US1693564A

US1693564A - Hammock

Info

Publication number: US1693564A
Application number: US146364A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul J Murphy; Gregory B Sontag
Original assignee: ST STANISLAUS SEMINARY
Current assignee: ST STANISLAUS SEMINARY
Priority date: 1926-11-05
Filing date: 1926-11-05
Publication date: 1928-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1945-11-27

Description

Nov. 27, 1928. 1,693,564

P. J. MURPHY ET AL HAMMOCK' Filed. NOV. 5, 1926 L lNVEA/TOES W f Pnu/ J? Mar 0g 5/12 or .5. Jonhzy.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov 2?, lees,

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"PAUL J.

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Application filed November This invention relates to ham-mocks, and has for its main object to provide a hammock that is as COB'lfOl'titblG to lie upon as a conventional bed.

Another object of the invention is .to provide a hammock, which, in addition to having the desirable characteristic above pointed out, is light in weight, inexpensive to manufacture and t such design that it can be di assembled and assembled quickly and stored ina small space when it is not in use.

To this end a hammock has been devised that comprises a iiexible supporting member forn'ied preferably from a strip of fabric and combined with a means that effectively prevents the intermediate portion of said sup".

porting member from saggingor from fold ing'inwardly intermediate its side edges when it is subjected to the weight of a persons boc y. ble supporting member will yield or give sufiiciently to conform to the contour of the users body, but the intermediate portion of same will remain taut and disposed in a substantially horizontal plane throughout its entire area, even when it is subjected to a very heavy load. Consequently, such a hammock has all oi the desirable qualities of a bed and also the desirable features but none of the objections of a conventional hammock. v

'l he supporting member of ti e hammock is formed preferably from a strip ofcanvas or other suitable strong material, and the means that is used to prevent the intermediate portion or said supporting member from sagging or folding inwardly intermediate its side edges when the hammock is in use consists of two rigid end members, out greater length than the width of said intermediate portion, arranged transversely of the supporting 7 member, and devices attached to the end portions ottsaid transverselydisposed end members and connected to the side edges of the intermediate portion of said supporting member in such a way as'to tend to hold said intermediate portion taut and keep it from sagging. Preferably rigid side members are arrangedat the side edges of the intermediate port-ion. of said supporting member, and flexiblestays are attached to said side members and to said end members so as to support a person in a substantially horizontal plane by a proportionate distribution or the weight between the side and end members. It is im- When the hammock is in use the flexi-' EUREHY AND GREGQEYB. SOHTAG, OF ST. LOUIS, IVIISSOURI, ASSIGNORS T0 ST. STANISLAUS SEMlNABY, OF FLORISSANT,

MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF EAMMOGK.

5, 1926. Serial No. 146,364.

material how the end members are combined with or attached to the flexible supporting member of the hammock, and the devices or other means used-to join said rigid members to the intermediate portion of the supporting member can be constructed in various ways without departing from the spirit of themvention. It is preferable, however, to com bineco'iled springs or other suitable resilient elements with the flexible stays, so as to'impart substantially the sameilexibility to the hammock that exists in a conventional bed equipped with a mattress and a resilient sup porting means for the mattress.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a top-plan view of a hammock constructed in accordance with the invention. 1

Figure 2 in an enlarged perspective View of a'portion of the hammock, showing how the endportions of tie supporting member are disposed when the hammock is not in use and Figure 3 is a similar view, showing how the supporting member acts under a load.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, A designates a flexible supporting member formed usually from a strip of heavy canvas about 8 ft. long and inches wide, B designates rigid members arranged transversely of the supporting member A atthe ends of same and of considerably greater length than the width oisaid supporting member so that the members B will project laterally beyond the-side edges ofthesupporting member, asshow'n in Figure '1, G designates longitu'dinally-dis posed, rigid members arranged at the side edges or the supportingmember A,-and D designates'inclined flexible stays attached to the ends of the transversely-disposed end members B and to the longitudinally-disposed side members C. The side members C and the end members B may vary in length, but in hammock provided with a supporting member A of approximately 30 inches in width it will be sufiicient if the side members C are made approximately 32 inches long and the end members approximately l ft. long. Said end members and side members can either be constructed from wood or from metal,'preferably metal tubing. Any suitable means can be used to sustain the hammock or suspend it from a supporting structure, such, for example, as flexible members 'E constructed from rope or pieces of wire cable attached to the end members B and fastened to the supporting structure herein il lustrated as posts or uprights w.

The flexible supporting member A is herein illustrated as being provided at its ends with casings 1 in which the rigid end members B are rcmovably mounted and provided at the intermediate portion of its side edges with casings 2 in which the rigid side members C are removably mounted. The inclined stays D can either be formed from chains, pieces of cable, wire or rope, or they can be formed from flexible members combined with coiled springs or other resilient elements 3, as shown in Figure Generally, the stays D will be detachably connected to the rigid end members and side members 13 and C, respectively, and also constructed in such a manner that th y can be adjusted to vary the tensionon the intermediate portion of the supporting member A, and thus insure the intermediate pertion of said supporting member remaining in a substantially horizontal plane when it is subjected to either a very light load or to an extremely heavy load. In the hammock herein shown the end mem bers B are provided with hooks & that are adapted to be arranged in different links of the chains D, so as to change the length of the stays and thus enable the tension on the intermediate portion of the supporting member to be varied, to adapt it to difierent loads. It is also preferable to have the sustaining devices E detachably connected to the end members so as to permit the parts of the hammock to be disassembled quickly when the hammock is to stored or transported.

When the hammock is in use the intermediate portion of the supporting member A remains taut and disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, due to the fact that the stays D and the rigid side members C with which said stays are combined effectively overcome any tendency of the intermediate portion of said supporting member to sag, or to fold inwardly intermediate its longitudinal side edges. Although the member A remains taut, both endwise and transversely, it has sufiicient flexibility to conform to the contour of the users body, andaccordingly, the hammock is as com'tortable'to lie upon as a conventional bed. Such a hammock is inexpensive to manufacture, it is light in weight, it can be disassembled and assembled quickly and easily, and when it is not in use, can be stored in a small space. It has all of the desirable features and characteristics of a conventional hammock without being open to the objections oi the conventi .al hammock, i. e., sagging both lengthwise and transversely oi the portion of the hannnock on which the user lies, and it has all of the advantages oi a conventional bed, with the added advantages of compactness, low cost and ability to be taken down and stored away in a small space when not in use.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hammock, comprising a flexible supporting member, transversely-disposed rigid end members of considerably greater length than the width of said supporting member joined to the ends of same, rigid side members located adjacent the center of said supporting member and combined with the side edges of same, flexible inclined stays attached to said side members and to said end members, and flexible sustaining devices attached to said end members.

2. A hammock, comprising a flexible supporting member formed from a strip of tabric provided at its opposite ends and at the intermediate portions of its side edges with casings, rigid end members and rigid side members removably mounted in said casings, said end members projecting laterally beyond the side edges of said supporting member, and flexible, resilient stays connected to said side members and to said end members for resisting the tendency of the intermediate portion of said supporting member to sag or told inwardly when it is subjected to a load.

PAUL J. MURPHY. GREGORY B. SONTAG.