IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC BED- STEADS AND COTS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Lawson, of Birmingham, in the County of
of Warwick, Manufacturer, and Richard George Hodgetts, of Birmingham
aforesaid, Manager of Works, and Henry Lea, of Birmingham aforesaid, Con-
sulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN METALLIC BED-
STEADS AND COTS."
Sealed the 23rd January 1880, and dated the 11th August 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Lawson, Richard
George Hodgetts, and Henry Lea at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents on the 11th August 1879.
EDWARD LAWSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, and
RICHARD GEORGE HODGETTS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of Works, and
IMPROVEMENTS IN
HENRY LEA, of Birmingham aforesaid, Consulting Engineer.
METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND COTS."
Our Invention has reference to such metallic bedsteads and cots as have elastic
sackings made either of wire or of non-metallic fabric, and so connected to the
framing of the bedstead or cot as to be capable of being tightened to the required
.degree.
We will describe our Invention in connection with a metallic bedstead.
The said elastic sackings are ordinarily attached to a framing of wood, which
framing is attached to the framing of the bedstead. We dispense with the
ordinary framing of wood and attach the elastic sacking to the framing of the
bedstead, and give it the required tension by the arrangements or combinations of
parts herein after described.
We attach the elastic fabric constituting the sacking to two metallic bars, one
at each end of the said sacking, the attachment being by preference to the shorter
sides of the sacking, that is, the sides constituting respectively the head and foot of
the sacking. One of the said bars is fixed to the head or foot of the bedstead
frame, while the other is connected with the opposite end of the bedstead frame,
so as to be capable of the motion required for giving the desired tension to the
sacking.
According to one of our improvements we connect the adjustable bar of the
We cast on each
sacking to the frame of the bedstead in the following manner.
angle iron or tube, forming the opposite sides of the bedstead frame, two short

page_text: vertical arms, one at each end of each side. The said arms have cast upon them
the ordinary dovetail projections which enter the dovetail recesses in the corner
blocks on the pillars of the bedstead. Two of the vertical arms support the fixed
bar of the sacking, and the other two support the moveable bar of sacking.
The latter have screw threads cut in them in which set screws parallel to the sides
of the bedstead take.
These set screws have shoulders or collars and plain stems terminating in square
or angular ends.
The plain stems pass through holes in the ends of the moveable bar of the
sacking, the inner face of the end of the bar bearing against the shoulders or
collars. By means of a key or spanner applied to the angular end of the screws,
they can be advanced into or retired from the screwed holes in the vertical arms,
and the desired tension thereby given to the sacking.
Or the ends of the moveable bar of the sacking may enter horizontal slots in the
heads of the vertical arms, and set screws working in the said heads may be made
to determine the position of the ends of the bar in the said slots and thereby to
give the required tension to the sacking.
According to another of our improvements we cast or fix a short borizontal pin
or axis on the outer face of the opposite side bars of the bedstead frame, the said
pins being near the ends of the bar. On these pins or axes short vertical levers
turn. The ends of the two bars of the sacking are attached to the heads of these
levers respectively. The lower ends of these levers are connected by tie rods
screwed at their ends and fitted with fly nuts. By means of the said screws and
nuts the lower ends of the levers can be drawn together and their upper ends
separated so as to give the required tension to the sacking.
To prevent the connected parts turning upon the pins as a parallel motion, two
of the levers at the same end of the bedstead have flanges bearing upon the upper
surfaces of the dovetailed ends. The motion referred to is thereby prevented.
The pins on which the levers turn are not at right angles to the vertical face of
the angle iron in which they are stationed, but make an acute angle horizontally
with the dovetailed end of the bar. By this arrangement the stability of the
levers transversely is secured.
The levers may be so cranked that their lower ends come within the side bars
of the bedstead frame. By this arrangement the sides are relieved of bending
strain vertically, and they may consequently be made lighter than when fixed
vertical arms are employed.
We prefer to connect the fabric of the sacking to bars circular in cross section,
and divided in a plane parallel to, but not coincident with the axis of the said bar,
the said plane being about midway between the axis and circumference. The
fabric is fixed between the two parts which are secured together by screws or
otherwise. The part of the bar of larger diameter is sufficiently strong without
upsetting to engage in the slot of the fixed arms or to receive the adjusting screws
herein before referred to. This cross bar may also be used as a roller bar.
