US2481148A - Sleeping car room arrangement - Google Patents

Description

fiept. 6, i949. J, w PATTON 2,481,148

SLEEPING CAR ROOM ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 16, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR IohnW. Patton,

A TTORNE Y p 9 W49 J. w. PATTON 2,41,148

SLEEPING CAR ROOM ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 1a, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JohnW. pat-ton.

ATTORNEY Sept. 6, 1949. w J. w. PATTON 2,481,148

' SLEEPING CAR ROOM ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 16, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N VEN TOR JohnW. Paiton.

ATTORNEY Patente Sept- 6, 1949 SLEEPING CAR ROOM ARRANGEMENT John W. Patton, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 16, 1943, Serial No. 506,499

6 Claims.

The invention relates to railway sleeping cars and has particular reference to such cars having rooms adapted for sleeping accommodation of two or three people travelling together, which rooms can be readily joined with adjacent rooms to form a suite accommodating larger parties.

An important feature of the invention is the arrangement of the accommodations within the room so that oppositetransverse walls thereof dividing it from adjoining rooms are unobstructed for a width at least equal to a doorway opening, so that doorways'may be provided therein to enable the room to be thrown into communication with either or both of the roomsflanking it, and a clear passageway is at all times had through the room between the doorways in the opposite transverse Walls thereof.

Another feature is the arrangement of all beds in the room, so that they extend lengthwise along the longitudinal walls of the room, the lengthwise arrangement being the generally preferred arrangement for sleeping, and furthermore, such arrangement leaves a convenient passageway through the room and between the doorway openings in the opposite transverse walls.

Another feature is the provision whereby some or all of the beds in the room may be folded into out-of-the-way locations along the walls,

when not in use, preferably into recesses provided therefor in said Walls. This last feature provides a comfortable and spacious sitting room when not used as a bedroom.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a folding partition forming the major portion of one of the transverse walls of the room whereby two such rooms adjoining-each other may be converted into one large room adapted for conferences or the like.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become clear from following detailed description when read in connection with the drawings forming a part hereof.

In the drawings;

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional plan view through a portion of a sleeping car showing two adjacent rooms according to the invention arranged symmetrically with respect to the transverse wall separating them, one of said rooms being shown arranged as a sitting room and the other as a bedroom.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of part of the structure shown in Fig. 1 taken on line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a slightly modified arrangement, in which all the beds are foldable against the walls of the room.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of part of the structure shown in Fig. 3 taken on line 4-6 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, the car embodying the invention is shown having the spaced outer longitudinal side walls It] and I l and the longitudinally extending aisle wall 32. The rooms according to the invention are arranged between the aisle wall 12 and the outer side wall II], the latter havin large window openings l3 through which the occupants of the room can look out. The other side wall I l flanking the aisle may have smaller window openings l3 equally spaced from each other.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 provides two rooms designated respectively A and B which adjoin each other andare similarly arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the common transverse wall I l, one of these rooms,

as A, being made up as a sitting room and the other, as B, being made up as a bedroom. Since the rooms are similarly arranged, the same reference characters will be used. wherever practical, in describing them.

Each room is bounded by the outer longitudinal wall H], the aisle wall I 2, the common transverse wall l4 and a remote transverse Wall l5 opposite the common wall M. The room is of sufficient length to receive a full length sofa bed l6 extending along the aisle wall l2 from the transverse wall I 4 to a door opening I! leading from the aisle and provided with a door "3. Beyond the doorway opening and between the transverse wall 15 and a short transverse wall it) is provided a wardrobe space 20 normally closed by a door 2|.

In the corner of the room formed by the outside Wall I0 and the transverse wall 15 is located an annex or toilet compartment 22, containing the hopper 23, folding wash basin 24 and other toilet and baggage accessories.

