Improvements in the Method of Attaching Corner Castings to the Ends of Wooden Rails in the Construction of Mattress Frames.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 17th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 23rd Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of Attaching Corner Castings to the
Ends of Wooden Rails in the Construction of Mattress Frames.
We ISAAC CHORLTON of 19 Blackfriars Street Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Spring Mattress Manufacturer and GEORGE LAMB SCOTT of the same place
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
Our said Invention relates to mattress frames the sides of which are made of wood
and the ends either of angle iron or steel or of wood. The corner castings to the
attachment of which our invention particularly applies are of various forms and for
several purposes. For example in a mattress frame supporting an elastic metallic
surface of woven wire or chain and springs or combinations of these, not intended to
be adjustable, the corner castings are simply brackets upon which the end members
are mounted, while in a mattress frame having a like metallic surface (or a surface of
woven wire) intended to be adjustable, the corner castings, or one pair of the same,
might constitute the guides upon which the brackets slide which carry the ends, and
the part through which the adjusting screws pass. In most of the cases these corner
castings are formed as shoes to fit over or embrace the end of the wooden side rail and
are either three sided with an additional projection or toe to enter the rail or form a
right angle to sit on the rail and cover the end. In these cases the corner castings
are secured to the wooden rail by means of wood screws passing both through the
upper part of the bracket into the top of the rail and also through the back into
the end of the rail. The screws which enter the end of the rail are those which are
called upon to take the greater part of the strain and being screwed.into the end grain
of the wood they are generally unable to resist any great tax on their holding power.
In addition to this the insertion of so many screws assists to split the end of the rail
and when the wood shrinks it is often impossible to draw the casting close up to the
end of the rail again, especially against the strain of the mattress. By means of our
invention we are enabled to attain five desirable ends. In the first place we greatly
diminish the size and weight of the corner castings. In the second place no wood
screws are inserted into the end of the wood rails and the liability of the rails to split
is decreased. In the third place we cbtain greatly increased security of the castings
on the rails and prevent the castings from yielding and canting under the strain of
the metallic surface. In the fourth place as the wood shrinks, the shrinkage may be
easily taken up and the castings made fast again by simply turning a nut.
the fifth place as the ends of the rails are bound firmly between the corner castings
and a large washer or plate any natural tendency of the wood to split is corrected
and prevented. In forming our improved corner castings we make them without
any embracing extensions to go over or round the ends of the rails but make them
simply to sit upon the upper side of the rail end. In the bottom of the casting wo
core or otherwise form a tee or other recess to receive the head of a bolt which is of
sufficient length to pass down through the rail and to project at the bottom side
sufficiently to take a washer and nut. This bolt is brought as near the end of the rail
as is consistent with leaving sufficient thickness of wood between it and the end of
the rail with the object of bringing the bolt as nearly as possible opposite to the part
of the casting where the effect of the strain of the mattress surface is more imme-
diately felt. To prevent the inner end of the bottom or foot of the casting from
sinking into the top of the wooden rail under the strain we drive flat headed nails or
screws into the rail or attach a thin plate so as to protect the wood, and let the
inner end or heel of the bracket rest upon this protection. The upper part of the
casting where the bolt head is recessed is or may be sunk into the rail but in
some cases this would not be necessary. A single screw, nail or spike may pass
While in

page_text: through the foot of the casting into the top side of the rail merely to prevent
endwise movement but this might not always be necessary. This additional security
or two or more such spikes or screws is however advisable in cases where the
corner casting carries the guides or extensions upon which the adjustable brackets
carrying the mattress ends are slid backwards and forwards by screws as is well
understood. In some cases it might not be necessary to form a masked recess for
-the bolt head. As has been said the lower end of the bolt is fitted with a nut and
between the rail and the nut we interpose a plate or washer of the full breadth of the
rail which gives a firm basis for the nut and greatly assists the bolt to resist the
strain. As the nuts and the projecting ends of the bolts are beyond the level of
the lower side of the side rails and would interfere with the seat of the mattress frame
on the bedstead we attach blocks or feet or supports to the lower side of the rails upon
which the mattress frame stands when it is placed on the bedstead. The addition of
these feet prevents the mattress frame from being affected by unevenness of the
bedstead sides.
Dated this 28th day of January 1889.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of Attaching Corner Castings to the
Ends of Wooden Rails in the Construction of Mattress Frames.
We ISAAO CHORLTON of 19 Blackfriars Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Spring Mattress Mauufacturer and GEORGE LAMB SCOTT of the same
place, 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 stateinent and accompanying drawings
Our said Invention relates to mattress frames the sides of which are made of wood
and the ends either of angie iron or steel or of wood. The corner castings to the
attachment of which our Invention particularly applies are of various forms and for
several purposes. For example in a mattress frame supporting an elastic metallic
surface of woven wire or chain and springs or combinations of these not intended to
be adjustable, the corner castings are simply brackets upon which the end members
are mounted, while in a mattress frame having a like metallic surface (or a surface of
woven wire) intended to be adjustable, the corner castings, or one pair of the same,
might constitute the guides upon which the brackets slide which carry the ends, and
the part through which the adjusting screws pass. In the most of cases these corner
castings are formed as shoes to fit over or embrace the end of the wooden side rail
and are either three sided with an additional projection or toe to enter the rail or
form a right angle to sit on the rail and cover the end. In these cases the corner
castings are secured to the wooden rail by means of wood screws passing both through
the upper part of the bracket into the top of the rail and also through the back into
the end of the rail. The screws which enter the end of the rail are those which are
called upon to take the greater part of the strain and being screwed into the end grain
of the wood they are generally unable to resist any great tax on their holding power.
In addition to this the insertion of so many screws assists to split the end of the rail
and when the wood shrinks it is often impossible to draw the casting close up to the
end of the rail again, especially against the strain of the mattress. By means of our
invention we are enabled to attain five desirable ends. In the first place we greatly
diminish the size and weight of the corner castings. In the second place no wood
screws are inserted into the end of the wood rails and the liability of the rails to split
is decreased. In the third place we obtain greatly increased security of the castings
on the rails and prevent the castings from yielding and canting under the strain of
the metallic mattress surface. In the fourth place as the wood shrinks, the shrinkage
may be easily taken up and the castings made fast again by simply turning a nut,

