US213308A - Improvement in trunks - Google Patents

Description

A. J. WALRATH.

Trunksvl` Patented Mr. 18.'.1879.

NJTE PHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. DA CV 'miran Srarns FF'ICE.

IMPROVEMENT 'IN TRU'NEKS.

Specification 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 213.308, datedv March 18, 1879 application tiled January 7, 1879. A

To all 'whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. WALRATH, of Augusta, Eau Claire county, `State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new Vand useful Improvements in Trunks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a Vpart of my specih'cation thereof, in which- Figure l is a perspective View of my improved trunk thrown open for access to its contents. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section in the line g/ g/ of Fig. 3, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section in the line a: a: of Fig. 2.

The object of my invention is the production of a trunk for the use of travelers and others which shall possess the advantages of an ordinary trunk and bureau in combination, and by which greater convenience and security is afforded to travelers in the transportation of wearing-apparel from place to place.

ln the drawings, A indicates the body portion, and A the lid or top cover, of my improved bureau or trunk.

The body portion A is constructed with outer end walls, a a, and a rear wall, b, as

usual in ordinary trunks, and with a divided front wall, forming swinging doors c c1, hinged to the end walls, as at d6 df".

B indicates a removable tray, havinga central uncovered apartment, f. an end apartment, f1, on one side of the open apartment f, and two smaller apartments, j"2 f2, on the opposite side of the central apartment, each of which apartments f1 f2 f2 is kept closed, when desired, with a hinged lid. The apartments fzfZ are particularly designed as a receptacle for bonnets or hats, while other particles of wearing-apparel may occupy receptacles f and f1.

The tray B, as represented in Fig. l, is seated in rabbets cut longitudinally along the inside of the walls a a and b of the body portion A, and in a frame-piece, g, which latter is of proper thickness to have a lock, gl, applied thereto, as shown, in order to lock the bureautrunk when the doors are closed and the lid A shut down, as signied by Fig. 2.

Beneath the tray B is a till, B', in the body portion A of the trunk, which till is closed when the tray is in position, as shown in Fig.

1, but to which till access can be had when the trayB is removed from on top of said body portion.

The body portion A of my bureau-trunk is provided with two horizontal partitions, 'i and fil, which extend across the entire interior length and width of the trunk, the ends of which partitions are let into and secured in a mortise, al, in the ends t a, as signified in Fig. 1, and between these partitions a central cross-partition, i2, is secured transversely ot' the body A. By inserting these partitions?) il i2, as shown, the body of the trunk is firmly strengthened against the shocks incident to careless handling in traveling, and at the same time affords proper receptacles for the insertion of drawers DDDZ, the latter one of which, D2, may be of the width and depth andlengt-h of an ordinary-sized bureau-drawer, and yet not require the body portion A to be of greater dimensions than the body portion of an ordinary-sized Saratoga trunk. By this construction facilities are afforded for carrying garments in the drawers D D1 D2 without unduly folding them, while at the same time they are relieved from the superincumbent weight of the contents of the body of a trunk as ordinarily constructed, and also facilities for taking out a given garment from the body portipn A without overhauling the whole contents of such body portion, as frequently is the case in the use of an ordinary trunk, which permits access thereto only at its top.'

The doors c c are rabbeted, as at 1,130 correspond with rabbets d1 on the body portion A, so that when the doors are closed and the cover or lid A' is shut down, as in Fig. 2, the rabbeted portions d? of said lid will overlap the rabbeted portions d d1, and thus assist in holding the doors securely closed when the bureau-trunk is locked.

The doors c c are also rabbeted vertically, as at d3 and d4, so that when the doors are closed the rabbeted portion d4 will overlap cl3, and leave the outer surface of the doors iiush with each other; and in order to cover the joint thus formed, a strip, as at d5, is securely attached to the door c, which strip may be of any suitable material, metal being preferred.

To keep the doors c c closed when the lid Al is thrown back, as in Fig. 1, and when I access is only desired to the tray B and till B', I provide the door c with a bolt, 7s, the lower end of which ent-ers a socket, on, in the bottom O of the trunk, when the doors are closed andthe bolt thrust down. This bolt may either pass vertically through the door c er be confined thereto by staples, as signied in said gure.

When the bureau-trunk is open, as represented in Fig. l, it may be completely closed as follows: First, close the door c', and thereupon the door c, and then shove the bolt 7c into socket m. Now close the lid A', so that the rabbeted portions d of the doors and d' of the body portion A shall be overlapped by the rabbeted ends and front of the lid A'. This done, insert the key through aperture 1 of the doors into thclocl; g1, through its key-hole g2, and lock in the usual manner.

It will be seen that my improved or bureau trunk aii'ords all the advantages of a trunk for transporting wea-rin g-apparel, with the additional advantage of the use of bureaudrawers for containing garments which would be injured by folding and by superincumbent weight; that access is afforded to garments in the bottom portions of the body A by means,

of the doors c c', without overhauling a great mass of superincumbent clothing or disturb'- ing the contents of the trayB and till B', and that although the doors c c' may be closed and the doors bolted, still access can be had to the tray B and till B' of the body portion of the trunk proper simply by raisin g the lid A' 5 and, finally, that, by reason of the partitions i l i2, the body of the bureau-trunk is greatly strengthened and protected against injury from violent usage.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A trunk having its lid A' rabbeted, as at d2, so as to close down upon corresponding rabbets on the top edges of the folding doors e c', a removable tra-y, B, a Xed till, B',which is covered by the tray when in place, strengthening-partitions Ml, let into the wall of the trunk, and between which partitions the drawers D Dl slide, partition i2, and drawers D Dl D2, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

ANDREW J. WALRATH. In presence oil- IRA B. BRADFORD,

L. C. HUMPHREY.

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