AN IMPROVED ADJUSTING COUCH FOR MEDICAL, SURGICAL, AND GENERAL PURPOSES."
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Adolphus Kirby, of Haverstock Hill,
London, Surgeon, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED ADJUSTING
COUCH FOR MEDICAL, SURGICAL, AND GENERAL PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Adolphus
Kirby at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 30th October 1852.
I, EDMUND ADOLPHUS KIRBY, of Haverstock Hill, Surgeon, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED ADJUSTING
COUCH FOR MEDICAL, SURGICAL, AND
SURGICAL, AND GENERAL PURPOSES" to be as
follows:-
In the Drawings annexed I show 12 distinct views of my adjusting
couch in different positions. The positions shown are those most
desirable for medical & surgical purposes, but in Figs. 1, & 2, it is
shown as an ordinary couch; in Figs. 3, & 12, in its most complex
form. For surgical operations this couch will be found very useful.
It will be seen that each part is moveable; back, front, and sides shift,
while joints in the frame admit of almost any change in position. The
required movement is effected by a graduated quadrant, actuated by a

page_text: rack & pinion, or other suitable means, on either side of the couch.
A connecting rod is attached to this quadrant. By these means one
part of the couch may be raised & another depressed in manner shown
by the Drawings, which fully illustrate the Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edmund Adolphus Kirby in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 30th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
EDMUND ADOLPHUS KIRBY, of Haverstock Hill, London, Surgeon, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for IIerself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Edmund Adolphus Kirby, Her special
licence that I, the said Edmund Adolphus Kirby, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edmund Adolphus
Kirby, 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
"AN IMPROVED ADJUSTING COUCH FOR MEDICAL, SURGICAL, AND GENERAL
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edmund Adolphus Kirby, by an instrument in writing under my
band and scal, 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 Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Adolphus Kirby, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say):
The couches for invalids hitherto made have been complicated in
construction, costly in price, and unsuited for any other than tho special
purpose for which they were made. Now the object of my Invention
is, to construct a couch which shall be easily adjustable to every position
required in the treatment of disease or accident, while it may be used
for the ordinary purposes of sleeping or reclining. My improved couch,
by an easy adjustment, forms a sofa, bedstead, or easy chair, and may
be put into a variety of positions without an effort of the patient. The
arrangement of the mechanism is not complicated, and this places it
within the means of all classes. But in order that my Invention may
be well understood I will proceed to describe the same, referring to the
Drawings annexed and to the figures and letters marked thereon, in
which similar letters of reference denote similar parts.
Figure 1, in the accompanying Drawing is an elevation of the couch;
Figure 2, a plan; Figure 3, an end view; and Figure 4, an elevation,
shewing one of the various positions in which it may be placed. A, A,
are legs supporting the framing B, B; within this is a moveable frame
C, C, upon which the mattrass or squab is placed; this is made in
three parts, and jointed at D, E, and F. At the central joint E, the rod
a, is fastened to the framing B, B, so that either end may freely move
up and down. G, is the head piece secured to the framing B, B. The
foot piece H, is so fastened to the framing B, B, that it may readily be
removed when required. I, is one of the side rails; these fit into the
sockets b, b', or when the position of the couch is altered they may
be removed to the part marked b', 6"; a groove c, underneath the
cushion of the side rail, is intended to receive the sides of the foot piece
H, and this, when extended across the couch, forms a convenient table
either for writing, reading, or working. Below the framing B, B, are
secured two pairs of brackets d, d, these support the shafts e, and e³,
upon which are fixed the wheels f, and f¹, gearing into the curved
racks g, and g¹. By means of these racks or segments the parts D, F,
of the framing C, C, are clevated or lowered as required, the ends of
the shafts e, and e', being made square, to receive a winch K, as shewn

page_text: at Figure 3. A ratchet wheel h, and h', are also fitted upon cach of the
shafts e, and e'; a pawl i, i, secured to the brackets d, and d', prevents
the recoil of the ratchet wheel. This arrangement is to retain the
framing C, C, in its place when elevated to any angle; to lower it, all
that is required is to release the pawl regulating the descent of the
frame C, C, by the winch K. k, k, in Figures 2, 3, is a friction roller,
against which the back of the rack 7, works. The racks g, and g', are
screwed or fixed to the cross pieces L, L', which are fastened to the
lower part of the framing C, C. The upper part of the moveable frame
between the joint F, and the head piece is adjusted, as required, by
mean of a spring and rack; to the cross piece L, is fastened a piece of
metal m, terminating in a circular head, having teeth cut upon its sur-
face, similar to the teeth of a ratchet wheel; the spring piece n, catches
in these teeth, and retains the part to which it is affixed in any position
•lesired. That portion of the framing between the joints D, E, is
elevated and depressed by the rack g', and wheel f', in manner pre-
cisely similar to that just described. Beneath the lower end of the
frame C, C, is jointed a lever o, which regulates the height and position
of the frame C, C, at the leg piece. Upon the racks g, and g', are studs
1, l', and to either of these the lever o, is fixed by means of notches cut
in the edge of it. I call the part F', the head part, the part from E,
to F, the body part; the two other parts E', and D', the thigh and leg
parts, because these parts can be raised independently of the others, or
altogether, and the couch affords great ease and comfort to any one of
these parts when required. The principle upon which I construct my
improved couch is applicable to any ordinary bedstead or couch, for it
is obvious that if the framing of such bedstead or couch be jointed in
manner similar to that described herein in reference to my improved
couch, and the other mechanism be applied, namely, the segments or
racks, ratchet wheels, pawl, winch, and connecting rods, that the bed-
stead or couch will assume the form and have the properties of my
improved couch. I propose to make my improved couch of wood or
metal, or of wood and metal, giving a preference to the latter materials.
I do not limit myself to the preciso details herein-before set forth and
shown, as I may slightly vary the number or position of the segments,

page_text: ratchets, and other parts. But I claim the manufacture of an improved
couch for medical, surgical, and general purposes, substantially as
herein-before described and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Adolphus Kirby, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three
EDMUND A. KIRBY. (L.S.)
EDMUND A. KIRBY. (L.S.)