A NEW OR IMPROVED MECHANICAL NURSE CHAIR OR REST
Year: 1885

page_text: We LEON L'HOLLIER of Bath Passage Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Perambulator Manufacturer and JOHN JAMES JULIAN ROCHFORD of Moseley Road
Birmingham in the County of Warwick Artist, do hereby declare the nature of
the said invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MECHANICAL NURSE CHAIR OR
REST" to be as follows that is to say :-
"
"
This invention has for its object a new or improved mechanical nurse chair or
rest which is capable of almost exactly imitating the "dangling or "heighting
action imparted in nursing children on the lap or in the arms. The purpose of the
invention is to accomplish this in such a manner that the mother, nurse or other
attendant may be able to utilize their time in many ways whilst the child is
throughly amused and healthily exercised.
We will explain how the invention is applied in producing a childs chair capable
of a heighting action. We make a square based chair put together with four
pillars which project above the base and four guides. for the seat in rising and
falling. The seat is made of any convenient form having arms and back and
guards for properly protecting the child as well as the usual movable front bar for
securing the child in the chair. The seat of the chair is generally made with
a series of springs underneath or attached to a spring suspender or suspenders from
above. To the underside of the seat or other equivalent part we attach a rod or
bar which is connected to a rocking lever at or near the floor. This lever is hung
either upon a movable fulcrum or upon a fixed fulcrum according as circumstances
may require and the front end projects outwards and is formed into a suitable
shape to receive the toe or foot which may be used to impart action to the seat
upon which the child rests. This lever may be counterweighted to somewhat
balance the child and the leverage is adjustable by holes and a pin or a spring and
catch so as to make it adaptable to children of various weights although for
moderate ranges of weight no adjustment would be required The rest may be
made so that the child can recline diagonally or horizontally as well as for sitting
or the rest may be made a convertable one so as to answer to a number of positions
and in the case of invalided children the adjustable and convertable ones would be
of great service.

page_text: The base of the chair may almost equally well be formed with a pillar and
internal or external spring or springs in fact the shape of the base and other parts
may be greatly varied. The rest may be made portable on wheels or fixed or built
with perambulators when required.
Instead of using the foot to impart the motion to the seat a handle may be fixed
so that a child can produce the same effect and the heighting motion may when so
desired have a wavering motion added to the vertical one. We do not confine
ourselves to any particular material or combination of materials.
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page_text: A New or Improved Mechanical Nurse Chair or Rest.
We LEON L'HOLLIER of Bath Passage Birmingham in the County of Warwick
Perambulator Manufacturer and JOHN JAMES JULIAN ROCHFORD of Moseley Road
Birmingham in the County of Warwick Artist do hereby declare the nature of our
invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MECHANICAL NURSE CHAIR OR REST and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
"
13
This invention has for its object a new or improved mechanical nurse chair or
rest which is capable of almost exactly imitating the "dangling" or heighting"
action imparted in nursing children on the lap or in the arms. The purpose of the
invention is to accomplish this in such a manner that the mother nurse or other
attendant may be able to utilize their time in many ways whilst the child is
thoroughly amused and healthily exersised.
We will explain how the invention is applied in producing a childs chair capable
of a heighting action-We make a square based chair put together with four
pillars which project above the base and form guides for the seat in rising and
falling. The seat is made of any convenient form having arms and back and
guards for properly protecting the child as well as the usual moveable front bar for
securing the child in the chair. The seat of the chair is generally made with
a series of springs underneath or attached to a spring suspender or suspenders from
above. To the underside of the scat or other equivalent part we attach a rod or
bar which is connected to a rocking lever at or near the floor. This lever is hung
either upon a moveable fulcrum or upon a fixed fulcrum according as circumstances
may require and the front end projects outwards and is formed into a suitable
shape to receive the toe or foot which may be used to impart action to the seat
upon which the child rests. This lever may be counterweighted to somewhat
balance the child and the leverage is adjustable by holes and a pin or a spring and
catch, so as to make it adaptable to children of various weights although for
moderate ranges of weight no adjustment would be required. The rest may be
made so that the child can recline diagonally or horizontally as well as for sitting,
or the rest may be made a convertable one so as to answer to a number of positions
and in the case of invalided children the adjustable and convertable ones would be
of great service. The base of the chair may almost equally well be formed with
a pillar and internal or external spring or springs in fact the shape of the base and
other parts may be greatly varied.
The rest may be made portable on wheels or fixed or built with perambulators
when required.
Instead of using the foot to impart the motion to the seat a handle may be fixed
so that a child can produce the same effect and the heighting motion may when so
desired have a wavering motion added to the vertical one. We do not confine
ourselves to any particular material or combination of materials.
In order that our invention may be easily understood and more readily carried
into practice we have appended hereunto three sheets of drawings upon which we

