US1994710A - Box for transporting bottles - Google Patents

Description

March 19, 1935. J. A. HOPWOOD 0 BOX FOR TRANSPORTI'NG BOTTLES v Filed March 31, 19.33 Sheets-Sheet 1 15" z a it INV EN TOR.

7 WWW March 19, 1935. J. A. HoPwon Box FOR TRANSPORTING BOTTLES 4 Sheats-Shee't '2 Filed Mamh 31, 1953 INVENTOR. dofirz A. Hopzdam March 19, 1935. J. A. HOPWOOD BOX FOR TRANSPORTING BOTTLES Filed March 31, 1953 4 Shets-Sheet '3 IN VENTOR.

(/0617 A. 166% BY t ATTORNEY.

J. A. HOPWOOD BOX FOR TRANSPORT ING BOTTLES March 19, 1935.

Filed Ma rch 31, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mm A 3 o ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOX FOR .TRANSPORTING BOTTLES v John A. Hopwood, Great Neck, N. Y.

Application March 31, 1933, Serial No. 663,789

' 3 Claims. (01.217

This invention is a box for transporting bottles, and while adapted for general application, is particularly intended for use in connection with bottles of milk.

Boxes for this purpose are generally constructed entirely from wood with wooden bottoms and the interior of such boxes have been divided by wooden partitions into a plurality of compartments, each of a size to hold one hottle. This arrangement serves to preclude the bottles from striking one another and to maintain them in upright positions. Wooden boxes for this purpose have not been satisfactory for several reasons." This is particularly true of boxes having wooden bottoms and wooden spacers forming the compartments. The Wood becomes water-soaked and unsanitary after a time, and the bottom of thebox is apt to break without warning and spill the contents.

It has been heretofore suggested to provide milk bottle boxes with slat or skeletonizedbottoms, sometimes made of wood and sometimes made of metal, and to employ stamped sheet metal spacers within boxes of this kind. These latter constructions have constituted marked improvements on the old wooden box, but are open to numerous disadvantages. For example, milk bottles are generally delivered in the early morning, while people are asleep, and it is in the interest of considerate service to make these deliveriesas' quietly as possible.

Where the metal or part metal boxes have been employed, they have been noisy for, as

the bottles are positioned inor removed from the boxes, sharp metallic sounds'result' which will invariably awaken a light sleeper. Furthermore in the use of metallic parts as described, the weight'of the'box is materially increased.

My study and observationhas convinced me that a box to be satisfactory for the use stated must conform to several rigid requirements. It

must be absolutely sanitary for the reason that milk is easily contaminated. It must. be sufficiently strong to support the bottledgoods. Itv

must at the same time 'be relatively light, so as not to seriously add to the Weight of the goods when manually handled, and it must be of such character that it. any particular part of the box is broken, the box may be readily dismantled to permit a new part to be supplied therefor.

In the box as heretofore made the breaking of any part necessitated cutting awaycf the broken part in such manner as to render the fastening devices unfit for further use. This practice has made it more economical to discard a broken box than to repairthe same.

The object of the present invention is to provide a box for transporting bottled goods which will be free from the objections hereinbeforereferred to and which will at the same time be susceptible to repair of the broken parts without damage to the parts which remain intact and to permit of this repair in a simple, efficient and economical manner.

Speaking generally, the box of the present invention embodies four walls, two of iwhich'constitute the sides and the other two of which constitute the ends of the box. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the walls are formed from a plurality of bars positionededge" to edge in spaced apart relation and therespective bars are jointed at the-corners of the boxto have a strong rugged 'interfitting relation. The box is made in effect of a series of courses positioned one above the other in spaced apartrelation and these several courses are secured to one another by tie bolts positioned at the corners of the box and servingnot only to unite the several courses, but also to lock the joints tightly together to produce a rigidconstruction. To reinforce the corners and to maintain'these corners square at all times, I employ a novel binding member which serves to house the joints at the corners and also form rigidangl'es having the additional function of protecting the upper and lower edges of the box. These comermernbers are made of such character that they are individually removable and serve to collectively reinforce all four corners of the boxand also serve as a protecting covering for the entire upper and lower edges of the box.

While the preferred form of the invention con' templates the use of wooden bars arranged in spaced apart courses, I may, if desired, make the walls of solid lumber jointing them in the novel manner hereafter described to produce a; structure of unusual rigidity and strength.

