Mattress or cushion and heating attachment therefor.

'Application filed Dec. 2. 1901 1 (No Model.)

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τκε NORRIS PETERS CO . PHOTO-LlTHO.. WASHINGTON. 0. C.

United States Patent Office.

ADOLF G. SCHMIED, OF MARYSVILLE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FIFTH TO DAVID VON RIESEN, OF MARYSVILLE, KANSAS.

MATTRESS OR CUSHION AND HEATING ATTACHMENT THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,279, dated April 8, 1902.

Application filed December 2,1901. Serial No. 84,340. (No model.) b cM whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Adolf G. Schmied, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marysville, in the county of Marshall and State 5 of Kansas, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Mattresses or Cushions and Heating Attachments Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide io an improved cushion or mattress and an improved attachment for heating the same for various purposes or uses.

The details of construction are as hereinafter described, reference being had to the 15 accompanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mattress provided with my improved heating appliance, part being broken away to show the interior arrangement. Fig. 2 is a plan view of 20 the heating attachment or appliance. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the mattress and the heating appliance filled with water. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the mattress and heating appliance on the line 25 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating an application of my invention.

Since my invention is applicable to cushions as well as mattresses, it will be understood in the following description reference 30 is made to both.

The mattress A is made with separable top and bottom portions which are connected at one side only and provided on the opposite side and at the ends with a flap a, which is 35 adapted to be secured by buttons, as shown.

The lower half or portion of the mattress A (see Fig. 3) is constructed with longitudinal raised portions or ribs, which are spaced apart equidistantly and terminate a short dis40 tance from the ends of the mattress. (See

Fig. 1.) The edges of the lower portion of the mattress are likewise provided with ribs a², which are also parallel with the middle ribs or projections a'. It is apparent that 45 spaces or depressions are left between the projections a’ and also between them and the edge projections or ribs a². These spaces adapt the mattress to receive the heating appliance or attachment B. (Shown best in 50 plan view, Fig. 2.) The same consists of a series of tubes or tubular portions h, having connecting transverse tubular heads which are provided with nozzles having screw-plugs b². The longitudinal portions b are adapted to lie in the spaces provided between the Ion- 55 gitudinal ribs or projections a’ and a² of the mattress, while the heads b’ lie in the transverse spaces or depressions and between the ends of the projections a' and the end ribs a², as shown in Fig. 1. The appliance B may be 60 filled or charged with hot water for the purpose of heating the mattress A. In case the mattress is to be supported flat or extended, as shown in Fig. 1, the heater B is preferably constructed of aluminium; but in ease the 65 mattress or cushion is to be bent or curved at different angles—as, for example, when a cushion is applied to an invalid’s chair, as shown in Fig. 5—the heater B is constructed of rubber. It will be understood that the same con- 70 struction adapts the invention for use in carriages or sleighs and in various other positions or situations where warmth is required in a bed or cushion. In such case hot water may be conveniently poured into the holder 75 B by medium of a funnel, as shown in Fig. 5, and the water may be drawn off from the lower nozzle into a bucket or pail when it is required to charge the heater with an additional quantity of hot water. It is obvious that steam or 80 hot air may be applied as a heating medium in place of water, and it is further apparent that pipes may be connected with the nozzles of the heater, as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 1, for the purpose of circulating hot wa- 85 ter, hot air, or steam through the same. In brief, I propose to apply the heating agent or medium in any way that may be most convenient or as dictated by conditions, &amp;c.

The longitudinal parts b of the heater lie in 90 the spaces between the projections or ribs of the mattress and prevent any displacement of the heater when in use. The arrangement of the tubular portions b of the heater so that the projections or ribs a of the mattress in- 95 tervene is often of much advantage in facilitating the application of a greater degree of heat to one portion of the body of the occupant than to an other, since he may rest mainly upon that portion of the mattress which is di- 100 rectly over the projections a' or, if desired, directly upon the portion lying over one of

697,279 the tubular parts b of the heater. In brief, the heat may be graduated in its application to the person of the occupant by the latter shifting his body from one part of the mat5 tress to another, and, further, this arrangement prevents the water being pressed from one side to the other, and thus keeps the surface of the mattress or cushion level,or nearly so, when subjected to the weight of an occui o pant, which would not be the case if the heater were constructed with a single undivided chamber.

It is obvious that by unbuttoning the flap a at one or both ends of the mattress proper 15 the heating appliance B may be readily inserted or withdrawn, and for convenience in this respect I provide it with a flexible loop b^s, as shown in Fig. 2.