IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS OR SLEEPING ACCOMMODATION, PRINCIPALLY INTENDED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT
James Maze Kilner, Chaplain of Chester
Castle, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS OR SLEEPING
ACCOMMODATION, PRINCIPALLY INTENDED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES,"
Sealed the 14th August 1868, and dated the 20th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Maze Kilner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th February 1868.
I, JAMES MAZE KILNER, Chaplain of Chester Castle do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BED-
INTENDED
PRINCIPALLY
STEADS
SLEEPING ACCOMMODATION.
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
FOR MILITARY
I provide planks of sufficient length for the beds, and arrange them
two or three deep (one above the other) on their edges. in parallel
rows, so as to form the required number of compartments; I support
the planks on both sides by perpendiculars of flat bar iron and keep
them the required breadth apart by ferrules of tubular iron; I pierce both
planks and perpendiculars for the reception of lengths of rod iron which

page_text: pass through them and the ferrules. By means of nut screws, the
structure thus formed is rendered ridged and portable. For military
purposes the length of the planks may be 13 feet, their distance apart
2 feet. Supported as described at their centres and extremities, the
ferrules will form stretches for two hammocks in each long com-
partment. Six of these double lengths will supply comfortable sleeping
accommodation for twelve men in a structure that with the above
dimensions (and an allowance one inch for the thickness of the
several planks) will form a perfect superficial square. These com-
partment bedsteads may be used, 1st, in barrack rooms; 2nd, in
sheds or outbuildings temporarily hired; 3rd, on ship board; 4th,
in the open field. In the latter case some of the perpendiculars are
made longer to support ridge poles that will carry a canvass covering
in a gable form; the gable ends may be filled in with canvass or they
may be attached by eyelet holes and a cord lacing to the cable ends
of corresponding structures. Fish plates in such case connect the
ridge ropes to those of neighbouring tents. In this way a connected
row of these structures may be erected. "Storm ropes" when required
may be attached to any of the ferrules passed over the tents and
secured in the ground to windward. The hammocks when not required
may be rolled up in pairs to the centre ferrules, and the compartments
used by the occupants for dressing or otherwise. Transverse planks
may be laid to form seats and mess tables in daytime, to be removed
at night when the hammocks are extended. The advantages of these
compartment bedsteads are economy of cost and space, lightness,
strength, comfort, healthfulness, and facility of construction and dis-
location.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Maze Kilner in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
MAZE KILNER, Chaplain of Chester Castle, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the

page_text: year of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Maze Kilner, Her special
licence that I, the said James Maze Kilner, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said. James Maze Kilner,
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 luvention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BEDSTEADS OR SLEEPING ACCOMMODATION. PRINCIPALLY INTENDED
FOR MILITARY PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said James Maze Kilner, my. executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or
under my, or their, or one 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 performed,
and cause the same to be filed. in the Great Seal Patent. Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: In the course of the following Specification reference is made to
Drawings which are annexed, that the nature of my Invention may be
more readily seen and understood.
I provide planks of sufficient length for the beds, and arrange them
on their edges in parallel rows, so as to form compartments corresponding
in number to the beds required; I support the planks on both sides by
perpendiculars of flat bar iron (Fig. 14) and keep them the required
Dreadth apart by ferrules of tubular iron; I pierce both planks and
perpendiculars for the reception of lengths of rod iron which pass
through them and the ferrules. By means of nut screws at the
extremities of the rods the structure thus formed is rendered rigid and
portable in its integrity. Where an extended series of compartments is
required longer than can conveniently be tied by single lengths of rod
iron, form some of the ferrules with internal screws to receive corre
sponding screws on the rods; thus, any extension of the structure may
be attained without a visible juncture of the rods.
This part of my Invention I also apply to the construction of fencing,
whether of wood and iron combined (Fig. 20) or of iron only (Fig. 16
& 18), it is also applicable to the construction of stables and all
buildings connected with camps for sanitory and other purposes, and
for cattle pens Fig. 20; so, also, it may be used (omiting the flat
iron) for connecting plank joists to carry the floors of rooms, Fig. 6.
To form military bedsteads, the length of the planks may be 13 feet,
their distance apart 2 feet. Supported as described at their centres
and extremities the ferrules will form stretchers for two hammocks
in each long or double compartment. If desired, transverse planks
may be laid to form a flooring for the tent or hut (Fig. 6), otherwise
it is supposed that there will be no other flooring than the ground.
The two hammocks above referred to may be made in one length of
canvas stretched from its extremities, and having additional tension
imparted to it by a plank at its centre erected on its edge as the
bridge of a string instrument; by this arrangement the men lie in an
inclined position as in a guard room with their heads towards those
on the opposite side, Fig. 3. Where greater lightness of structure
in proportion to numbers is a desideratum, I arrange the hammocks
one above the other as berths on board ship, the extremities of the
upper hammocks being supported by the flat bar iron perpendiculars

