US284567A - martinez - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

MAT.

. .No. 284,567.- Patented Sept. 4, 1883.v

0 0 O O 0 Q C 0 FT w y J O U 0 Q 0 O O D Q 37 FT 0 O O O O O Q C O O 0 O O 0 I 0 C NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAFAEL MARTINEZ, OF NEW YORK, N. ASSIGNOR T EMIL GUTMANN AND HENRY GOODMAN, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

M AT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 284,567, dated September 4, 1883.

Application filed July 24, 1883. (No model.)

To to whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAFAEL MARTINEZ, a subject of the King of Spain, residing at New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mats for use on Floors, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement applies to that class of mats in which a number of bars or rods of wood or analogous material are secured together so as to be held in parallel positions.

I have in my experiments used round bars of wood connected by flexible hinges, so that the mats can be rolled up for storage or transportation. I have devised means for engaging the rods properly together, which holds them strongly in positions for use or allows them to be easily disengaged by bringing the parts into certain positions relatively to each other. In brief, I employ hooks to engage the rods together. Two or more of my mats thus formed may be engaged together by engaging the hooks which come at the edges. I have devised further means for engaging the edges of separate mats, which I esteem generally preferable, and will be described far. ther on.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, and represent. what I con 0 sider thebest means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view showing two of my mats attached together. The remaining figures areon a largerscale. Fig. 2 is a plan 5 view of certain portions. Fig. 3 is a corresponding cross-section. Fig. 4. is a cross-section in a different plane, showing more clearly the provisions for engaging the edges of two mats. Fig. 5 is a cross-section showing the 40 means of joining together the individual bars of a mat.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A A are the parallel rods, E are metallic caps fitted 011 the ends, and E are metallic rings or ferrules fitted at intermediate points between the ends.

H are hooks fixed in the caps E, and also in the ferrules, arranged to engage each with the corresponding hook in the adjacent cap or ferrule. The caps and ferrules are set firmly in position ontheir respective rods and held by nails or screws 0, Fig. 1. WVhen the rods, with their caps and ferrules, are in position for 5 5 use, with the hooks engaged, they are strongly secured by the hooks in positions, each parallel to its neighbor. The mat may be rolled in one direction without risking the disengagement of the hooks; but on turning the parts in the opposite. direction and imparting a proper force the hooks may be disengaged and the mats separated from each other at pleasure.

I can employ these hooks H to engage the edge rod of one mat with a corresponding edge rod of an adjacent mat, and thusto make two mats into one at pleasure. Two mats thus united will be absolutely uniform in appearance and construction throughout. I propose 7o to separate a long mat into as many small mats as may be desired by disengaging the. hooks H at certain points. I propose to engage together small mats, so as to make one long one at will by engaging the hooksH.

I have devised additional means of engaging the edge slats of two mats. Some may prefer to have the edges of the mats as smooth as possible by avoiding the projecting hooks HI I can attain this by previously determining a certain size for the small mats and for the edge slats thereof, providing only one hook on each cap E and one hook 011 each fer= rule E. This will suffice to engage the edge slat with the adjacent slat in its proper mat. 8 5 \Vhen it is desired to engage two or any other number of such mats together, I can make available certain further hooks or bent portions, as follows:

X are loose rings encircling the edge slat of 0 two mats, with capacity for being turned around, but not for being moved endwise thereon. Each is formed with an arm, X, having a bent portion, X the curvature of l which latter is on a radius just sufficient to 9 5 embrace one of the slats of the mat. \Vhen this device is not in use it may be turned un der the adjacent slat in its own mat, as indicated at the right and left hand'sides in Fig.

4. In this position the devices X are simply IOO 1 may be increased or diminished.

kept out of the way. They performno useful function, but they are ready to serve i11- stantly when required.

When it is desired to join two such mats to cause them to serve as one, the devices X arev turned into the position shown in the central portion of Fig. 4, so that the curved portion X of each mat engages with the edge slat of the adjacent mat. The dotted lines show them only partially engaged. The strong lines show them fully engaged for use.

Modifications may be made in the forms and proportions. Ihave in Fi lshown two caps E and two ferrules E, each with their engaging-hooks H. The number of ferrules E The caps E may be omitted and ferrules similar to E may be substituted, applied at or near the ends of the slats. I havein Fig. 1 shown four of the engaging devices X. They will be understood as attached, two to the right-hand mat and two to the left-hand mat. The number of these engaging devices may be in creased. A less number may serve.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a mat, the combination, with the slats A, caps E, and ferrules E, of the hooks H, formed and arranged to serve substantially as herein specified.

2. In a mat having parallel bars A and suitable joining means, as H, the rings X, arms X, p

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