US1721448A - Container - Google Patents

Description

July 16, 1929. F. J. HEACOCK CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 20, 1927 b4 Il ikll ATTORNEYS July 16, 1929 F. J. HEAcocK 1.72,448

CONTAINER 'Filed Aug. 2o, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR IBEW/c0075 BY @Wma ATTORNEYS Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,721,448 PATENT OFFICE..

:FOSTER J. Hancock, or CLEARVILLE, PENNsYLvANrA.

CONTAINER.

Application mea August 2o, 1927. seran Nam/1,308.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of a container which may have a wide range of utility, but which is pecularily adapted as a shipping container forv fruits and vegetables, particularly apples.

An object of the invention is to provide a container which combines the advantages of both a basket and barrel typecontainer, and Vyet which eliminates certain disadvantages lpresent in the use of either a barrel or basket. In connection with the ordinary barrel now commonly employed for shipping apous process requiring the services of an eX-' pert. The empty barrel when received by the `packer must be recoopered by tightening and nailing the hoops and removing one headand nailing the other in place. The operation of applying ahead to a full barrel of applesY frequently .results in an excessive bruising Y pressure on the fruit and consequent serious loss from decay. The decayed yapples at the top ofthe barrels present a very poor appearance when the barrel is opened fory inspection or sale. v The ordinary bushel basket isquite convenient for storage and shipping purposes when empty due to the fact that a numberrof baskets may be nested, but it is a poor container for shipment when filled due to the factthat it lacks sturdiness and is not well suited to stacking. l Y

' In accordance with the present invention I have overcome ally of the abovenoted difliculties by the provision of a container which includes apair of tub-shaped sections roughand then secured together, end to end, to form a barrel.

By virtue of this construction the container may be shipped as a v barrel when full, and

shipped as nested baskets when empty. The sections may be readily individually packed without the back-breakingstooping required i 'p in packing a barrel. Ringtailing iseliminated. No cooperage by the packer isfnecessary, since the package is completed at they factory.T Any pressure incidental'to pressor empty.

ing the two sections together is widely landy evenly distributed over practically all of the fruit, with a consequent reduction in the number of fruit which are bruised or disfigured. Either end of the barrel may be opened for purpose of inspection or vending, or theA barrel may be split in halfand opened as two baskets would be opened.` Where purchasers desire a half barrel onlyl of apples, one of the containers may be readily split' by simply disconnecting the baskets or tubs.

By capping or heading the two basket tops and then placing these heads together vat the center of the barrel, an extremely rigid and rugged construction is provided. The container is both simple and practical in construction, well suited to the requirements of economical manufacture, capable of convenient assembly or disassembly, and ready handling, shipping andl storing when either full With the view, Vthe invention consists in certain" novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims. The invention may be moreA fully understood. from the fllowing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a sectional viewV through on'` of the tub-shaped sections of the container show! ing the latter packed and headed, this view being taken approximately on the line 1-1 of Fig. 7. e

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation,V and partly in section showing the two tub shaped sections placed one upon .theothen ready to be pressed together, and theY retaining'straps inserted under the hoops l5. but not yet inserted under the hoops 16 as in theirnal pop-,

sition.` y

Fig. 3 is a .sectional detail showing'the e i' manner of securing vthe basket lids intplac. ly equivalent to baskets which Amay bevfilled Llis a similar view showing thelids secured and the baskets superimposed. i

'above noted and other objects in Fig. 5 Ais a view similar to Fig..2,but show- Ving the two sections ofn the package pressed together with the retaining slats in their iinal position. l ,Y

l Fig. 6 is a detailed outsideelevationhof a modification showing the manner of anchoring the ends of the metal securing strips.

Fig." 7 is a sectional plan view through the middle ofthe barrel.

Fig. 8 is a sectionaldetail showing the mannervof securing the package heads in place when the empty packages are shipped.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6.

In the drawings I have used the reference numerals 10, 10 to designate a pair of approximately tub-shaped sections adapted'to be iilled with apples or other merchandise to beshipped, then headed with covers 10aL superimposed one upon 4.the other with the covers in engagement pressed together into barrel formation as shown in Fig. 5 and retained in any suitable manner against relative movement.

Each ofthe tub-shapedmembers or baskets 10 are provided with walls consisting of staves held in position at .the bottom between inner and outer hoops 12, 13, and at lthe top between inner and outer lhoops 14, 15. Oentral hoops 16 also encircle the tub-shaped baskets 10. While the walls might consist ofy a single layer of staves, `I preferably form them of a double layer of thin staves, such vas staves of veneer.

