AN IMPROVED LIFE-PRESERVING BED OR MATTRESS FOR USE ON BOARD SHIP
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of the firm of A. M. and
W. Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the county of Middlesex, Patent Agents,
for an invention of "AN IMPROVED LIFE-PRESERVING BED OR MATTRESS FOR
USE ON BOARD SHIP."-A communication from abroad by Marshall H. Holmes
(Artist) and Jacob R. Steiner (Publisher), both of St. Paul, in the county of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th May 1882.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. & W. Clark of 53 Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agents,
"AN IMPROVED LIFE-PRESERVING
BED OR MATTRESS FOR USE ON BOARD SHIP." [A communication from abroad by
Marshall H. Holines (Artist) and Jacob R. Steiner (Publisher), both of St. Paul, in
the county of Ramsey and state of Minnesota, United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to construct a life preserver for use on board
ships which shall combine the three functions or uses of a bed, boat and raft, and
the Invention consists in a bed or mattress and frame of novel construction and
provided with attachments whereby the life preserving capacities of the bed may
be readily, expeditiously, and effectually put into use.
The mattress is similar in shape to the mattress of an ordinary bed but is
enclosed within a frame of wood or other buoyant material.
This frame is fitted
to slide like a drawer in and out of fixed guides or ways in the state room of a
vessel whereby in case of shipwreck the mattress with its frame may be readily
taken out to be used as a life preserver.
The mattress is mainly filled with cork either chipped or in pieces, or other
suitable buoyant material sufficient in quantity to give it the necessary buoyancy
to support when in the water a heavy person or more than one person of ordinary
weight. On top of the cork filling may be placed hair, moss, or any other filling
which will make the bed soft or easy to sleep on. Leather straps across the top of
the mattress are buttoned at their ends onto the frame to keep the mattress in

page_text: place when thrown overboard. Oars are arranged at the sides of the mattress,
being chained to the frame thereof to prevent them from being lost, and suitable
apertures are made for reception of the irons which are attached to the oars, the
whole being arranged in any convenient way which will admit of the oars being
drawn out when required to propel the frame enclosed mattress as a boat. On top
of the mattress are handles or straps for the person using the mattress as a life
preserver to hold onto when jumping with it overboard, and the mattress frame is
also furnished with handles to enable the frame enclosed mattress to be drawn out
of its place in the fixed ways when it is required to convert the bed into a life
preserver or at other times.
A central hole of sufficient capacity to receive the body of a person through it is
made in the mattress which hole is closed with a removable filling that in a rough
or chopping sea may be removed and the person using the bed as a life preserver,
after unbolting or removing certain of a number of ropes that are arranged across
the bottom of the frame, passes the lower portion of his body through said hole
and straddles as a saddle a leather strap arranged beneath the aperture and
preferably of sufficient length to bag or bend. This strap is secured at its ends to
under cross pieces of the mattress frame. When thus straddling the strap, the life
preserver or bed is prevented from turning over and the person using said life
preserver has his arms and upper portion of the body free to use the oars to propel
himself.
The aperture and its filling piece may be made either round or square or of any
suitable form, or the mattress may be made with a central breadth which is
removable from between two end breadths and of sufficient size to allow, when
removed, of the body of a person passing through the opening which when in place
it closes.
The bed is held in place by ropes on pins as in the old style of bedsteads, and
the whole is so constructed as to make it light and portable and easily handled,
and by reason of the cork filling saturation does not impair its buoyancy. It may
be of the usual size of an ordinary berth in a vessel and any number of such life
preserving beds may be lashed together and be made into a capacious raft for
women and children and the oars can be used as paddles to propel it.
On the bottom of the mattress frame at each end are bolts for holding it in place
on the ways when using the mattress as a bed, and on the ends of said frames are
rings for lashing two or more of the life preserving beds together when converting
thein into a raft. These rings lie or shut down within recesses in the mattress
frame so as not to interfere with the sliding of said frame and its enclosed mattress
within the fixed ways.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th November 1882.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the Firm of A, M, and W, Clark of 53 Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex Patent Agents "AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING
BED OR MATTRESS FOR USE ON BOARD SHIP." A communication from abroad by
Marshall. H. Holmes (Artist) and Jacob R. Steiner (Publisher) both of St. Paul in
the County of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to construct a life preserver for use on board
ships which shall combine the three functions or uses of a bed, boat, and raft, and
the Invention consists in a bed or mattress and frame of novel construction and
provided with attachments whereby the life preserving capacities of the bed may
be readily, expeditiously, and effectually put into use.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of a state room of a vessel with a
series of the improved life preserving beds in their places therein, said view
showing two lower beds in the same plane and one bed in a plane above them.