Or the fabric may be fixed to a compound bar, one part of which has the figure
in section of a girder, the other bar being plain and fitting in the trough of one
side of the girder. The fabric is gripped between them and they are fixed together
by screws.
When the fabric is connected to roller bars at its opposite ends and is stretched
by the rotatory motion of the said roller bars, we make the roller bars of so large
a diameter that the required tension of the sacking can be obtained by the rotation
in opposite directions of the said roller bars through a small angle.
We connect levers to the ends of the roller bars and by means of tie rods of the
kind herein before described, give to the roller bars the required angular motion
to produce the required tension and fix them in the position to which they have
been brought.
'

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Lawson, Richard George Hodgetts, and Henry Lea in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th February 1880.
EDWARD LAWSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, and
RICHARD GEORGE HODGETTS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of Works, and
HENRY LEA, of Birmingham aforesaid, Consulting Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND COTS."
Our Invention has reference to such metallic bedsteads and cots as have elastic
sackings made either of wire or of non-metallic fabric, and so connected to the
framing of the bedstead or cot as to be capable of being tightened to the required
degree.
We will describe our Invention in connection with a metallic bedstead.
The said elastic sackings are ordinarily attached to a framing of wood, which
framing is attached to the framing of the bedstead. We dispense with the ordinary
framing of wood, and attach the elastic sacking to the framing by the arrangements
or combinations of parts herein after described.
We attach the elastic fabric constituting the sacking to two metallic bars, one at
each end of the said sacking, the attachment being by preference to the shorter
sides of the sacking, that is, the sides constituting the head and foot of the sacking.
One of the said bars is fixed to the head or foot of the bedstead frame, while the
other is connected with the opposite end of the bedstead frame, so as to be capable
of the motion required for giving the desired tension to the sacking.
According to one of our improvements we connect the adjustable bar of the
sacking to the frame of the bedstead in the following manner:-
- We cast on each
angle bar or tube forming the opposite sides of the bedstead frame two short ver-
tical arms, one at each end of each side. The said arms have cast upon them the
ordinary dovetail projections, which enter the dovetail recesses in the corner blocks
on the pillars of the bedstead. Two of the vertical arms support the fixed bar of
the sacking, and the other two support the moveable bar of the sacking. The latter
have screw threads cut in them, in which set screws parallel to the sides of the
bedstead take. These set screws have shoulders or collars and plain stems termi-
nating in square or angular ends. The plain stems pass through holes in the ends
of the moveable bars of the sacking, the inner face of the ends of the bar bearing
against the shoulders or collars. By means of a key or spanner applied to the
angular end of the screws, they can be advanced into or retired from the screwed
holes in the vertical arms, and the desired tension thereby given to the sacking.
Or the ends of the moveable bar of the sacking may enter horizontal slots in the
heads of the vertical arms, and set screws working in the said heads may be made
to determine the position of the ends of the bar in the said slots, and thereby to
give the required tension to the sacking.
turo.
According to another of our improvements we cast or fix a short horizontal pin
or axis on the outer face of the opposite side bars of the bedstead frame, the said
pins being near the ends of the bar. On these pins or axes short vertical levers
The ends of the two bars of the sacking are attached to the heads of these
levers respectively. The lower ends of these levers are connected by tie rods screwed
at their ends and fitted with fly nuts. By means of the said screws and nuts the
lower ends of the levers can be drawn together and their upper ends separated, so as
to give the required tension to the sacking.
To prevent the connected parts turning upon the pins or axes as a parallel motion,
two of the levers at the same end of the bedstead have flanges bearing upon the
upper surfaces of the dovetailed ends. The motion referred to is thereby prevented.
The pins on which the levers turn are not at right angles to the vertical face of the
angle iron in which they are stationed, but make an acute angle horizontally with
→

page_text: the dovetailed end of the bar. By this arrangement the stability of the levers
transversely is secured. The levers may be so cranked that their lower ends come
within the side bars of the bedstead frame. By this arrangement the sides are
relieved of bending strain vertically, and they may consequently be made lighter
than when fixed vertical arms are employed.
