US2504769A - Sleeping car arrangement - Google Patents

Description

April 18, 1950 M. WATTER 2,504,769

SLEEPING CAR ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 7, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 51mm"nmllllllllllll mm P IG. 1 1O INVENTOR I MLchael Waiter ATTORNEY April 18, 1950 w 2,504,769 I SLEEPING CAR ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 7, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1 (I 6 v Michael Waiter BY z a 2 A TTORNE Y April 18, 1950 WATTER 2,504,769

SLEEPING CAR ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 7, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Minhael Wac car April 18, 1950 M. WATTER I 2,504,769

SLEEPING CAR ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 7, 1945 v 4 heetsh t 4 I N V EN TOR Mic had Waiter A TTORNE Y v The invention relates ticularly' to sleeping: cars of. the type shown in a copending; application Serial No. 599,349 to Lyon for Sleeping car.

"ings forming a part of this specification. I

" In the drawin s.

Patented Apr. 18, 1950 .U'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 The Budd. Company;.-Philad elphia, Pa. a cor. poration-ofi Pennsylvania Application December 7, I945, Serial No. 633,324

to sleeping cars and par- Such. cars consist of two longitudinal series of longitudinally arranged single occupancy rooms,

one suchseries being placed on each side of. the

- center aisle: of thecar. In these rooms the longitudinal seat leveldimensions of each room available to theoccupant when. seated is substantially equal to the combinedlongitudinal dimensions of the plan form projection .of the upright seat back, horizontal seatcushion and horizontally extended foreleg length of the occupant. Room constructions and furniture arrangements which admit these dimensionsper1nit, -With maximum passenger comfort, a maximum of rooms in a 1 car of given. length. Twoseriesof rooms in a car of standard. length will afford single occupancy rooms for thirty-two. passengers.

, 'The object of the invention has to do outstandingly with a. more convenient arrangement of the beds and chairs to use and storage positions, and provide for greater. ease of manipulation of the. parts: in changing from sitting. room to be room use or vice versa.

It is a further object to achieve a low level bed whereby access is improved, with comfortable chair construction, which chair construction permits easeof operation to remove parts thereof'out of the way to receive the bed insuch low level position.

Theinvention also has for anobjectimprove- 'jrnent in the. supportof' the. bed which not only facilitates its operation but decreases the cost of manufacture.

Other and further objects and. advantages and the manner in which they are attained will become, apparent from. the following detailed description when read in connection with the draw- Figure 1 is a diagr mmaticiragmentary iew f a railway car showing, one entire room and. part or an adjoining room in p rspective. and made'up as sitting rooms, the view being; taken as seen from the aisle, Withparts of theai'sle wall and parts of the transverse walll separating the adjoining j' reom'sbrokenaway so as. to more clearly showthe 'finterie'r of-theroomsg Figllr like im r; eases m agerllClaim's. (CL105-315.)

. .2 perspective view from the aisle side showlngthe one room made up as a bedroom, this view showing less of the aisle wall broken away;

' Figure 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatictransverse vertical sectional view on an enlarged-I scale through the entire room shown in Figure. 1 the section being taken just in frontof the chair of said figure; the bed and seat bein shown in. full lines in the positions of Figure 1 and in dot-anddash lines in positions of Figure 2;-

Figure t is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken just inside theadja'cent end transverse wall of the room of Figurefi, the adjacent bed supporting bracket or lever being partly broken away; and the top of the. bed: in stored position being indicatediin dot -andrdash linesi Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view showing the. seat and a partofithe seat .back'as shown-in. Figure 1 in side elevation,.and1

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic sectional plan Shoaw ing abed' locking means.

