US2040191A - Box with cover and hinge therefor - Google Patents

Description

May 12, 1936. H. H. WANDERS BOX WITH COVER AND HINGE THEREFOR Filed June 25, .1952.

Patented May 12, 1936 UNITED} STATES PATENT .EOFFICE BOX WITH COVER AND HINGE THEREFOR Hans H. Wanders, Hingham, Mass.

Application June 25, 1932, Serial No. 619,282

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a hinge especially adapted for use in connecting covers to boxes.-

The invention furthermore relates to structure or formation of the portions of the box and cover adjacent to the hinge whereby the hinge may be quickly and easily secured to the box and cover without the use of screws, rivets or other similar fastening elements. The invention can be embodied in boxes and hinges of various materials. It is desirable that the hinge be made, at least in part, of springy or resilient material. The box and cover may be made of any desired material which is suitable for the purpose, such as wood, pulp, pressed metal, etc. The invention is of particular value in the case of boxes which are made by die-molding a suitable plastic. In forming articles of plastics such as bakelite which must be molded under conditions of high temperatures. and pressures, it is necessary that the dies be of such a shape as to mold an article which will permit the retraction of the dies from each other in opposite directions after a molding operation. This limits to some extent the shapes which can be employed in making articles such as boxes and the like. It is an object of the invention to provide a hinge structure adapted to be mounted on a die-molded box without the use of screws, rivets, or other similar fastening elements. It is a further object of the invention to provide a box and cover of such a shape that they can be diemolded and will cooperate with such a hinge so that the resulting assembled structure is simple, strong, and easily assembled. These results are obtained by forming on the outside of a wall of the box, a shoulder under which a hook-shaped portion of a hinge member may catch, the hinge member having another portion engaging the inside of the wall so as to hold the hooked portion in engagement under the shoulder on the outside. This hinge member is preferably made of resilient material, such as spring metal, so that it can be readily snapped into place.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the description thereof which follows, and to the illustration thereof on the drawing, of which,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flanged box cover embodying the invention, a portion being broken away to illustrate the shape of the rear flange.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a box embodying the invention, a portion of the rear wall being broken away to show in section.

, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a hinge made according to the invention and adapted to be assembled with the box and cover shown in Fig-' ures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear end elevation of the assembled box, cover, and hinge.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is similar to Figure 5, showing the cover in the course of being assembled with the hinge.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary section of a modified form of rear wall for a box.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of another modified form of rear wall for a box.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a box having slots in the side walls instead of a recess in the rear wall to receive a hinge member.

Figure 10 is a section of a modified form of box, cover, and hinge.

Figure 2 represents a box l0 which may be made of any suitable material, the shape being such that it can be made of a plastic such as bakelite molded in a high-pressure mold. The box includes a bottom II, a front wall l2, side walls l3 and i4, and a rear wall I5. A portion of the rear wall may be especially formed with a rearwardly or outwardly extending bead 20 which projects beyond the outer face 2| of the wall to form a downwardly facing shoulder 22. The upper part of the inside of the specially shaped portion of the rear wall is offset as at 23 from the lower inside surface 24 of the wall, forming a recessed area. This results in a shoulder 25 which is undercut as at 26, forming a channel 30 which opens upwardly. The specially shaped portion of the rear wall may extend for the most part of the length of the rear wall, as illustrated in Figure 2, to receive an elongated hinge such as is illustrated in Figure 3, or may be confined to one or more short lengths to accoimnodate one or more short hinges.

Figure 1 illustrates a cover 35 for the box Ill, this cover having flanges 36 adapted to engage the upper edges of the walls of the box I ll. As shown in the figure, the rear flange may have a portion.

shaped similarly to the specially shaped portion of the rear wall of the box, and corresponding thereto in length so as to receive the other member of the hinge which is attached to the box. To this end, the rear flange of the box cover may be provided with a rearwardly or outwardly projecting head 3'! forming an upwardly facing shoulder 40 on the outside of the cover. 0n the inside, an offset portion 4| of the inner surface of the rear flange forms a shoulder 42 which is undercut to provide a channel 43 opening downwardly.

Cooperating with the box and cover structure form knuckle portions 52 adapted to surround a hinge pin 53 about which as an axis the members 50 and 5| rock relatively to each other. Each member, in addition to the knuckle portions 52, includes a pair of jaw members 55, 56, which project laterally from the pin 53. The jaw member 55 may be for the most part a flat plate adapted to be against the offset portion 23 of the inner surface of the rear wall, the lower marginal portion 51 of the jaw 55 being seated in the channel 30. The jaw member 56 is provided with one or more portions projecting toward the jaw portion 55 so as to form a hook portion adapted to engage under the shoulder 22. As shown in Figure 3, this hook portion may take the shape of a flange50 along the lower edgeof the jaw member 56, the flange being bent at right angles to project toward the member 55. The hinge is assembled with a box cover as indicated in Figure 6. Since the hinge members are of resilient material, the jaws 55 and 56' may be sprung apart to permit the jaw 56 to pass the bead 20 of the box or the bead 31 of the cover, these beads preferably having a rounded edge 62 to facilitatethe assembling of these members. When the flange 50 passes beyond the bead, it snaps under the corresponding shoulder and is not removable therefrom except by the application of a suitable tool or by the application of destructive force to the hinge. The marginal portion 51 of the jaw member 55 seats in the channel 30 in the. box or in the.channel 43 in the cover and prevents the-jaw 55 from springing away from-the surface against which it normally lies, when the cover is thrown back. It is evident from Figure 5 that once: the hinge is properly assembled with the boxand the cover, it forms a strong and permanent connecting link between the box and-its cover.

