Improvements in Elastic Woven Wire Mattresses.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Oct., 1394
Complete Specification Left. 22nd July, 1895-Accepted, 7th Sept., 1895
Date of Application, 22nd Oct., 1394
Complete Specification Left. 22nd July, 1895-Accepted, 7th Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elastic Woven Wire Mattresses.
We ISAAC CHORLTON of 17 Blackfriars Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Spring Mattress Manufacturer, and WALTER OLDHAM of the same
address, Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our said invention relates to elastic mattress surfaces composed of woven wire.
It is a defect in such mattresses that when supporting two persons side by side, the
mattress is apt to sag in the centre and cause the occupants to roll towards
each other.
To obviate this defect it has been proposed to strengthen or stiffen the mattress
longitudinally in the centre and it is towards this object that our invention is
directed.
We form a strip of woven wire, and as it is desirable that this strip should be of
extra strength, the coils composing the strip are made from a heavier gauge of wire
than the wire composing the main portion of the mattress. We place this strip
beneath the mattress surface at the centre. This stronger and coarser strip of
coiled wire fabric acts as a sling to sustain and support the central part of the
mattress, so that if two persons of unequal weight should occupy the bed, the
unequal sagging of the mattress towards the heavier occupant is prevented from
affecting the lighter occupant by the supporting influence of the said central sling.
The sling not being connected to the mattress it is not so liable to be pulled
sidewise as would be the case if it were fastened to the mattress, the mattress
slipping over the loose sling, to one side or the other. We might however secure
the sling to the mattress.
In conjunction with the indicated central sling we use a woven wire mattress,
having its selvages folded or rolled over so as to present a strengthening ledge at
each side or edge of the mattress, the said selvage being simply rolled over and not
secured or bound to the mattress surface. This permits of the inward yielding or
uncoiling of part of the said rolled edges when the mattress is occupied thus
preventing the outer coils of the selvage from being drawn inwards. Instead of
these rolled edges or in conjunction there with we might apply the aforesaid
coarser strips or slings of woven wire to the edges. Instead of forming the said
strips or slings of coarser wire coils woven together as described, we might form
them from combinations of coiled springs and laths, the said coiled spring and lath
strips being applied longitudinally, either at the centre of the mattress or at the
edges as described, or we might form them of coiled springs alone.
Dated this 20th day of October 1894.
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5 John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.

page_text: improvements in Elastic woven Wire Mattresses.
We ISAAC CHORLTON of 17 Blackfriars Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Spring Mattress Manufacturer, and WALTER OLDHAM of the same
address, Manager, 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 and accompanying drawings:-
Our said invention relates to elastic mattress surfaces composed of woven wire.
It is a defect in such mattresses that when supporting two persons side by side,
the mattress is apt to sag in the centre and cause the occupants to roll towards
each other.
To obviate this defect it has been proposed to strengthen or stiffen the mattress
longitudinally in the centre and it is towards this object that our invention is
directed.
We form a strip of woven wire and as it is desirable that this strip should be of
extra strength the coils composing the strip are made from a heavier gauge of wire
than the wire composing the main portion of the mattress.
This
We then place this strip beneath the mattress surface at the centre.
stronger and coarser strip of coiled wire fabric acts as a sling to sustain and support
the central part of the mattress, so that if two persons of unequal weight should
occupy the bed, the unequal sagging of the mattress towards the heavier occupant
is prevented from affecting the lighter occupant by the supporting influence of the
said central sling. The sling not being connected to the mattress it is not so liable
to be pulled sidewise as would be the case if it were fastened to the mattress, the
mattress slipping over the loose sling to one side or the other.
In conjunction with the indicated central sling we use a woven wire inattress
having its selvages folded or rolled over so as to present a strengthening ledge at
each side or edge of the mattress or in lieu of the said rolled edges we might apply
side strips either of the same or of a coarser gauge of wire than that composing the
mattress.
The aunexed sheet of diagrams will render our invention more clearly
understood.
Fig. 1 is a plan of a mattress frame with woven wire mattress to which our
invention is shown applied.
Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a cross section of the woven wire mattress with our improved coarse
coil central sling applied.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional diagramatic view of the centre and edges of the
mattress showing more clearly the coarse-coil sling in the centre and the rolled or
strengthened edges.
The woven wire mattress is marked A; the end bars between which it is strained
are marked B B¹, the bar B being drawn up by screws C which pass through a
fixed bar D at one end of the mattress frame E. The central sling F which forms
the gist of our invention is composed of coils made from wire of a heavier gauge
than the wire composing the mattress A. This sling F is applied beneath the
mattress and at the centre so as to support the central part of the mattress as
herein before set forth. In applying the coarser sling F we make the sling slightly
longer between the bars B B₁ than the mattress A. We do this because when the
mattress A is strained by the screws C to the required extent, the coarser sling F
having greater powers of resistance would be under a considerably greater strain
than the mattress were they originally of equal length. But by making the
sling slightly slacker than the mattress to begin with, we obtain about equal
strain upon both mattress and sling so that the end bars are not unduly taxed. The

page_text: sling F is not secured to the mattress A so that it is not pulled awry by unequal
weights on the mattress, the mattress sliding over the sling towards the heavier
weight. At the same time the mattress is prevented from sagging in the centre.
The edges of the mattress A. are or may be strengthened by rolling over the
edge as at G (Fig. 1, 3 and 4). We might however apply edge strips instead of
rolling the edges as described. These strips might be applied on the under.or
upper or on both sides of the mattress edge. It may be said that Fig. 4 is not a
correct representation of the true section of mattress but merely a diagram
indicating the construction.
Instead of forming the said strips or slings of coarser wire coils woven together
as described we might form them from combinations of coiled springs and laths a
strip formed of such a combination being shown at Fig. 5. The said coiled spring
and lath strips are formed as shown by the union of the springs I, with the steel
laths H, and are applied longitudinally either at the centre of the mattress or at
the edges as described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is.
1. Applying a supporting sling or strip beneath the centre of a woven wire
mattress, the said central sling or strip being made, coiled or woven from wire of a
heavier gauge than that from which the mattress is made, and applied without
being connected or attached to the mattress, for the purpose, with the objects and
substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
2. The combination of the strip or sling which forms the subject matter of
Claim 1 with a woven wire mattress the said mattress having either plain edges or
edges strengthened by rolling the edge on itself or by the addition of edging strips,
substantially as described and shown.
3. The formation of the herein before described central supporting slings and
edging strips from combinations of coiled springs and laths substantially as
hereinbefore described and indicated.
Dated the 20th day of July 1895
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5 John Dalton Street, Manchester, Chartered Patent Agents,
For the Applicants.