Improvements in and Relating to Ships' or other Berths.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Feb., 1886.
Complete Left, 11th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 11th Jan., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Relating to Ships' or other Berths.
Wo EDWARD LAWSON of Charlotte Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick,
Bedstead Manufacturer and EDWIN WILLIAM DE RUSETT of Fell Road Croydon in
the County of Surrey Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
In the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to us No. 3624 of 1882
we described certain arrangements in which fold-up or turn-up berths were supported
on the inner side by brackets upon which the berths when they had to be folded
or turned up were first made to move or slide outwards to a sufficient extent to
give space for the bedding between the ship's side or other part and the folded or
turned up berth.
In the same specification we described an arrangement in which a lee rail or lee
board extending only about half the length of the berth could be turned or swung
round upon a central post so as to occupy a position at the one or the other end
of the berth as may be desired.
For various reasons such as want of space and other local peculiarities or
irregularities it is sometimes inconvenient to move or slide out a berth in order to
fold or turn it up, or to turn or swing round a lee rail or lee board or to fit a
central post for such rail to turn on.
Now our present invention consists of certain arrangements or fittings whereby
berths with their bedding can be folded or turned up without being first moved or
slid outwards and of certain arrangements or fittings whereby without the employ-
ment of a central post a half lee rail or lee board can be moved as desired to either
end of the berth.
For the purpose of enabling a berth with its bedding to be folded or turned up
without being first moved or slid outwards we connect to the inner side of the
berth frame the lower ends of two (or other suitable number of) lugs or links the
upper ends of which have holes that receive horizontal pintles or pins secured to
the bulkhead or other support. The inner side of the berth is thus supported by
the pintles or pins through the intermediation of the lugs or links, and this
without any space being of necessity lost between the bulkhead or lining and the

page_text: front of the berth; the lugs or links may either be rigidly fixed to the berth frame
or hinged thereto; the outer side of the berth can be supported by brackets of any
convenient form or by other suitable contrivances. When the berth is being
folded or turned up into the vertical position it turns upon the pintles or pins and
there will be a space for bedding and bed clothes of a width about equal to the
length of the lugs or links. Instead of the pintles secured to the bulkhead or
other support as above described, gudgeons may be employed and in this case
pins to enter the gudgeons would be attached to the lugs or links; or the lugs
or links may have holes, and loose pins be used to pass through these holes and
into or through the gudgeons to secure the parts together. Or, for convenience
of removal of berth we use hooks to receive the pins or the links or lugs may
terminate in hooks to take the pins before described as being attached to the
bulkhead or other support.
When a berth is supported by only one hinged head or foot rail in conjunction
with a support in a bulkhead or other available means we make a socket in the
bulkhead or other support to embrace a flange on the outer end of the berth and
hold the berth end to the bulkhead.
For the purpose of enabling a half lee rail or lee board to be moved as desired
to either end of the berth we either arrange it to slide longitudinally or to turn
on a socket. When arranged to slide longitudinally we attach it at the lower part
to collars that will slide freely on the outside bar of the berth frame and we have
on cach half of this bar bosses or projections that the collars fit. We also make
the lee rail with knobs, balls or other like projections at the ends to take into
corresponding cups or receivers on some suitable fixed part. When at the one
end of the berth the half lee rail fits by means of its knob into the corresponding
cup or receiver while the collars at the lower part fit the bosses on the corre-
sponding half of the bar of the berth frame. If it is desired to shift the half
lce rail to the other end of the berth it is slipped along the bar until the collars
embrace the bosses on this half, the knob at this end at the same time fitting
into the corresponding cup. The section or form of the bosses may be varied as
desired, the interior of the collar being of corresponding configuration. When
the berth has to be folded or turned up, the lee rail is shifted so as just to
clear the collars from the bosses; it may then be turned under or over the berth
frame.
Our invention has special reference to the sleeping berths of ships but the
arrangements above described are also applicable to sleeping berths in railway
carriages and also in barracks or other buildings.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Relating to Ships' or other Berths.
We EDWARD LAWSON, of Charlotte Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Bedstead Manufacturer and EDWIN WILLIAM DE RUSETT, of Fell Road,
Croydon, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer 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 :-
In the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to us, No. 3624 of 1882, we
described certain arrangements in which fold-up or turn-up berths were supported on
the inner side by brackets upon which the berths when they had to be folded or
turned up were first made to move or slide outwards to a sufficient extent to give
space for the bedding between the ships side or other part and the folded or turned
up berth.
In the same Specification we described an arrangement in which a lee rail or lee
board extending only about half the length of the berth could be turned or swung
round upon a central post so as to occupy a position at the one or the other end of
the berth as may be desired.
For various reasons such as want of space and other local peculiarities or irregulari-
ties it is sometimes inconvenient to move or slide out a berth in order to fold or turn
it up, or to turn or swing round a lee rail or lee board or to fit a central post for such
rail to turn on.
Now our present invention consists of certain arrangements or fittings, being
further improvements founded upon those described in our said former Specification,
whereby berths with their bedding can be folded or turned up without being first
moved or slid outwards, and of certain arrangements or fittings whereby without the
employment of a central post a half lee rail or lee board can be moved as desired to
either end of the berth.
For the purpose of enabling a berth with its bedding to be folded or turned up
without being first moved or slid outwards we connect to the inuer side of the berth
frame the lower ends of two (or other suitable number of) lugs or links the upper
ends of which have holes that receive horizontal pintles or pins secured to the bulk-
head or other support. The inner side of the berth is thus supported by the pintles
or pins through the intermediation of the lugs or links and this without any space
being of necessity lost between the bulkhead or lining and the front of the berth;
the lugs or links may either be rigidly fixed to the berth frame or hinged thereto;
the outer side of the berth can be supported by brackets of any convenient form or
by other suitable contrivances. When the berth is being folded or turned up into the
vertical position it turns upon the pintles or pins and there will be a space for
bedding and bed clothes of a width about equal to the length of the lugs or links.
a shows
Figure 1 of the annexed drawings illustrates this part of our invention.
part of one of the end bars of the berth frame. bis a lug or link connected to the
inner side of the frame. In the upper end of each lug or link is a hole to receive a
corresponding horizontal pintle or pin e secured to the bulkhead or other support.