This space may be slightly wider than the wardrobe space 29 and is separated from the main part of the room by a transverse wall 25, merging through a rounded corner into a longitudinal wall 26 connecting it to the transverse wall l5. In the wall 26 is provided a doorway and folding door 2! normally closing the annex. Between the annex 22 and the wardrobe 20 is provided a wide passageway 28 leading to a doorway and door 29 through the transverse wall l5, which permits the room to be joined to an adjacent room, when desired. Normally the door 29 would The rooms A and B may be thrown togetherito' form one large room adapted for conferences or the like by making the transverse wall -l l collapsible from a jamb face portion 33 adjacentthe aisle wall to the fixed portion 34- forming the side of the recess receiving the bed 32.

Such collapsible portion is indicated by the sectional partition 35 shown in closed position-in full lines and in full open position in dotted lines.

When the rooms :are converted ito sleeping rooms, as shown in room B, the folding bed"32 is extended along the outside wall; and'the sofa bed liigconvertedinto a lower berth, and an ordinary upper berth 36, if three-person occupancy is desired,'are'both' extended along the aisle wall, leavin g'bet-ween thema passageway 3! through which "-the'beds can'be readily reached and, further, if the rooms A and B are thrown together and either one or both are connected with'the room or rooms adjoining their remote walls l5, persons may freelypaSsthrough oneroom fromend to end --without disturbing the occupants thereof or through all the connected rooms through the longitudinal inside passageway provided by'this arrangement and the outside aisle need not'be used to pass from room toroom.

' When the rooms are made up as'bedrooms,' the folding chairsal are stored in folded condition under the bed or beds.

In the modification shown in'Figs. 3 and 4,-all the'parts'are the same and similarly'designated as in the arrangement described except thatthe sofa bed and upper berth are replaced 'by two vertically spaced beds, asfit, folding along'longitudinal axes into recesses, as 39, provided therefor *in'the aisle wall. With this arrangement, with all'three 'beds'folded against the roomwalls -a larger floor space is made free when the'room is arranged as a sitting room. With this arrangement an additional folding chair 3| is suppl-ied'to each room. When the room is made up as a bedroom. the folding beds are all moved to'horizontal positions, and in plan, the room appears just as in the previous embodiment. The folding chairs are then stored in folded condition underthe' beds.

It will be seen that this arrangement of 'rooms provides a very comfortable sitting room for 'daytime travel which can be readily converted into a sleeping room in which the beds all extend longitudinally and are'ispaced apart to. provide a passageway through the room through which'persons may pass from another room, and further where large parties are travellin together anumber of roomsxnay be joined together with a j private passageway through them independent of "the ."public aisle. Wherea large conference. room is desired, the tworooms adjoining a common-partition may be thrown into one large room by the folding partition. 1

While specific embodiments of the invention have beenherein described it will beunderstood that changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the'art withoutjdepartingfrom the main features thereof, and it is desired to cover such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sleeping car having two adjoining rooms separated by a common transverse wall, each room having a longitudinal outer wall, a longitudinal aisle wall and a transverse wall intercon- ,ne'ctin'gth'e outer and aisle-walls remote from the common transverse wall; each room having beds therein arranged to extend from the common 'transverse wall along the aisle and the outer walls -,.thereof,-each room further having a doorway and door in the aisle wall disposed lengthwise beyond '--the extended-'bed adjacent said aisle wall, one of "the be'ds imeach room being foldable into a re- "cess provided therefor in the common transverse awall,tanditheimajonpart of the remaining portion of saidcommon transverse wall being foldable to throw the two rooms into one large room.

2. A side aisle sleeping car room adapted to acrcommo'date atleast three persons for-either'daytimeor'nighttime travel and bounded by a longitudinaltout'side wall, ralongitudi-nal aisle wall and spaced: transverse walls interconnectin the out- ,25 side .andcaisle walls and normally completely separating the 'room from adjoining rooms, a doorwayandadoori therefor in each of said trans- "verse' walls foriconnecting. it with onev 0r both-adjoining 'rooms, bedsiarranged'in said room and movable from use to storage position 'an'dyice 'versa, said beds when' in storage position being folded against'the room walls and when in use position extending lengthwise-along the respective aisle an'd outside walls and: leaving a longitudinal passageway between: them communicating at its ends withthe doorways in the respective transverse walls andHat -oneen'd with *a doorway'and door ini the a'i'sle wall disposed lengthwise beyond the'extended bededjacent said-aisle wall; whereby the room 'can' be' used as'a separate room or'e'n suite with. either or both of the adjoining rooms and private passage between 'the rooms so used'is "available without the necessity of using the public "side'ai'sle.