The compartments are formed within the box by means of bolts extending in proper spaced apart relation longitudinally and transversely of the-box and those portions of the bolts which are within the confines of the box are enclosed within tubular envelopes of a sound'deadening material of such character as to cushion the glass of the bottles against breakage and at the same time support the said bottles in upstanding posi tions. The weight of the bottles is supported from beneath by parallel rods extending longitudinally of the box which rods are in'the form ferred form of the present invention.

. interior thereof. 1

of bolts, also provided with tubular envelopes of cushioning material, so as to deaden the sound and. protect the bottles against breakage.

The bolts which form the compartment are preferably bound together where they cross one another by members which are preferably of a soft yielding nature. These members have the dual function of cushioning bottles supported in the compartments and of permitting the packing of ice about the necks of the bottles. If these members were not employed, there would be a marked tendency of the ice to fall throughthe bottom of the box, but with these members, the

ice is supported in a condition to keep the milk cool, as hereinafter more fully described.

The resulting structure is one of great strength and yet it is relatively light as the supporting and spacing means are relatively light rods, a

greater portion of the weight being in the body of the box where the greatest strength is required to Withstand rough usage. a

An important practical advantage of a bo constructed as specified is that any particular part of the box, which becomes broken or distorted, may be removed for the substitution of a new part and practically every element enteringinto the construction serves to reinforce or strengthen some other element of the construction.

A further important practical feature of the invention resides in the fact that the box of the present invention may be economically manufactured and readily lends itself to quantity. production.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the pre- In this view, one corner member of the. box is shown removed Figure 2 is a' perspective view of the corner member-which has'been removed from the structure of Fig. 1. Y

Figure 3 shows the manner of making said corner. member.

Figure 4 is a section through one corner joint of the box.

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the.

box of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through said box. I

Figure 7 shows the bolts forming one compartment with associated cross ties in plan.

Figure 8 is a perspective. view showing the manner in which the ties are associated with said bolts.

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the present invention in completed form. r

Figure 10 is a similar view, showing certain hardware omitted and a portion of the wall of the box broken away to more clearly show the Figure 11 is a Figure 9. v 1

Figure 12 is a like longitudinal section.

Figure 13 isa perspective detail showing .a joincry at one corner of the box of Figure 9.

transverse section of the box of Figure 14 is a fragmental detail of one corner of said box showing the manner of attaching the hardware thereto. 7 I

Figure 15 is a perspective view of a corner enclosing and reinforcing member used on box of Figure 9.

' Figure 16 is a sectional detail of bolt construction in the boxes of the several figures.

The box of the present invention is rectangular in form and embodies two side wallsl and 2 and two end walls 3 and 4. All of these walls are,

formed from wooden bars of rectangular cross section. In fact, the box is made up of a series of rectangular courses, arranged in superim posed relation. The top and bottom courses are of somewhat thickerstock than the intermediate courses, so as to give maximumstrength at the top and bottom while the decreased thickness .of the bars in the intermediate courses is to minimize in weight of the finished box. The bars of the side walls and the bars of the end walls of the respective courses are jointed together in open sided mortise'and tenon joints,

the side bars being provided with tenons5, while the cooperating end bars are provided with open ended mortises 6. V

The several courses are vertically spaced apart by means of spacers 7, which areperforated and the joints of. the several coursesare provided with vertically alined holes, so that a tie bolt 8 may be passedthrough the several joints and spacers in succession with the head countersunk into the uppermost bar and a nut countersunk into the lowermost bar, as shownin Figure. 4.

By tightening this nut, all of the joints may be forced tightly together to secure the side and end bars of each course to one another and to secure the courses rigidly together in superimposed relation. When a box is constructed of bars made 4n from hard wood, such as ash, maple orthe' like,

and is fabricated in the'manner described, anv

unusually strong and rigid construction will resuit and this structure will not be of excessive weight. The binding of the elements to one another, as specified, precludes their breakage un-" derall strains'to which they will ordinarily bev subjected andproduces a structureof maximum strength.

Each corner of the box member, shown in detail in Figures? and 3. All of these members are the same, so that the description of one will sufiice for all. Apiece of angle iron 9 of appropriate length is provided at its opposite; ends with medial slits 10 equal in depth to substantially half thelength of the box to divide each ,end of the strip into two tongues 11 and 12. '-I,'he length of the tongues 11 is equal to half the length of the box and the tongues 15 are cut so thatthe length of each isequal to one half the width of the box. Thedistance between the adjacent ends of the cuts 10 is equal to the height of the box.

