US2685882A

US2685882A - Carrying case

Info

Publication number: US2685882A
Application number: US258105A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo C Martin
Original assignee: Northrop Grumman Corp
Current assignee: Northrop Grumman Corp
Priority date: 1951-11-26
Filing date: 1951-11-26
Publication date: 1954-08-10
Anticipated expiration: 1971-08-10

Description

0, 1954 c. MARTIN 2,685,882

CARRYING CASE Filed NOV. 26, 1951 Patented Aug. 10, 1954 CARRYING CASE Leo C. Martin, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Northrop Aircraft, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation of California Application November 26, 1951, Serial No. 258,105

' 1 Claim.

I This invention pertains to improvements in cases for photographs, drawings, posters, and the like, and particularly to a case of the kind in which the upper half of one side is hinged to the lower half of that side, and the upper portion of the ends is out along an upwardly sloping line from the divided side to the top,'the upper portion of the ends and the top being secured to the said upper side portion, so that when in open position, printed material carried in the case may be stood on edge on the inside of the top and be supported by the inclined edges of the ends.

Heretofore, as far as I am aware, there has never been a commercially available case suitably proportioned to accommodate posters, pictures and visual presentation material while transporting the material from place to place and designed also to play. a functional part in the manipulation and exhibition of the posters during a presentation of the material to an audience.

An object of this invention is to provide a thoroughly practical carrying case which will protect the display and illustrative material contained therein while in transit and, furthermore, afford means for handling and displaying it conveniently while conducting a meeting or presenting the material to a group of spectators.

Another object of this invention is the provision or a carrying case in which a segment of its upper area is hinged to moving forwardly and downwardly so that its top aligns with its normal bottom section and cooperates therewith to .form a large base having greatly increased vertical stability, and being strong and deep enough to hold display cards when placed in a diagonally upright position against the frontal angular edges of the two sections of the case.

A further object of this invention is to provide a particular contour of section between the two case portions which results in means for holding displays in erect position and also for making them readily accessible and'replaceable in the particular order or sequence desired during the actual presentation or exhibition ofthe visual material.

In brief, my invention comprises a carrying case for display cards bearing printed, photographic, diagrammatio and other illustrative presentations, dimensioned to receive a large number of such cards in standard mill sizes and increments or decrements thereof, and large enough to take flat and unfolded a card large enough for display use with a small group or audience. The case is substantially rectangular in form and resembles a conventional traveling bag in appearance except that in lateral section, it is slightly thicker at its base than its top.

The case includes a main body portion from which a diagonal segment including most of the top, an angular portion of each end, and approximately half of one side has been severed and hinged horizontally across the one side, to comprise a top or cover section which swings outwardly and downwardly so that the top of the cover section aligns along the base line with the bottom of the body section and the exposed diagonal edges of the top and body sections also align in the same diagonal plane when cover is in open position.

In this manner, the top or cover becomes a portion of the base thereby increasing its area and vertical stability, and the aligning diagonal edges of the two sections combine to form an easel-like support against which displays and posters are rested and maintained in a substantially upright position.

Display material is restrained from sliding away from the base of the inclined support by a rail or stop extending upwardly from the frontal termination of the cover (when in open position). This stop consists of a segment cut from the upper edge of the back of the body portion, and leaving an indenture large enough to provide access to cards contained within the rear section of the case.

The interior of the case is free of any transverse structural member, and a single upright longitudinal partition is installed in the body portion to provide lateral support to the ends and maintain the substantially upright positioning of the displays when only a few cards are carried in the case. Corner sections, in the horizontal plane of the top, protect the upper corners of posters retained in back portion of case, and further serve to strengthen and maintain structural form of body portion when only partially filled with material or when the case is open.

The foregoing brief description indicates the manner in which the design and construction of the case achieve certain objectives of this invention, but other and further important objects will be apparent from the specification and accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of this invention is hereinafter more fully shown and described.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the back, top and one end of a carrying case embodying the concepts of this invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the front, one end, top and interior of the case with its cover in the open position, together with superimposed phantom representations of objects contained in the case and supported thereon.

Referring to the drawings:

The case, designated in its entirety as A, is substantially rectangular in form having a top I paralleling the bottom 1', parallel ends 3 and 4, and sides 5 and t, also referred to as backside 5, and front side 6, the latter being disposed in fiat planes mutually inclined toward each other so that they are less widely spaced at the top i than at the bottom l of case, as shown on end l in Figure 1.

