US2041260A - Vanity case - Google Patents

Description

s. MORRISON VANITY CASE Filed Jan. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i "Winn I l T2255 INVENTOR ATT RNEYS VANITY CASE Filed Jan. 17, 1935 ZSheets-Sheet 2 WWW? 7 7 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to vanity cases and is particularly applicable to vanity cases for carrying loose powder.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide simple and improved mechanism for opening and closing the powder compartment, to provide such mechanism which can be manufactured rapidly at low expense, and to provide such mechanism which can be reliably manufactured under quantity production conditions.

Other objects of the invention are to provide mechanism which accomplishes the above objects and is particularly adapted for square or rectangular vanity cases.

A further object of the invention is to provide opening and closing mechanism for a loose powder compartment which permits of a powdertransferring aperture in the compartment that is large in proportion to the size of the compartment.

More detailed and specific objects of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure.

The invention is disclosed in a vanity case having a conventional rectangular outer shell, the shell consisting of shallow recessed top and bottom members connected by a hinge and arranged to be latched together in superimposed relation when the vanity case is closed. The bottom member of the case either constitutes a powder compartment or has a portion of it walled off to form a powder compartment. The powder compartment has a top that is apertured to give powder-transferring access to thecompartment. Beneath the aperture are a pair of shutter blades each of which is bodily movable edgewise of itself in a substantially straight line. The two blades are linked together so that they move simultaneously in opposite directions being separated to open the aperture and brought together to close the aperture.

Fig. l is a perspective view of the closed vanity case.

Fig. 2 is a plan view, showing the vanity case open.

Fig. 3 is a double scale vertical section through the powder compartment taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, the cover in closed position being added thereto in dot-dash lines.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, to the same scale as Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a double scale bottom view taken approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of an apertured plate which underlies the shutter mechanism.

Fig. '7 is a plan View of a modified form of interior box structure, a portion of the powder compartment top being broken away to show the shutter mechanism.

Fig. 8 shows the structure of Fig. '7 turned upside down.

Fig. 9 is a double scale vertical section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a double size upside down view corresponding to Fig. 8, but with the apertured plate removed, the shutters being in closed position.

Fig. 11 is an upside down view corresponding to Fig. 10, but with the shutters in open position.

In Figs. 1 to 5 the lower member of the outer shell is designated as a whole by M, and the upper member of the shell is designated as a whole IS. The two shell members are connected by a hinge l6 and are arranged to be latched together in superimposed relation by a conventional latch ll which is carried by a leaf spring. A square portion of the lower shell member I4 is walled off by an inserted structure to form a powder compartment, leaving a rectangular space l8 which may be occupied by a rouge compact, cake of mascara, powder puff or other articles.

The inserted powder compartment structure is shown in Figs. 2 to 6 and comprises a top member having a depressed center portion 2] and a depending annular flange 22. The flange 22 is adapted to be telescoped within flange 24 of the outer shell and be frictionally held thereto, the friction being augmented if desired by instruck burrs or projections such as 25 (two shown). Beneath the top 20 of the powder compartment is a plate 26 which is telescoped within the flange 22; and this plate and the depressed portion 2! of the top are provided with aligned apertures 21 and 28, respectively, through which access to the powder compartment may be had.

Slidably mounted between plate 26 and the depressed portion 2! of the powder compartment top is a rectangular shutter blade 30. Integral with blade 30 are projections 3i and 32 which are of L-shaped cross section and form a track to receive the ends 34 and 35 of a second shutter blade 36. The ends 34 and 35 are curved upwardly (see Fig. 4) so that shutter blades 30 and 30 lie in the same horizontal plane; and the meeting edges of the two shutter blades are preferably beveled as best shown in Fig. 3 to provide a slightly overlapping effect when the shutters are closed. Integral with the projecting members 3! and 32 are horizontal wings 3| and 32 which extend through out out areas 3| and 32 (Fig. 5) in the flange 22 and project over the top of flange 24 of the outer shell.

Links 30 and 30" are pivoted to shutter blade 30 and carry downwardly projecting pins 30 and 30 Links 36 and 36" each have one end pivoted to shutter blade 36 and the other end pivoted to one of the links 30 and 30". Plate 26 is inserted from the bottom into depending flange 22 and is provided with slots 26 and 26* through which pins 30 and 30 depend. Plate 26 is provided with depending legs 31 at its corners which rest upon the bottom of the outer shell 14 when the structure is assembled; and this plate is also provided with an upstanding wall member 38 (Figs. 3 and 6) which lies close against the flange 22 adjacent tolatch I! and prevents powder from sifting out at the latch.

