US593583A - District - Google Patents

Description

I l a I/ No Model.)

R. JEPFARES & J. W. MQGANN. PORTABLE HAMMOOK SUPPORT.

No. 593,583. Patented Nov. 16,1897.

Warmer amxflz lINiTED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

RICHARD JEFFARES AND JOSEPH W. MCOANN, OF IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PO R TAB LE HAM MOCK-SU PPO RT.

$PEGIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 593,583, dated November 16, 1897.

' Application filed February 9, 1897- Serial No. 622,657. (No model.)

a0 (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RICHARD J EFFARES and JOSEPH W.MCOANN,citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Hammock- Supports; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in supports for hammocks, swings, and the like; and the primary object that We have in view is to provide a support which may be easily folded into a small compact form to render the support easy to carry and transport from one place to another.

A further object of the invention isto simplify the construction of the support and provide it with means for rigidly and steadily locking the several elements thereof when unfolded for service.

Our improved support is especially serviceable for use by picnicking parties,excursions, and the like, because it is of such light weight and folds into such small compass that it can be carried with as much ease and facility as the hammock itself.

To the accomplishment of these ends the first part of our invention consists in the combination, with a bed sill or beam, of sectional bases connected to the respective ends of the bed sill or beam, each base constructed 'to have its sections interlock with each other when unfolded for service against the end of the sill or beam, a pair of uprights pivoted or hinged near the ends of said sill or beam,

and braces which connect with the uprights and with the sectional bases to hold the several parts rigidly and steadily when the support is unfolded and adjusted into operative position for service in holding a hammock, swing, or other like object. portance to the construction of the foldable bases, one of which is applied to each end of the sill or beam. Each base consists of sections, which are hinged to the sill or beam and are provided with jaws which when the sections are unfolded interlock with each other and abut or bear against the end of the sill or WVe attach im-' beam to make each base afford a steady brace for the support. In connection with such a sectional foldable base at each end of the sill or beam and with the foldable upright we employ two brace-rods,which are connected with said upright and the sections of each base to hold the various parts in their adjusted positions and prevent the base or upright from collapsing under the weight or swaying of the hammock or swing that is adapted to be hung between the uprights; and the invention further consists in' the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand our invention, we have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of our improved hannnock-support, showing it opened and adjusted into operative position. Fig.

2 is a similar perspective view of the support in its folded condition for easy transportation. Fig. 3 is an end elevation showing the arrangement of the braces for one of the fold able bases and the upright that is connected by said braces with the base.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which a The numeral 1 designates the base sill or beam, 2 2 are the foldable uprights, and 3 3 and 4 a are the foldable bases applied to the respective ends of the base sill or beam.

In one embodiment of our invention we make the base sill or beam of two, three, or more pieces united laterally together to give 0 the sill the proper cross-sectional area and afiord the support the necessary stability, thus cheapenin g the manufacture; but it will be understood that we do not limit our invention to making the base in such pieces, because it is evident that the base may be made in one piece of proper length and crosssection.

\Ve pivotally attach the uprights 2 2 to the base-sill, near the ends thereof, by means of 00 the hinges 5, although other equivalent means may be used to connect the uprights to the end face of the base-sill.

base-sill in a manner to fold thereon. As in practice the combined length of the two uprights 2 2 is greater than the length of the sill between the hinges 5 we arrange these uprights and the hinges thereof on opposite sides of the median line of the base-sill, in order that said uprights and their hin'ges be in different vertical planes, whereby the uprights are adapted to fold alongside of each other and downwardly upon the base-sill, as shown by Fig. 2, the parts being thus compactly arranged. In practice we bevel the hinged ends of the uprights at 6 and arrange the hinges on the opposing faces of the uprights, in order to make the uprights assume inclined positions when they are unfolded and to cause the beveled ends 6 to abut solidly or bear firmly upon the base-sill, thereby ste'adying the uprightswhen unfolded and relieving to a considerable degree the strain onthe hinges due to the weight of the hammock and the swaying thereof.