In the drawings, Figure 1, the floor ofthecar and rooms is represented by Hi, the longitudinal car side wall by ll',;the car roof by .4 2; the longitudinally extending aisle wall by [3, the vertical transverse wall interconnecting the; car side: and

' aisle walls and forming the wall separating; the

two adjoining rooms,. by l4, the transverse: wall forming; the. opposite end of the room by: $5, and the room ceiling by 15. The transverse; wall; 15 comprises avertical-top portion I'Lan ofisetslight- 1yinclineol intermediate: portion 18, and a vertical' bottom portion ill offset from; the interrne diate. portion. The lower; margin of the vertical top'portionlland the upper margin ot the vertical bottom portion 19 are connected, -re spectively, tothe upper and. lower margins of thezintermediate portion. l8 byhorizontalportions, giving this transverse wall a stepped longitudinal cross-sectional form.

The. presentinvention has to do primarily with the seat and bed, arrangement. in a. room. of this fear side wall with its plane generally parallelin said wall. and. with one, longitudinal margin. thereof adjacent the floor liland. the. opposite. longitudinal margin just below the windows. 2.11, the

height. of the o'fisetl'inf the transverse wall l5 formed. by. the lower vertical. portion. L9 thereof and the horizontal portion connecting it tothe secured in the room facing longitudinally and extending from the vertical storage position of the action of the springs 36 or other counterbalancing means which may be provided.

To conveniently raise the seat portion 35 without stooping, to its normal raised position, a foot 'treadle 38 is hinged intermediate its ends to a bracket 39 secured to the floor and has its end opposite the treadle portion connected by a link I 40 to the bottom of the seat portion 30. By stepping on the treadle, the link 40 pushes upwardly against the seat portion and causes it to turn.

" about the hinges 3| to its raised horizontal posi-- 'tion. A suitable counterbalance, such as a torsi on spring at the hinges 3! (not shown) may be:

the bed transversely to the aisle wall I3. This chair comprises a separate back 23, suitably cushlported adjacent its top edge, through pivot pins,

' idnd and upholstered and provided with a fold ing arm-rest as 24, this back being pivotally sup- 1 as 25, engaging in brackets as 26, suitably secured to the adjacent room Walls. The back has a suitable inclination and engages at the bottom suit- :able stops,- not shown, to limit its rearward movean enclosed hopper 28, on which is supported the removable seat cushion section 29. The portion of the seat from the hopper outwardly to the folded bed, designated 30, is suitably cushioned provided to reduce to a minimum the effort required on the treadle 38.

The bed is normally locked in its vertical :Hstorage position paralleling the car side wall by a suitable latch mechanism, shown diagrammatically in Figure 6, which may be operated by pulling the handle 41 secured to its upper margin for operating'the bed. This handle may have and-upholstered to bring it level with the seat cushion section 29 and is hinged, through longi- 'tu'dinally' extending hinges 3| adjacent the top 1 of the hopper enclosure 28 supporting the cush- 1 ion section 29; It is preferably supported at its free end by a collapsible self-locking toggle strut v f arrangement designated generally'32. As shown in Figures land 3, this strut inclines upwardly and outwardly from the floor ID to the bottom of the hinged seat portion 30. The strut arrangeme'nt comprises two sections 32a and'32b hinged together through hinges 33, disposed at the outside of -the strut, the sections 32a and 321) being hinged, respectively, to the seat portion and to the'fioor In by hinges 34 and 35 arranged on 5 the opposite side of the strut from the hinges 33;

The ends of the strut sections 32a, 3212 have flat f surface engagement with each other, and with V the respective seat and floor'when the strut is in strut isthus automatically held, by the weight operative position, andit' will be seen that the of theseat portion 30 or of said portion and its occupant, in the operative position of Figs. land 3; To still further insure'non-collapsing of the strut, and to aid in returning the strut to'its it in such position, but allowing it to be collapsed against the action of the springs to the position j shown in dot-anddash lines in Figure 3 and in full lines in Figure 4. Y

