US1048131A - Sleeping-car. - Google Patents

Description

.F. BRAOKETT. SLEEPING GAR.

v APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, 1910. I 1,048, 31. Patented-Dec. 24,1912.

2 sums-sum 1.

' F. BRAOKETT.

SLEEPING on. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 5, 1910.

Patented Dec.24,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

anue-Micvo I W 'nNrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK BRAGKETT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. I

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREonmoK-Bmomrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sleeping-Cars, of which'the fol- J lowing is a -spec1fication.- .7

The objects of my invent-ion are varied.

Among them the more important may be mentioned. I aim to obtain more room in the berths of sleeping cars, to eliminate the disadvantages of the upper berth, and to place it on an equal footing with the lower berths, to better ventilation, to secure more uniform and agreeable heating, to reduce the cinder deposits on seats, and to remove objectionable features of travel due to cindersydirt and dust, to provide added congers to such degree as is at present the case.

veniences for passengers, to increase the facility with which berths may be made and manufacture, and to render the parts and mechanisms of the sleeping compartments more durable. i In the attainment of the objects of vention, I divide a car having a housin the usual form centrally by a longitudinal partition extending nearly to each end' of the car, locate the seats on opposite sides of this my in partition with their ends abutting the par tition, and provide an aisle on each side outside of the seats.- It, should at once be apparent that passengers will have the same view through the windows ofthe car across,

the aisle as they have with the seats immediately adjacent the windows, the interruption due to passage of people up and down the aisle being only slight. Further it should be apparent that due to the removal of the seats from the immediate proximity of the windows, dust, dirt, and cinders blowing in through the windows, will fall for the most part inthe aisle, and will not deposit on the seats andinconvenience the passen- Further I form a lower berth ineach compartment by making the bed of the berth of two seats' which face each other, and of a berth section adapted to fill the space norm ally present between the two seats the said additional section being associated with and SLEEPING-CAR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 24, 1912,

Application filed October 5, 1910. Serial No. 585,530.

- height of the upper ends of the backs in vnor- Preferably these backs] are mal position. hinged at.their-upper edges and are adapted to be swung upwardly and outwardly into the plane of the bed of the upper berth. A filling section, similar to the filling section of the lower berth, is associated with the partition above the section of the lower berth, and, 1n 3, similar manner by'niaking the backs of the seats of a'suitable height all the space now available in lowerberths may be secured in this arrangemenband more, while in the upper berths owing to the central location of the berths considerable additional space is available owing to the Sufficient space" is raised roofs of cars. readily had by this arrangement to enable a person of average height to stand in'the upper berth; I 1

In both the upper and lower berths I provide suitable lockers and racks for thereception of clothing and personal articles,

and in the upper berth I provide two drop seats associated with the central partition: or

dividing wall' and adapted to be supported by the wall in position to be used by the occupant above at will, and tobe readily stored away when desired. Still further in the attainment of the objects of my invention I make'the central partition or wall of suflicient thickness'to give space for lockers in its interior, andso di- 1.

mension these lockers and so form the doors" therefor that the doors may be'swung 'outwardly to form compartment partitionsiim mediately above the skeleton backs of the seats which form compartment partitionsibe tween the lower berths.

The arrangement of the berths withf'respect to the roofing of the ear and with'respect to the heating system is such that excellent ventilation and ,heating is secured,

and that the comfort of increased.

In the accompanying drawings I show Onewemboclill'ientof my invention, which embodiment is the best form of my inventiori now known to me, but it will be evident uppn an understanding of this embodiment-,that my invention may be given other forms without de artin from its P g generic spirit.

f the drawings -Figure '1 is a perspec tive view of the compartment of the sleeping car of my invention with the seats in their normal condition, that is with the berths broken; Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the same compartment showing the berths made, and the compartment partitions 1n position; Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a sleeping car taken centrally through the opposed compartments, showing the berths in position for use and the seats dropped down; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the car with a centrally raised roof portion 11. This. A 30.