After the angle iron has been slitjas described, the respective tongues 11 and 12 are bent into angular relation to the remainder of the strip} structure is adapted to be associated with each' corner of the box with screws through the per-- forations of the respective tonguesto secure the member to the box. The unslit portion offth'e is adapted to be provided with a corner enclosing and reinforcing angle iron strip will cover andconceal the corner joint of the box, while the tongues when attached to the upper and lower edges of the box by screws, as stated, will form strong corner angles adapted to maintain the box square and at the same time will function as wearing plates to protect the upper and lower surfaces of the wooden walls.

In Figure 1, three corners of the box are shown as provided with the angle iron members described, while the angle'iron is removed from the fourth corner and shown in Figure 2. In Figure 4, the metallic corner member is omitted in the interest of clearness. The end walls 3 and 4 of the box are provided with cut cuts 13 forming hand holes in order that the box may be conveniently picked up for manual transportation.

The box is divided interiorly into compartments for individual bottles by means of'a plurality of tie bolts which willhereinafter be termed compartment bolts. Any appropriate number of these boltslr'nay be used depending upon the number of compartments desired. For the purpose of illustration, however, I have shown a box adapted to contain one dozen milk bottles and some of these bottles are indicated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings and bear the reference character 14.

Compartments for twelve bottles may readily be provided through the use of ten compartment bolts, six of which extend transversely of the box and four longitudinally thereof. The longitudinal compartment bolts are designated 15, while the transverse compartment boltsare designated 16. The longitudinal bolts are arranged in upper and-lower courses of two each, while the transverse bolts are arranged in upper and lower courses, of three'each, with the respective bolts of the upper and lower courses vertically juxtaposed, so asto divide the interior of the box into twelve compartments of equal size.

All of these bolts are of the same structure and are attached to the walls of the box in the same way. That is to say, each bolt extends across the confines of the box and passes'through an 'aper ture in'the opposite walls. These apertures are exteriorly countersunk or recessed, so that the head of the bolt is received in the countersink of one wall, while the end of the bolt is received in the countersink of the other wall. The exterior surfaces of the box are thus flush with no projecting bolts or bolt heads.

' The bottom of the box is open, but the bottles contained in the several compartments are supported on tie bolts 17, which I will hereinafter term supporting bolts. These supportingb'olts extend longitudinally'cf the box and are arranged in pairs, there being two supporting bolts beneath each compartment. They are in structure and mode of attachment to the ends of the walls,

the same'as the compartment bolts. The apertures in the wall are countersunk or recessed to receive the nuts and bolt heads. Supporting bolts 17 carry in effect the entire weight of the contents of the box and they may be reinforced or in turn supported by one or more transverse metallic bars 18, one of which is indicated in Figure 6, as extending transversely of the box with its opposite ends received in complementary shaped pockets or mortises in the side walls 1 and 12; The bar 18 is set on end and perforated envelope of sound deadening material.

structed as described for transporting bottles, but for reasons hereinbefore stated, it is highlydesirable that the transportation of such bottles be as quiet as possible. Consequently in accordance with the present invention, both the compartment bolts 15 and 16 and the supporting bolts 17 are each provided with a sleeve or Either rubber tubing or tubing of any other suitable sort, such as composition or vulcanized fibre may be employed for this purpose. The tubing is adapted to fit the bolts tightly at all parts thereof exposed to the inner confines of the box and aside from cushioning the parts against noise,

they serve the further important function of protecting the rods against undue wear and preclude the contact of any rust which might accumulate thereon with the bottles contained in the box-. As a matter of fact, if these envelopes or tubes are fitted tightly to the bolts, they will effectually protect the same against rusting.

Where the compartment bolts across one another, I prefer to anchor them together. This anchorage may be accomplished in any suitable way and in some cases I employ metallic connections. invention, the compartment bolts are secured together where they cross by means of rubber rings indicated at 19 in Figures 7 and 8. These rings are so arranged that they extend over'bolts running in one direction and under bolts running in'the opposite direction. They not only serve to bind the bolts together so as to preclude noise, but they are preferably made sufficiently large to extend into contact with the bottles as indicated in Figure 7. They thus facilitate the centralizing of the bottles, so that they will not rattle and also serve the additional important function that when cracked ice is packed about the bottles the members 19 Will preclude the ice from falling through form baffles or shelves for the ice to keep it in a proper cooperative relation with the bottles. The members 19 may be associated with either the upper or lower bolts or both.

I'wish to call attention to the fact that the compartment bolts, as well as the supporting bolts, are all threaded structures with nuts adapted for minute adjustment. Consequently, it is possible and entirely practical in the manufacture of boxes of this kind toplace all of these bolts under substantially uniform tension.