To facilitate the collapse of the strut when it is desired to lower the hinged seat portion 30 to the position indicated, a laterally extending tread portion 31 may be provided on the lower strut section 32b adjacent the hinges 33, this tread portion extending from the opposite side ofthe strut from that on which the hinges 33 are 1 located, so that the operator canstart the collapse of the strutby merely stepping on thistread .portion and thusicausing'the strut sectionsto swing about the'hinges 33 toward the collapsed ,condition. The weight of the seat portion will thereafter be sufiicient to move the seat to its 1 flowered position with its freeedge' adjacent the floor and to maintain it in this'po'sition against slight movement against the action of a spring 42 to pull the cables 43 passing around sheaves as 44 and connected to the respective spring pressed locking pins 45 to release said pins from their cooperating locking holes in the adjacent room walls. The bed is supported at each end by a lever or bracket 46 pivoted at 41 to the bed in a region adjacent its upper and inner margin and having a floating pivotal connection through a T-section pin 48 secured to the adjacent room wall, as M or [5, and curved slot 49 in'the lever. The levers 46 may have cut-out portions 50 for lightness. V

As shown, the slot 49 inthe lever has a slight transverse offset portion 5| adjacent one end which merges with a longitudinally extending generally straight portion 52 extending toward the pivot 41 which, in turn, merges through a curved portion 53 into a generally transversely extending portion 54 at the opposite end of the slot, see Fig. 4. The lever is-guided at its end saidrguide.

bed is guided at each end by a slightly upwardly supported from the adjacent wall by a short ver-' tically extending guide, such as the channel 55,

secured to the adjacent room wall and a roller pin 56 on the lever projecting at all times into The lower and outer margin of the end of the bed. This roller pin 58 may be inteto engage the locking holes, as 59, at the fbottom of the channel.

gral with the adjacent locking pin 45, or a separate pin through which the locking pin 45'slides top and levers from the Wall is located inwardlyof; the

' bottom of the bed, the bed will be heldby its ,before described, are preferably provided to lock the bed inthis position. i p

To make up thesitting room shown in Figures 1 and 3 into a bedroom; the seat back 23 is swung about its pivot pins 25 to the raised position 1 shown in Figure 2, where it is lockediby suitable means, such as a locking bolt 60 on the back ways 51;.

amazes The: movable? seat cushion. section 29: covering: the: hopper" 28: maybe setup on. edge: against the: aisle: walll as shown im Figure: 2' or moved: to

any desired. location. and the hinged seat portion 30; may alslr be moved to; the. folded dowm positiom with its: tree. end; adjacent the floor in:v the manner already described; as; shown: in Figure: 2:

The: belt mast" now be: moved. from thevertical storage. position. alongside: the car, side: wall: to the horizontal. use position shown; inrEigune 2, in: which. it. is disposed at. a low. level: substantiali'y at the: sea-t level; in. the: following: manner.

'lio: do: this. the: handle H: is grasped, by; the operator and pulled; to; first; release the: locking means securing. the bed: in: its storage: position, andltlien. to draw the top: of the bed: toward:- the aisle, whichcauses the.-T-secti'on pins: to travels in therslotssflfuntil, whenlthet-bed has been-:moved tmhorizontalsposition,they'rest inxthe ofiseta 5| atthe opposite ends: of the slots; as-showrt in Figme 41. At the): sametime. the guide roller pins 5E nide: upwardly in the guideways: 5.5 and. by

pressing: down on=the-innen margin; of. the=bsd the outcn margim may be'raisedi toits: use position at the: location. shown. in ful lines in. Figure 4,, being guided this movement: the: inclined: guide- When in. this position, the, latch bolts; l5; will be: causedby their: springs, to engagein theadiacent locking; holes. as 5.9 ,v to; lock the bed in thiszuserpositiom.

This latching. means supports the. bed atits outer margin and, the. levers provide brackets. toi

support the. bed. adjacent the inner margin and thetwo thereby-"- provide, a. firnr support. for the 7 bed in themseposition.

- substantiallyat. seat level-,, so that. the=position of the: bed. is,. as? it approaches its use positiom; op-

posite the lowerv portion-oftheiegsvof theeoper ator, and its width can thus be'zmadeta;v maximum this being; allowed by' the: relatively.' small: width.- of the loweirleg regionat the. operator..