The staves of each layer are slightly spaced apart and overlapped by the staves of the other layer for a purpose which will be more fully hereinafter described. Y

One of the unit-s 10 is filled and preferably lprovided with a cap, head, or lid such as 10a. This lid as best seen in Fig. 7 may consist simply of a circular member formed of crossedv slats. Preferably the lid is not placed directly on the fruit in the basket, but lies against a layer of packing and cushioning .material such as the disc 17 of corrugated `paperor equivalentniaterial. f

The bottom 18 of each basket 10 is preferably made of two layers-of slats placed cross- ,wise to each other, and properly spaced if desired, to aord ventilation. Various lexpedients might be resorted to for securing the lids 10a. I have shown one convenient means of attachment in which metal straps 19 carried by theyinner hoops 14 are provided with bendable ends 2O adapted to be bent inwardly over the edges of the lid 10a.

In many instances it is not essential to use a -lid on both baskets, although I have illustrated two lids in the drawings. Obviously,

Athe vonly place where a lid is essential Yis on the -basket -which must be inverted Aand emplaced on top of .a lower one.

With the two .baskets superimposed as in Fig. 2, they are placed -in any suitable press, or lany suitable means is utilized for forcing them together untilthe hoops 14 and 15 .of the'two baskets abut. Ordinarily the lid 10a `will belly out slightly when first applied, and the pressure necessaryfor vflattening them when t-he baskets are assembled to form a bar-- p rel is just suflicient to insure tight and proper packing of the fruit.

Numerous means might be utilized for retaining the two baskets together vso that they may be shipped as a barrel unit. Preferably, wooden staves, strips or slats such as 2l are 1nserted under the encircling hoops 15, 16 of the baskets and Anailed in place. In an alternate embodiment of the invention however,

the securing strip-like members 21 are of relative sliding .or relative rotary movement...

p From the foregoing description it will be seen that the two baskets maybe packed with the vfacility ofvordinary bushel .-baskets; that, when shipped together theyretain allvo'f-the advantages of a barrel ras ashipping .container, and that when they are received by the consignee they may be readily separated and sold as basket units if desired, or either head of the barrel maybe opened.

When the containeris filled the heads 18 l of the baskets will be retained in place by the'- weight of the fruit. When the baskets are shipped empty however, some supplemental .means must beV provided for holding the heads. Such means has been illustrated Vin Fig. 8, wherein it will ybe noted that the heads may either be `directly nai-led'fin place-or secured by a circular cleat suchas 18,

AVarious changes and alterations might `be -made in the general form and arrangementof the parts described without departing from Ythe invention. -IIence-I do not wishvto ,limit myself to the details set forth,`but shall consider myself-at liberty 'to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. l V

VI claim: f Y 1. As a new article of manufacture, a con- .tainer for shipping fruit or the like, including a pair of substantially tub-shaped basket-like sections yadapted to be filled with fruit and placed mouth to mouthfeach basket-like sec-l tion consistingof stavesand inner andouter rings at ntheir'ends, means for securing said .sections rigidly together against relative movement inany ,direction whereby a barrellike container isrformed, a lid for. one `basket section constituting inthe assembled sections a 'centralf'reinforcement for the container, and straps having one end adapted tobend Y around the inner rings and having their other ends `adapted'to be bent down on the lid to hold the same in place` when the basket-like section is inverted and emplaced on its companion basket-like section. L

2.' As a new article of manufacturaacontainer Vfor shipping fruit or the like, including a pair of substantially tub-shaped basketlike sections adapted to be lled with fruit and placed mouth to mouth, means lfor securing said sections rigidly together against relative movement in any direction whereby a barrel-like container is formed, each basketlike section being formed of sta-ves and staveretaining rings at its ends, and anchoring means comprising staves passed under said rings and anchored to the basket-like sections.

3. A container for shipping fruits and the like, comprising a pair of substantially tubshaped basket-like sections adapted to be placed mouth to mouth after being filled, each section being formed of two layers of overlapping slats, the slats of each layer being spaced from one another, inner and outer rings at the ends ofthe sections and intermediate rings between the ends of the sections, and securing strip-like members passing between the rings at the open ends of the sections and lying in the space between the slats of the sections with their ends lying under the intermediate rings of the said sections.

Signed at Bedford, inthe county of Bed'- ford and State of Pennsylvania, this 17th day of August, A. D. One thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven.

FOSTER J. HEACOCK.

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