US2258582A - Hatbox - Google Patents

Description

oct. 14, 1941. H. ERG, JR 2,258,582

HATBOX Filed Aug. 9, 1958 "50 f INVENTOR 45 Z5 i /9 Il V @l 252m uw ATTO R N EY Patented ct. i4, i941 Y. .HATBOX .Henry Berg,` Jr.,f Orange, N. J., assignor to Hat VCorporation of Amerie porationof Delaware a, Norwalk, Conn., a cor- .Application Augnst9, 1938, `Serial No. 223,786

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to :novel improvements in hat boxes and particularly to cases for carrying hats, and other articles, especially whentravelling.

A primary object of the invention is the provision of a hat box .for storing hats in a dustproof manner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of 1a rectangular .container for shipping hats and Which Will support and protect a hat placed therein from being damaged.

A further object is the provision of a "hat box made of inexp-ensive material but of such stability that it will not `collapse even unde A further feature is the provision of means for selectively holding the grip in a retracted position in which the grip is disposed substantially flat on the inner lid and Within the aperture in the outer lid `Without projecting above the outer l5l surface thereof, and ,in an extended position in which the grip projects throughthe aperture in the outer li-d and above `the-outer surface thereof.

A further object of the invention is ,the provision Within a rectangular hat box of simple and inexpensive means for supportingboth the crown and the brim of a hat.

This object is accomplished vaccording to the invention by providing interior Walls `Within the hat box forming pockets or fillers therein, and a curved band secured to said fillers for'supporting the crown of a hat. Y

Another objectis the provision of a hat box .which may be easily converted into a travelling considerable pressure. l bag or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provi- A feature of the invention for attaining the sion of a cover which protects the side walls of latter object is thel provision of hat-supporting the box from beingbent or crushed. means Within the hat box which are easily re- A feature of the invention, attaining these cbmovable therefrom-so as to obtain a larger storjects, is the provision of a rectangular box which `20 age place therein, vand which may be quickly reis open at `one end, with a cover which fits into placed if the box is used for its primary purpose said end intermediate the side Walls of the box of supporting and protecting hats. to close the same, and means for supporting the A further object of the invention is the provicover in closing position at right angles to the sion of means within a hat box for supporting side walls. C25 the cover thereof, y

A further feature of the present invention is Another object is the provision of means for the provision of a double Vcover for closing the strengthening the cover and the side walls of hat box and increasing the strength and stability the box to protect the same from being bent or thereof. crushed inwardly.

Another feature of the invention is the `provi- (3,0 `Still another object of the invention is the prosion of an inner lid hinged to one sidewall of vision of means withina hat .box `foraccommothe box and an outer lid hinged `to another side dating and"lightly gripping the brim of a 'hat Wall and completely covering theinner lid when placed therein to prevent the hat from moving they are `both in closing'position. Within the hat box.

Another object is the provision'of a box with An important feature of the 'present invention a hinged cover rand a grip thereon, which when resides in the 4provision of a single pair of means carried by the grip, will remain in closed posifor accomplishing all of the three last-mentioned tion Without the use of any interengaging Ineobjectssimultaneously.

1 chanical locking means on the cover and the side These andstill other objects, features and adwallsof the box. 1' f1@ Vantages` of the present invention Will appear A further object is the provision of a box with from the 'following detailed description .and the a `grip for carrying the same which may be redrawing, in which: tracted `so as not to project above `the outer sur- Figure l is a perspective view of `the hat box Vface of the box. according to the invention, in fully closed posi- A feature resulting from the attainment of @-45 tion. y this object is the provision of a grip on the inner Fig. 2 is a similar View of the box in open lid and an aperture in the outer lid through position. v which the grip extends when both lids are infclos- Fig. 3 is Va cross-section of the box in open ing position and one is superimposed upon the position. l other, V50 Fig. 4 is a cross-section ofthe box in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the open box shown in Fig. 2.

Before describing the Ipresent .improvements 5 `and mode of operation `thereof in detail it `should be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing, which are merely illustrative of the present preferred embodiments, since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and the phraseology employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the hat box I comprises a pair of side walls II, front and rear walls I2 and I3 and a bottom wall I4 all of which may consist of inexpensive material, such as cardboard or the like, and are secured together to form a solid rectangular box having an opening I5 at its top.

