US1194309A - George c - Google Patents

Description

G C. D. MILLER.

FASTENER FOR CRATES, BOXES, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-25. I912.

1 1 9%.,309 Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

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GEORGE C. D. MILLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CARY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FASTENER FOR ORATES, BOXES, 8w.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug". 8, 1916.

Application filed January 25, 1912. Serial No. 673,301.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. D. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Fastener for Crates, Boxes, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a fastener for use upon crates, boxes and other containers, and it is intended for use, more particularly, upon berry crates, in order to securely fasten the cover thereof so as to preclude the accidental opening of the cover when the crates are handled roughly during transportation.

The fastener embodies a hasp member provided with locking means adapted for V engagement with a keeper, said hasp member being provided with a spring which operates in a manner to retain the locking means in contact with the keeper, whereby the hasp member is precluded from becoming disengaged accidentally from said keeper.

An advantage secured by the new fastener is the automatic operation of the spring in pressing the hasp member into interlocking engagement with the keeper at the time of closing the top of the crate, thus making it unnecessary, after the hasp shall have been inserted into the keeper, to thereafter adjust a part or member for securing the hasp in the locked position.

The new fastener is characterized by such simplicity in construction as renders the manufacture of the article both ecnomical and expeditious, it being possible to stamp or press the keeper and the hasp'in separate pieces of sheet or strap metal.

Other features of the invention and the advantages thereof will appear from the annexed description taken in connection with the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 have illustrated different practical embodiments of the invention, but the constructions shown therein are to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a part of a box or crate in a closed position, and with my selflocking fastener in a position to secure the cover in said closed position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the operation of the selflocking fastener when the cover is closed.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation illustrating another embodiment of the invention wherein a hinged hasp is adapted for locking engagement with a keeper. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the device shown in Fig. 4.

A designates a hasp and B a keeper into which said hasp is insertible so as to have locking engagement therewith. The hasp shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 consists of a piece of stout sheet metal which is bent at a right angle intermediate its ends so as to produce a shank a. Said hasp is provided at one end with lugs 0 and with an extension 0 p0- sitioned intermediate the lugs, said extension serving the purpose of a finger piece when it is desired to release the hasp from the keeper. The lugs extend outwardly from the front of the hasp, and they are adapted for locking engagement with the lower edge of keeper B, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Keeper B is composed of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent on two lines so as to produce the front wall 6 and the ears Z), said front wall of the keeper being inclined to the plane of the ears, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

. An important feature of the invention consists of a spring D which acts on the hasp to press it in a direction for retaining lugs c in looking engagement with the lower edge of keeper B, see Figs. 1 and 3. As shown, hasp A is cut or slitted on parallel lines, and the two slits are joined by a cross slit thereby producing a tongue integral with the hasp. This tongue is bowed or deflected rearwardly of the hasp so as to pro duce a spring, shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

The complete fastener is applied to a box or crate substantially as shown in the drawings. The shank a of hasp A is fitted to the top X of a crate, box, or other structure, Z, said shank of the hasp being secured firmly in place by any suitable means, such as nails, 00. Keeper B is applied to the front of the box or crate Z so that the lugs b of said keeper will rest firmly against the crate, etc, said keeper being secured firmly in place by nails or other fasteners The hasp A depends from the cover X so that it will enter the keeper when said. cover is closed, and the keeper is so positioned on the front of the crate or box that the hasp will pass through the keeper in a manner for the lugs c to engage with the bottom edge of the keeper. lVhe'n the cover is closed as shown in Fig. 2, hasp A slides into the keeper and spring D bears or presses against the front of the box or crate, the result of which is that the spring acts to press or force the hasp outwardly with respect to the crate and when the cover is fully closed the lugs c of the hasp will engage with the bottom edge of the keeper, the spring D pressing the hasp into position for retaining said lugs 0 into locking engagement with said keeper. The inclination of the front wall 6 of the keeper is an advantage for the reason that the keeper is so positioned that the hasp will easily enter the keeper and slide through it until the spring presses on the keeper so as to position the lugs 0 thereof in engagement with said keeper.

When the hasp is made in a single piece with the shank a, there is sufficient. spring or elasticity in the metal composing the hasp to allow it to be pressed backwardly toward the crate by engagement with the keeper, and to be pressed forwardly by the action of the spring which bears against the front of the crate.

It is not intended to limit the invention to a hasp made in one piece with a shank, for the reason that said hasp may be hinged substantially as shown in Figs. 4: and 5. In this construction the hasp A is provided with a spring or spring tongue D and with the lugs 0 and finger piece 0 at the lower end thereof as heretofore described. Keeper B is provided with the end lugs and the inclined front wall as heretofore described,

and said keeper is adapted to be fastened in position upon the front of the box or crate in the manner set forth. I The upper part of hasp A is attachedto a loop E, and this loop is connected loosely with a shank a, the latter being fastened to the top or cover by any suitable means. The hinged hasp A is adapted to slide into the keeper when the cover is closed so that the lugs of said hasp will engage with the lower edge of the keeper, and the pivoted or hinged hasp is pressed by the spring, or spring tongue, D, the latter engaging with the front of the crate in a mannerto retain the hasp in position for the lugs 0 remain in locking engagement witht-he keeper. 7

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the operation of closing the cover and adjusting the hasp within the keeper is performed more or less automatically, for the reason that the spring acts upon the hasp topress it intolocking engagement with the keeper, and to retain said hasp in such locking engagement. The partsare disposed' compactly with relation Copies of this patent may be obtained for to the keeper so that the crate may be handled or thrown around without liability of disengaging the hasp from the keeper, whereby the cover of the crate will not fly open nor its contents become spilled when the crate or box is handled more or less roughly.

The parts composing my invention are simple in construction, reliable and eflicient in service, easily applied to a crate, and, moreover, are economical to manufacture, for the reason that the hasp and the keeper may be struck from a single piece of sheet metal, particularly in the construction of Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a box or crate fastener, the combination of a keeper comprising a substantially U-shaped plate member having spacing ears to secure the keeper to a crate or box, and a hasp adapted to be fastened at one end and to have its free end pass through the keeper, said free end being provided with an outwardly directed retaining lug, said hasp having a portion thereof slitted and bent intermediate its ends to provide an inwardly directed resilient tongue positioned for sliding contact with the crate or box adjacent the keeper for the purpose of directing the hasp outwardly and to retain its lug into locking engagement with the lower edge .of the keeper.

2. In a box or crate fastener, the combination of a keeper formed from a sheet of metal to provide an inclined wall and a plurality of retaining ears adapted to contact with a box or crate to space said inclined wall of the keeper away from the supporting surface, and a hasp formed from a. single strip of metal and adapted to have a free end thereof pass through said keeper, said hasp being provided with an inwardly directed resilient tongue out and bent from a central longitudinal portion of the hasp strip, which tongue is adapted to ride against the crate or box and to direct the hasp outwardly, said hasp being provided also with a lug near its free end adapted to engage and to ride against the inclined wall of the keeper for guiding the lug to its looking position with respect to the lower edge of the keeper and against the action of the resilient tongue.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE G. D. MILLER.

Witnesses H. I. BERNHARD,

. F. MOTI-IERSHEAD.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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