Figure 2 is a perspective view as seen from below of one of the mattresses with its
frame as drawn out from its place and showing a strap arranged beneath a central
hole in the mattress, the use of which will be hereinafter explained. Figure 3 is
another perspective view of the mattress frame fitted with oars and having ropes
crossing its bottom, and Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line x-x in
Figure 2.
A is a mattress similar in shape to the mattress of an ordinary bed but enclosed
within a frame B of wood or other buoyant material. This frame is fitted to slide
like a drawer in and out of fixed guides or ways C in the state room, whereby in
case of shipwreck, the mattress with its frame may be readily taken out to be used
as a life preserver. The mattress A is mainly filled with cork either chipped or in
pieces, or other suitable buoyant material sufficient in quantity to give it the
necessary buoyancy to support when in the water a large sized person, or more
than one person of ordinary weight. On top of the cork filling may be placed
hair, moss, or any other filling which will make the bed soft or easy to sleep on.
Leather straps b across the top of the mattress are buttoned at their ends onto the
frame to keep the mattress in place when thrown overboard. At the sides of the
mattress are arranged oars D which are chained to the frame of the mattress to
prevent their being lost and suitable apertures are made for the reception of the
irons which are attached to the oars, the whole being arranged in any convenient
way which will admit of the oars being drawn out when required to propel the
frame-enclosed mattress as a boat. On the top of the mattress A are handles or
straps cc for the person using the mattress as a life preserver to hold onto when
jumping with it overboard, and handles d d are provided on the mattress frame B
to enable the frame enclosed mattress to be drawn out of its place in the fixed
ways C when it is required to convert the bed into a life preserver, or at other
times. A central hole e of sufficient capacity to receive the body of a person
through it, is made in the mattress, which hole is closed with a removable filling E
that in a rough or chopping sea may be removed, the person using the bed as a
life preserver (after unbolting or removing certain of the ropes f across the bottom
of the frame) passing the lower portion of his body through said hole and straddling
as a suddle a leather strap G arranged beneath the aperture and preferably of
sufficient length to bag or bend. This strap is secured at its ends to under cross

page_text: pieces g g of the mattress frame. When thus straddling the strap G the life
preserver or bed is prevented from turning over, and the person using said life
preserver has his arms and the upper portion of his body free to use the oars to
propel himself.
The aperture e and its filling piece E may be made either round or square or of
any suitable form, or the mattress may be made with a central breadth which is
removable from between two end breadths and of sufficient size to allow, when
removed, of the body of a person passing through the opening which when in place
it closes.
The bed is held in place by ropes on pins as in the old style of bedsteads, and
the whole is so constructed as to make it light and portable and easily handled,
and by reason of the cork filling, saturation does not impair its buoyancy. It may
be of the usual size of an ordinary berth in a vessel and any number of such life
preserving beds may be lashed together and be made into a capacious raft for
women and children, and the oars can be used as paddles to propel it.
On the bottom of the mattress frame B at each end are bolts h h for holding it
in place on the ways C when using the mattress as a bed, and on the ends of said
frame are rings kk for lashing two or more of the life preserving beds together
when converting them into a raft. These rings lie or shut down within recesses in
the mattress frame so as not to interfere with the sliding of said frame and its
enclosed mattress within the fixed ways C.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is.
1st A buoyant frame-bound life preserving mattress having a removable filling
piece or portion and constructed and provided with means whereby it may readily.
be converted from a bed into a boat or raft, substantially as specified.
2nd The combination of a buoyant mattress having a central aperture removably
filled, the surrounding buoyant frame B sliding in ways of stateroom, the straps bc,
the handles d, the ropes f, and the strap G secured at its ends under cross pieces g
of frame B, substantially as shown and described.
In Witness whereof I the said Alexander Melville Clark have hereunto set
my hand and seal this eleventh day of November, A.D. 1882.