US271760A - Albert a - Google Patents

Description

(No Moc'lel.)

` A. A. ALLEN.

FOLDING BED.

Patented Peb. 6, 1883.

UNITED STATES t PATENT (MENGE.

ALBERT A. ALLEN, or JAcKsdN, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING BED.-

. i u a SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,760, dated February 6l, 1883.

Application filed October 9, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that l, ALBERT A. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson andState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in,4 Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification, reference being Y had therein to the accomyanying drawings.

`dinary hinge-joint at c.

Figure l is a perspective view of a hed embodyingmyimprovements. Fig.2isasectional View ofthe same when folded. Fig is a perspective view of a slightly-modified form. Fig. 4 is aperspective ofone of the hinges detached. Fig. 5is a perspective ofthe other style of hinge. Fig. 6 illustrates the section of the spring combined withI the headboard. Fig. 7 ,is a transverse section of the bed, the legs under the head-board and the brace attached thereto being seen in elevation.

ln the drawings I have shown the bed-bottom detached and so constructed that it can be applied to any ordinary bed. I have also shown it as provided with legs at the foot and the head, and with foot-board andhead-board,

'in order to illustrate the various capabilities of the bottom proper. lEach side rail of l'the bottom shown in Figs. l and 2 consists of three `parts---a 'head-section, A,a footsection, B, and an intermediate section, A. These three parts are united by two hinges, one hinge being constructed somewhat differently from the other. The head rail-section and the "intermediate one arejoined by a hinge, which consists of two bottom plates, C C, which are Y comparatively longyso` as to give a strong bar- 'ing or support o n the lower side of the railsections, these plates being joined by an or- To the side of one of the rail-sections there are secured strong bracing-plates D D. These loosely overlap the ends of the opposing rail-section, and project sutiieiently far along the sides ofthe same to provide a strong lateral bracing, so as to prevent any outward or inward springing of the side railsat the hinging-points. Preferably these bracing-plates are formed, as shown, integrally with one of the bottom plates G,they being stamped ont of the same sheet of metal from which the bottom plateis made.l Instead of this, oneot` the bracing-plates may he formed with one of the bottom plates and However, the same the other with the other. end can be accomplished by having the bracing-plates formed separately from the bottom plates, and in that case, also, one may be carried by one section of the rail, and the other by theother section. wThe foot-section B and theintermediate section, A', arejoiued together by a hinge of a modified character. It has bottom elongated plates, C 0, similar to those vabove described, and overlapping bracingplates D D. plates C C are bent downward Y to a considerable degree to form inclined platesG2 C2, coming together at a suitable distance below t-he bottom ofthe rail and joined by a hinge atc. 'lhe overlapping bracing-plates D D are shown as carried by one of the downward-inclined plates G2, though one of them may be, if preferred, carried by one of these plates G2 andthe other by the other. They are fastened by screws, rivets, or otherwise to the side-rail section, as shown at c. When both are carried by a single plate G2 support straps or braces G3 are attached to the other dowuwardlyinclined part C2, and 4also to the rail-section, as shown. These operateto prevent the plate U2 from bendingor springing upward. vIn this case the overlapping bracing-plates D operate not only to give a lateral bracing to the opposing ends ofthe rail-sections, but also furnish vertical support for the downwardly-inclined bottom part C2 to which they are attached.

A hinge of the forni last 4described is considerably stron ger than one of the other sort, inasmuch as the pivot of the hinge is carried to a point considerably away from the upper edges of the-opposing rail-sections, so that the parts of `the hinge have a lower leverage for resisting the strain from the weight upon the bed. Moreover, by throwingythe hinging-line thus considerably below the bottom of the railsections the bed can be folded compactly in a Way to be hereinafter described. When the rail-sections thus hinged are provided with footboard and head-board, and with legs, the the ends of the rails extend entirely to the ends ofthe bed. The head-board E is hinged at e to the upper edge of the head rail-sections, the outer face of the head-board being preferably ln this case, however, theV IOO ' flush with the ends of the rails. In a similar 'looked in any desired position, and so when the bed is being moved there is a constant danger of the head-board being thrown back and forth. The spring at oneor both ends is pivotally secured, preferably by. forming an eye or eyes on the spring and passing screws or pins through said eyes, the connection be'- ing loose enough to allow the head-board to move. When the head-board is moved in either direction there is exerted a longitudinal strain upon the spring, but not a lateral strain.` I is a similar spring, combined with the footboard and loot rail-section. It will be seen that thegreatest'tension of the spring is exerted when the-head-board orfoot-board is at an angle of about forty-tive degrees, and that the least tension is exerted when either ofthe boards is at either its uppermost or at its lowermost po` sition. (See Fig. 6.) By forming the springs G and F' and attaching them as described and shown they permit the head and foot boards to be folded down close upon the yside rails, either when the bed is set up for use or when folded for storage or transportation, thus greatly increasing its convenience.

G G represent the legs at the head ot' the bed, preferably connected by means ot' crossbar ora brace, El. Heretofore the legsat the heads of folding beds ot' this character have been commonly formed with or attached rigidly to the head-board, and those at the foot to thefoot-board. When so made it has been necessary to suspend the ends of the side rails upon the supporting parts by means of a simple hinge, and these supporting devices have almost invariably been found insufficient to Ahold the weightthat is ordinarily placed upon the bed. I hinge the legs to the inner faces of the side sections, and am therefore enabled to provide them with pivot bolts or screws of as great strength as may be necessary, it being possible to use pivots much larger in diameter than can be employed with the ordinary hinge. Moreover, the foot-frame can be folded entirely inside of the side rails, so that when the bed is closed up the footframe shall occu` py the same plane as said side rails, and therefore the article canbe made much more com pact than when the feet and head board are connected together.

