US1297564A - Collapsible crate. - Google Patents

Description

wTNEssEs "LUM 'i l 1,297,564, PatentedMar. 18,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- Wfl,

, v 4 ATTORNEY E. D. HARRIS, la. COLLA'PSLBLE CRATE.' APPLICATlN man luLY 22. 191s.

l N V E N To R wezej/ML/ ATTORNEY 4'li.-m.Hm1z|s, 1R, y -coLLALesLBgE CRATE. APPLICATION um@ JuLY 22, 1918.

. Patented Mar. 18, m19.

a SHEETS-SHEET s'.

EBENEZER D. HARRIS, JR., OF LNDER, WYMIBI'G.

ooLLAPsrBLE cnn'rn.'

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 22, 1918. Serial No. 246,155.

' To all @clio/m t may concern.'

it known that l, EBENEZER D. HARRIS, dr., citizen of the United States, at `Lander, in the county of Fremont and State of Vilyoining, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates, of which the following is a specihcation.

This inver tion relates to wooden receptacles, and'4 more especially-to knocledown 4crates which are cylindrical or substantially so in contour; and the object of the saine is to produce a collapsible crate or barrel capable of being folded into small compass for storage or transportation.

This object is 6carried out by building the ydevice in sections hingedly connected with each otheron upright lines and increasing in width from one end of the series to the Either, so that the smallest section may be folded in first, then the next', and so on. rIhe object of the invention is also carried out by making the heads of the crate or barrel .foldable se that they may be stored within the remainder of the structure.

Details of the preferred structure or form of this device are set forth in the following specification and claims, and attention is invited to the drawings which Figure 1 is a side elevation' and Fig. 2 a rel when its hoops are mounted on the eX- terior thereof, and

Figs. ii and el are sectional details to aniplify the attachment of the hoops and locate the `position of the hinges therein,

Fig. 5 is an elevatlon and Fig. (3 a cross section giving an edge View of the fastening device or hasp for connecting the extremities of each exterior hoop,

Fig. 7 is a sectional View through the upper port-ion of the barrel, showing how the head is placed in position therein, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional `detail of one of the fastening buttons for the head,

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section through a set-up barrel with the hoops on the interior thereof, and

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the same when some of the staves are omitted and the device becomes a crate,

Fig. 11 is an elevation of a this crate,

12 is plan view of a portion of the crate with the exterior-hoop,

portion of residing herewith and in plan view of this improved barbeing always Fig. 13 shows the device when collapsed,

- the hoop being ,on the exterior, and

Fig. 14 shows the same when the hoop is on the interior.

l may say at starting` that where l refer herein to staves, l means both those elements which form parts of a barrel and have considerable bilge, and those straight elements which form part of a cylindrical container.

ln either case also, the staves may lie side by side `as when a closed barrel is to be formed and as shown in Fig. 7, or the staves or slats be spaced as when anopenwork crate is'to be formed, `as best seen in Fig. 10. lf the container has heads at both. ends it -becomes in effect a barrel or crate, but if only the lower, head is used then it may be @anni a en). i do not web to be limite in this particular, nor as to the proportions and materials of parts, although by prefen ence the staves and the heads are of wood.

The barrel shown in Figs. 2 and 13 is made up of `twenty staves 1, arranged in a series of five sections of four each, and as herein shown the staves in successive sections grow narrower and narrower so that the length 0f the sections decreases from one end of the series to the other.v What may be called the longest section'indicated at 2l in Fig. 13 is shown as made up of four staves 1 which are quite wide, although there is no reason why it might not be inade up of five staves a little narrower or even perhaps of siX. rlhe nextnarrower section indicated vat 3 13, and the next narrower section ovcrlies that numbered 2 at thewbottom. So on t0 the shortest section of the series which is at the inside and is numbered fl.. Around these sections are lstrap metal hoops 5, there one at the top and another at the bottom of the barrel or container, and preferably at least one intermediate hoop as shown in Fig. l., sections corresponding with the width of the sections referred to, and its extremities are inturned as indicated at (i so as to form leaves of a hinge, the knuckles 7 interengaging as usual to receive the pintle pin. The leaves are notched into the staves l as indicated in Fig. 4, thereby producing a butt hinge so as' to permit the staves to come edge vto edge when the barrel structure is opened out, but to open no further. The knuckles :ire quite within the barrel as seen at 7 in Fig. 7, and of course they stand at Each hoop is made 1n' at the top of Fig.

. fmetal hoop.

the meeting lines between the .several sec' tions.