page_text: have illustrated various applications of our improved mechanical nurse chair or rest
which we have designated The "Baby Minder" and from which other modifications
of the same principal may be carried out without trouble. We will no explain the
invention by the aid of the drawings
Figure 1. is an elevation of a Baby Minder which is shown with the seat or
chair A in its normal position The lever B is removeable and may be lifted out
without touching any fastenings and hung from the reach of children upon a nail
as shown by Figure 3 when the Baby Minder is applicable in all respects as a high
chair suitable for a child to sit at table in the ordinary way.
Figure 2. is a sectional plan on line C. D. showing the construction of the base
of the seat which requires to be substantial on account of the movement which will
be hereafter more fully explained.
Figure 4. is an illustration of the seat A lifted off the base so as to make it
applicable as a low scat.
Figure 5. shows the main part without the seat A applicable for use as a nursery
or other work table with the lower part E adapted for holding any small articles
and the upper part F as the top of the said table. An ornamented brass wire or
other fence may be put around the lower table E as a guard and as adding to the
ornamental appearance.
In the modifications of the Baby Minder now illustrated upon Sheet 1 of the
drawings the base is constructed from four legs G. G1 G2 and G3 upon the metal
base H which may be made as one casting or in four or other number of pieces
according to the number of legs, being in the latter case fastened between each leg
as distance stiffening pieces. The upper part of each of the legs G is secured to the
lower table E which constitutes a solid secondary foundation to which we attach
the base of each column J. J¹ and J there being in this instance three columns
shown. The upper part of each column is attached to the upper table F by
a flange K' which is fast to the rod K as shown more clearly by Figure 6. which is
a part sectional elevation of one of the columns showing how a rod such as K may
work in each of the columns with a suitable piston K2 or other provision made to
slide inside the column.
Such a piston packed with a little abestos or other material at K2 and under the
gland at K³ when necessary would work quite smoothly without noise and with
but little friction. The construction of these columns or guides may of course be
very greatly varied to answer the purpose of guides or to otherwise steady the chair
when the movement is transmitted thereto through the lever B or other convenient
part.
Now referring to Figures 1. and 2. besides the three columns J will be seen
a centre bar or tube b which is fixed into the upper table F and passes through
a suitable bushed hole in the lower table E where instead of the bush a gland and
stuffing box may be fixed. This rod b finishes in the case shown with a cross rod b
which works upon the two fingers band 62 at the end of the lever B. To the
frame H is fixed or cast the fulcrum with the varying resting places h² h³ and h
upon which the lever B may be hung. The action or working of this particular
modification of the Baby Minder is as follows:-The baby being placed in the
chair A with the guard A¹ secured before it the weight M is adjusted to such
a position upon the lever in regard to the fulcrum and rod b as to balance or
nearly balance the child, the chair A and upper table F. When this is done the
heighting movement may be imparted through the stirrup B³ which is hung
a suitable height to be used by the foot of an attendant when sitting down.
It
will be clearly understood that when a balance is obtained the work upon the
attendant is minimized. The lever may be so marked as to very nearly indicate
the weight of the child sitting in the chair. In chairs of lighter construction where
no frame work H is used the lever B may be adjusted against or to one of the
legs G of the chair by a pin or adjustable notches and in that case no separate
fulcrum would be required and the minder would be rather more portable.
Instead of the sliding fingers 61 and there may be a link or links used such as

