US2517186A

US2517186A - Shipping container for irregular shaped articles

Info

Publication number: US2517186A
Application number: US37946A
Authority: US
Inventors: James A Farrell
Original assignee: Cadillac Products Inc
Current assignee: Cadillac Products Inc
Priority date: 1948-07-09
Filing date: 1948-07-09
Publication date: 1950-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 1967-08-01

Description

Aug. 1, 1950 J. A. FARRELL 2,517,185

smrrmc CONTAINER FOR IRREGULAR sx-mrzn mucuas Filed July 9, 1948 INVENTOR. James A. F ARRELL 147' TOR/VEKS Patented Aug. 1, 1950 SHIPPIN G CONTAINER FOR IRREGULAR SHAPED ARTICLES .lames A. Farrell, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Cadillac Products, Inc

ration of Michigan Detroit, Mich., a corpo- Application July 9, 1948, Serial No. 37,946

Claims. (Cl. 206- 46) This invention relates to. shipping containers and particularly to. containers for shipping irregular and curved-shaped articles.

Heretofore, considerable difliculty as well as expense has attended the packaging and shipping of irregular, odd and curved articles. Such parts of automobiles such as bumper sections, trim molding and the like are generally arcuate in formation throughout their extent, and have been difficult to protect againstdamage in a shipping container. Other articles such as rods and shafting having lateral projections havebeen diilicult to satisfactorily protect in a shipping container without considerable expense.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved container for protecting articles in shipment and particularly for protectinglyenclosing articles of irregular, odd or curved formation. Another important object of this invention is to provide an improved shipping container for.

such types of articles which is economically formed out of two or more tubular bodies of similar construction and so shaped that they may be quickly assembled together to completely protectingly house the article. i

A further important object of the invention is to provide an improved shipping container for irregular or curved articles which is formed of two or more cylindrical tubes of fiber board composition brought together in side-by-side relationship and apertured in a novel manner to form a communicating passage between the tubes through which a projecting part of the article in one tube extends into the other tube for enclosure therewithin.

In carrying out the invention, two tubes of fiber board material which may be cut from a longer tube and therefore of the same diameter are em-' ployed. One tube is usually longer inle ngth than the other. and encloses the major portion of the article to be shipped. The other shorter tube is mounted alongside of the longer tube and protectingly receives the projecting part thereof. The two tubes are initially formed with novel cooperating cut-outs or slots in the side wallsthereof which together provide a communicating passage between the hollow interiors of the tubes.

throughwhich the projectingpart. of thearticle extends. An'important feature of the invention is the manner of assemblin thetwo tubes to gether so that the article is 'efiectively held from movement in the container.

Various other objects, advantages and meritorious features will become more fully apparent from the following specification, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a container constructed and assembled together in accordance with this invention and showing in dotted outline a curved article enclosed therewithin,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the two parts of the container of Fig. 1 showing the same prior to assembly,

Fig. 3 is a side view of the slotted end section of the longer tube of the container asssembly,

Fig. 4 is a side view of the slotted end section of the shorter tube of the container assembly, and

. Fig. 5 is an end view of the container assembly taken along line 5-5 of Fig. l.

The shipping container of the present invention is preferably formed of cylindrical tubes of fiber board but may be formed of tubes or cartons of rectangular cross section. Such cylindrical tubes are commercially available in various diameters and the side walls thereof are formed by a spiralling strip of fiber board. For protection of easily damaged articles or parts it is desired to use fiber board tubes of this character which are relatively thick and rigid. The articles for which this ship ping container is adapted is of irregular or curved formation. Typical examples are the arcuate trim moldings used on motor vehicles, curved bumper sections, and the like.

For curved objects such as trim moldings and bumper sections, the tubes employed in the container assembly are less in diameter than the maximum perpendicular distance between the chord line connecting the ends of the article and the intermediate portion thereof. To enclose such articles within tubular bodies of this character,

the major portion of the length of the article is, enclosed in one tube and the balance within the other tube.

Referring to the drawings, one tube Ill is relaelongated longitudinally extending slot l4 closed at one end It and extending to and opening out through the adjacent end of the tube. A wall portionof the shorter tube I2 is similarly formed.

One end section thereof is providedas shown in" Fig. 4 with an elongated slot l 8 closed at its inner end 20 and having its opposite end opening out through the adjacent end of the tube. Slot [8 is preferably shorter in length than slot M as shown by a comparison of Figs. 3 and 4.

