Truss.

Application filed October 8, 1907. Serial No. 396.407

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Henry L. Mortimer, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Sound Beach, in the county of Fairfield and 5 State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trusses, of which the following is a specification..

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in adjustable trusses, and is 10 adapted to be employed in various places for the purpose of strengthening and supporting beds, beams, sills etc.

It is the purpose of my device to provide a simple form of truss which is not only 15 capable for stiffening and strengthening structures but is so designed as to be adjustable in a way to true up the part supported and from time to time should it become bowed or sagged and to form the de20 vice in a simple, practical and inexpensive manner so as to permit of it being made and sold cheaply.

It will be obvious that a truss of this sort is applicable to many uses as for instance to 25 piano key beds to retain the same in alinement; in car construction, for strengthening the sills to the floor timbers of buildings to assist in carrying the load, and likewise in bridge construction to stiffen the same and 30 in fact numerous other places.

With the above objects in view my invention resides and consists in the novel construction and combination of parts shown upon the accompanying sheet of drawing 35 forming a part of this specification, upon which similar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures and of which,

Figure 1, shows a side elevation of a bed or beam having my improved truss applied to the underside thereof in a way to stiffen and strengthen the same. Fig. 2, is a similar side elevation showing my novel idea carried out by the employment of two adjustable supporting posts. Fig. 3, is an enlarged detached sectional view of one of the supporting posts shown in the preceding figures and Fig. 4, is a detached elevation of an adjusting screw and nut carried by the supporting 50 posts.'

My improved device as will be noted is very simple in construction, and aside from the brace rod which is more or less common in most forms of trusses, comprises but three parts, namely, a post, screw, and an adjust- 55 ing nut. These as well as the said rod may be made in sizes and of proportions best suited to the particular uses to which the brace is to be put and can likewise be made from such metals and finished as desired. 60 The post however is of a design which will permit of it being cast and would require but very little finishing.

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings, 5 indi- 65 cates a bed, beam, truss or like part to be braced, and 6 a rod the' opposite ends of which are provided with eyes 7 through which a bolt 8 in the bed passes. The said rod is obviously bent to accommodate the 70 number and position of the adjustable supports intermediate of said rod and the bed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

represents the post which is provided with a flange 10 through which screw bolts 75 11 may be put for the attachment of the post to the bed as shown in the drawings. The said post is preferably hollow as shown in Fig. 3, and contains a. central longitudinal hole 12 therethrough for the reception of a 80 screw 13 which freely passes through the said hole. The outer end of the said screw is provided with a transverse semi-circular recess 14 to receive the brace rod and a nut 15 is mounted upon the threaded portion of said 85 screw and engages the outer end of the post. This nut is thus obviously designed to turn upon the screvAi a way to run the same in and out of the^ist through which it freely passes, thus increasing or diminishing the 90 distance intermediate of the rod and bed, which means the adjustment of the bed up or down according to the direction of the turn of the screw. When constructed in this way the nut can be very freely operated 95 and tends only to run the screw therethrough without turning the latter and since the rod as shown is a substantially fixed part and cannot yield, the bed is obviously caused to raise when the nut is adjusted in a way to 100 run the screw out of the post. As before stated one or two or more of these adjustable posts may be employed in connection with a rod to form the truss, and if more than two are employed they may likewise be of 105 different lengths if desired.

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