When the fabric is connected to roller bars at its opposite ends, and is stretched
by the rotary motion of the said roller bars, we make the roller bars of so large a
diameter that the required tension of the sacking can be obtained by the rotation in
opposite directions of the said roller bars through a small angle. We connect levers
to the roller bars, and by means of a tie rod of the kind hereinbefore described give
to the roller bars the required angular motion to produce the required tension and
fix them in the position to which they have been brought.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which our Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in plan, the framing of a
metallic bedstead (or cot) to which one of the aerangements of our Invention is
applied. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both Figures.
e is the fixed bar and e2 is the adjustable bar of the sacking to which the ends of
the elastic fabric c³ are attached, and between which the said sacking is stretched as
herein after described. The said sacking bars e, e², are supported by short vertical
arms on the side angle bars a (or tubes) of the bedstead framing. The vertical arms
for supporting the fixed sacking bar e are marked b, b, and those for supporting the
adjustable sacking bar e² are marked 62, 62. By an examination of Figure 2 it will
be seen that the pair of vertical arms b, b, is situated at one end of the bedstead
frame, and that the other pair of vertical arms 62, 63, is situated at the opposite end
of the bedstead frame. The pairs of arms b, b, and 62, 6², are cast upon the ends of
the side bars a, a, and the said arms have cast upon them the ordinary dovetail
projections c, c, which engage with the dovetail recesses in the corner blocks & on
the pillars d² of the bedstead frame. The vertical arms 62, 62, for supporting the
adjustable sacking bar e² are furnished with screw boxes or sockets 6s, 63, in which
the set screws ff, connected with the said sacking bar e² take. The stems f² of the
set screws fare plain and cylindrical, and between the plain and screwed parts of the
set screws are shoulders or collars f³, f³. On to the plain or stem parts f, f%, of
the set screws ff, the adjustable sacking bar e² is passed, the said sacking bar being
furnished with holes for that purpose, the inner face of the ends of the said bar e²
bearing against the shoulders or collars f³, ƒ³, of the set screws as represented. The
ends of the said set screws have angular heads f* for turning them.
By applying a key or spanner to the angular heads f* of the set screws f they
may be advanced into or retired from the screwed holes or screw boxes 6s in the
vertical arms 62, and the desired tension thereby given to the sacking e³.
Figure 3 represents in side elevation, and Figure 4 in plan, a modification of the
last described arrangement.
In the arrangement Figures 3 and 4 horizontal slots 64 are made in the heads of
the two pairs of vertical arms b, b, and 62, 63, for receiving the ends of the fixed and
adjustable sacking bars e, e². The slots b in the vertical arms b, b, are of a length
proper for the ends of the bar e to fit closely in, but the slots 64 in the other pair of
arms 62, 63, are considerably longer, to permit of the sliding of the ends of the
adjustable sacking bar e therein."
The ends of both the bars e, e³, are reduced in thickness, the reduced ends
engaging in the horizontal slots 64, 6, (see Figure 3). The position of the moveable
bar e² in the slots 64, 6, of the arms 62, 62, for putting the required tension on the
sacking is determined by the set screws f working in the beads of the said
arms 62, 62, the inner ends of the said set screws bearing against the ends of the
said sacking bar e² in the slots 64, 64, in the manner shown in the Drawing.
ff, are loose nuts screwed internally to receive the screws f,f, and placed in
recesses in the arms 62, 62, before the introduction of the screws f. f. By this means
plain holes only are required in the arms 63, 63, and a faulty nut may be readily

page_text: exchanged for a sound one. Or the arms b³, b³, may be cast upon the nuts if
preferred.
Figure 5 represents in side elevation, and Figure 6 in plan the arrangement of
our Invention in which the sacking bars are carried by levers turning on the angle
bars of the bedstead framing. Figure 7 is a horizontal section of one of the levers.
and a portion of its tie rod; Figure 8 is a front elevation of one of the levers
together with a portion of one of the sacking bars and the angle iron of the framing;
and Figure 9 is a horizontal section of the angle iron of the framing and one of the
levers and its pin or axis; Figure 10 is a modification of the levers.
h, h, and h³, h, are the two pairs of vertical levers, the pair h, h, being situated
on opposite sides of one end of the bedstead framing, and the other pair of
levers ha, h², being situated on opposite sides of the other end of the bedstead frame
as represented. To the heads of the said levers h, h, h³, h2, the sacking bars e, e³,
are connected as represented. The said vertical levers turn upon horizontal pins or
axes g, g, on the outer faces of the angle bars a, a, of the bedstead frame. The pins
or axes.g, g, have the inclination to the faces of the angle bars best seen in Figure 9,
the said Figure 9, also showing the manner in which sides of the holes in the levers
take a bearing against the inclined pins or axes g. g. By this construction of the
pins or axes the stability of the levers h, h2, transversely is secured, that is, their
retention on the said axes and a firm bearing against the faces of the ends b are
secured. The lower ends of the levers h, h², h, h2, at the same side of the bedstead
frame, are connected together by tie rods i, i. One end of each tie rod i is
connected to the lever h², by means of a wedge shaped nut seen in Figures 5
and 7. The lower end of the lever he has a jaw, open at the bottom similar to that
shown in Figure 10, and the knife edges of the nut bear in notches in the sides
of the said jaw so as to form a hinged joint without the use of a joint pin, and so
as to be readily put together and taken apart.