page_text: Instead of the pintles a secured to the bulkhead or other support as above described,
gudgeons may be employed, as seen at d, Figure 2, and in this case pins c to enter the
gudgeons are attached to the lugs or links ; Or as is shewn in Figure 3, the lugs
or links may have holes, and loose pins e be used to pass through these holes and into
or through the gudgeons d to secure the parts together. Or for convenience of removal
of berth we use hooks, as seen at e, Figure 4, to receive the pins e on the links or lugs b.
Or the links or lugs may terminatei n hooks, as seen at /, Figure 5, to hook on to pins c
attached to the bulkhead or other support.
In all the modifications there may be any desired number of the lugs or links b and
corresponding parts and the lugs or links may be connected to the inner side of the
berth frame either at the ends as seen in the figures or at any convenient intermediate
points.
In Figure 6 (Sheet 2) we have shown two complete berth frames fitted with the
arrangement represented in Figure 4; the upper berth is shown in the turned up
position and the lower one in position for use.
When, as is the case with the berths shown in Figure 6, a berth is supported by
only one hinged head or foot rail g in conjunction with a support on a bulkhead or
other available means, we make a socket on the bulkhead or other support to embrace
a flange on the outer end of the berth and thus hold the berth end to the bulkhead.
Sockets for this purpose are seen at h, h, Figure 6, and one of them is shewn on a
larger scale in Figure 7 (Sheet 1). i is the flange on the outer end of the berth to
enter the socket h. Or instead of the flange on the end of the berth we use a hook i
as shown in Figure 7a to hook into an eye or socket secured to the bulkhead or
other support.
For the purpose of enabling a half lee rail or lee board to be moved freely as
desired to either end of the berth we arrange it to slide longitudinally and with
this view we attach it at the lower part to collars that will slide freely on, by
preference, the outside bar of the berth frame and we have on each half of this bar
bosses or projections that the collars fit. We also make the lee rail with knobs, balls
or other like projections at the ends to take into corresponding cups or receivers on
some suitable fixed part.
This part of our invention is represented in Figure 6 and also on a larger scale in
Figures 8 to 11, Figures 8 and 9 illustrating a form that differs slightly from that
shown in Figures 10 and 11. 7 is say the outside bar of the berth frame and m, m are
bosses or projections thereon. is part of the half lee rail. n, n are collars to which
this rail is attached at its lower part. These collars are internally of larger diameter
than the bar so that they will slide freely thereon, but they fit the bosses or projec-
tions
m, m.
The lee rail has also projections o, o at the ends to fit corresponding cups
or receivers in some suitable part. In Figure 6 there are cups on the end bulkhead
to receive the projections o, o of the lee rails, and if these lee rails be moved to the
other end of the berth the projections o at that end will be received by corresponding
cups p attached to the hinged head rails g. The bosses m, m are preferably tapered
at the ends to allow the collars n, n to be slipped on to them more readily. The
sectional form of the bosses and the internal configuration of the collars must be such
that the collars will not tend to move axially on the bosses. In Figures 8 and 9 there
is shown for this purpose a feather or key on the boss and a corresponding key-way
in the collar, while in Figures 10 and 11 this arrangement is reversed the feather or
key being on the collar and the key-way in the boss. When it is at the one end of
the berth the half lec fits by means of its knob o into the corresponding cup or
receiver (see the lower berth in Figure 6) while the collars n, at the lower part
fit the bosses m, m, on the corresponding half of the bar of the berth frame. If it
is desired to shift the half lee rail to the other end of the berth it is slipped along the
bar until the collars n, n embrace the bosses m, m on this half, the knob o at this end
at the same time catching into the corresponding cup or receiver p. One great
advantage of this part of our invention is that the paint or enamel on the bar is not
liable to get scratched (as would be the case if the collars fitted the rail) when the
lee rail is moved from one end of the berth to the other. This advantage can be
1

page_text: further increased by lining the collars with india rubber or other suitable material.
When the berth has to be folded or turned up, the lee rail is shifted so as just to clear
the collars from the bosses; it may then be turned under or over the berth frame (see
the upper berth in Figure 6).
Our invention has special reference to the sleeping berths of ships but the arrange-
ments above described are also applicable to sleeping berths in railway carriages and
also in barracks or other buildings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim in
respects of ships' or other berths is :-
1. The several arrangements or fittings hereinbefore described and represented
respectively in Figures 1 to 5 whereby berths with their bedding can be folded or
turned up without being first moved or slid outwards.
2. The combination with bosses or projections on a bar of the berth, of collars on
the half lee rail or lee board, the said collars fitting and being held by those bosses or
projections that are situated on whichever half of the said bar the lee rail or lee
board is moved to, as and for the purpose hereinbefore described with reference to
Figures 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.