Sliding motion imparted to wings 3P and/or 32 is transmitted directly to shutter blade 30. The movement of shutter blade 30 swings links 30' and 30" on their respective pivots 30 and 30 thereby reciprocating links 36' and 36" to give opposite sliding movement to shutter blade 36. In Fig. 2, the shutter blades and actuating wings 3| and 32 are shown in solid lines for closed position and are indicated in dotted lines for open position. The flange of the top shell member I5 is notched at 3| and 32 to close over wings 3F and 32 as shown in Fig. l, and lock the shutter blades 30 and 36 in closed position. This eliminates the possibility of the shutters being jarred open accidentally while the owner is carrying the case. The depressed top portion 2| of the powder compartment provides a convenient space for a powder puff; and a fragment of such a pufi is shown at 39 in Fig. 2. In Figs. 7 to 10 there is shown a modified interior box construction adapted to be inserted in "a conventional outer shell in place of the interior construction shown in Figs. 2 to 6. The structure has a top 40 with a depressed center portion '41 that is apertured at 42, and about the top there is a depending annular flange 44. Telescoped within the flange 44 is a square plate 45 having an aperture 46 in alignment with the aperture 42. Formed in the top of plate 42 is a circular bearing or seat 41 that receives a ring 48. Projecting upwardly from ring 48 is a pin 49' that extends through an arcuate slot 50 in the top 40. By means of this pin the ring 48 can be oscillated back and forth in its seat 41.

Between ring 48 and the depressed portion 4| of the top are a pair of shutter blades 5| and 52, vprovided respectively with arms 5| and 52*. At 5| and 52 the arms are pivotally connected to the ring 48; and the opposite corners of the blades are provided with depending pins 5| and 52 which extend through arcuate slots 5| and 52 in plate 45.

When ring 48 is in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 10, the shutter blades are closed; but upon rotation of the ring by the pin 49, the shutter blades are moved bodily in opposite directions, separating them and opening the aperture as shown in Fig. 11. Thus by merely moving pin 49 back and forth in slot 50 the shutter blades are substantially reciprocated toward and away from each other to close and open the aperture to the powder compartment.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have shown the best forms in which I have contemplated applying my invention, but it will be understood that many variations may be made within the scope of the invention and that the disclosure is illustrative and is not to be considered as limiting the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A vanity case comprising: a powder compartment having a top and a plate beneath the top, the top and plate being provided with aligned apertures through which access to the compartment may be had and the plate being additionally provided with operating slots; a pair of shutter blades between said top and said plate, each of said blades being slidable to and fro edgewise of itself to cover and uncover one half of the area of the aligned apertures; and means to impart sliding movement to one of the blades in response to opposite sliding movement of the other blade, said means comprising blade connecting means and pins extending into said operating slots in said plate.

2. A vanity case comprising: a powder compartment having a plate that is apertured to give access to the compartment, a pair of shutter blades adjacent the aperture to open and close the same, a first pair of links pivoted to one of the shutter blades, a second pair of links pivoted to the first pair of links and also to the other shutter blade, and pin-and-slot connections between said piate and the links of the second pair.

3. A vanity case comprising: an outer shell which can be opened and closed, there being an apertured powder compartment in the shell; shutter mechanism to open and close the aperture; and means to automatically lock the shutter mechanism in closed position when the outer shell is closed.

4. A vanity case comprising: a shell having a body portion and a top hinged thereto, there being an apertured powder compartment within said body portion; a shutter blade movable over the aperture; a projection extending from the blade over the top of said body portion; and means to engage said projection and hold it in fixed position when the outer shell is closed.

5. A powder compartment shutter mechanism comprising: a shutter blade, means to slidably support the same, spaced tracks attached to said blade, a second shutter blade slidable on said tracks, and mechanism interconnecting the blades and operative to move one blade in one direction in response to movement of the other blade in the opposite direction.

6. A vanity case comprising: a powder compartment having an aperture through which access to the compartment may be had, a slidable shutter blade adapted to close and open one half of the aperture, means to guide said blade for substantially reciprocating movement, a second shutter blade adapted to close and open the other half of said aperture, means to guide said second blade for substantially reciprocating movement, and a link pivotally connected to the first blade and connected to the second blade to impart movement thereto oppositely to the movement of the first blade.

'7. A vanity case comprising: a powder com partment having an aperture through which access to the compartment may be had; a ring surrounding the aperture; means to oscillate the ring; aperture closing means consisting of a pair of shutter blades, the blades being pivotally connected to the ring for movement in opposite directions in response to movement of the ring; and guiding means to maintain the blades substantially parallel to each other while they are in motion.

8. A vanity case comprising: a powder compartment having an aperture through which access to the compartment may be had; a ring surrounding the aperture; means to oscillate the ring; aperture closing means comprising a plurality of shutter blades, each blade being pivotally connected to the ring to be moved in response to movement of the ring; and pin-and-slot means to guide the blades during their movement.

SIMON MORRISON.

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