A curved molding strip 22 is illustrated in Figs.

1 and 2 as a typical article for which the container is adapted. In assembling the two tubes to enclose a curved or arcuate article such as shown at 22, the latter is slid into the longer tube I0 through either end and arranged therein so that one end of the article projects through the slot l4 close to the closed end 16 thereof. In selecting the tubes for containing such an article, the longer tube is provided with a, length approxi mately equal to the length of the article and the shorter tube with a length slightly greater than the projecting end portion of the article. The shorter tube [2 is brought up adjacent to the slotted end section of the longer tube It! and turned so that its slot it! opens in the opposite or reverse direction to that of the slot l4 and with the two slots facing one another. The shorter tube is then slid endwise parallel to the first and in such a manner that the projecting end of the article 22 enters the slot [8. The shorter tube is advanced endwise in this manner until the closed end 20 of its slot abuts the article and wedges it against the closed end of the other slot in the manner illustrated in dotted outline in Fig. 1. The lengths of the two tubes selected are such that when thus assembled the opposite ends of the article are within the tubes and bearing against the inner wall surfaces thereof. In this manner the curved article is held against movement in the tube assembly.

The protecting container assembly is completed by securing the two tubes together. This is preferably accomplished by wrapping adhesively coated strips E l-24 thereon or using any other suitable means such as flexible wires or cord. In final form, there is provided a container formed of two similar constructed tubular sections tightly secured together into 9, unitary protecting enclosure for an arcuate article. Either tube alone is less in diameter than the rise of curved article measured from the chord line connecting the ends of the article but the two together serve to protectingly enclose the entire length of the article. For articles having more than one lateral projection, two or more shorter tubes may be employed alongside of the primary tube to receive and enclose the projections.

What I claim is:

1. A shipping container formed of two tubular bodies having the same cross-sectional dimensions but difiering in length from one another, each body having a wall portion thereof cutaway to form a longitudinal slot closed at one end and having the opposite end opening out through an end of the body, and means securing said bodies together in side-by-side abutting relation with the shorter body adjacent to one end of the longerv body and with the closed end portions of the slots in registering overlapping relation through which a part of the article shipped in the container may extend.

2. A shipping container formed of two cylindrical tubes of fiber board composition assembled and. secured together in side-by-side abutting relationship, each tube provided on the abutting face thereof with an elongated longitudinal slot closed at one end and extending to and opening out through one end of the tube, and the tubes being so assembled that the closed end portions of the slots overlap upon one another forming a communicating passage between the interiors o the tubes through which a lateral projecting part of an article contained in one tube may project into the other tube.

3. A shipping container formed of two cylindrical tubes of fiber board composition having the same cross sectional dimension but difierin in length from one another, each tube having the wall portion of one end section thereof cutaway to form an elongated longitudinal extending slot closed at one end but extending to and opening out through the adjacent end of the tube, the longer of said two tubes adapted to contain an article for shipment having a lateral projecting part projecting through the slot thereof, and means securing the shorter tube alongside of the slotted end section of the longer tube but with the slotted end sections of the two tubes reversed as to one another and so disposing the slots that the closed end portions thereof overlap to form a communicating passage between the interiors of the tubes through which the projecting part of the article extends.

4. A shipping container for arcuate-shaped-articles comprising, in combination, a relatively long cylindrical tube of fiber board composition, a second shorter cylindrical tube of fiberboard composition having the same diameter as the first tube, each tube having the wall portion of one end section thereof cut-away to form an elongated longitudinal slot opening out through the adjacent end of the tube and having the op posite end closed, the shorter tube lyin alongside of the slotted end section of the longer tube and secured thereto so that the slots thereof open out opposite to one another but face one another with the closed end portions thereof overlapping to form a passage between the interiors of the tubes through which one end of the article contained within the longer tube may project for enclosure within the shorter tube.

5. A shipping container for irregular shaped articles formed of a pair of tubular members each having the wall portion of one end section thereof cut away to 'form an elongated longitudinally extending slot closed at one end opening out through the adjacent end of the tubular body, means securing said tubular bodies together in side-byside abutting engagement with the slotted end sections of the two tubular bodies reversed as to one another and with the slots registering with one another to form a communicating passage between the interiors of the bodies through which a part of the article shipped in the container may extend.

JAMES A. FARRELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,441,264 Bruewer Jan. 9, 1923 1,983,322. Stewart Dec. 4, 1934 2,019,778 Enholm et al. Nov. 5, 1935