Stay for pneumatic mattresses, &c.

Application filed September 12, 1904. Serial No. 224,092.

To oil whom, it may concern :

Be it known that 1, Frank Webb, of Reading, in tlie county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and 5 useful Improvements in Stays for Pneumatic Mattresses, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stays which are used to connect the opposite side pieces of io pneumatic mattresses and other inflatable sacks to limit the separation of said side pieces by the pressure of the air. Stays of this character usually embody a main or body portion which extends between the two side pieces U and flaps or ears at the ends of the body por; tion, said Haps being suitably secured to the 1 side pieces. To give the stays suitable flexibility, they are usually made of Hat strips of fabric, the end portions of which are cut 2o lengthwise to form two flaps or ears at each end of the stay, said Haps being bent outwardly from opposite sides of the stay and secured to the side pieces of the mattress. Heretofore Hat stays for this purpose have 25 been lacking in strength and durability at the points where the flaps are bent outwardly from the body of the stay, the construction heretofore used having been such that there is liability of the tearing of the material of the 30 stay at these points.

My invention has for its object to provide a Hat stay of textile fabric which shall be free from the objections above noted; anil to this end the invention consists in the improve35 ments which I will now proceed to describe anil claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents an edge view of a strip of textile fabric prepared for the manufacture of my ; 40 improved stay. Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of a stay embodying my invention made from the strip shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the central portion of the stay formed in two 45 plies to increase its flexibility. Fig. 4 represents a sectional vie w showing oneof the end portions of the stay attached to one of the. side pieces of a mattress.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures. 5°

In carrying out my invention I produce a strip of woven fabric which includes a series of body portions « of maximum thickness and a series of intermediate portions which comprise two plies each of the same width as 55 the body portion a and of half its thickness. The said strip may be woven by any suitable means or processes known to those skilled in the art of weaving, the parts « and being integral with each other and provided with 6° selvage edges, so that there are no raw edges or such edges as would be formed by cutting the fabric. The two-ply portions of the strip thus formed are severed on the lines b b, the operation of severing the strip converting the 65 plies 0' a' into cars adapted to be bent outwardly from the body <1 of the strip, as shown in Fig. 2, each ear being of the same width as the body of the strip and of practically half its thickness. The stay thus formed may 7° be attached to the side pieces d of a mattress by inserting the strip through an orifice d', placing the ears «' upon the outer surface of the side piece d,and securing said ears in place by means of a covering-piece e, which is pre- 75 pared to be secured to the flaps «' and to the side piece d by the vulcanization of rubber which is incorporated into said parts.

It will be seen that the flaps a' are integral with the body u and free from raw edges at So the points where they join the body. 'Die bases of the Haps are intimately united with the body of the strip by the weaving operation, so there is no possibility of the said bases being torn apart without breaking the threads 85 of which the fabric is composed.

To increase the flexibility of the stay, the central part of the body portion may be. woven in two plies <r as shown in Fig. 3.