H' is a brace of peculiar shape and pivoted snugly against the face of one of the legs G G. Itllas a stop-piece, h, projecting upwardly, to

prevent its being thrust outward too far, and a bearing-piece, h', adapted to be placed under and. to bear against the under side of the side rail. e From an examination ot' Fig. 7 it will be seen that the pivot around which the brace H swings is situated at a point inside the vertical plane ofthe stop-piece h when the latter is in position against the inner edge ot' the side rail. By thus pivoting the brace and by providing it with the stop-piece l1. and bearing-piece h itis held firmly in position against jars or knocks, which would otherwise throw it out of proper engagement with the side rail.

When the bed is in use the brace is swung outward into the position shown in full linesin Fig. 7. When the leg-frame is to be folded up the brace is iirst swung back into the position in dotted lines. G2 G? are legs pivoted in a similar manner to the inside ot' the side rails at the foot of the bed, they being provided with a cross-bar, H2, anda pivoted brace, H3, substantially similar to those above described at the head. The'side rails are connected at the footV by means of a cross-piece, I, and at the head by another cross-piece, J, which I prefer 4to he in the form of a roller, as will be hereinafter described. Upon the frame thus constructedI support a bottom canvas, K, which is attached at. the foot Vto the cross-piece I by and atthe head is secured to the cross-piece or roller J'. edges, in order that certain ends, to be set forth, can be readily accomplished. When the part J is of the form'of a roller it may be provided with an outwardly-extending 'square pintle or gudgeon, by means of which and a wrench the roller can be readily turned against any ordi nary amount of resistance. However, other means of revolving the roller maybe employed, -if desired, and, in fact, it can be readily turned without any extra tool. jj are ratchet-wheels upon the ends yof the roller, and with them are combined pawlsj, pivoted to the frame of the bottom.. A

When the bed is'to be folded up for transportation or for storing, the roller J can be utilized to take up all the slack ot' the canvas bottom, itthus assistingto produceatight, compact roll of the fabric, so that the latter shall vnot interfere with a complete package, the positions of the parts whenl they are thus packed being clearly shown in Fig. When thefabric becomes slack from use or otherwise the tension can be increased by bending upward the inner ends of the rail-sections, then 'turning around somewhat the `rollerJ, fastening it by the pawls j, and then bringing the inner ends of the rail-sections hack into their completely-open position, this process resulting, as will be readily understood, in in creasing the tension ot' the fabric. The fabric can'bethus made' very rigid,tand this can be done without the danger that has been expe- It has no support along the sidel IOO IIS

IZO

rienced with beds, as heretofore constructed,

of springing apart the parts of the frame. VThe bracing-plates DD at the hin'ging-points prevent, as said above, any outward or inward straining ofthe side rail-sections, making them` thatany desired'amount of tension can be imparted to the bottom fabric.

By hinging the rail-sections together the tension of the fabric can be increased to any desired extent without requiring a wrench, for after the inner ends are moved up the roller can be turned by the hand.

v A vertical head-board may be used, substantially similar to the foot-board, instead of the inclined one shown in Figs. land 2. This inclined one, however, I prefer for many purposes, especially when it is desired to have one partserve lboth as head-board and as a rest -for the head of the occupant. I have shown thesimplest andl cheapest form of construction, though it may be varied somewhat. The one shown is constructed of two side pieces, E E. a. top brace, E2, and a iieXible fabric, E3. 'lhe loweredgc'of the end piece, c', is at an acute anglejto the upperedge, c2, to'give the proper inclination `to the fabric E3, which is stretched across from side to side. 'To vary' Instead of the solid pieces `E E' a skeleton frame of wire or strips may be used. i

What I claim is- 1. In a folding bed, the combination, with the divided rail-sections, joined together by a hinge, of a base fabric for supporting the bed, means for taking up-the fabric when the railsections are out of line, and the lateral braces situated by the sidesof the hinges and overlapping the opposing ends, whereby lateral springing of the rail-sections is prevented when they are being forced into line, substantially1 as set forth.

y 2. The combination, with the side rails, held rigidly apart and divided into sections hinged together and provided with braces which overlap the opposing ends of the sections, of a head-board arranged, to fold down upon the -side rails, a foot-board arrangedto similarly fold, a leg-frame at the head pivotedto theinner sides of the side rails and arranged to fold down parallel to' the side rails,and a similar leg-frame pivotcd tothe foot ot' the bed, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, With the bottom frame formed in sections hinged together, of the fabric carried by said frame and the roller mountl ed therein, adapted to be rotated and to form two or more superposed layers of the fabric, and thus take up the slack of the fabric when the bed is folded, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the head-"board, of the springs arranged, substantially as set forth, to hold the head-board up or to hold it down upon the side rails either when the hed is set up or when it is folded for transportation.

`5. The herein'described means of connecting the inner endsyof the rail-sections of a fold-V ing bed-bottom, it consisting ot the plates C C, adapted to be secured to thebottoms of the side sections, and bracing-plates D I), formed the` sections, substantially as set forth.

6. In' a folding bed, the combination, with the side rails and the end cross-pieces, of the leg-frames respectively pivoted to the inner sides of the endsV of the main frame, and the braces H', provided with the stops h, and bearingshoulders h', having the points at which they are pivoted to theinner faces ofthe legframes inside the vertical planes of the inner edges of the side rails, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. i

7. The combination, with the side rail of a folding bed, made in two or more sections, of

a hinged joining-piece having the downwardlyextending supporting-pieces C2, to carry the hinge at a point below `the bottoms of the sid'e rail, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. s, 4

`8. In a folding bed, the combination, with `the side rails formed in two or more sections,

rails, and the hinge c, to permit the inclined head to be folded with the bed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony' whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

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