The entire body of the case A is divided into two sections which are designated as body section B and cover section C, the latter comprising, areawise, a diagonal segment cut from the rear of the top I and including a narrow strip from upper edge of backside Hi, diagonally downward to the longitudinal center line 8 of front side 6 along which it is hinged horizontally enabling the cover section 6: to swing outwardly and downwardly as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2, so that the top I of the cover section C aligns along the base line with the bottom 7 of the body section B, as in Figure 2, and the diagonal edges K-l and P-l, and K-Z and P-2 which are shown in relative juxtaposition in Figure 1, become aligned in the same diagonal plane when cover is in open position as indicated by lines bearing the same designations in Figure 2.

When in this inverted or open position, the top of the cover section C becomes a part of the base, enlarging its area by more than one half and increasing its vertical stability many fold in relation to lateral pressure or weight applied from the front. The matter of vertical stability is a secondary but very important object of this invention since one of the major objectsthe use of the exposed diagonal edges 152-! and P-l and 21-2 and P2 as an easel-like support for posters and displays-depends largely from its success upon the solidity and upright stability of the case when in the open position.

Additional structural rigidity of the case when in the open position is provided by corner sections ii and ii at the rear of the top which serve to secure the attachment of the ends 3 and i to the upper edges of the back 5, and offer properly positioned attachment points for receptacle portions of the top latches.

Another important consideration in the positioning and proportioning of the various parts of the case is the object of maintaining longitudinally the diagonal easel-like plane of all exposed edges which serve collectively to support the cards and other materials rested thereagainst. Figure 2 shows a phantom outline X of a large card being supported both by diagonal edges of top and body sections and by the generally horizontal lines of the case all of which align in the same diagonal plane including, a baseline located between the upright section M and basal terminations of lines K-l and K-2, the horizontal hinge line 8, the upper edge of sectional partition 15, and, at the top, a line of support in substantially the same plane provided by corner sections I! and E2 to cards which might not be wide enough to overlap upright end edges PIK| and P2K2 of the case.

The interior of the case is entirely free of any transverse obstruction which might tend to limit unnecessarily the size of a card to be carried therein. A single upright partition I5 in Figure 2 runs from end to end in the center of the body section and has several functions; it contributes to the vetrical stability of the case, provides a centrally located horizontal line of support, is

particularly useful in holding cards upright when only a few remain in the case, and finally, it provides a means of separating the displays into two groups, viz.: Lecture 1, and Lecture 11, or those which have been and those yet to be shown.

The irregular line of separation between the cover portion 0 and body portion B along the line of the top I and backside 5, best seen in Figure 1, results in a narrow strip [4 of backside 5 becoming a part of cover section 0, and when the cover is in the open position, as in Figure 2, the strip l4 becomes inverted so that it extends upwardly from base line along frontal termination of the cover'portion and serves as a stop to keep displays from sliding away from the base of inclined support.

Similarly, the separation of the strip 14 results in an indenture I3 along upper edge of backside 5, shown in Figure 2, the purpose of which is to provide space through which objects contained in the case can be seen and reached without displacing or disturbing displays being exhibited on the frontal inclined surface.

The case is fabricated in a generally conventional manner and is interiorly reinforced preferably with a stout frame of glass-impregnated fireresistant fibre board to protect contents from accidental dents and abrasions. It is understood that details of construction may be varied without departing from the principles and concepts of this invention and it is, therefore, not intended to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A combined carrying case and display stand for'sheet material comprising: front and back walls, parallel top and bottom walls, and two end walls; said case including a body portion adapted to contain sheet material and a cover portion hinged to said body portion along a line dividing said front wall into upper and lower halves; said cover portion including said front wall upper half, said top wall excluding triangular divided portions at both back corners thereof, a central upper divided portion of said back wall extending between the opposed apexes of said triangular top wall portions, and upper divided portions of said end walls disposed above an inclined dividing plane that slopes upwardly from said hinge line to the forward apexes of said top wall triangular back corner portions; said top wall lying in the plane of said bottom wall when said cover portion is open with the lower edges of said upper end wall portions facing upwardly and lying in said inclined plane and with said upper central back wall portion forming a stop for sheet material supported on the inside of said cover and resting against said edges; said triangular back corner top wall portions serving to brace said back and end walls at the upper back corners of said case.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 810,293 Meaker Jan. 16, 1906 1,930,347 Meyer etal Oct. 10, 1933 1,958,600 Wright May 15, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 109,388 Great'Britain Sept. 13, 1917