, The reversemovemcnti-ot. the bedwiltbe. clear from the foregoing description-.. To move; it. to;

- storage position from the. useposition the outer margin of the bed: is released by pulling. on. the

Y handle M torelease: the latching; bolt-s 45 after whichethe-outer marg-inof the; bed: is allowed. to descend by: gravity until! the? bed is supported: by the F -section pins. engaging: the cuiwedl portions of. the slots. in the loversv 42.. By: a. slight. outwardl push on the inner margin of the bedit. is

'- oasily moved to itsfinal storage position. shown imEigunes. L and 3;.Wh8185itpi5: locked-inzthezmam neralreadydescnibed-.. l

After. the bed haabeenzmovedl to storage posi- 7 tion,,. the movable seat. cushiom 29 and movable seatlpnntionw 30: and the. seatlback: 2'3 are-brought totheirruse position as showninlli i'gunes. 1; and.

. and: the room is iii-condition for; ma as: a sitting room;

. 'Ihea'oonnislprovided:with: alt the usualrappurtenances additiomtoithoss: aineady descnibed,

cater t0: the: comfort. and: convenience of; its

1 occupants; In the cornenbetweem the: outside wall"v Illv and the. transverse wall. It is arranged: a fblding washa basin. 6 l a: shelf 62 directly above. it, and: a. mirror. and; cabinet. 63 above: the shelf. Along. thezoutsidezwalh H1 and extending between transverse wall" M? and upper vertical portion H: of transverse: wallis a. baggage rack 64.

"Below it: on wall portion l1: may be arranged a shelf 6& for" receiving; the. carafe. A. used towel rack 66 may be secured to the bottom oithebed below the; folding? wash basin..

door opening: into the room. abovathe-seat provides access to-ashoebox;v aisle access thereto sing; hadthrouglr a door68-l.

Goncealed: lighting fixtures are-shown provided 8513369: abovethe' mirrow and a-t to above thea seat.

Thetransverse; wall M separates. the. room shown! fully' in the views from another similar room; amranged symmetrically'withmespeottthereto: about the transverse walla Mk, which walla is preferably provided witha folding. partition. H, which may be folded. against the aisle wall,. and thus convert the. two. rooms into one large noom. Access tothe"- aisle is: lead through. the: doorway and folding door L2 arranged between. the: seat and the-wall l4.

Spacevfor air'conditioning ducts. and the like is provided above. the: aisle ceiling t3 and room cealing- I55- and the adjacent car. root 12..

Adjacent the floor and between theehopper: 28 and the lower vertical portion t9 of transverse wall t5 and: extending to: the aisle. wall. may be arranged a storage locker l4 accessible.- through door 15 from. the aisle which locker canbe: used for extra bed clothing: or the like.

While a. specific embodiment of the invention has: been henei-nbefore described. in detail,.it will be understood: that changes; and modifications may be: made by those skilled in the art without departing fromlthemain featureot the invention, andlsuch changes and modifications-are intended to be covered. by the. appended claims What-is claimed is: v 1-. In a sleeping can, aroomconvertible-from a sitting room to a bedroom or. vice versa and arranged between an aisle wall and. a. car. side wall. and spaced transverse: walls interconnectme: said: aisle. and. car. side walls, a fixed-length made-up bed. extending. substantially the length of; the room and disposed; when the room-.flis made up. as a sitting. room, so, as. to. extend lengthwise alongv and with its plane. generally paralleling. said car side wall and with. its. lower margin: adjacent. the floor oi the. room,, a chair in: the? room facing longitudinally and; extending. transversely from thestored bed towardlthe height above-.thafioor the-bedlbeing of a Width extending, when in use: position-,. from; the. car sidewall to-a position near. the: aisle wall, but leavingstanding; room; for an occupant between thei inner marginv off the; bed and: said.- aisle: wall. 2;. III}. a sleeping camlaboom: convertiblafiom a sitting room. to. at bednonm or vice versa and 'Qarrangcd between. an; aisle wail and..a canfside wall and spaced transverse wallstinterconnecting said aisle and car sidewalls, one of said transverse' walls being offset to form a recess adja- "cent the floor of theroom, a fixed length madeup bed extending substantially the length of the ro'oman'd disposed, when the room is made up as a sitting room, so as to extend lengthwise lalong and with its plane generally paralleling said car side wall with its lower margin adjacent the floor'of the room and having one end thereof projecting into said recess, a longitudinally facing chair in theroom disposed in front of said recess and extending transversely from the stored bed toward the aisle WaIL-said chair havin'g separate seat and back portions, the back portion being movable, when the room is made up as a bedroom, from its normal position to a raised position vertically above said recess, and "at: least a part of the seat portion adjacent the stored bed being movable from its normal raised ;position down to a position nearer the floor, and the bed being bodily movable from its vertically seat height above the floor of the room, the bed extending storage position to a substantially j horizontal use position at'approximately normal being of a width extending, when in use position,