page_text: at the ends of the planks, and their centres sustained in a higher
position by transverse bars supported by the middle uprights, Fig. 3.
it should be observed that the compartments need not all be occupied
by beds, but some of them may be reserved as dressing rooms; thus
the small ground plan, Fig. 4, shows eight compartments; those dis-
tinguished by a cross are supposed to be each occupied by two beds
one above the other, while the remaining four compartments are for
dressing rooms, the entrances to which would be at e and e. With a
canvas curtain drawn at the line A, B, the occupants of the beds in
such a tent would be unseen by each other, and their accommodation
practically such as is supplied to passengers on board ship. Sometimes
1 stretch the hammocks on an incine by raising their outer extremities
(Fig. 5), so that the men sleep with their feet pointing toward the
centre of the tent or hut; this latter arrangement admits of ready
access to the hammocks by a plank gangway extending along the
centre of the tent or hut beneath the highest pitch of its gabled covering.
This gangway or bridge should be sufficiently high for the men when
in their hammocks to have their feet beneath it. In the day time,
when the hammocks are roned up, the bridge or gangway may be
raised to the heighth of an ordinary table and used as such, Fig. 6.
Loose transverse planks may be placed in any convenient position as
benches for the men to sit on, while at night time these may be laid
on the table with their rough sides upwards to preserve it from injury
when used as a gangway. Fig. 8 shews the ground plan of a tent or
hut to accommodate twenty-five men in separate hammocks; the space
of one bed is left for access to the bridge or gangway by which all the
beds may be reached. Fig. 6 shews a side elevation (with part of the
covering removed), and Fig. 11 a perspective view of the same structure.
If preferred, planks 15 feet or more in length may be used in the con-
struction of the tent or hut, so as to admit of the formation of a
central passage in lieu of the gangway or bridge last described. The
flat iron perpendiculars (or wood in lieu thereof) may be equivalent
in their length to the breadth of the planks (Fig. 14) or extended
upwards, to support ridge poles that will carry a canvas, felt, wood,
or other covering in a circular or gable form If canvas is used the
crutch that supports the centre ridge pole may be raised or lowered
so as to regulate the tension of the canvas as it contracts or expands
under the influence of wet or dry weather. Although the flat bar

