IMPROVE- MENTS IN SPRING BED BOTTOMS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel John Salkeld, of No. 4, Middle Row, Holborn,
in the County of Middlesex, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SPRING BED BOTTOMS."-A communication from abroad by John
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel John Salkeld at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th February 1866.
I, SAMUEL JOHN SALKELD, of No. 4, Middle Row, Holborn, in the County
of Middlesex, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING BED BOTTOMS," a communication, to be as follows:-
The nature of the said Invention consists chiefly in the employment of
longitudinal elastic or yielding slats or strips provided at their ends with oblong
slots or apertures, through which slots screws or pins pass into the cross rails
or bars of the frame, an india-rubber washer being interposed between the
longitudinal slats and the said cross bars. A frame of the proper size to fit
the bedstead is made of wood or other suitable material, the sides being
secured to the ends or cross bars in any convenient manner. The said longi-
tudinal slats or strips formed of some elastic or readily yielding wood are about
the same length as the frame, and by preference about two aud one-half
inches wide. These slats when placed upon the cross bars of the frame are
about two inches apart, and extend a little beyond the said cross bars. The

page_text: screws or pins for retaining the slats or strips in their position are first firmly
fixed in the cross bars; a washer or flat ring of india-rubber having a central
perforation is then placed over each screw or pin with its lower face in contact
with the top of the cross bar for the ends of each slat to rest upon. The
oblong holes or slots in the ends of the said slats are enlarged at their outer
extremities to enable them to pass over the heads of the screws or pins fixed
in the cross bars. When the slats are to be placed in their respective positions
the oblong slot at one end thereof is passed over a screw or pin in one of the
cross bars. The slat is then bent till the enlarged portion of the oblong slot
at its other end will pass freely over the head of the corresponding screw fixed
in the opposite cross bar. The slat is then released and will become straight,
in which position its removal is prevented by the screw heads. When it is
necessary to reverse the slats to renew their elasticity they can be easily
removed by first bending them to detach one end from its screw or pin in the
manner above described; the other end is then easily taken up, and the slat
can be turned over and replaced in its proper position upon the cross bars.
The oblong slots or holes through which the screws or pins pass allow the
ends of the slats or strips to slide upon the cross bars as the slats are depressed
or bent, the top surface of the said bars being curved or rounded. The said
slats are therefore unimpeded in their action, and from the elastic nature of
their material will form a support of a very agreeable character. The india-
rubber washers prevent the noise which would be caused by the rubbing
together of two surfaces of wood or metal. This Invention combines cheap-
ness, simplicity, and durability. The paliasse is unnecessary with this bed
bottom, a thin mattress only being required, and it is superior in point of
comfort to the more expensive spring mattresses.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel John Salkeld in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
JOHN SALKELD, of No. 4, Middle Row, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant

page_text: unto me, the said Samuel John Salkeld, Her special licence that I, the said.
Samuel John Salkeld, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Samuel John Salkeld, 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 law-
fully 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING BED BOTTOMS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Samuel John Salkeld, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing 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 Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel John Salkeld, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
forming a part of this Specification:-
The nature of the said Invention consists chiefly in the employment of
longitudinal elastic or yielding slats or strips provided at their ends with oblong
slots or apertures, through which slots screws or pins pass into the cross
rails or bars of the frame, india-rubber washers being interposed between the
longitudinal slats and the said cross bars.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of a bed bottom; and Figure 2, a longitudinal section of
the same on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan of a portion of the
Like letters refer to corresponding parts in each of the Figures.
same.
A frame A of the proper size to fit the bedstead is made of wood or other
suitable material, the sides a thereof being secured to the ends of the cross
bars in any convenient manner. The longitudinal slats or strips B are
formed of some elastic or readily yielding wood, and are in practise made
about the same length as the frame A, and by preference about two and
one-half inches wide. These slats when placed upon the cross bars bare
about two inches apart, and extend a little at each end beyond the said cross
bars. The screws or pins C for retaining the slats or strips in their position
on the cross bars b are first firmly fixed in the said cross bars; washers or flat

page_text: rings D of india-rubber or other similarly elastic material having a central
perforation are then placed over the screws or pins C with their lower faces in
contact with the tops of the cross bars b. The slats or strips B are then
placed upon the top of the india-rubber washers D, which being soft and
elastic prevent any friction arising between the said slats and cross bars. The
oblong holes or slots c in the ends of the slats or strips B, through which the
ends of the screws or pins C project, are enlarged at their outer ends to pass
over the beads of the said screws C to allow the slats B to be placed in their
respective positions on the bars 6 or removed therefrom. When the slats B
are to be placed upon the bars 6 the slot c at one end of each slat or strip B is
first passed over one of the screws or pins C. After being forced endwise as
far as the screw will permit the said slat is then bent or deflected till the
enlarged portion of the slot c at the other end of the said slat will pass freely
over the head of the screw fixed in the opposite cross bar b, as represented in
dotted lines in Figure 2, bringing the slots c into the position represented in
Figure 3. The slat then released from pressure and will assume the straight
form represented in full lines in Figures 1 and 2. When this is done the
small part of the slot c will be drawn under the head of the screw C, and will
thereby be securely held in its position. When the elasticity of the slats or
strips B has become impaired by use it can be renewed by simply reversing
the position of the said slats so as to turn their under sides upward. To effect
this, or to remove the said slats or strips for any other purpose, they are first
bent into a form similar to that already described, which allows one end of
each slat to be first raised from its screw or pin C, the other end is then easily
taken up, and the said slat can be turned over and replaced in its proper
position upon the cross bars b. The oblong holes or slots c allow the ends of
the slats or strips B to slide freely upon the cross bars 6, and yield to pressure
applied to any portion of the said slats or strips, which being unimpeded in
their action and formed of very elastic material will afford a support of a very
agreeable character. This Invention combines cheapness, simplicity, and
durability, and is free from the objections attendant upon the employment of
spring mattresses and other devices of a like nature. By its use the palliasse
is rendered unnecessary, a thin mattress only being required, and it is greatly
superior in point of comfort to the more expensive spring mattresses or other
devices hitherto employed for the same purpose.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I wish it understood that I do not confine myself to
the exact form or dimensions of the parts berein described and illustrated; but
claim the longitudinal elastic wooden slats or strips B supported upon the

page_text: cross rails b and provided with the oblong boles or slots c fitting over the
screws or pins C, for the purpose and substantially in the manner set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel John Salkeld, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
S. SALKELD. (L.S.)