1 from the ear side wall to a position near the aisle "wa l, but leaving standing room for an occupant between the inner 'margin of the bed and said aisle wall.

3, In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom or vice versa and arranged between an aisle wall and a car side wall and spaced transverse walls interconnecting said aisle and car side walls, a fixed-length ,made-up bed extending substantially the length of the room and disposed, when the room is made up as a sitting room, so as to extend lengthwise along and generally paralleling said car side wall with its bottom margin adjacent the floor of the room, a chair in the room facing longitudinally and extending transversely from the stored bed toward the aislewall, said chair having separate seat and back portions,

" the back portion being hinged adjacent its topand swingable about said hinge, when the room ,is made up as a bedroom, to a raised storage stored; bed being hinged on a line extending" extending storage position to a substantially horizontal use pos tion at approximately normal position vertically above the top of the stored bed, and a part of the seat portion adjacent said longitudinally of the car'to a fixed seat portion I and swingable from its normal raised position downwardly to a position nearer the floor, and the bed being bodily movable from its vertical seat height above the floor of the room, the bed being of a width extending, when in use position, from the car side wall to a position near the aisle wall, but leaving standing room for an occupant between the inner margin'of the bed and said aisle wall.

4, In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom or vice versa, and ar- "ranged between a center aisle wall and a car side wall and. spaced transverse walls interconnecting said aisle and car side walls; a fixed-length made- -up bed extending substantially the length of the room anddisposed, when the room is made up as a sitting room, so as to extend lengthwise along and with its plane generally paralleling said car side wall, a seat fixedly mounted in the room, facing longitudinally and extending transversely from the stored bed toward the-aisle walL- a part'of said seat adjacent the stored bed horizontal use position substantially at normal seat height the bed being of a width extending, when in use position, from the car side wall to a .position near the aisle wall, but leaving standing room for an occupant between the 'inner margin of the bed and said aisle wall.

5.'In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a-sittingroom to 'a bedroom and vice versa and arranged between longitudinally extending spaced walls and spaced transverse walls interconnecting said longitudinal walls, a'fixedlength made-up bed extending substantially the length of the room and disposed, when the room is made up as a sitting room, so as to extend length-wise along" and with its plane generally paralleling one of I said longitudinal walls with its bottom margin adjacent the floor of the room, aseat in said room extending transversely from the stored bed toward the other longitudinal wall, a" portionat least of said seat comprising the portion adjacent the folded bed being foldable downwardly about a horizontal axis remote from said folded bed, and the bed being movable from its vertically extending stored position to a horizontal use position at the approximate height of the seat without substantially raising it above the top of its stored position, the bed being of a width extending. when in use position, from the longitudinal wall adjacent which it is stored to a position near the other longitudinal wall but leaving standing room for an occupantbetween its margin and said other longitudinal wall.

