US723569A - Rail-joint for metallic bedsteads. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903.

G. J. WITZEL. RAIL JOINT FOR METALLIC BEDSTEADS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 27, 1902;

N0 MODEL.

A from/E Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

CHARLES J. WITZEL, OF BROOKLYN, YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND GUSTAVE A. HELM AND BENJAMIN SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed May 27, 1902.

To all whom it may concern: I 1

Be it known that I, CHARLES J.,VVITZEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county'of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovemen'ts in Rail- Joints for Metallic Bedst-eads; and I 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.

My invention relates to means for preven ting motion or play between the rails and corner-posts of brass and other metallic bed-' steads. Heretofore these rails have been con nected with the post by means of a fixed joint or connection, and in case the joint is imperfectly made or becomes loose from any cause there is no way by which it can be tightened or the wear or play taken up and the rigidity of the joint restored. This is a serious defect in the old construction of'metallic bedsteads on account of the difficulty of keeping them firm and immovable, especially because when the bedsteads are set up in warerooms for storage or display where short side In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the head and foot corner-posts on one side of a metallic bedstead connected together by means of the short side rails employed for setting up these bedsteads in ware rooms. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of a corner-post and a plan of the bracket connected therewith and of a side and head (or foot) rail, showing the joints be-- tween the ends of these rails and the brackets, also showing the contrivances for tightening up the joints.

Fig. 3 is a side eleva- Patent No. 723,569, dated March 1903.

. Serial No. 109,233. (No model.)

tion of the part shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 2, but illustrating another mode of forming the joint.

Referring to the drawings, the head and foot corner-posts of one side of the bedstead are designated by the letters a b, a side rail by c, a section of an end rail (either foot or head) by d, and the corner-post brackets by e. The side and end rails are each connected with the bracket e by means of a dovetail joint in this style of bedstead. In the bracket there are sockets f f, which are t-apered or splayed and which open through the 'faces g g of the bracket, the openings forming slots h h, having parallel sides. The sides of the brackets containing the slots are faced off more or less squarely, and thus abutments Mare formed. The side and end rails are each provided with square enlargements it it, and from these project screw-threaded necks ZZ, and on the ends of the necks the tenons n n of the dovetail joints are formed, which taper or' are splayed to correspond to the sockets in the bracket. On the screw-threaded extensions take-up nuts 0 0 are mounted. When the bedstead is set up, the tenon on the rail is inserted in the socket in the bracket and pushed down until its top is flush with the upper surface of the bracket, the take-up -nut being first turned back far enough to allow the dovetail connection to be made without interference from it; but when this connection is made the said nut is screwed up tight against the abutment to make the tenon immovable in the socket and prevent any motion of the head or foot, as the case may be. In this way a rigid joint or connection is made between the rails and the cornerposts when the bedstead is first set up and the liability of the joints becoming loose is materially reduced; but if from any cause the joints should become loose and the head or foot should tend to lose its perpendicularity this can be corrected by tightening the nut against the abutments of the bracket, thereby taking up -any motion of the rail or rails or the head or foot posts caused by the enlargement of the socket, or from any other cause, and thus the original rigidity of the joint or joints of the rails with the head and foot posts can be restored. Both ends of each of the rails are provided with these takeup nuts, so that both ends of the bedstead can be prevented from becoming loose.

This invention is applicable to the regular side rails and also the short side rails used to set up these bedsteads in warerooms for displaying them, and when used with the latter the accidents that occasionally happen by the falling of the head or foot, owing to loose joints, will be prevented.

In the modification of the invention shown by Fig. 4 the parts of the dovetail joints and the position of the take-up nuts are reversed, the screw-threaded necks Z Z and the tapered tenonsn n being formed on the bracket 6 itself, while the sockets f f and slots h h are formed in the square enlargements k on the ends of the rails, the ends of the said squared enlargements forlningthe abutments v1 2' in this case.

The specified form ofthe bracket and the ends of the rails shown and described herein may be varied more or less, and the invention is not limited to the take-up contrivance described and shown, as equivalent devices for taking up wear and play in joints may be substituted for it Without departing from the scope of the invention.

While this invention is described as an improvement applicable to metallic bedsteads, it is not intended to limit its use to that class of bedsteads only, as it may be adapted to wooden bedsteads having railjoints of similar construction.

I claim- 1. In rail-joints for bedsteads the combination of a corner-post, a rail, a bracket projecting from the corner-post, a separable connection between the bracket and the end of the rail, and an adjustable means between the end of the rail and the face of the bracket for locking the rail and bracket together for taking up Wear and play, substantially as specified.

2. In rail-joints for bedsteads the com bination of a corner-post, 'a rail, a bracket projecting from the corner-post, a dovetail socket in the bracket which opens through the face thereof, a dovetail tongue on the end of the rail that fits into the socket in the bracket and connects the rail and bracket together by a separable joint, and an adjustable means between the end-of the rail and the face of the bracket for locking the rail and bracket together for taking up wear and play, substantially as specified.

3. In rail-joints for bedsteads the combination with the corner-posts the rails and the joints between the posts and the rails, of screw-threadednecks on the ends of the rails, and take-up nuts mounted on the said necks, substantially as specified.

4. In rail-joints for bedsteads the combination of a corner-post, a bracket connected therewith having a socket formed therein and a slot opening from the socket through the face of the bracket, a rail provided with a neck and a tenon formed on the end of the neck, and an adjustable means between the end of the rail and the bracket, substantially as specified.

5. In rail-joints for bedsteads, the combination of a corner-post, a bracket connected therewith having a socket formed therein and a slot opening from the socket through the face of the bracket and abutments on each side of the slot, a rail having a screw-threaded neck on its end and a tenon on the end of the said screw-threaded neck, and a take-up nut mounted on said screw-threaded neck, substantially as specified.

6. In rail-joints for bedsteads the combination of a corner-post, a bracket connected therewith having a tapered or splayed socket formed therein a slot opening from the socket through the face of the bracket and abutments on each side of the slot, a rail having a screw-threaded neck on its end and a tapered or splayed tenon on the end of the neck, and a take-up nut mounted on the said neck, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES J. WITZEL.

Witnesses:

ADAM WIENER, CHARLES C. MENDELL.

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