US2490804A - Crate - Google Patents

Description

W. L. HAAS Dec. 13, v1949 CRATE Filed July 28, 1945 DOO I Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED ES PLATE NT GFFl-CE CRATE William L. Haas, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application JulyZS; 1945, Serial No. 6073626' (Cl. 21d-53e):

lClaim. l. This invention relates to:r a crate and more particularly to aL crate` forv airfreight, air transportationJ involving theA special considerations ofv protecting edges which arelsubject to injury such-` as-thetrailing edgesof air foils.

Another object is toprovide a; crate which is light in. weight, particularly. in comparison with present methods. ofV wrapping articles for air freight, particularly largearticles, such as the air foils referred to.

Another object is to providesuch a cratel-whichl reduces thepacking time, thereby to facilitate both the crating and uncrating of the articles being shipped.

Another object is to provide such a crate which can be packed in any position and at the same time afford adequate protection, this permitting of the most advantageous use of the limited space within the airplane.

Another object is to provide such a crate which, when loaded, vcan readily be handled by machinery, thereby to minimize the necessity for manual handling which is particularly disadvantageous with large articles.

Another object is to provide such a crate in which the materials are low in cost and readily fabricated and normally are not particularly critical in time of war.

A further object is to provide such a crate which affords a high degree of protection and in particular holds the cratedarticle against movement within the crate.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. l is a horizontal section through a crate for an airplane rudder and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taking on line 3-3, Fig. 1.

The particular embodiment of the invention shown is a crate designed for a rudder, although it will be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular shape of article being shipped; The crate is shown as having: a base` will be understood that, for strength, both the base panel -and the skids 6 canbe made of plywood, this also being true of' the other woodenv parts of' the crate. However, the invention is not limited to the use of plywood.

To the opposite longitudinal side edgesy of the base panel 5 are secured the lower ends of a plurality of side plates- 8, 8a, etc., these side plates-being arranged in pairs and each pair extending upwardly to a common apex so that the crate is generally triangular in section. While these are shown as a plurality of separate panels, it will be understood that they could be in the form of a single panel one on each side of the by a triangular llet I0 interposed between the opposingupper endfaces of the sideplates.` The width and spacing of the side plates or panels 8,

8a, etc., can be selected to suit the particular piece of merchandise being crated. For example the panel 8a is shown as being substantially wider than the'other panels to afford special protection to the adjacent part of the crated piece of merchandise. Further, the length of the side plates or panels 8, 8a, etc., can be designed to suit the shape of the crated piece of merchandise. Thus, for the airplane rudder for which the crate illustrated was designed, the side panels are progressively longer from the panel 8 to the panel 8d, while the end pair of panels 8e are slightly shorter than the side panels 8d, the apices of the several side panels terminating in a curving line as shown.

These apices of the side panels 8, 8a, etc., are shown as being secured together by a pair of stringers II, these stringers extending along opposite sides of the crate against the outer face of each side plate or panel 8, 8a at the upper end thereof. These stringers can be secured by bolts I 2 which extend through the pair of stringers II, through the upper ends of the side plates or panels 8, 8a, etc., and through the triangular fillets IG. Each of these stringers can be made in the form of a continuous strip or can be jointed, as indicated at I3 in Fig. 2.

The crate is provided with a small triangular end head I5 and a large triangular end head It, the small triangular end head being tted and secured between the base panel and side plates or panels B and the large end head I6 being tted and secured between the base plate 5 and the side panels 8e. For convenience in lifting the crate ropes I8 can be suitably secured to the end heads I5 and I6. To provide additional strength a metal strap or wood strip 20, or both, can be secured to the approximate centers of the side pieces or panels 8, 8a, etc. This strap can be secured in any suitable manner as by the fastening rivets 2I.

The crate can be adequately padded with a very small amount of padding. Thus, to provide a cushioned endvvise support for the piece of merchandise the end heads I5, I6 can be internally padded with triangular pieces 22 and 23 of padding material. The side padding can be provided at the large end of the crate by strips 24, 25 secured to the inner faces of the side pieces or panels 8e and at this end the base panel 5 can be padded by a strip 26 of padding extending between the lower ends of the pieces Z, 25 of padding. The smaller end of the crate can be similarly padded by side strips 28, 29 secured to the inner faces of the side pieces or panels 8 and a bottom pad 30 secured to the intermediate part of the bottom panel 5.

With the crate constructed as above described it will be seen that the crate is structurally rigid, particularly by reason of its triangular shape in cross section and by reason of the apices of the side pieces or panels being joined by the stringere II while the bottoms of these pieces are secured to the bottom plate or panel 5. This strength is further insured by the triangular end heads I5, i6 and by the intermediate strap 20. While strong the crate is extremely light in weight, particularly as compared with the present packing processes and the flexibility of the side panels 8, 8a, etc., permits of yieldingly engaging the sides of the crated article so as to hold it against displacement. The provision of the small amount of padding at the opposite ends of the crate also insures rm engagement with the crated article and such padding can be provided elsewhere as may be found desirable by virtue of any peculiarity in the shape of the crated article.

It will also be seen that the lled crate can be handled by machinery and can be stowed in any position thereby to permit the most advantageous use of the limited space with any cargo plane. The crate is also made of inexpensive and readily obtained materials.,

I claim as my invention: A'structurally rigid crate, comprising a base panel of substantial thickness and having longitudinal side edges and generally parallel end edges, a plurality of pairs of side panels secured in spaced relation directly to the opposite side edges of said base panel and each pair extending upwardly to provide a common triangular apex, a pair of stringers extending along the opposite outersides of said side panels at the apices thereof, a triangular iillet fitted in the apex of each pair of side panels, fasteners extending directly through the pair of stringers and each pair of side panels and each of said triangular llets, and a generally triangular end head secured on each endv of said base panel and each :fitted within and secured to the adjacent pair of said side panels.

WILLIAM L. HAAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 904,694 Hemmick v Nov. 24, 1908 1,175,898 Co-x Mar. 14, 1916 1,213,032 Smith Jan. 16, 1917 2,147,798 Pilcher Feb. 21, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 659,245 France June 26, 1929

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