page_text: iron suggested for this Invention may be such as is ordinarilly used
in -commerce with holes drilled where required, it is intended to
manufacture specially for the purposes of this Patent flat bar iron
perforated at-regular intervals by the operation of the factory rolling
mills or otherwise (Fig. 15, 17, 19). By the use of such perforated
iron the weight of the structures contemplated in this Invention
will be considerably lessened, while their strength will not be
diminished more than if the iron were pierced only at the chief
points of strain for the passage of the rods. The ferrules may be
cut the required lengths, from the tubular iron ordinarily used for
gas or water purposes. So also the couplers, which may be of +, L, or T
form when rigid stays or intersections are needed for the structures.
N.B. Where rod iron is specified, tubular iron of lesser calibre may be
substituted. The planks for the rougher purposes of this Patent may be
the ordinary flooring boards of-commerce,- while for domestic bedsteads
wood or metal framework, more or less ornamented, may be substituted.
To adapt the hammock, principle to the ordinary bell. tent, I. form
a hoop of galvanized tubular iron as large in diameter as the tent
will admit, Fig. 13. For convenience of removal the hoop may be
made in segments connected by couplers or dowels. The hammocks
for this purpose may be made endless as roller towels; they pass round
'the hoop and radiate inwards to what I call my "hammock dead-eyes,"
Fig. 10; each of these dead-eyes has three or more holes, through which
a rope of sufficient strength is passed in consecutive circles within
the bights of the several hammocks, and finally "set up" by a con-
trivance known to sailors as a Spanish windlass, i.e., two round pieces
of wood, one of which acts as a capstan and the other as a lever,
to revolve it. The bight of each endless hammock is compressed
between the cusps of the dead-eye (Fig. 10), thence the hammock
spreads out as a fan, and its edges radiate (as shown by the dotted lines)
towards the hoop; Fig. 9 shows the dead-eye in profile. The hoop may
be lifted from the ground by crutches (Fig. 12), while the pole of the
tent should have holes through which to pass a rope or chain to trice
up the dead-eyes, so that the hammocks when occupied may be clear of
the ground. Fig. 13 shows the ground plan of a bell tent with fifteen
hammocks stretched therein; the space of one hammock is left vacant
opposite the tent door for ingress and egress, so that anyone of the

page_text: 35
occupants supporting himself by the tent pole, may pass to or from
his particular hammock without disturbing his fellows. A lesser
number of hammocks can be extended in like manner with equal facility
and of course with greater intermediate space and consequent con-
venience. Except in stormy weather the tents first described require
no tent pegs or stakes driven into the ground, so that they may be
erected in a barrack yard or on any hard ground without injury to it
or with equal facility in an open field; in either case the work of
construction or dislocation may be effected in a few minutes. The
component parts (including the canvas when rolled up to the side
ridge poles) being all straight may be readily packed and removed.
When in exceptional cases stays are required I prefer galvanized chain to
rope, and use in connection with the former my "grab-links" which act
on chain as wooden "tent-stretchers" do on rope, retaining it at any
point of its length. The original simple form of the grab-link is drawn
and described under the Patent granted me by Her Majesty, April 5th;
1867; other forms and improvements in this instrument are given in
Fig. 1 & 2; the narrow parts of either will "grab a chain, which on
being removed to the circular part may pass freely through. Fig. 1
may be attached to the end of a welded chain by two S hooks, which
combined afford a connection of equal strength to a shackle or welded
link with greater neatness and convenience for small chains. Fig. 2
will connect two parts of the same chain or two separate chains at
any point of their respective lengths. The grab-link is applicable to
chains of all sizes from the cable of the "Great Eastern " to a lady's
watch guard; it acts on small chain as a buckle does on a strap, and
hence may be used for packing the tents and hammocks and securing
them on carts or when rolled up. I further extend the hammock
principle by the formation of a very cheap kind of bed, by means of
eye-bolts screwed into the floor of a room, say, 13 feet apart, so as to
form stretchers for 12 feet of canvas, to be tightly distended by a
"fiddle-bridge" in the centre, thus forming beds for two people, who
would lie with their heads (slightly raised) towards each other off the
ground, as in Fig. 3. The same style of bed might be adopted for
troops on a campaign as they would be lighter than probably any other
description of bed. Strong tent pegs might be used instead of eye-
bolts and a light frame or piece of plank erected on its edge as the
fiddle-bridge," while a waterproof counterpane would with the incline

page_text: given to the body carry off the wet, when as is sometimes the case
the covering of a tent cannot be obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Maze Kilner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
JAMES MAZE KILNER. (L.S.)
Chaplain of Chester Castle.
JAMES MAZE KILNER. (L.S.)
Chaplain of Chester Castle.