6. In a sleepingcar, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom and vice versa and arranged between spaced longitudinally extending walls and spaced transverse walls intercom necting said longitudinal "walls, a fixed-length bed extending substantially the length-of the room and disposed, when the room is made up as a sitting room,so as to extend lengthwise along and with its plane'generally'paralleling one of said longitudinal walls and with its bottom margin adjacent the floor, a seat in the room extending transversely from the stored bed toward the opposite longitudinal wall, said seat being movable at least for a substantial portion of its 'Width, to a lowered position nearer the flo'or, and the bed being supported and guided for movement from its vertical stowed position to a horizontal use position at substantially normal seat height while maintaining its lower and outer margin in close adjacency'to said one longitudinal wall, the bed being of a width extending, when in use position, from the longitudinal wall adjacent which it is stored to'a position near the other longitudinal wall but leaving standing room for an occupant between its margin and said other longitudinal wall. '7.'In a sleeping car, a-room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom and vice versaand substantially the full lengththe'reof and movable f'rom a vertical storage position along-and I with it's plan'e paralleling; a longitudinal wall to a horizontal use position at substantially right angles to said wall, the bed being supported and guided in such movement by a pair of levers pivoted to the opposite ends of the bed respectively, adjacent to the free margin of the bed and through their opposite ends through a floating pivotal connection between the levers and the respective transverse walls, the opposite margin of the bed being guided in its movement by pins on the bed engaging fixed guides on the respective transverse walls the bed being of a width extending, when in use position, from the longitudinal wall adjacent which it is stored to a position near the other longitudinal wall but leaving standing room for an occupant between its margin and said other longitudinal wall.

8. In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom and vice versa and arranged between spaced longitudinally extending walls and spaced transverse walls interconnecting said longit-udinal walls, a fixedlength bed of substantially the full length of the room and extending when the room is made up as a sitting room in stored position lengthwise of and with its plane generally parallel to one of said longtitudinal walls, a chair extending transversely from said stored bed toward the opposite longitudinal wall, said chair comprising a hopper disposed adjacent said last-named wall and a removable cushion carried by said hopper, and a hinged seat portion hinged to said hopper and having a cushion normally in substantial horizontal alignment with said removable cushion, said hinged seat portion being supported by a collapsible support and foldable down to an inoperative position nearer the floor when said support is collapsed, the bed being movable, when said removable cushion and hinged seat portion are moved to inoperative position, to a horizontal use position substantially at the normal level of said seat cushion the bed being of a width extending, When in use position, from the longitudinal wall adjacent which it is stored to a position near the other longitudinal wall but leaving standing room for an occupant between its margin and said other longitudinal wall.

9. In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom or vice versa and arranged between spaced longitudinally extending walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a seat in said room and a movable bed arranged in storage position with its plane extending vertically alongside said seat and movable to a horizontal use position occupying at least a portion of the space normally occupied by said seat, said seat comprising a hinged portion normally supported by a self-locking toggle strut but movable about its hinge out of the path of the bed by the breaking of said toggle strut, and foot-operable means for breaking the toggle strut.

10. In a sleeping car, a room convertible from a sitting room to a bedroom and vice versa and arranged between spaced longitudinally extending walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a seat in said room, and a movable bed arranged in storage position with its plane extending vertically alongside said seat and movable to a horizontal use position occupying at least a portion of the space normally occupied by said seat, said seat comprising a hinged portion normally supported remote from its hinge by collapsible support means but movable about its hinge to inoperative position out of the path of the bed when said support means is rendered inoperative, and foot-operable means for return ing said hinged portion to normal position.

11. In a sleeping car, a bedroom having enclosing walls, a bed extending lengthwise adjacent one of said walls and between opposing walls and foldable from a vertical storage position flanking said one wall to a horizontal use position at a position lower than the top thereof in storage position, and supporting and guiding means for the bed in such movement comprising a pair of levers pivotally secured at one of their ends to the respective ends of the bed adjacent one longitudinal margin thereof and having a floating pivotal connection at their opposite ends with the respective opposing walls of the room, said floating connection being through a cam slot on each lever engaging a fixed pin on the adjacent wall and a pin carried by each lever engaging a vertical guide on the adjacent wall, the margin of the bed opposite the margin supported by said levers being guided in generally vertically extending guideways on the adjacent room walls, and means for locking said margin in its raised position.

MICHAEL WATTER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hansen Dec. 19, 1911 Number

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