A pair of vertical uprights I6 are provided within the box and serve a three-fold purpose. First, they locate the hat and prevent movement thereof within the box I0 during shippingysecond, they support and stabilize the side walls II so as to protect the same from being bent or crushed inwardly; and, third, they support and protect .the cover Vof thebox as will be later described.

For accomplishing the first two purposes, uprights I6 are fixedly secured along one of their narrower sides I1 to the inner surface of side walls, and preferably also at their lower ends I8 to the bottom wall I4, and are positioned an equal distance from they rear wall I3 which corresponds substantially to the thickness of the brim of a hat and the curl of such brim. By such spacing of uprights I6 from the rear wall I3, a hat may be inserted therebetweenso that the lower surface of its brim Iafrests against the rear wall I3, where it is maintained in substantially fixed position by uprights I6 acting upon the upper surface of the hat brim I8a. Of course, uprights I5 may be spaced suiciently from rear wall I3 to permit the insertion of cushioning materials, such as tissue paper, soft felt or the like, between the hat brim I8a and the uprights as also between the brim and the rear wall I3.

For supporting the crown of a hat, a pair of U-shaped members I9 of cardboard or similar light and'inexpensive material are provided at the opposite side walls II of the box I0 so as to form fillers or pockets 29. These members I9 -which are of a height approximately threequarters of the height of side walls I I, each consists of a central portion 2I the upper edge 22 of which is curved downwardly to facilitate in'- sertion and particularly removal'of the hat from the box, and a pair of side arms 23. Members I9 may be secured within the box either removably or permanently. For example, as shown in the drawing, they may either be fitted tightly but removably between uprights I6 and the front wall I2 and be normally maintained in holding contact therewith by their own resiliency; or they may be permanently secured by any suitable means connecting their side arms 23 with the uprights I6 and the front wall I2.

A semicircular downwardly curved band or strap 24 of Yrelatively stiff but resilient material is secured at its outer ends 25 to the central portion 2I of pockets I9 adjacent the upper edge 22 thereof, and, as shown in Fig. 4, serves to 'support the crown of a hat 24a when placed thereon. If, as previously indicated, members I9 and strap 24 constitute a removable unitk so that the box I0 may either be used for storing and transporting hats or as a travelling case, such unit may be maintained in a xed position within the box I9 by the resilience of the strap 24 urging the members I9 outwardly and the outer ends of their arms 23 against the side walls II, as also by the resilient pressure exerted by side arms 23 against uprights I6 and front wall I2. Members I9 together with strap 24 may then be easily removed from the box I6 by withdrawing them in upward direction. However, any other suitable kind of disengageable securing means may be provided in addition to those mentioned above for normally maintaining the members I9 and strap 24 in their proper position within box I0.

The pockets 20, which are formed intermediate the side walls II of the box and the U-shaped members I9, are provided for storing therein various articles, particularly when the box I9 is to be used during travelling. Scarves, caps, handkerchiefs and other articles, and even a hat which has been folded or rolled together, may conveniently be placed into these pockets and out or contact with the hat which rests on the strap 24.

For closing the opening I 5 at the top of the box I0, the present invention provides a double cover 26 consisting of an inner lid 21 and an outer lid 28 which are pivotally secured to the upper edges 29 and 30 of the front and rear walls I2 and I3, respectively, and are superimposed one upon the other when in closing position. As clearly shown in the drawing, inner lid 21 is of a size substantially equal to the size of the opening I5 and fits between the inner surfaces of the side, front and rear walls II, I2 and I3. A strip of tape 3I or the like is cemented to the upper surface of the lid 21 adjacent the forward edge thereof and to the upper end 29 of the front wall I2 at the outer face thereof, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, to form a hinge for pivoting the lid 21 into opening and closing positions.

For supporting the inner lid 21 in a closing position within the opening I5 with its upper surface 32 in a level plane with the upper edges 29, 30 and 33 of the front, rear and side walls I2, I3 and I I, the invention extends the uprights I6 upwardly so that their upper surfaces 34 are spaced from the upper edges of the side walls II a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the inner lid 21. Thus, if lid 21 is pivoted into a closing position, its lower surface 35 is laterally supported by the upper ends 34 of uprights which protect not only the inner lid 21 but also the outer lid 28 from being bent or crushed.