At the left edge of the widest section and the right edge of the narrowest, th@ hoops 5 are rovided with fastening devices as seen in lgs. 5 and 6. One end of the hoop has a ton e hinged thereto at 11 and provided witii-ua roughened staple 12 and provided with a bent pin 13. The other end of the 10. hoop carries va hasp 14 hinged thereto at 15, and the hasp is provided with a slot 16, a

. notch 17, and a notch in its extremity as at 18. might be called a spring hasp 24 provided 15 with a slot 26 and with another slot 28, and

at its extermity with a hook 27. (This overlies the tongue, but is turned aside in Fig. 5 for clearness.) After the strap hoop has been drawn up tight, the tongue is laid 2o against-the same near the free edge of the narrowest section, then the hasp 14'is laid over the tongue and its slot 16 passes over the staple 12 while its notch 18 engages the pin 13, and finally the spring hasp 24 is laid over the tongue and its slot 26 passes over thestaple 12 while its hook 27 engages the notch 17 and its slot 28 passes over the belt pin 13. The latter holdsthe parts temporarily, but by preference a padlock or the 30 like is passed through the protruding portion of the staple to hold the fastening device securely. However, it is quite possible thatlany other suitable means may be employed for connecting the ends of the strap It is quite possible that the hoops may be on'the interior of the structure. This idea is ,illustrated in Fig. 9 where the numeral 5 designates the hoop made in sections, and 6 40 its knuckles. Of course in this case the fastening device would have to be independent of the extremities of the hoop, and it must of necessitybe on the exterior of the structure. An interior hoop is also shown in Fig.

14. The hoop placed on the interior avoids the necessity for carrying it through notches in the edges of the slats as seen in Fig. 4, because the knuckles are already on the inside. '.By omitting certain of the slats the strucl ture becomes a crate as best seen in Figs. 10

and 11. The interior hoop 5 is shown in Fig. 10 while the exterior hoop is shown in Fig. 12. The overlapping hasps 14 and 24 are shown in Fig; 11 where` the crate is set up, and the same is shown folded in Fig. 14.

As to the heads of the barrel, attention is invited to Figs. 2, 7, and 8. Each head is made up of panels 30, 31,l and 32, the intermediate panel being wider than-the others and disposed between them. Across these several panels are extended the leaves 33 of hinges, which are connected by knuckles and pintles at the points 34 so that the head may fold as shown in Fig. 13. The extremities 0f the leaves may be continued into points Riveted at 19 to the tongue is whatindicated at 35 for embedding the interior of the body when set up. The intermediate and wider panelmay carry buttons as' indicated at 36 and shown in Fig. 8. As rst suggested in this specification, there may be v heads at both ends of the structure, or if but the lowermost head is used the structure becomes a tub. The head is shown in Figs. 2 and 7, and the latter View indicates in dotted lines how its outer leaf 31 is first folded 75 l onto its main leaf 30, after which the second outer leaf 32 is folded over in a manner which will be clear. When the structure is. collapsed as indicated in Figs. 13 and 14,-

the head or heads will easily pack in the ini are left unlatched. The barrel is now filled to its capacity and the uppermost head put in, and finall the uppermost latch or latches are .fastene to complete the structure. When padlocks are fastened in the several staples, it will be impossible to remove either head until the padlocks are irst removed.

The foregoing description and the drawings have reference togwhat may be considered the preferred, or approved form of my invention. Itis to be understood that l may' make such changes in construction and arrangement and combination of parts, materials, dimensions, et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims. v

Having thus' fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. AThe herein described collapsible cylindrical. container, the body thereof being Vmade up of a series of sections, a plurality of strap metal hoops inclosing said sections and themselves' made in sections corresponding in length with/the width of the body sec-tions, the extremities of the hoop sections being carried inward past the edges of the body sections and formed into interlocking knuckles, pintle pins through said knuckles on the interior ofthe structure', and means for fastening the ends of the hoops which are not hinged to each other.

2. The herein described Acollapsible cylin-` drical container, the body thereof being made up of a series of sections growing narrower consecutively from one end of the series to the other, and hinges connecting the, sections edge to edge, for'the purpose set forth.

3. `The herein described collapsible cylindrical container, the body thereof being Inadeup of a series of sections growin narrower consecutlvely from one end of t e se- 139 made in sections corresponding in length with the width of the body sections, hinges between all hoop sections except at one point,

and fastening mea-ns between the sectionsof thehoops 4et thatpoint. j

4. The herein described collapsible cylindrical container, lthe body thereof*4 being made up of a series of sections growing narrower consecutively from one end of the4 series to the other, a plurality-of strap metal hoops inclosing said sections aznd themselves madev in sections corresponding in length with the Width of the body. sections, the eX- tremi'ties o'f the .hoop 4sectlons being carried Ainward past the edges of the/body sections `and formed into interlocking knuckles, pin-4 tle vpins throgh said 'knuckles on lthe, interior 0f the structure, and means for' fastening the ends 'of the hoops which are nothinged to each other.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two-witnesses.

. EBENEZER D. HARRIS,y JR.. Witnesses:

.A. H. MAImmL, 1 R. E. RYAN.

Copies of this Apatent ,may be obtained forve cents each, by addressing the Gommis`sioner of Patents,

Washington, .D. G.

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