US64962A - Improvement in marine furniture - Google Patents

Description

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JoSIAHroST'nR, or SANDWICH, MASSACHUSETTS Letters Patent No. 64,962, dated May 21, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MARINE EURNITURE.

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T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JosIAH FOSTER, of Sandwich, in the county of Barnstable, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Marine Furniture and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection'with the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description ofmy invention suicicnt to enable those skilled in theart to practise ita In .cases ofv marine disaster by'w-reck, foundering, 0r fire, it is often the case that the boats provided, for such emergencies are insuicient in capacity for reception of the persons exposed to danger from such misfor-' tunes, especially in the case ofpassenger vessels. In such emergencies'rafts and life-preservers, for the purpose of temporary support, are eagerly sought, and not unfrequently prove the means of preserving valuable lives, Itis to increase the capacity and amount of meansf'or temporarily floating'pas-sengers'and crew in cases of .disaster that is the object of my invention, said object being effected by the utilization of settees or sofas, whch may be used as seats for the convenience of passengers in and about the various parts of vessels.

My invention consists in such a construction and adaptation of long seats, lkesofas, lounges, settees, 85e., that the union of two o f them shall form a boat or vessel, comparatively water-tight, and of considerable capacity, in which the seat-parts of the sofas form the bottom of the boat, and the backs and ends of the sofas form respectively the sides and ends ofthe boat.

In the practice of my invention, I propose to have the feet, legs, or other supportsoi"- the long seats employed, made easily removable, so that the bottom of the boat made therefrom shall he comparatively smooth, so as to reduce resistance `to propulsion of the boatthrotugh the water, and to have the front edges of the ends and seat of one sofa of a pair made with a groove, the bottom of which is faced or packed with rubber, while the front edges of the seat and ends of the other sofa of the pair are made'to enter said groove and to bear firmly on the rubber, the two sofas being keyed or otherwise secured together.

Figure 1 of' the drawings shows in prspectivethe upper parts of two settees or sofas, united according to myi nvention, so as to form a boat.

Figure 2, showing also in perspecti'e that one ot`v the izo-operative pair of sofas, which has the-rubberbottomed groove, this view also showing tlhc feet or legs of the'sofa as in place thereupon, -but representing the upholstery 'of the.sot`a as removed.

The bodies of sofas'designed fr contingent use, as described, should becomparatively stout, and should be put together' with care and reference to such use. i

In the drawings, a represents' the seat-portions of the sofas; the backs; e, the ends, and d, thelegsor feet. 0n either sid of the front edge. ofi one sofa of a co-operativ'e pair vare strongly secured cleats, e, which', projecting beyond the aforesaid edge, form a groove, which is bottomed with rulbbenf, and which receives the front edge of the other sofa of a pair, as seen in fig. 1. On the inner side of the bottom and ends of that sofa, the edge of which projects nto'the described groove, are cleats, g, so placed that when vthe two sofas are united the edges of Athe cleats e andy shall noty touch. These cleats serve conveniently as means through which the two sofas are secured to each other by bolts seen ath, which may be slid through holes bored'in the cleats, and having slots through the ends-thereof. Wedge-keys t' driven therein serve to draw the edges of the sofas together and compress the rubber between them, making a water-tight joint. Under each sofa, or at the backs thereof, may be secured oars, suitable for use, and 4one or more thwarts or seats, so fitted as to aid in holding the sofas together, W'hile at th'e same time acting to keep the sides of the boat from being pressed or sprung inward. The

upper edges of the sofa are tted for thc reception 0i' suitable row-locks, which may have, like the oars, seats and other necessary parts, 'a place of secure deposit about the sofas, so arranged as to'be by location, or by the arrangement of the upholstery, concealed from view till the furniture is stripped and moved .for use as a boat. One or two men can easily and very quickly strip a co-operating pair of 'sofas ot' their upholstery, and unite them together intoa beat which will have considerable capacity and but little weight, and which might serve to preserve human life in lack of regular boats. The detail of proportion, .and of the means for securing the two'l pieces of furniture togeth cr,are not of the essence of my invention, and may he varied vto suit dii'cring circumstances. To increase the chances oi' safety in the use of boats made up in sections from furniture, I propose to make use of ain-chambers, which may bc locaterl ai mostconrejiicnt, though I prefer to` secu-rethem to the inside of the boat, u'po'n its bottom, 4as less liable there to perforations than elsewhere, and leaving the bottom ofk the boat to act more efficiently as a mere raft in case of thestaving in of the.ends or sides.

A claim a construction of movable furniture f'or vessels, such thatby means of'vpackedjoints, arranged and operating as set4 forth, itcan be 'transformed into boats, substantially as described.

.JOSIAH FOSTER.

Witnesses:

'CHAs H.' LAPu-A n,

C, II. FOSTER.

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