US2120093A - Spring filling construction for mattresses and cushions - Google Patents

Description

June 7, 1938.

W. B. FOSTER SPRING FILLING CONSTRUCTION FOR MATTRESSES AND CUSHIONS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS June 7, 1938. w. B. FOSTER 2,120,093

SPRING FILLING CONSTRUCTION FOR MATTRESSES AND CUSHIONS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I9 l9 k al Z fir] 3 I8 l3 l8 l8 Rf 3' 20 1-22 7'7 flu v 9- 4 7 i *3 .2 13 1e 15 23 2e 16 I & 24

is DIG 2 l? /1 1S NVENTOR 17 BY Q.

BYW&W

ATTORNEYS Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES SPRING FILLING CONSTRUCTION FOR MATTRESSES AND CUSHIONS William B. Footer, mm, N. 12., assignmto Fem: Brothers Manufacturing Company, Utica. N. Y.,

a corporation Application January 15, 1936, Serial No. 59,268

2 Claims.

This invention relates to spring filling constructions for mattresses and cushions and particularly to the frame and border construction thereof and the means for reinforcing the same.

The purpose of my present invention is to provide a new and improved spring filling construction for mattresses and cushions and particularly to provide an improved and simple form of border construction and to provide an effective and economical form of bracing or reinforcing the side edges or borders of the spring filling and also to provide a frame or border construction formed of two three-part members with the middle of each part forming the side of the spring filling border and with the opposite ends of said member turned inwardly along the ends of the construction and overlapping similar parts coming from the other side of the construction whereby a complete border may be readily formed and assembled which is strong and adapted to readily form borders for the different sizes of constructions and to form borders that can be readily adapted to the desired and varying sizes of the assembled spring fillings.

Further purposes are to provide new and improved combinations of several of the abovementioned features.

Further purposes and advantages will appear from the specification and claims herein.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of either the top or bottom fade of a spring filling construction embodying this invention, intermediate parts of the structure both transversely and longitudinally being omitted so as to show the essential parts of the whole spring filling and its frame, most of the coiled springs being shown in conventionalized form by omitting their intermediate spiral coils.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of either one of the two similar three-part wire frame or border members and Fig. 3 is a. plan view showing two of these three-part border members in the relative position they occupy when assembled upon a spring filling, said views being on a smaller scale than that used in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view on a similar reduced scale of one form of a transverse brace used in several forms of this invention. Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views on a like reduced scale similar to Figs. 2

and 3 of a modified form of three-part border' member.

In order to show the new and essential features of the invention more clearly and in order to avoid obscuring these features by full mechanical showings of the spiral wires, the edge spiral wire II and the interior spiral wire IS in Fig. 1

' ,are shown mechanically only by a short section and in the remainder of the figure they are shown diagrammatically. by spaced parallel dash marks.

Referring to the drawings in a more particular description and first to the form of the invention 5 illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, it will be seen that this spring filling construction includes a plurality of coiled springs l2 arranged on end side by side in transverse rows, a border extending about the top and bottom side and end edges of the 10 structure, said border in the main being composed of straight wire I! and a spiral wire it which spiral wire connects the straight wire to the adjacent terminal coils I5 of the main coiled springs l2.

Preferably adjacent transverse rows of springs are arranged so that the terminal coils I! of adjacent transverse rows will come close together or slightly overlap assuming that as is usually the case the springs I! will be arranged in longitudinal as well as transverse rows as appears in Fig. 1. The adjacent terminal coils of springs in the longitudinal rows will be flexibly or hingedly connected to each other by a transversely extending spiral wire l6 extending between the terminal coils of an adjacent pair of the transverse rows of springs. This spiral wire is threaded around the adjacent or overlapping pairs of terminal coils of the springs and then the extreme coils of the spiral wire are compressed or closed to keep the spiral wire in place.