siderable thickness, the'partition having .at'

of my invention with the'roof removed to show the interior arrangement of the seats; Fig. 5 is a detail of an upper berth step.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, designates'the main body of the housing of the car which is provided housing is divided centrally for a suitable distance by a partition or wall 12 of coneach side a double wall form'edby boarding 13 and '14: spaced apart. Seats 15 and 16 are arranged in'the usual manner facing each other and transversely of the car on opposite sides of this partition, with one end abutting the partition and with the other end on an aisle 16 between these other ends of the seats and the side of the car. Thus the car is divided into two halves, over each half of which a conductor has an unobstructod vision when the seats are in their nbrmal condition for day traveling as shown in Fig. 1. The seats being removed from the Windows prevents the ready access of cinders, dust and dirt to them, and at the,

same time gives the passengers the same view of the windows as would be bad if the seats were placed abutting the side walls of the car.

Hinged centrally of each compartment on partition 12 is a section 17, hinged by hinges at its lower end and on its inner edge, so that its body is against thepartition as shownin Fig. 1, and so that it lies parallel to the face of said partition when it is raised. This section is of the same length as the seats and is adapted to be lowered to a position between them as shown in Fig. 2, 'and to completethe' bed of the lower berth. The space previously occupied by it may when is laid down he used forstoring clothing, and other articles of hinged at their upper ends in such a manner that they may be turned upwardly to posi: tion shown in Fig. 2 by simply moving the cushions 15 and 16 of the seats to release their lower ends. They may be positioned in horizontal plane at the normal hei ht of the backs of the seatsas shown in ig. 2. Immediately above the section 17 which completes the bed of the lower berthis a similar but narrower section 19 which is hinged at one end against the outer boarding 14, and adapted, when not in use, to swing upwardly against the boarding l4.

pa ssengersisgreat-ly apparel. The backs 18 or" these seats are This section l9 is of a width sufficient :to

completely fill in the jspace between the lower edges of the backs 18 when the latter are raised into a horizontal plane to complete the upper berth. The opening in the boarding 14, as best seen in Fig. 3, which registers with the section 19 receives bedding and the like carried on the section 19 when the latter is raised up out of the way, the compartment behind theboarding 14: housing the bedding. Any desired and suitable fastening means may be provided for retaining the sections 17 and 19 upright in the partitions, as for instance the locks 19" indicated by outline in Fig. 1. Pins 21 in. f

the seats 15 and 16, and in the lower ends of their backs 18, are ada ted to enter holes 21 in the sections 17 an 19 to hold their outer ends in place. By making the backs of the berths of suilicient height, the space between the lower and upperberths may be made anything desired. It will be observed that the seats terminate substantially under the beginning of the rise in the roof, and that there is therefore quite a space available in the upperberth by virtue of the location of the berths beneath the rise 11. Thisspaoe is such as to enable a person of ordinary height to. stand within the berth.

The mattresses are stored within lockers 22 in the space between the walls 13 and1-lof the partition 12. The doors 23 of these lockers are hinged at the corners of the compartment,-and are adapted to swing outwardly to the position 'shown in Fig. 2 and constitute compartment partitions between i the upper berthsin the same manner as the skeleton backs 24 constitute compartment partitions between the lower berthsf When the mattresses are removed the space which they occupied is available for storing clothing, and I provide suitable hooks within the lockers-in each case for this purpose. Further T provide seats 25 movable toward and from the boarding 13, and in this instance hinged to the boarding 13 at one end in such a manner that they may be swung outwardly as shown in Fig. 2. Their outer-ends may be supported by cords 26 or by other means.

Above the aisles and in the angles between the sides and the roof, are provided racks. 27mthe receipt of articles from the upper berth. Lockers 28 are also provided in the uppen compartments above the folding sections 19 for the convenient use of passengers, these lockers 28 being secured against the V boarding 14.

The curtain usually used is mounted on a pole 29 supported immed ately below the racks 27, and serves its usual functions.