page_text: Fig. 7 is a plan view of the corner casting or bracket b.
Fig. 8 is a section of Fig. 7 at the line C. D.
Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the bracket a which is intended to be
applied to the adjustable end of a mattress frame carries an extension of a dove-
tail section upon which slides the adjustable bracket d which carries the angle
iron end e to which the elastic metallic or other mattress surface is hooked or
attached. The adjusting screw 9 passes loosely through the bracket a and engages
with a screwed portion of the bracket d or with a nut placed therein. The foot
of the bracket a which is preferably sunk into the wooden rail, as shown, so as
to give better resistance to the strain of the mattress surface f, is formed with a
T shaped recess a' which appears very clearly in the perspective view Fig. 3 the
said Trecess being formed to fit the head and square neck of a bolt which also
appears in perspective in Fig. 3. The end of the wooden rail is bored and the
bolt is passed there-through and is provided at the lower end with a nut h¹, a
washer being interposed between the nut h¹ and the wooden rail. The bolt / is
by preference brought as near to the end of the rail as is consistent with
leaving sufficient thickness of wood between the bolt and the end of the rail with
the object of bringing the bolt as nearly as possible opposite to the part of the
bracket where the strain of the mattress surface is more immediately felt. The
bracket a is thus securely held to the wooden rail by the bolt and nut. The end
of the extension c is or may be secured to the rail by a wood screw ; but this
is not in all cases necessary as the strain of the mattress surface tends to keep
this ond down. Indeed to prevent the toe or end of the extension from digging
into the wooden rail we sometimes drive a flat headed tack t or -nail into the rail
and let the toe of the bracket rest thereon or a thin metal plate might be secured
to the rail at this point. The mattress frame is or may be provided with feet k.
which may consist of pieces of wood secured to the under sides of the rails x.
The angle iron or steel end is attached to the brackets & by means of the
square snug which occupies a square hole in the vertical web of the angle end e
in accordance with an invention for which we have been granted Letters Patent
No. 17067 of the year 1887.
Referring now to the corner bracket b at the fixed or non-adjustable end of the
mattress frame and as illustrated in Figs. 2, 5, 7 and 8, it will be seen that the
bracket bis cast hollow and a hole m to fit the square neck of the bolt n is
formed in the bottom. The bolt is introduced through the open top of the bracket
and passing down through the rail end is secured by a nut n' against a washer pas

page_text: in the case of the other end. A screw nail 7 or other holdfast may be employed
to further secure the toe of the bracket b and the said toe may rest on a nail-head,
plate or other hard body as in the case of the toe or extension of the bracket a. In
the drawing the angle iron or steel end is shown as attached to the bracket & by
means of the two round cast snugs s. s in accordance with our invention for which we
have obtained Letters Patent No. 14.607 of 1888. It will of course be evident that
the shaped recess in the foot of the bracket a to receive the bolt head and neck is
equally applicable to the bracket and although we have particularly described the
aforesaid two convenient modes of securing corner brackets or castings of the indicated
nature to wooden side rails it will be understood that other modes of introducing the
bolt head into the brackets, or passing the boit down through the brackets or otherwise
so applying the bolts so as to prevent them from interfering with the other fittings,
could be devised and will be apparent to experts. In addition to these the bolt
shank might be tapped or cast into the brackets a and b and instead of a nut, a
tapering pin or cottar might be used; but these variations are too apparent to
require particular setting forth. The invention is applicable to mattress frames
adjustable at one end as set forth or either adjustable or non-adjustable at both ends.
Instead of the metallic ends being of angle iron or steel as shown they might be of
any other suitable section or they might be tubular or instead of having metallic
ends these might be of wood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
(1) In the construction of mattress frames having wooden side rails and corner
castings or brackets of metal to receive the end members or rails, attaching the said
corner brackets to the wooden side rails by means of bolts, soated in or passing
through or engaging with or projecting from the said metal corner brackets and
passing through the ends of the wooden side rails and secured by a nut and washer
or other means substantially as described and illustrated.
(2) In a metal corner bracket for application to the ends of the wooden side rails
of mattress frames, forming a T shaped recess in the foot of the bracket to receive
the head and neck of a bolt which passes through the end of the rail and is secured
by a washer and nut or other means substantially as described and shown with
reference to the bracket a.
(3) In a metal corner bracket for application to the ends of the wooden side rails
of mattress frames forming the said brackets hollow with a square hole in the foot so
as to receive a bolt the shank of which passes through the end of the side rail and is
secured by a washer and nut or by other means substantially as described and shown
with reference to the bracket b.
DL: 10th 1
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.