It is particularly desirable that all bolts which extend in the same direction be of very nearly the same tension. With the bolt arrangement as described, this is entirely feasible and practical and when accomplished, no one bolt exerts a greater pull on any particular wall than any other bolt. Consequently, no particular rod is placed under any greater strain than any other rod. This is highly important from a practical standpoint and should not be underestimated. For

possible to rivet theserods under uniform ten-.

sion, consequently the rod under the greatest tension would be carrying all the stress until it became strained, whereupon the rod having the next greater tension would then carry the greater portion of the stress and so on until the whole structure became strained or weakened.

With the present construction, however, where all of the parts are tightened to equally carry the load, the straining of any particular part is However, in the preferred form of thenegligible.- Consequently, the parts are better able to carryout their intended functions and operate with maximum efiiciency at-all times.

-Another vitally important factor fromaa come mercial standpoint is that the parts of this box can bereadily dismantled without breaking or damaging any part. For example, if any of the"- bars become broken, the metalliccorner pieces can be removed by removing a few screws and then the particular bar which has been broken can be readily released by removing the two cooperating corner bolts 8 in order to permit the insertion of a new bar. Practically all partsof the structure can be changed asmay be required or fitted with new parts without damaging, any other part and permitting the use of every other unbroken part. 7 This is a distinctively novel feature in this art.

Breakage of boxes of the character under consideration is enormous and constitutes an appreciable expense factor in the carrying on of the milk business. Most of the boxes, heretofore used, have not been susceptible to ready repair and in the more elaborate and expensive boxes, if any one part is broken, it is necessary to disrupt and damage several other parts which thereupon require replacement. According to the present invention, as will be apparent, the breakage of any part necessitates only the replacement of that one part and this replacement can be accomplished without complicated tools ormachinery, but by the use merely of a wrench and a screw driver. In the ioregoing detailed description, I have set forth the preferred form of any invention in connection with a box having walls formed by bars spaced apart. Many features of this invention may, however, be incorporated in a box.

having sides of solid lumber. For a construction of ahighly satisfactory structure of the latter holes 105. All of thewalls are-made of solid lumand 104 are provided with tongues 106 interfit ting between tongues 107 formed in the side walls. The tongues 106 are of a reverse dove-tail form and the openings 108 in the sides in which they are received are of complementary shape, so that Wh enthe ends are drawntoward one another, the tongues 106 wedge tightly into the openings 108.

The four walls of the box are held together primarily by means of stay bolts 109 and 110 and which extend for the full length .of the box through channels 11 formed on the inner faces of the side walls 101 and 102, so as not to project into the interior confines of the box. The said staybolts pass through holes 112 and 113 in the tongues 106, the outer portions of the holes being countersunk or recessed. One end of each stay bolt is provided with a suitable head, while the other endis threaded to receive a nut. When the said bolts are tightened, they serve to drawthe end walls 103' and 104 toward one another and pull the tongues 106 of the corner joints into tight wedging engagement with the tapered openings into which they fit, thereby producing an un' usually rigid construction. Inasmuch as the holes in the tongues 1.06 are countersunk, as stated, .the

staybolts do not project beyond the exterior con tour of the box and do not: therefore constitute. undesirable projections.

The sides 101 and 102 :of

channels in the inner faces ofthe end walls:.103

and 104- and extend through openings'11'6, and I 117 in the upper and lower tongues-10f the side walls which are recessedor. countersunk. The

latter stay bolts draw the sides togetheragainst the ends walls, of the box and arethe same struc turally as the bolts 109 and 110.

When the sides and ends of theboxare secured togetherthrough a joint ofthe character specified and locked in place, by. the stay bolts as stated,

an unusually strong and rigid structure results,

and one well adapted to withstand the; hard usage which boxes of this character receive. The corners of the box are provided with enclosing'and' notched as shown at 121 in Figure 13, and one,re-.: inforcing memberl18 is positioned over each cor-.-

ner ofthe box with the end'fianges 119:.seated in the recesses .121.

the box are drawn toward one another by means .of, stay bolts 114 and 115. These stay bolts pass through This structure provides a binding for the joint at thecorner of :the box 7 and protects the same against damage by; impact. g. In addition to the the top and bottom edges'of each of. the end walls 103 andlfitand are fastenedthereto'by screws 123, the end screws 123' of which pass downwardlyv through the perforations 120- in the corner re-i inforcing members 118 and serve to hold said members in place. s

corner protection described, heavy sheet metal straps; 122 are placedacross 3 By this arrangement, the box is not only protected against impact and Wear,'to whichlit may be subjected in ordinary handling, but isalso well adapted to travel on conveyors and similar hane dl-ing apparatusused'in connection with boxes of this kind.