Steps 30 and 31, hingedto the sides of the q seatposts 32 of the seats, and adapted .to

automatically swing upwardly and out of the way when not in use are provided for convenient reaching of the upper berth. As

. shown a silnile sairal S)1l11 in connection with a hinge secures the steps in their folded position. (See Iig. 5.)

That the ventilation of this car will be excellent will be readily understood when it is considered that the upper side lights 33 may 1 be readily manipulated by the porter, and

that circulation of air takes place through these and through the bottom gratings 34 in the floor of the car. The heating apparatus 35 is located in its usual place on the sides of the car, and the rising heated air will pass into both berths, and passing through the racks 27 will escapethrough the side lights That I have obtained the objects of my invention and that I have further produced a sleeping. car in which the parts maybe made with great facility and the parts of which are combined to secure the best efiiciency should be apparent. y

1. In a sleepingcar, a sleeping compartment comprising a wall,- two seats arranged .faci-ng each other at right anglesto .said

wall and spaced apart, the backsot sa d seats being adapted tobe raised to a horizontalplane to form a bed, a small bed sec; tion hinged against said wall and normally resting in a folded up position and adapted to be lowered to fill-thegap between the two raised backs ofthe seats, lockers in said .wall' on opposite sides 10f said bed. section, bo anddoors for said lockers,'the said doors skeleton'backs of the seats.

being of dimensions adapting them for service as compartment partitions above the 2. In a sleeping car, a sleeping 'compart-,

i'nent comprising a wall, two seats arranged facingeach other at right angles to said Wa'lland spaced apart, the backs ofQsaid seats being adapted to be raised to a} horizontal plane t'o form a bed, .a small-a 'bed section hinged near said wall .andbeing normally folded up to a vertical position and adapted .to be lowered to fillthe, gap between liars-3 the two raised backs of the seats,

"bed

section, and doors for said lockers hinged on the sides adjacent the backs of the seats, and of a. dimension adapting them for service. as compartment partitions above the skeletonbacks of the seats.

In a sleeping car a central partition,

boarding spaced from the side of the par tition to provide a storage compartment, skeleton backs outstanding in parallel spaced relation from the partition, opposed seats arranged the lower ends of the skeleton backs, hin ed'backs mounted upon the upper ends of the skeleton backs and adapted to swing up into parallelism with the seats, a lower berth section hinged against the partition and adapted to join thefiseats to form backs hinged at their upper ends and adapted to swing up intd a horizontal plane, a section hinged against the partition between the seats and adapted to swing down and close the spacetbetiveen the seats to form a. lower berth, and a second section hinged against the boarding and adapted to swing down between the ,raised backs to form an upper berth, said panels being adapted to swing outwardly and meet the hinged ends of the backs to close the ends of the upper berth. p e

5. In a sleeping car, acentral and longitudinal partition,, 'saiid partition having storage spaces formed at one\ side of the same, panels hinged to the partition and adapted to normally close the storage spaces, seatsoutstanding from the partition and being arranged to face one another, superposed hingedsections carried against the partition between the seats, the lower one of the sections beiiig adapted to swing down between thehprizontal portionsof the seats and the upper, section being adaptedto swing down in parallelism'with andabove the first section, ,said seats having backs adapted to swing iipwardl'y-into a horizontal plane and meet the opposite edges of the upper section, said upper section being adapted to rest ,againstflthe partition to eljose'the storage space-therein. I

'6; In ,a sleeping ,"c'ar,-a having'storage spaces at its opposite sides, opposed seats outst-anding from? theopposite sides ofthe lvfall, said seat-s having 'Fback'S adapted to swing upwardl t e fl h i z e lPos io when the latter sire raised, said upper sec- Vitnesses:

and hinged sec tions carried by the well one In testimony whereof I have hereunto set above the other and adapted respectively to my hand in presence of two subscribing fill in the spaces between the horizontal porwitnesses. tions of the seats and'the ends of said backs FREDERICK BRAGKETT.

tions When'rhised being adapted to close said J. P. Tmnox, sfom snares. ARTHUR L. BRYANT.

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