The opposite end of each tie rod is screwed and passes through a similar jaw in
the lever h, and its screwed end is fitted with a fly nut & bearing against a wedge
shaped washer 23. By screwing the nuts k, k, upon the screwed ends of the tie
rods i, i, the lower ends of the levers h, h³, can be drawn together and their upper
ends separated so as to give the required tension to the sacking e³. On the
levers h2, h², at the same end of the bedstead frame are flanges or stops 8 best seen
in Figure 8, which flanges bear upon the upper surfaces of the dovetailed ends b of
the angle bars a, a. By means of the said flanges the connected parts are prevented
from turning upon the pins or axes g, g, as a parallel motion when pressure is put
on the sacking. Stationary arms may be substituted for the pair of levers h², h²,
and the adjustment of the tension of the sacking effected by the use of the pair of
levers h, h, and the appliances connected therewith.
The levers may have the cranked figure represented in Figure 10, that is, the
said levers may be so bent that their lower ends are situated within the side angle
bars a of the bedstead frame instead of outside the said angle bars, as will be
understood by contrasting the positions of the lower ends of the levers in Figures
8 and 10.
By the use of the lever arrangement represented for adjusting the tension of the
sacking, the angle bars a, a, are relieved of bending strain vertically, and they can
in consequence be made lighter than when fixed vertical arms situated wholly
above the said angle bars are employed.
We prefer to connect the fabric of the sacking to bars circular in cross section as
O described and illustrated in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to Edward
Lawson and Richard George Hodgetts, on she 28th day of February 1879, No. 813,
the cylindirical bars being divided in a plane parallel to, but not coincident with
the axis of the said bar, the said plane being about midway between the axis and
circumference, as seen in Figures 8 and 10. The fabric is fixed between the two
5 parts which are secured together by screws, or otherwise. The part of the bar of
larger diameter is sufficiently strong without upsetting to engage in the slot in the
fixed arms, or to receive the adjusting screws herein before referred to. This cross

page_text: t
:
bar may also be used as a roller bar; or the fabric may be fixed to a compound bar,
one part of which has the figure in section of a girder, as shown at e, e, in Figures
3 and 4, the other bar e being plain and fitting in the trough of one side of the
girder. The fabric is gripped between the two parts and they are fixed together
by screws e³.
•
Figure 11 represents in side elevation, and Figure 12, in end elevation the
arrangement of our Invention in which the levers carry roller bars to which the
sacking is secured instead of to stationary bars.
e, e, are the roller bars of large diameter turning in the fixed arms a², a³, on the
angle bars a, a, of the framing. To about the middle of the underside of each roller
bar e a lever is connected. The lower ends of the two levers l, l, are connected
together by the tie rod m, similar to one of the tie rods i of the arrangement
Figures 5 and 6. By means of the fly nut n the levers l, l, may be acted upon so
as to turn the said levers l, l, in osposite directions through a small angle, and
thereby produce the required tension in the sacking e³. The levers and roller bar
are fixed in the position to which they have been adjusted by the fly nut n.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our
Invention of "Improvements in Metallic Bedsteads and Cots,"–
First. The arrangement or combination of parts herein before described and
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings for tightening the
metallic or non-metallic sackings of the said bedsteads and cots by a screwing
action; also the modification of the same herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of parts herein before described and
illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings for
tightening the metallic or non-metallic sackings of the said bedsteads and cots by
means of two pairs of levers, by by means of one pair of levers and a pair of fixed
arms.
Thirdly. The arrangement or combination of parts herein before described and
illustrated in Figures 11 and 12, for effecting the tightening of the sacking by
means of large roller bars actuated by levers and an adjustable tie rod.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard George Hodgetts and Henry Lea,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
RICHARD GEORGE HODGETTS. (L.S.)
HENRY LEA,
(L.S.)