3. A side aisle sleeping car comprising a series or -'rooms providing similar accommodations arrarigedbetween a-canside wall and the adjacent side" aisle wall'and'normally completely separated from each'other by fixed transverse partitions 'interconnecting theside and aisle walls, each of said rooms being convertible into a sitting room or into a bedroom, a doorway having a door normally closing it in each of the fixed transverse partitions separatingeach room from adjoining rooms,-a passageway from partition doorway to partition doorway through each of said rooms, folding 'be'ds arranged in each'room to extend lengthwise along the respective aisle and side Walls on opposite sides of said passageway when the room'is made up as a bedroom, and folded against the walls or partitions of the room when the room is made up as a sitting room, each room having a doorway and door in the aisle wall dis- "posed'lengthwise'beyond the extended bedadjacent'said aisle wall, and chairs in said room, at least certain of said chairs being collapsible and being'zstorediin collapsed condition beneath thebedor bedswhen'the'latter'are extended for use, thereby leaving the passageway through each room open at all times.

4. .Aside aislesleeping car comprising a series -of. roomsiproviding similar accommodations arranged between a, car side-wall and the adjacent usidelaisle wall and normally completely separated from each other by fixed transverse partitions interconnecting the side and aisle walls, each of said rooms being convertible into a sitting room or into a bedroom, a doorway having a door normally closing it in each of the fixed transverse partitions separating each room from adjoining rooms, a passageway from partition doorway to partition doorway through each room, chairs in each room capable of seating at least two persons when the room is converted into a sitting room, a bed in each room, foldable about an axis parallel to its long sides, and folded against the aisle wall when the room is converted into a sitting room and movable to a horizontal position extending lengthwise along the aisle wall and between it and said passageway to serve as a bed, and another bed in each room foldable about an axis parallel to its short sides and folded against one of said transverse partitions when the room is converted into a sitting room and movable to a horizontal position extending lengthwise along the car side wall between it and said passageway to serve as a bed, each room having a doorway and door disposed lengthwise beyond the extended bed adjacent said aisle wall, at least certain of said chairs being collapsible and stored in collapsed condition beneath the bed or beds when the latter are extended for use, thereby leaving the passageway through each room open at all times.

5. In a railway car having a side aisle, a series of rooms extending between the side aisle and the opposite car side wall, and separated from each other by transverse walls interconnecting said car side and aisle Walls, each of said rooms being convertible into a bedroom or a sitting room and being furnished with a pair at least of made-up beds movable from storage to use position, a pair at least of seating accommodations, certain of said seating accommodations being foldable and stored in folded condition beneath certain of the beds when the latter are in use position, separate enclosed toilet compartments associated with each room each having a doorway providin access thereto from the associated room, doorways opening into the aisle from each room, doorways and doors in the transverse walls separating the rooms, and an inside passageway, separate from the aisle through the respective rooms, open at all times both when the rooms are made up as bedrooms or as sitting rooms to permit free passage between said series of rooms through the doorways in the intermediate partitions separating them.

6. In a railway sleeping car, a pair of adjoining rooms arranged between a side aisle wall and a side wall of the car and defined by end transverse walls and an intermediate transverse wall separating the rooms, each of said rooms having, as part of the permanent equipment therein, a pair of beds and a pair of seats and a separate enclosed toilet compartment accessible from the room through a doorway and door, said beds and seats bein movable from storage to use positions and vice versa for converting said rooms either into bedrooms or into sitting rooms, each room having a free passageway therethrough between its transverse walls and a doorway and door in the aisle wall connecting it with the aisle, and the intermediate wall having door means whereby the rooms can be rendered intercommunioating when made up either as sittin rooms or as bedrooms.

JOHN W. PATTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Railway Age, June 10, 1933, page 824.

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