For carrying the hat box I0 and for opening the inner lid 21, a grip 36 is secured to the upper surface 32 thereof and preferably consists of a thin strip of leather or similar material which may be pressed flat upon the upper surface 32 of the lid, for example during shipping of the hat box, or be extended into a curved shape as shown in Fig. 4, for carrying the box I 0 thereby. For this purpose, grip 36 is provided with a pair of U-shaped cut-out portions 31 at opposite sides and near both ends of the grip 36. A pair of short straps 38 of narrower width than the width of the cut-out portions 31 extend transversely over grip 36 at the cut-out portions 31 thereof and are tightly applied and secured to the lid 21 for example by rivets 39, the upper heads 40 of which are positioned closely to the walls 4I of the cutout portions. Thus, each end of the grip 36 is vcapable of sliding relative to straps 38 a distance substantially equal to the differencebetween the width of the cut-out portions 31 and the width of straps 38 from a at position shown in Fig. 1 in which the inner end walls 42 of the cut-outs 31 substantially abut the inner edges of the straps 38, to an extended and arched position shown in Fig. 4 in Which the outer walls 43 of the cutouts 31 abut against the outer edges of the straps 38.

The outer lid 28 is provided with front and side Walls 44 which, When the lid is in closing position, overlie the upper ends of the front and side Walls I2 and I I so that no dust can enter into the box I0. A strip 45 of tape or the like is cemented to the upper end 3U of the rear Wall I 3 at the outer face thereof, and to the upper surface 46 of the outer lid 28 adjacent the rear edge 41 thereof to form a hinge for pivoting the lid 28 into opening and closing positions. An aperture 48 is provided in the outer lid 280i a size to accommodate and receive the grip 36 including the fastening straps 38 so that the outer lid may fully overlie and be substantially in contact along its lower surface 49 with the upper surface 32 of the inner lid 21 when both lids are in closed position. Inasmuch as the outer lid 28 is of a thickness at least equal to or even greater than the thickness of the grip and the height of the straps 38 and rivets 39 from the upper surface of the inner lid 21, none of these elements project above the upper surface of the outer lid 28 when the grip is in retracted position. Therefore, a plurality of hat boxes I0 may be placed solidly one upon the other as there are no projections on the outer surfaces of either the cover 26 or the bottom I4. A large number of hat boxes can thus be stored and transported within a limited space Without requiring special means for fastening the individual boxes to each other.

Inasmuch as the pivotally secured edge 41 of the outer lid overlies the free edge 50 of the inner lid 21 when the cover 26 is in a fully closed position, the outer lid 28 serves as a locking element for the inner lid 21 and a considerable pull may be exerted upon the grip 36 Without danger that either of the lids might be opened thereby. Such arrangement of the lids 21 and 28 has a decided advantage over a box with a single lid which is secured in closed position by a mechanical lock, in that the box according to the invention can be opened or closed considerably quicker, and merely by nipping the lids in one direction or the other. On the other hand, the two elements of a mechanical lock often do not register when the lid is brought down upon the box, and require a time- Wasting effort for both closing and opening the same.

Furthermore, mechanical locks usually project above the outer surface of the respective element to which they are secured, and therefore, if a plurality of hat boxes provided with such locks are closely packed together, the lock of one box may easily damage the adjacent box and pierce through the Walls thereof. Because of the absence of any such mechanical locks on the outer surfaces of the hat box according to the invention, a plurality of such boxes may be packed closely against each other without danger that the appearance of any of the boxes may thereby be damaged.

Variations and modifications may be made Within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used Without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A dustproof box comprising a bottom; upright Walls having top edges, said Walls forming a top opening of a predetermined size; inner and outer lids pivoted respectively to the upper edges of opposite Walls for closing said opening, said inner lid when in closed position resting snugly Within said top opening in such a manner that the top surface of said lid is substantially flush with the top edges of the upright walls and the inner lid edges are contiguous to the wall inner surfaces; supporting and reinforcing means, comprising rigid upright supports mounted upon the inside surfaces of the box Walls and terminating short of the plane of the top opening a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the inner lid to support the inner lid in the said closed position; a flexible handle on the inner lid; said outer lid when in closed position closely engaging said inner lid and the top edges of said upright walls in order to retain dust-excluding engagement even when the box is lifted, said outer lid having anges for snugly touching the external surfaces of some of the upright walls, and said outer lid having an upper surface dening a plane constituting the upper extremity of said box; said outer lid having a recess for positioning said handle below said plane when the handle is in inoperative position.

HENRY BERG. J R.

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