The preferred border construction in this spring filling for both the top and bottom edges thereof consists of a straight wire member l3 and the spiral border member I4. The member I3 is formed out of a length of wire of the proper length and the desired strength, stiffness and resiliency, the length being sumcient to form a piece of the shape best shown in Fig. 2; that is, with a central or side portion I! and two end portions ll at right angles to the side portion i1 and parallel to each other. These angularly disposed parts l1 and i8 are preferably connected by intermediate curved corner parts [9 having a radius similar to the radius of the terminal coils l5 so that when these border members are assembled upon a set of springs the curved corner part I9 will substantially fit or align with the adjacent portion of a terminal coil of a corner spring.

The end portions 18 of these angular shape members i3 formed of straight wire are purposely made of sufiicient length so that when a pair of them are assembled upon a set of springs the members It at each end of the border frame 66 will overlap to a considerable extent, say to the extent of twice the diameter of the terminal coils. This overlapping of these end portions I8 serves several purposes. Inthe first place a supply of such parts I! of one size can be used to form several different sizes, that is widths of I spring filling by allowing these end portions l8 to overlap a greater or less extent without injury to the construction. In the second place, these open ended U-shaped frame members facilitate the assembling of the structure in that the free extremities of these end portions l8 can be placed through a length of "the edge spiral wire ll if desired without having to screw the spiral wire into place on the straight wire members. Another purpose served by this feature is that the formation of the straight wire frame out of two of these open U-shaped members allows the wire border frame to adjust itself automatically to the size of the individual spring assemblies to a considerable degree and to an extent necessary to prevent distortion and internal strain upon the structure that sometimes tends to warp or distort parts of the structure or of the border. Furthermore, this construction of overlapping ends of the wire border allows a slight resiliency in the width of the end rows of springs which operatesto remove strain and allows a temporary expansion and contraction under strain that might otherwise distort the spring structure. As will appear from Fig. 1 the lengths of spiral wire ll effectively but hingedly or pivotally connect the parts of the border wire II to the adjacent parts of the terminal coils of spiral wire member is new. By forming the border of a length of straight wire and a length of spiral wire, the spiral wire serves to connect the straight wire to the adjacent portions of the terminal coils of the border springs without the use of other fastening members and accordingly a whole side or end of the straight border wire is fastened to all the border coiled springs by the one operation of assembling the spiral wire in place by screwing it on to the straight wire and the adjacent terminal coils of the coiled springs. A border composed of simply a spiral wire allows the fabric placed thereover and also the felt or cotton filling placed next outside of that to be moved back into the spaces between adjacent coils of the spiral wire when the mattress or spring cushion is being constructed or used. By placing a straight wire border member within the spiral wire this is prevented. On the other hand, the use of the spiral wire with the straight wire gives a larger angle or a larger member over which to turn the fabric and the felt or cotton filling and makes a better corner construction at these edges than is afforded by simply a straight wire. It will be seen also that this double member border co-operates much better with the brace members 20 hereinafter described than would a spiral wire alone and that the brace members herein described could not be fastened to a border composed of a. single straight wire without separate fastening means.

In spring fillings of this general type it is necessary to have very resilient means connecting the interior springs such as the spiral wires These spiral wires also connect adjacent transverse rows and in general hold the springs in place transversely of the structure- On account, however, of the resilient character of the spiral wire 16 excessive temporary strain or long continued pressure transversely of thefillingsmay bend the spiral wires out of place or temporarily compress them or distort them so as to allow the side border edges of the spring filling to become bent inwardly, which form of distortion very soon allows the mattress or cushion built up around the spring filling to assume a similar distorted and untidy appearance. It is one of the special purposes of this construction to overcome the tendency of such spring fillings to become thus distorted. To accomplish this purpose I provide transversely extending bracing members extending from one side border to the opposite side At its,

