US47831A

US47831A - Saeah j

Info

Publication number: US47831A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1865-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 1882-05-23

Description

SARAH J. A.4 HUSSEY, OF

anni* rricn.

OORNWALL, NEW YORK.

IMPROVED TABLE FORHOSPITALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,831, dated May 23, 1865.

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, SARAH J. A. HUssEY, of Oornwall, inthe county or" Orange and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Combined Table and Head and Foot Rest; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

In large army hospitals, where the sick soldiers often have no furniture but the bed, many of the patients suffer unnecessary bodily pain from the want of a suitable head and foot rest, and are subjected to many inconveniences from the want of a table directly over the bed. Aiterlong experience as nurse in the United States army hospitals I have invented a cheap and easily-portable contrivance to meet all these wants in a single article ot' furniture, and at the same time to furnish a book-holder and other conveniences.

My invention consists of a peculiar adjustable head and foot rest,combined with an adjustable table, and also in a drawer book-holder.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure, l is a perspective view of my combined head and foot rest and table with drawer in place. Figs. 2 and 3 are sections through the drawer detached from the table, Fig. 2 showing the inside of the front of the drawer, and Fig. 3 a section of the drawer from front to rear.

In the construction of my table combined with a head and foot rest I employ two upright standards, A andB, supported on suitable pedestals C and D. These pedestals may be connected by a bar, O, or the standards may be held steady by other suitable means, as a cross-foot, braces, or knees, or other means. The standards are placed far enough apart to enable the table to stand astride of the bed. Upon these standards are arranged a table, E, a head-rest, F, and a foot-rest, G and G', all being adjustable up or down on the standards and supported on pins in the holes a and b. The table is provided with a drawer, H, a turning shelf, I, and a tumbler-holder, K, also a checkerboard, L, (and, if desired, a folding` leaf,) or other conveniences. In the drawer of the table is arranged a book-holder. (Shown in Figs.2 and 3.\ This book-holder consists of a book-rest, N l

in the front part of the drawer, and two iingers, M, turning upon pivots, to fasten open the book.

The operation of the book-holder is as follows: The drawer being part way open, the book is opened and set into the front of the drawer, so as to rest on the shoulder or bookrest N, while the upper end of the book falls back upon the front edge ofthe table. Then the iin ger M Ml are turned so as to bear upon the leaves of the book near the outer corner, in order to hold the book open. When the book-holder is-not in use, M M' are turned down into the drawer, so the latter may be be pushed home under the table.

The head-rest may consist of a good piece of girthing, F, provided with a strap, f, and buckle and two suitable slidlng clasps, F', capable of being raised or lowered upon the standards. The foot-rest may be a narrow bar, G', and two drooping bands or loops, G', to receive the feet of the patient.

Both the head-rest and foot-rest may be lowered so as to be used when the patient is sitting on a chair, (the standards being removed from the bed.) The head or feet, when Aresting on my contrivances, may be swung somewhat to and fro, and thus afford peculiar relief from the motion and muscular exercise as well as from the position ot' the head or feet.

I do not broadly claim the separate devices above described, but I believe the-table, headrest, and foot-rest, supported on standards and placed in front ot' the patient when in bed, are all new, as well as the peculiar bookholder 5 and I do not confine myself to the precise form and dimensions above specified, as the details of construction may be somewhat varied without departing from my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. rlhe above-described adjustable table,

in combination with the head-rest, substantially as set forth.

2. The foot-rest and drawer book-holder, in combination with the table, as speciiied. SARAH-J. A. HUSSEY. vIlVitnesses:

GEO. HowLAND, Jr., SYLvIA G. HowLAND.