IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHEDS OR TENTS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Speyer, of the Firm of Messieurs Martin
Speyer and Company, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF PORTABLE SHEDS OR TENTS.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Speyer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th January 1875.
I, MARTIN SPEYER, of the Firm of Messieurs Martin Speyer and
Company, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHEDS OR TENTS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in an improved mode of constructing portable
sheds or tents, whereby they can be rapidly erected and taken down and
folded up for the convenience of transport.
My improved sheds or tents consist of two or any greater number of
wrought-iron principals, made by preference of bars of rolled T iron

page_text: which are bent to the shape of the roof and sides; the portions forming
the sides are hinged to the portion supporting the roof, and the corners
are strengthened by diagonal stays; the principals are united by angle
or other shaped iron cross bars which are jointed together for the con-
venience of transport, and locked together by tie rods at the ridge pole
and sides; the diagonal stays and the cross bars are connected to the
principals by studs and cotters.
The roof is made of tarpauling or other waterproof fabric, and the
sides and ends which are made of canvas or other suitable material
are connected to the inside of the roof by hooks and eyes or other
cquivalents.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Martin Speyer in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARTIN 1
SPEYER, of the Firm of Messieurs Martin Speyer and Company, of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the 2
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Martin Speyer, Her special
licence that I, the said Martin Speyer, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Martin Speyer, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PORTABLE SHEDS OR TENTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Martin Speyer, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or onc
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be

page_text: performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the dato
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Martin Speyer, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
My Invention consists of an improved mode of constructing portable
sheds or tents, whereby they can be rapidly crected and taken down and
folded up for the convenience of transport.
My improved sheds or tents consist of two or any greater number of
wrought-iron principals, made by preference of bars of rolled T iron
which are bent to the shape of the roof and sides; the portions forming
the sides are hinged to the portions supporting the roof, and the corners
are strengthened by diagonal stays; the principals are united by angle
or other shaped iron cross bars, which are jointed together for the con-
venience of transport, and locked together by tie rods at the ridge poles
and sides; the diagonal stays and the cross bars are connected to tho
principals by studs and cotters.
The roof is made of tarpauling or other waterproof fabric, and the
sides and ends which are made of canvas or other suitable material
are connected to the inside of the roof by hooks and eyes or other
equivalents.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily.
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked
thereon,-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2, a side elevation of my improved
portable shed or tent; Fig. 3 is a plan of part of the same; and Figs. 4,
5, 6, and 7, are detached views of the parts in detail.
The principals are made, by preference, of bars of rolled T iron, but
they may be of other section, the parts a forming the sides are rivetted
to the malleable cast-iron shoes b, and the parts c supporting the roof are
hinged to the sides a at d. The parts c are united at the top by the
plates e which are rivetted to one of the said parts c, and connected to
1 the

page_text: the other by the double studs f which are chained to the top of the
principal, so that they cannot be lost when the tent is taken to pieces
for transport. Each part of the double stud has a cotter chained to it,
and these cotters pass through holes in the studs to prevent them getting
loose. The parts of the principal marked a and c are strengthened at 5
the corners by the diagonal stays g, the lower end of each of which is
hinged to the bar a, and the upper end is connected to the part c by a
stud and cotter which is also secured to the principal by a chain; this
chain serves also to hold the parts of the principal together when folded
up, as shewn in Fig. 4, and the strap secured to each side of the 1
principal is also tightened round the parts when folded up.
The ridge pole of the tent is the bar h, shewn detached in Fig. 5,
which is also made, by preference, of T iron rounded off at the top,
and which is notched out at each principal to fit over the plates e.
The principals are also connected together by the tie rods i, see Fig. 6, 1
placed near the shoulders of the tent, and these tie rods are notched out
to fit in staples j rivetted to the bars c of the principal.
.
The lower part of the sides of the tent are further strengthened by the
diagonal cross bars k, which are made by preference of rolled angle iron,
and which are jointed together at the centre of their length; these cross 2
bars are connected together and to the lower part of the principals by
studs and cotters chained as before to the bars a. When the tent is
being packed for transport these cross bars are folded together, as
shewn at Fig. 7.
The roof of the tent consists of a large sheet of tarpauling or other 2
waterproof fabric, the centre of which is secured to the ridge pole h, and
hangs down at each side below the tie rods i, and at each end it overlaps
the said principals. The sides of the tents are made of canvas or other
suitable material, and they are suspended to the under side of the roof
sheet by hooks and eyes or other equivalents, but care must be taken
that the roof sheet projects beyond the point of suspension of the sides to
carry off the water. The end sheets of the tent are also made of canvas or
other suitable material, and they are suspended to the roof sheet near to
the end principals. The end sheets are closed by chains fixed to the end
plates e, and these chains are taken through rings secured to one of the
end sheets and passing through eyelet holes in the overlapping end
sheet,

page_text: The sides and ends of the tent are held down to the ground all round
by rods of iron, and the end rods are provided with slots fitting on pegs
which are driven into the ground; the end of each chain is passed
through a hole in each peg, and then secured by a padlock, as shewn in
Fig. 1.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the details given; as the same may be varied or
modified, and I claim, the improved mode of constructing portable sheds
or tents, whereby they can be rapidly erected, taken down, and folded
up for the convenience of transport, as shewn and described, or any mero
modification thereof.
modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Speyer, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of July, One thousand
ciglit hundred and seventy-five.