As indicated in Figure '7, the shoulder 22 may beformed by cutting or sawing a kerf 65 in the rear. wall'of the box or in the rear flange of the cover. This kerf is thus in lieu of the bead 20 or 31, but requires an extra manufacturing operation.

As illustrated in Figure 8, the vertically extending shoulders between the ofiset portion 23 of the inner surface of the rear wall and the rest of this inner surface, are undercut to form channels 66 and 61, these channels opening toward each other and serving to anchorthe jaw member 55 of the hinge. This form of anchorage is suitable for relatively short hinges, the horizontal channels 26 being preferable for long hinges.

A slightly different form of box embodying the invention is shown in Figure 9. In this case, the inner surface of the rear wall of the box is not recessed but vertical channels 10 adjacent to this wall are formed in the side walls to receive and anchor a hinge-member 55 after the manner of the channels 66 and 61 shown in Figure 8. This permits a thinner rear wall since no extra thickness is required to provide for a recessed or ofiset portion as in the forms shown in Figures 2 and 8.

Instead of a flanged cover as shown in Figure 1, a box may be provided with a flat cover 80 as shown in Figure 10. To accommodate such a cover having a length and width equal to the outside length and width of the box, the jaw members of the hinge which engage the box wail may bebent. as shown at 8| so that the hinge pin is rearward of the box wall and not between the box and cover.

It is evident that many alterations and changes may be'made in the specific details of the structure herein described and illustrated without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:-

1. A hinge comprising two members rockable relatively to each other about an axis, one of said members having' two spaced portions projecting laterally from said axis, one of said portions having the margin along its free edge bent to form a flange projecting toward the other said portion.

2. A hinge comprising a pair of members rockable relatively to each other about an axis, one of said members consisting of a sheet of spring metal shaped to form a pair of jaws, one jaw having a terminal flange projecting toward the other jaw, said other law being disposed in a single plane.

3. A hinge comprising a pin, a pair of members rockable relatively to each other about the pin as an axis, each said member consisting of a sheet of spring metal bent around said pin and projecting laterally therefrom to form a pair of jaws, and aflange on one jaw of each member projecting toward the other jaw of the same member, each of said other jaws being disposed in a single plane.

Y 4. A box having a bottom and side walls, one

of said walls having a downwardly facing shoulder on the outside thereof, in combination with a hinge having a member with two jaws, the outer jaw having a hook portion engaging under said shoulder, the inner jaw projecting downwardly within said box, said box being formed with a channel in one of said walls in which a marginal portion of said inner jaw engages.

5. A box having a bottom and side walls, one of said walls having a downwardly facing shoulder on the outside thereof, in combination with a hinge having a member with two jaws, the outer jaw having a hook portion engaging under said shoulder, the inner jaw lying against the inner surface of the externally shouldered wall, said box having an inner channel adjacent to the inner wall surface engaged by said inner jaw, a marginal portion of said inner jaw engaging in said channel.

6. A box having a bottom and side walls, one said wall having on its outside a downwardly facing shoulder and on its inside a recessed area with a flange overhanging a marginal portion thereof to form a channel, in combination with gaging under said shoulder and a second portion on the inside of said wall seated in said channel.

8. A box having a bottom and side walls, one of said walls having an external shoulder facing downwardly and a plane inner surface, said box being formed with a pair of vertical inner channels in the walls adjacent to the shouldered wall at the junction of said walls, whereby one side of each channel is a continuation of the inner plane surface of said shouldered wall, in combination with a hinge having a member with an inner and an outer jaw, the outer jaw being hooked under said shoulder, the inner jaw lying against said plane surface with marginal portions fitting in said channels.

9. A box having a side wall, in combination with a hinge therefor, said hinge and the outside of. said wall having interengaging elements arranged to prevent upward movement of the hinge element relative to said wall, said hinge having a 'flat member disposed against the inner face of said wall, and means within the box and forming a part thereof engaging the marginal portion of said flat member and preventing movement of said member away from the inner face of said wall.

10. A box having a side wall and cover adapted to be connected by a hinge, external beads on the mutually adjacent marginal portions of said wall and cover, and a hinge comprising a pin and two members relatively rockable thereon, said members each consisting of a pair of jaws of resilient material sprung over said respective beads and positively held thereby, said beads having suflicient width to require springing the jaws of each pair apart for a substantial distance to receive the beads.

HANS H. WANDERS.

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