Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Perambulators, Bassinettes, and other similar Articles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1890-Accepted, 19th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Perambulators,
Bassinettes, and other similar Articles.
I, THOMAS LUCKETT of 58 Belgrave Road Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Perambulator body maker do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of
Perambulators, Bassinettes and other similar Articles and is for the purpose of
producing a first class surface on the outside of the bodies of such articles without
great expense, and such a surface as will most readily receive various kinds of
ornamentation whether lining transfers, embossing or inlaid work.
The foundation of the body is a simple frame work consisting of a top and bottom
hoop with uprights arranged at such positions as to receive the joints of the board
whether made of wood straw leather or other pulp.
These boards are nailed gluod or fastened upon the under frame so that the junctions
always occur upon an upright.
1 next take a cement consisting of whitening and gold size or glue and whitening
or other tough sticky cement having a considerable body and fill up the junction
therewith. next place over the junctions with glue a thin strip of open canvass or
other similar material to ensure the junction against springing. I then give the whole
surface a coat of size and then a coat of composition composed of a mixture of gilders
size and whitening. After this is dry other coats follow until the required thickness
and surface is obtained. It is now smoothed down with polishing stone and fishes
skins or their equivalents. The body surface is now prepared for either polishing if it
is to be a plain body or for ornamentation to imitate various timbers marble or other
material or otherwise to receive any embossed work or inlaid work or transfer or
lining or gilding or other ornamentation. The body may then be finished with varnish
transparent or otherwise or polish if the surface is sufficiently plain to allow of it or
both may be used. Instead of polish or varnish after the rubbing down the finish
may be produced by ordinary painting lining &c. &c.
This prepared surface or outer layer of composition is very suitable indeed for
receiveing impressions of any kind as its hardness or softness may be greatly varied
by the tempering of the size.
The composition must of course be put on while hot.
I may use timber to form the under ground work or a part of the ground work.
Dated this 1st do
1000
GEORGE BARKER,
77, Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Perambulators,
Bassinettes, and other similar Articles.
I, THOMAS LUCKETT of 58 Belgrave Road Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Perambulator body maker 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 :—
The object of my invention is Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of
Perambulators, Bassinettes and other similar Articles and in such a manner that a first
class surface is formed upon the outside of the bodies of such articles without great

page_text: expense, the surface being of such a kind as will most readily receive various kinds of
ornamentation whether lining transfers or inlaid work.
The foundation of the body is a simple frame work consisting of a top and bottom
hoop with uprights arranged at such positions as to receive the joints of the board,
whether made of wood or of straw leather, or other pulp. These boards are nailed,
glued, or fastened upon the under frame so that the junctions always occur upon an
upright.
I next take a cement consisting of whitening or other tough sticky cement having
a considerable body and fill up the junctions therewith I next place over the junctions
a thin strip of open canvass or other similar material properly secured by means of
glue or like substance and so form a strong joint and ensure the junction against
springing or we may make a splice joint of the two boards by tapering both edges so
as to make the joint quite level.
I then give the whole surface a coat of size and then a coat of composition composed
of a mixture of gilders or vellum size and whitening. After this is dry other coats
follow until the required thickness and surface is obtained. It is then smoothed down
with polishing stone and fishes skins or their equivalents.
The body surface is then prepared for either polishing, if it is to be a plain body or
for ornamentation to imitate various timbers, marble or other material or otherwise to
receive any embossed work or inlaid work or transfer or lining or gilding or other
ornamentation. The body may then be finished with varnish transparent or otherwise
or polished if the surface is sufficiently plain to allow of it or both may be used.
Instead of polish or varnish after the rubbing down the finish may be produced by
ordinary coats of paint ornamented or not by lines or figures.
The layer of composition applied by me is very suitable indeed for receiving
impressions of any kind as its hardness or softness may be greatly varied by the
tempering of the gilders size and whitening. The composition should be put on
while hot.
