US1952240A - Container - Google Patents

Description

Patented Mar. 27, 1934 PATENT lf FICE CONTAINER Y Charlesy K. Dunlap, Hartsville, S. C., assigner to Sonoco Products Company, Hartsville, S. C., a corporation of South Carolina Application January 31, 1933, Serial ANo. 654,513

2 Claims. (Cl. 217-89) The present invention relates to containers and particularly to containers of the portable type adapted for use in the'handling and transportation of fruits and vegetables, such as apples,

5 peaches, potatoes, and the like.

Many types of containers for the transportation of fruits and vegetables have been heretofore perfected, and numerous Vtypes Vare now in daily use. These containers are 4generally formed as simple baskets which are filled and emptied from the top, but the type of container which includes` a removable and replaceable bottom as well as a removable and replaceable top is widely used for the storage and transportation of fruits and vegetables of high grade. In the case or a container having a removable bottom, it is possible to pack the container through the bottom with the top in place, thus permitting the' packer to arrange that layer of fruit which later becomes uppermost, and hence is displayed when the top is removed, in a careful manner. The remainder of the fruit, after the initial layer is carefully arranged,l may be dumped into the container rapidly, and the closure, which is intended to form ythe bottom of the container when the container is in display position, is then positioned.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved container of this last mentioned type which is simpler than those of the same class heretofore suggested or used and less expensive to manufacture and which may be more easily sealed after the packing operation than those which have been most commonly used, thus ducing the cost of packing both by reason of the saving of labor and by the decreased original cost of the container.

It is contemplated that the container shall be :fabricated so far as possible of sti paper which is eminently suitable for the manufacture of baskets or containers provided that it is reinforced atthe necessary points in a suitable manner. A fruit basket having a body formed of paper and top and bottom members also formed of paper is neat and attractive in appearance, and the smooth surfaces of the paper may be readily utilized as spaces for advertising or decorative matter. The present invention contemplates a container, particularly a container in the form ofy a frusto-conical basket, which is made of paper so far as possible, inexpensive wooden reinforcing members being utilized where necessary to strengthen the paper and inexpensive bracing means being employed to securely tie saving time in the packing operation and rethe several elements of the basket together. The invention contemplates a novel method of securing the container bottom in position after the packing operation has been completed. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

' The invention may be embodied in containers which vary widely in vshape. and in details of d esign and construction, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In t'ne accompanying drawing one form of the invention is set forth by way of example, the container illustrated being in the form of the common and Well-known frustoconical fruit' or vegetable basket.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the basket inverted and in position to be packed with fruit or vegetables, the bottom closure being shown above the basket and ready to be placed in sealing position;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the basket, showing the bottom sealing means in an intermediate position of adjustment;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the container, showing the bottom sealing means in an intermediate stage during the sealing operation and showing in three positions the tool which is used to eiect the sealing operation;

Figure is a perspective View of the inverted container after the sealing operation has been completed;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Figure l; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the sealing tool.

While, as has been previously explained, the container may have various forms, the most common form is the frustum of a cone, and the basket disclosed by way of example is of that form. It comprises essentially a body l0 formed of a sheet of paper suiciently heavy and durable to withstand the strains incident to packing, handling, and shipment, together with a disc-like top closure of heavy paper, not illustrated, and a disclike bottom closure il of heavy paper. The paper employed may be treated if desired so as to be moisture-proof and may be further treated, if thought necessary, to give it increased mechanical strength. Encircling the top and bottom margins of the body 10 are wooden reinforcing hoops l2 and 13 respectively, these hoops being secured to the adjacent surfaces of the paper body in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by small nails, wire cleats, or the like. Secured to the bottom reinforcing hoop 13 at spaced points are the ends of two oppositely disposed wire loops 14 and 15 respectively, the ends of the loops being located approximately at the quarter points of hoop 13 as shown in the drawing. Each end of each loop passes around hoop 13, as can be most clearly seen in Figure 5 of the drawing, and is thereby anchored securely to the body of the basket.

Wire bracing members are provided for the purpose of tying the reinforcing hoops 12 and 13 together. These wire bracing members may be positioned in various ways, but it is found convenient and satisfactory to secure one end of each member to the portion of the adjacent bottom sccuring loop which has been passed around and anchored to ring 13 and to pass the mid-portion of the bracing member through portions of the wire handle elements indicated at 16, these wire handle elements being rigidly secured to the top reinforcing ring or hoop 12. After the packing operation has been completed and the basket inverted and lifted by means of handles 16, the bracing members, which are indicated at 17, transmit a portion of the lifting eifort from the handles to the bottom ring 13, thus relieving the top ring 12 of part of the strain and greatly decreasing the tendency of this top ring to tear loose from the paper body 10. The bracing members further function during the sealing operation, as will be hereinafter described.

The bottom sealing disc 11 is reinforced with thin wooden reinforcing slats 18 extending diametrically thereof and disposed at right angles to each other. After the basket has been packed, the bottom seal 11 is placed in position with the slats disposed as shown in Figure 2 i. e., each Slat extends from one of the end loops of one of the sealing loops 14 or 15 to the diametrically opposed end loop of the opposite sealing loop, the end loops of the sealing loops being disposed, as has been previously pointed out, at the quarter points of the reinforcing hoop 13. The two sealing loops are then bent over so as to lie upon the slats respectively, these loops slightly overlapping, as shown in Figure 2. The sealing tool, which comprises a simple rod 20 having stops 21 at its ends and a sleeve 22 slidably mounted thereon, is then applied, the sleeve 22 being passed ben tween the overlapping ends of the sealing loops as shown in Figure 2.

The next operation consists in rotating the tool about its lower end so that the rod 20 is moved to the full line position indicated at a in Figure 3, and the overlapping portions of the sealing loops are given a partial twist about each other as shown. The rod 20 is then moved through the sleeve 22 to the dotted line position b (Figure 3) and thereafter swung in a clockwise direction through the position c and back to position a, thus further twisting together the overlapping mid-portions of the sealing loops. The operation may be stopped when these mid-portions are interlocked as shown in Figure e or, if desired, may be continued to impart further twists. Should the sealing loops be found relatively long, several twists may be taken to take up all of the slack and insure that the wires are under sufficient tension to hold the bottom 1l securely in place. As the sealing wires overlie the reinforcing slats 18, the operation of eifecting the seal does not cause the wires to cut into the paper bottom. The wires used to form not only the sealing loops 14 and 15 but also the reinforcing or bracing members or loops 17 are preferably soft iron wires, such as the type of wire which is commonly called baling wire which, while possessing very considerable tensile strength, is light in weight and may be bent or twisted a number of times without danger of breakage.

The sealing operation may be very rapidly effected by packing hands. The container may be very cheaply fabricated, is neat and attractive in appearance, provides a large smooth surface upon which may be printed labels or advertising matter, and is of extremely iight weight. As has been also previously pointed out, the invention is not confined in its applications to fruit or vegetable baskets of the frusto-conical type as shown in the drawing but may be embodied in containers which vary widely in shape and details of construction.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a container, a body comprising a paper sheet arranged as the frustum of a cone, an annular reinforcing member encircling the body at each end thereof, both said members being secured to the body, bracing wires connecting said members, and two diametrically opposed Wire loops connected to one of said members, adapted to be hooked together at their mid-points, to secure a closure.

2. A container comprising an open-ended tubular body of paper, annular reinforcing members encircling and secured to said body at the ends thereof, a plurality or bracing wires connecting said members, a closure for one end of said body, and securing wires anchored to one of said members and extending across the closure to secure the same in position.

CHARLES K. DUNLAP.

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