page_text: shown by N in Figure 8. and many other evident modifications of the detail may
be adapted to the various designs or ways of carrying the invention out.
One such is shown at Figure 7 where the moveable handle F is fixed by a screw
or other device to the upper table F or other moving part so as to be in a convenient
place for the band of the attendant or older child. Besides balancing the weight
or child by the balance weight M suitable cushions or springs may be attached at
any convenient part such for instance as under the pistons K2 inside the columns
or under or around the rod b. In case also where it is desirable to not use n lever
a chain or cord may be used such for instance as shown by Figure 9 where the
end o of the cord o is attached to the rod b and run over the little friction
pulleys o and o³ finishing with a stirrup of or the cord o may be run under the
pulley and thus be carried to any part of the room so that the heighting or other
novement may be continued from any desired position. The dotted lines in the
upper part of Figure 1 shows the position to which the chair may be lifted in
the case of the particular modification now under consideration.
Our invention may be mounted upon wheels as in the case of a perambulator or
carriage of any kind which may be used in private grounds parks or other places
.according to convenience.
Figure 10 is an elevation of a carriage or perambulator the body R of which is
suspended from the end or other springs P. The handle is fixed in about the
usual position for the attendant. The wheels are hung to a suitable underframe to
which the base of the springs P are secured or the springs P may themselves form
a part of such underframe. The heighting motion may be in this case imparted as
follows At 1 under the body R we attach a chain cord or other connection which
is carried under the pulley R2 and from thence between the pulleys R3 and R' up
to the handle where it finishes with a loop or other convenient termination. This
chain may be used in any direction in causing the heighting movement i.c. either
from the position shown or from the position shown by the dotted lines terminating
at or near the ground at Rs. It will thus be evident that the attendant inay use
the motion when standing or wheeling the carriage along or when sitting upon
a scat or upon the grass.
The
Figure 11. is another modification showing a carriage body S mounted upon the
pillars T and having internal sliding rods and pistons such as those explained at
Figure 6 Sheet 1. which are attached to the body S. The carriage is propelled from
the usual handle U from which the supplemental U₁ may easily be reached.
handle U is connected at U with the lever U³ which is the means used in this
particular instance for transmitting the heighting motion to the body S through
the rod U which is jointed to the lever at us and to the body at us the fulcrum
being arranged at any convenient position U. A Balance us may be used to
balance the machine though the balance would not require to be so nice as in the
case of the machineo explained by Figures 7 to 9 inclusive. This also may be
worked by cords instead of a lever.
Figure 12. illustrates another modification of a Baby Minder on the crane neck
spring suspension principle. In this modification V is a substantial stool or base
mounted upon the legs and W is a bent spring to the termination W of which
the chair or seat or reclining rest W is hung. The motion is imparted in this case
by the stirrup W³ the chain w³ of which passes through the guide w'. The top of
the stirrup forms a stop to prevent the too sudden reaction of the chain to which
also a spring cushion may be also attached.
In this
Figure 13. illustrates a machine having a distinct compound movement.
modification X is the body, cradle or rest in or upon which the child reclines and
which is hung upon the pivots x and x which allows the cradle or cot to be rocked
in the ordinary manner. At Xa knuckle or othe joint or jaw upon which the cot
may turn when lifted at x by the lever ' or handle and chain X5. The details . f
the action of this lever is so evident from the explanations previously given of the
other modifications that it will be unnecessary to enter further thereou other than

page_text: to remark that the rocking action and the heighting of the head x2 may go on
either conjointly or separately as may be desired.
Figure 14. illustrates an example of a suspension rest attached to a balance beam.
In this modification Y is a substantial column attached to a base Y' and upon
which is hung the beam Z. At the end of the beam the seat or rest Z' is suspended
and it is balanced by the adjustable weight Z³.
The movement of the beam is limited by suitable springs Z³ and Z* and the
motion may be imparted through the chain Z and stirrup Z. It will of course be
very evident that a second seat may be applied to the apparatus herein explained
to balance the same or that provisions may be made for several children instead of
one without in anyway departing from the principle thereof but more than one
child is in no way necessary to the competent working thereof.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that
what we claim is
The new or improved mechanical nurse chair or rest whether stationary or
portable substantially as herein before described.