Timber may be used to form the under-ground work or a part of the ground
work.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and more easily carried into
practical effect I have appended hereunto three double sized sheets of drawings upon
which examples of the process of manufacture are illustrated but the mode of con-
struction of the body as well as the materials used may be greatly varied both as
regards shape and the materials used in forming the body or frame.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the under part of a body of a bassinette or peram-
bulator illustrating the earlier process of manufacture.
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same on the line A. B.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation on line C. D. shewing the inside of the same
body.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the body in a more advanced state that is to say before
receiving the finishing process or processes.
Figure 5 is a sectional plan on the line E. F of Figure 4 with some slight variations
of construction, namely of the addional strengthening ribs a¹ of which there may be
any number.
Figure 6 is a sectional elevation on line G. H. showing the inside arrangement of
the extra ribs n¹.
Figure 7 shows a body finished and upholstered with its ornamental work Y
thereon.
Figure 8 shows a body similar to the previous figure with the ornamental work Y
varied in design.
The particular construction of the underframe of the body namely of the rings or
hoops K, the bottom M and boards made of wood or pulp P and ribs N do not form
the subject of my present invention and almost any kind of frame suitable for the
purpose may be used as a foundation or material to commence upon. I find however
that pulp boarding may be used with great advantage as there are fewer joints and I
do not mainly depend upon its surface strength as by working according to my

page_text: invention the neccessary strength is obtained as a consequential result. Referring to
Figure 1 the joint or space R formed between the side and end pulp boards I fill up
with cement of a hard sticky kind such for instance as whitening moistened with a
sticky liquid such as thin glue which practically unites the ends of the side and end
pieces together upon the stiffeners or ribs N. I then clear this cement off level and
fasten over the joint the canvas strip W by means of glue or its equivalent which
prevents the joint from gaping and forms a foundation for the next process. I
then give the whole surface a coat of size followed by one, two, three or more coats of
a composition that will form a strong adhesive coat that will harden or set well. I
find that a mixture of gilders size and whitening answers the purpose best and it
should be applied in successive coats until the desired thickness and surface are
obtained.
The proportions of the composition which I have found most successful are 5 lbs.
of vellum size, 10 lbs. of whitening and 1 pint or thereabouts of water. The coats of
composition should be as regular in strength and thickness as possible as if a thin
coat or coats were followed by a much stronger or stiffer coat the first or thinner ones
would be interfered with that the whole would probably be lifted off the foundation
and the work destroyed. I then smooth down with polishing stone and fishes skins or
their equivalents to obtain a smooth fine surface upon what I term the special casing S
as shown by the figures 4, 5, and 6 on sheet No. 2 of the drawings. This special
casing when placed as explained upon almost any under frame work such as that
herein shown will be found though thin to be very strong and tough and capable of
bearing almost any amount of hard usage without being broken or seriously
damaged thereby. It is also most suited to receive any kind of carving, inlaying
or other ornamentation such for instance as that shown by Figure 7 and 8 on
sheet 3 of the drawings. Ivory or coloured wood or metals or other substances
may be inlaid in the outer casing and would provide for a very cheap way of inlaying
and ornamentation and the whole could then be smoothed down together. The
finishing may be done by either polishing, varnishing or painting or a combination
of either or any of such modes of finishing. The composition used in forming
the casing S may be white and finished white if desired or it may be made the same
colour as the outside finish or paint so that if part of the outside were chipped off the
part thereby exposed would not be unsightly. The bodies of the perambulators when
finished with the outside shell or casing S and properly covered with varnish maintain
their surface much better than when merely painted in the ordinary manner.
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 :-
The manufacture of the bodies of perambulators, bassinettes and other similar
articles in which an outer body such as S is employed substantially as and for the
purpose herein set forth and shewn upon the drawings.
Dated this 5th day of June 1890.
GEORGE BARKER,
77, Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.