AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS, AND OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING, LYING, OR RECLINING UPON
Year: 1858

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alfred Shrimpton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st April
1858.
I, ALFRED SHRIMPTON, of No. 112, Stanley Street, Pimlico, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALLIC BEDSTEADS,
AND OTHER ARTICLES FOR SITTING, LYING, OR RECLINING UPON," to be as follows:-
I employ a strip or bar of moveable iron, resting lengthways upon and
attached to the side and end rails of metallic bedsteads and such like articles,
so as to slide from back to front with studs thereon, upon which the laths are
fixed by means of corresponding slots or stud holes made in the ordinary
form. I draw such bar of iron towards the inner edge of such side or end
rail, in order to receive the laths without the necessity of removing the dove-
tails from their sockets, as heretofore; I then force back such bar of iron by
means of two or more spring or screw stretchers, towards the outer edge of such
side or end rail, by which the laths are drawn tight and held in their position,
the ends of such stretchers being cut so as to bite at the point of junction
with such bar of iron, and a piece being cut out of the rails to allow of such
stretchers acting. Or, in place of resting such bar of iron upon the surface

page_text: of such rails, I can attach it underneath the studs, having longer shanks and
projecting through the rails through holes cut therein, and which is also
forced back by the same means, and acts in the manner herein-before
described. Or, in place of moving such bar of iron from the inner to the
outer edge of the rails for the purpose of tightening the laths, I can make
such bar of iron to move lengthways upon or under such rails by cutting the
slots or stud holes in the laths in a corresponding direction, and then, after
such laths are fixed upon the studs, I slide such bar of iron along until the
laths are firmly fixed in their position, aud I then hold such bar of iron in its
place by means of a wedge made to fit between the end or other part of such
rails, and the end or other part of such bar of iron, which effectually prevents
it from slipping back, such wedge being held in its place by means of a bolt,
screw, or other fastening.
Another mode of carrying out my Invention consists in attaching to the
ends of such moveable bar of iron beneath the rails small pieces of iron pro-
jecting from it cut in an angular form, and a corresponding flange being cast
upon the dovetail, which upon being driven home into the socket presses
against such projecting piece of iron, and forces back such bar of iron, carrying
with it the studs upon it, and thereby tightening the laths and holding them
in position; or I reverse it by attaching such flange to the socket piece, and
by pressing such bar of iron with the angular piece of iron fixed thereon down
upon such flange on the socket piece, which also acts in a similar manner.
Another mode of carrying out my Invention consists in cutting slits in the
rails, sloping from the inner to the outer edge of such rails, and then, by
forcing the moveable bar of iron with the studs thereon lengthways over
or under such rails, it pushes the studs towards the outer edge of such rails,
and thus draws tight the laths as before; such bar of iron being also held
in its place by means of the spring or screw stretchers, as herein-before
described.
The ends of such spring or screw stretchers may also be wedge-shaped, by
which means, upon being pushed into their places, they act in such manner
as to push the moveable bar of iron lengthways, and thereby draw tight the
laths.
What I claim as my Invention is the employment of a moveable bar of
iron with studs projecting thereon, moving transversely or longitudinally upon
or under the side or end rail of a metallic bedstead or other similar article,
and in the employment of spring or screw stretchers with the ends cut or
shaped as before described, and in the employment of wedges, for the purpose

page_text: of holding the laths of such bedsteads tightly in their places by the different
methods herein-before described, thereby greatly facilitating the putting
together and taking to pieces of metallic bedsteads and other similar articles,
and obviating the necessity that now exists for the exercise of considerable
manual strength, in order to fix such laths upon the studs, as heretofore made
to project upon the angle irons.