying down thereon. For pillows and bolsters I arrange the air or water
tubes from front to back, instead of longitudinally, or from end to end, as in
beds, and I make the tubes of a wedge form, as shewn at Fig. 9, so that they
will be higher or deeper at the back than at the front. This wedge-shapo
form may be produced partly by forming the tick or outer case of the desired
shape, but the tubes themselves should be of a wedge-shaped form, as shewn
in the Figure. If preferred the tubes for the pillows may be arranged longi-
tudinally.
It will be obvious that the same construction and mode of combining the
air or water tubes herein set forth in reference to beds, pillows, and bolsters, is
also applicable to sofas, couches, lounges, settees, and other articles on which
persons may recline. It will not, however, be necessary to enter into any
detailed description of such articles, as the principle of construction and the
mode of connecting the separate tubes is the same in all cases.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Ayckbourn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
FREDERICK AYCKBOURN. (L.S.)