The support, and particularly the base-sill, is held from tipping over when the hammock swings or sways back and forth by the employment of the bases 3 3 and 4 4', arranged to stand outwardly from or to lie at right angles to the base-sill 1 when the support isused. Each base consists of twopa-rts or'sec tions', the sections of the base at one end of the sill being indicated by the reference-nu merals 3- 3- and the sections of the other base at the opposite end of the sill being indicated by the numerals 4 at. The sections of the bases are" hinged near their ends to the sidesof the base-sill at the end of the latter, as indicated at 6, to enable the base-sections to fold outwardly substantially at right angles to the base-sill, said hinges 6 being attached to the base-sections at points withinthe ends of the latter, so as to leave certain parts of thebase section'sproject beyond the hinges and cause said projecting parts,- when the base-sections are unfolded, to lapagainst the- These projecting ends of the sections of each base, which sections overlap the end of the sill, are formed to provide the interlocking jaws, the jaw on one section beingin thefornrof an overhangingv hook 7 with a recess 7, and the jaw of the other section being an upwardly-extending hook 8 with a recess 8. These hookshaped jaws are arranged to lap and bear against the end face of the sill and to interlock with each other to form a joint, which relieves the hinges 6- in a great measure from strain when the hammock sways between the uprights 2 2 of the support. by reference to Fig. 3 that the hook 8 fits inthe recess 7, and likewise that the hook 7 tits in the recess 8, thus causing the jaws of each base to interlock in a vertical plane;

then to the other of the median line of the base the weight in the hammock is alternately shifted to'opposite sides of the sill and thus transferred, through the upright and the sill; to the base-sections alternately. As the base-sections are interlocked in a vertical plane by the en gaging jaws against the weight of the hammock the hinges or joints 6 are relieved to a great extent from the strain due to the shifting of the weight of the hammock,

1 thereby reducing'to a minimum the danger of breakage to the hinges from the load in the swaying hammock. To enable the jaws to fit closely together, we prefer to make the edge of the hooks with beveled joints, as shown by Figs. at and 5, but we do not limit ourselves to this particular form of joint,

nor, in fact, is our. invention restricted to the specific form of the hook-shaped jaws to form the interlocking jaws, because the shape of the jaws may be changed without departing Efrom the spirit of our invention. %to' make the edges of the hooks where they come together along the line a: in Fig. 3 with ithe reversely-beveled' edges, while the end edges of the sections along the linesy-y may be butt-joints. :the sections of the base to open or close siimultaneously, but the form of joints may be ivaried without departing from the spirit of our invention.

\Ve prefer- Tnis construction enables To adjust thesupport for use, the uprights 2 2 are opened upwardly and the base-sections are turned outwardly'to stand at right angles to the base-sill and cause the jaws thereof to interlock with each other, after which the brace-rods 9 10 are adjusted to engage with the base-sections and thus-connect the uprights and the base-sections to prevent the parts from collapsing. The rods are preferably attached to the upright by a common staple or other fastener 11, and the free ends of the rods have hooks to engage with eyes or 3 staples 12 on the base-sectious,thus pivota'l'ly or loosely attaching the brace-rods to the uprights and detachably connecting them to the base-sections. The hammock, swing, or other 1 structure is designed tobe suspended between the uprights 2 2, for which purposewe provide the rings,links,or equivalent devices Him the attachment of the'ha'rnmock. To fold the support, thebrace-rods are unhooked from the base-sections, the uprights are turned down 1. upon the base-sill and alongside of each other, and the base-sections are turned around to lie laterally against the sides of the base-sill, ias shown by Fig. 2, thus compactly arrangiing the various parts of the support. 5 sired, the parts in their folded condition may be strapped together or confined in any other suitable way.

It will be seen 5,

If de- It is thought that the operation and adlvantages of our hammock-support will be 1 readily understood and appreciated from the foregoing description taken in connection the drawings.

As the hammock sways first to one side and i 1 construction herein shown and described as the preferred embodiment of our invention may be made by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and we therefore reserve the right to make such alterations as fairly fall within the scope of our invention.

Having thus fully described ourinvention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hammock-support, the combination with a base-sill, and foldable uprights, of sectional bases having their members hinged to the base-sill and each base having its members provided with jaws which interlock with each other when the parts are adjusted for service and brace the parts against vertical strain, and means for locking the parts against collapsing,substantially as described.

2. In a hammock-support, the combination with a base-sill, and foldable uprights, of the sectional bases each having its members pivotally attached to the base-sill at the ends thereof and provided with jaws arranged to overlap the end faces of the sills and to interlock with each other, and means to lock the base-sections and said uprights in their operative positions, substantially as described.

3. In a hammock-support, the combination with a base-sill, and foldable uprights, of the sectional bases hinged to the side of the basesill, at the ends of the latter, and provided with the interlocking hook-shaped jaws which overlap the end faces of said base-sill, the meeting edges of said hook-shaped jaws being provided at certain line or lines with bevels, and brace-rods attached to the uprights and adapted to be detachably connected to the sections of the bases, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our. signatures in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD J EFFARES. JOSEPH W. MOOANN. Witnesses:

HENRY E. COOPER, J. F.'H. MorHERsHEAD.

Images