opposite ends the brace is provided with arms 22 turned at right angles to the central portion 2| and preferably turned as indicated in Fig. 4 and in Fig. 1 in the same direction. these braces 20 is placed transversely of the spring structure in the line of a transverse connecting spiral wire l6 and is enclosed by the coils of that spiral wire. In this way the cross brace 20 is held in its desired place and kept from being sprung upwardly or downwardly or lengthwise of the structure and so full advantage is taken of its rigidness in holding the portions of the border to which its-arms are connected out to the proper extent. The ends or arms 22 are connected to a length of the border by the arms being placed within several of the coils of an edge spiral wire I. As the length of spiral wire to which these arms 22 are connected isheld in a straight line not only by its own stiffness, but by the presence of the straight border wire member l3, it will be seen that the anchoring of the ends 22 of the brace 20 is rendered more effective by the border being composed of both a spiral wire and a straight wire. Furthermore, the straight wire and also the spiral wire of the border being secured at two near points to the adjacent portions of the terminal coils of the two transverse rows of springs on both sides of the brace 20, it will be seen that these transverse braces or reinforcements operate to give a decided degree of rigidity against crosswise or transverse compression or distortion of the spring structure. It will be seen that the end arms 22 of. the braces 20 can be readily attached to the border by slipping the free ends of said arms into the desired place of a spiral wire or by screwing the spiral wire around the arms according to which is most convenient in assembling the structure. It will be noted that the braces 20 while being composed of still or rigid One of Y wire as far as transverse compression is concerned are possessed of suflicient resiliency to allow the braces to bend when the spring structure is compressed in use and still have said braces spring back when the compression upon the spring structure is released. This freedom of action is further facilitated by the free or rolling connection made between the arms 22 and the portions of the border engaged thereby.

In the modified form of a pair of three-part border members shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the wide U-shaped members 23 are composed of a long straight side 24 connected by short curved portions 21 at the corners to the end pieces 25 at right angles to the side 24 and parallel to each other. These members 23 differ from the members I3 however in that the ends 25 in this modified form are provided-with projections or humps 26 preferably and conveniently formed as an integral part of the ends 25 by bending the wire thereof into the close loop as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. These loops project inwardly of the frame and are in the plane of the frame so that in no case do they project outward or upward into, the cushioning material about the ,spring filling; With these projections upon the ends 25 it will be seen that when a pair of them are brought into the desired relative position as shown'in Fig. 6 and then the end spiral wires, l4 threaded thereonto the loops 26 will project inwardly through the space between adjacent coils of said spiral wire. The loops 25 may come into one space or may come into adjoining spaces or may be several spaces apart according to the location of the loops and the extent to which the ends and these loops are overlapped in making up a particular size or model of spring filling. These humps or projections 26 aid in maintaining a desired width ofthe spring structure in that the end spiral wires, when once assembled fairly hold the-said-border frame members in their adjusted position.

What Iclaim-as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a spring filling construction for mattresses and cushions, the combination of a plurality of coiled springs arranged on end side by side, means flexibly connecting said springs, a border for the top and a border for the bottom, each border extending along the side and end edges of the construction and consisting of two U-shaped wire frame members, each comprising of the filling'and end portions at right angles thereto and parallel to each other and extending part way along the opposite ends of the filling, the end portions from said two border members overlapping each other at both ends of the filling, lengths of resilient spiral wire extending severally along, and encircling the opposite sides and ends of the wire border frame members and .encircling the adjacent parts of the terminal coils of the border springs, the length of spiral wire at each end of the border frames encircling both of the overlapping end portions of two co-operating border frame members, and, on the end portions of the border rality of coiled springs arranged on end side by side, means flexibly connecting said springs, a

border for the top and a border for the bottom,

each border extending along the side and end edges of the construction and consisting of two U-shaped wire frame members, each comprising a long central portion extending along one side of the filling and end portions at right angles thereto and parallel to each other and extending part way along the opposite ends of the filling, the end portions from said two border members overlapping each other at both ends of the filling, lengths of resilient spiral wire extending severally along, and encircling the opposite sides and ends of the wire border frame members and encircling the adjacent parts of the terminal coils of the border springs, the length of spiral Wire at each end of the border frames encircling both of the overlapping end portions of two co-operating border frame members, and, on

the overlapping end portions of the border frame members, projections extending inwardly of the border "and substantially in the plane thereof and into the spaces between adjacent coils of said spiral wire whereby the two co-operating border frame members may be adjusted and held in any one of several positions relative to each other.

WILLIAM B. FOSTER.

construction for mat-. tresses and cushions, the combination of a plu--

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