PROVEMENTS IN BEDS FOR HOSPITAL AND SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Lineham Hodgkins at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th November 1877.
JOHN LINEHAM HODGKINS, of Beverley Road, Barnes Common, Surrey.
PROVEMENTS IN BEDS FOR HOSPITAL AND SIMILAR PURPOSES."
"IM-
This Invention relates to improvements in beds chiefly for use in hospitals or
other institutions, where it is of great importance to have beds which are so con-
structed as to readily yield and adapt themselves to the movements of the patients
who lie upon them. My said improvements may however also be used with great
advantage in private houses in cases of sickness or otherwise.
A bed constructed according to this Invention will be strong and durable, and at
the same time will possess so much elasticity that it will yield and accommodate
itself to every movement of the person who is lying upon it.
Various appliances have been used to supply a bed possessing these qualities, but
all those hitherto devised have had disadvantages which have been found in practice
to operate considerably against their utility. The well-known air beds and water
beds are costly in manufacture; and are moreover very liable to become damaged in
a moment to such an extent that they are useless for the time being; for example,
a puncture made accidentally by a pin or other object will serve to cause the air or
water to escape, and thus the bed becomes speedily useless for the purpose for which
it was designed until it is repaired.
In carrying my said Invention into practice I construct the outer covering which
is to form the bed of sheet india-rubber, or of india-rubber combined with cotton or
other fibrous materials, or of any other suitable waterproof substance, and stuff the
same with wool or other material, which I prefer to be previously rendered also
waterproof by any suitable process.
In some cases I may provide a hole in the centre of the bed communicating with
a funnel to carry away urine or the like.
My improvements being chiefly designed for use in cases of sickness I prefer to
use materials which are waterproof, as above described, but desire it to be understood
that as a bed constructed according to my said Invention may be used with advan-
tage under other circumstances, I do not confine myself to such materials, but may
Drine 071

page_text: use any others, according to the special purpose for which the bed may be.
constructed.
In cutting the material to form the case or cover I leave enough of the same at the
two sides and at the top and bottom ends to fold over and be carried to the bottom of
the bed, and attached thereto by means of solution, stitching, rivetting, or other-
wise in such a manner as to form sleeves or channels extending the whole length of
the two sides and of the top and bottom ends. Through these sleeves or channels
I pass rods or bars of wood, iron, or other suitable material; or I may use ropes of
hemp, india-rubber, or other material for this purpose. Along the length of the said
sleeves or channels I cut away pieces of the fabric at intervals, so that the rods,
bars, or ropes passing through are at those parts exposed to view for the purpose of
having attached to them fastenings which are to connect them with the frame of the
bedstead. Around those portions of the rods, bars, or ropes which are exposed I
pass bands or ties, preferably made of vulcanized india rubber, which also pass
around the frame of the bedstead, and thus support the bed. I may have any
desired number of these ties or bands along the sides and at the top and bottom
ends, and as the bed will be entirely supported by them it will yield readily at any
and all parts, according to the movements of the body.
Instead of the india-rubber ties or bands it may sometimes be found desirable to
employ metal springs.
In adapting my said Invention specially to suit patients, such for instance as
lunatics, whose violence renders them sometimes very destructive, I modify the
construction as follows, that is to say:-Instead of the said ties or bands I provide
hooks or supports upon one side, and upon either the top or bottom end of the frame
of the bedstead, and upon the corresponding bars or rods passing through the sleeves
or channels of the bed, I form eyes or other devices to attach them to the said hooks
or supports in the said frame. Through the other parts of the frame I pass screws
in such a position as to be opposite the openings in the sleeves or channels where
the rods or bars are exposed. These screws are screwed into the said rods or bars
at the exposed parts, and thus by operating the screws outside the bedstead frame
the bed may be easily stretched tight in any direction. It will then have an
elasticity of its own, and will be found to yield to the movements of the body, but
will not be so liable to damage from violence as a bed provided with the aforesaid
india-rubber ties or bands.
A bed constructed according to my Invention need not have any sacking or
mattress, being complete in itself. It may be kept in readiness to any bedstead, as
required, only a few minutes being necessary to secure it in place..
If desirable, for any reason, I may construct a bed according to this Invention
having a sacking, mattress, and a so-called bed one upon the other, but attached
together in such a manner that they form one article, and do not require
separating.
"By means of my said improvements a bed may be constructed, possessing greater
advantages than the well-known air or water beds without the disadvantages
attending the latter, and inay moreover be constructed at much less cost.