The interior of, the box-is partrnents in the same manner as the of Figures 1-8,-the compartment'bolts being desigei nated 124 and 125, respectively, and the support? ing bolts being designated .126. "Ihesupporting; bolts pass through aninterm'ediate' supporting bar 127, as shown inFigures 10, 11 and 12. Furs thermore, the several supporting bolts. and compartment bolts'are provided witha cushioning divided. into in;

envelope of tubular form as in the preferred-com:- struction and-as illustrated in Figure l6 and' where;

the compartment bolts cross they'are pound to'-' gether by tie members 128, shownas wire'clips.

These clips will hold the parts firmlytogether,

but,if desired, there maybe employed in' addi-. tion the tie and ice retaining members shown inf Figures 7 and 8.

The box of this modified'form of construction is so constituted that in the event any part is broken or requires'replacement, it can readily be.

taken apart and a newpart substitutedusing all of the other parts of the structure'which remain break any part or render it useless during repair of the box.

Furthermore, in this construction, all of the bolts may be adjusted to place all parts of the box under substantially the same tension, so that no particular part is under a greater stress or strain than any other part of the structure.

Another important factor of this construction is that practically every part which enters into the structure serves to strengthen and reinforce some. other element of the structure.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a rectangular body having opposite side walls and opposite end walls, a plurality of compartment bolts extending longitudinally and transversely across the interior of the box and through the walls thereof to divide the interior of the box into a plurality of compartments for individual bottles, said bolts having threaded shanks with associated nuts to permit of the adjustment of said bolts to substantially uniform tension, envelopes of sound deadening material encasing said bolts within the box to preclude direct contact between the bottles and the bolts, means at the bottom of said compartments to support bottles contained in the compartments, and resilient cushioning filler members secured to the compartment bolts where they cross one another to retain ice about the necks of the bottles and preclude said ice from falling through the bottom of the box.

2. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a plurality of rectangular frames positioned in superimposed spaced apart relation, each of said frames comprising side and end bars mortised to one another at their ends to form the four corners of the box, longitudinally adjustable bolts passing successively through the several superimposed courses adjacent the four corners of the box for securing said courses together and for securing said courses in definite superimposed relation, an angular binding strip overlying each corner of the box to cover and conceal the same with each binding strip provided at each of its top and bottom ends with two relatively rigid tongues positioned in right angular relation to one another and overlying and secured to the upper and lower edges of the box to protect said edges against wear and keep the box square, with the exposed faces of the tongues at each of the top and bottom edges of the box occupying a common plane to provide flush, flat edges at both the top and bottom of the box, a plurality of longitudinally adjustable compartment bolts extending across the interior of the box and through corresponding bars of the walls thereof to divide the interior of the box into a plurality of compartments, each of said bolts having a threaded portion with a cooperating nut, the several nuts being adjustable to place all of the bolts under substantially the same tension to equalize stresses placed on the bars thereby, and means extending across the box near the bottom thereof for supporting bottles positioned in said compartments.

3. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a plurality of rectangular frames p0sitioned in superimposed spaced apart relation, each of said frames comprising side and end bars mortised to one another at their ends to form the four corners of the box, the side and end bars of the. bottom and top courses being of thicker lumber than the bars of the intermediate courses to'impart maximum strength and rigidity at the top and bottom of the box without appreciably increasing the weight of the box, longitudinally adjustable bolts passing successively through the several superimposed courses adjacent the four corners of the box for securing said courses together and for securing said courses in definite superimposed relation, an angular binding strip overlying each corner of the box to cover and conceal the same with each binding strip provided at each of its top and bottom ends with two relatively rigid tongues positioned in right angular relation to one another andoverlying and secured to the upper and lower edges of the box to protect said edges against wear and keep the box square, with the exposed faces of the tongues at each of the top and bottom edges of the box occupying a common plane to provide flush, flat edges at both the top and bottom of the box, a plurality of longitudinally adjustable compartment bolts extending across the interior of the box and through corresponding bars of the walls thereof to divide the interior of the box into a plurality of compartments, each of said bolts having a threaded portion with a cooperating nut, the several nuts being adjustable to place all of the bolts under substantially the same tension to equalize stresses placed on the bars thereby, and means extending across the box near the bottom thereof for supporting bottles positioned in said compartments.

JOHN A. I-IOPWOOD.

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