US2758740A - Attachable handled baskets - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1956 s'. c'. LAMPERT 2,758,740

ATTACHABLE HANDLED BASKETS Filed Sept. 29, 1953 l 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sadfon l C. Lampert ATTORNEY INVENTOR Aug. 14, 1956 s. c. LAMPr-:RT 2,758,740

ATTACHABLE HANDLED BASKETS Filed Sept. 29, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTRV Sadron Lampert ATTORNEY;

United States Patent O A'I'IACHIABLE HANDLED BASKETS Sadron C. Lampert, Norfolk, Va., assignor to Farmers Incorporated, Norfolk, Va., a corporation of Virginia Application September 29, 19S3,.Serial No. 382,895

` 1 Claim. (Cl. 217-125) This invention relates to wooden receptacles and more specifically to attachable-handled baskets.

An important object of the invention is to provide a handled wooden basket for use in packing, shipping, storing and marketing fruit, for example, and the basket bodies may be closely nested, with the handles detached, but the latter may be quickly and easily rigidly attached, by simple upward movements of the handles, to the upper spaced-apart flexible and normally substantially paralleling upper border `bands of the basket bodies, to then remain rigidly opstanding.

Another important object is to provide baskets in which the handles may vbe rigidly attached without the employment of tools or wrap-around manipulations and without bending the upper substantially vertical border bands of the basket bodies, even temporarily, inwardly into the compartments of the basket bodies.

Still another important object is to provide a handle or bail of springy material, as heavy wire, with specially designed free ends, lfor association with the iiexible or springy upper spaced-apart and paralleling border bands of basket bodies to provide baskets-with rigid upstanding handles.

Furthermore, an important object is to provide handles or bails of springy material which may be employed as handles for baskets having associated border bands of varying widths, since the handles may be attached land will remain upright upon baskets, even where one border band may be of one width and its associated border band of a greater or less width. Such imperfections of 'basket border bands are not uncommon.

Another important object is to provide handles or balls of springy material which may be securely attached to remain upright on baskets having associated border bands, one of which may be disposed with a portion above or below the horizontal Vplane of the upper edge of the other border'band or one of which bands k.may bedisposed with a lower edge portion below the .horizontal `plane of the lower edge of the other border band. Or'one or both bands may have imperfections whereby a ragged edge or edges are presented at the areas engaged by .the handles.

In addition, an important object is to provide baskets, as described, in which the handles may be securely attached to and will extend upright from the basket bodies despite variations inthe thicknesses yof the spacedfapart border bands or variations in the distances they are spaced apart. This is especially important since, in practice, the thicknesses of such bands vary as does the distance they are spaced apart. For example, one band may be one-sixteenth inch thick and the paralleling band three-thirty-seconds inch thick, while the spacing may vary from one-eighth inch to one-fourth inch due to the thicknesses of the basket body wall panels, as well as swelling and distortion of the material of the bands.

Also, an important object is to provide a basket and readily-attached handle which requires no perforating of 2,758,740 Patentednug. 14, 1956" ICC I' in which drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan of a basket body.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section thereof, substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with the basket nested withV another 'basket of like configuration.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the basket body and its border bands and illustrating a method of securing one to the other.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the basket handle.

Fig. 5 is a section, along the lines of Fig. 2, showing one step in the method of attaching the handle of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a similar section, with the handle attached.

Fig. 7 is a top plan of a lid for the basket.

Fig. 8 is a View, along the lines of Fig. 6, with the lid in place on the basket.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the severa-l views, .the letter A ydesignates the basket as a whole, comprising the basket body B, the handle C and klid or closure D.

The basket body B is shown to include spaced-apart side wall panels 10 slopingupwardly from a bottom wall 11 and, with end wall panels 12 and upper outer and inner border bands 13 and 14, define an upwardly-opening compartment 15. The side Wall panels 10 are spaced apart so that there is a space or recess toeither side of the transverse medial axis of the basket sides.

With special reference to the upper border . bands 13 and 14, these are of thin flexible or springy material, such as thin wood veneer, and are disposed in substantial parallelism, with the band 13 against the outer faces of the upper extremities of the side and end wall . panels 10 and 12 and the band 14 against the inner faces of these panels. The upper edges 16 of the bands are preferably ush with the upper edges of the panels 10 and 12. As an example of the width of the bands, they may be substantially one inch from ,the edges 16 to the lower edges 17. In the manufacture of the bands, owing to wood grain, kinds of wood employed, diierent periods of curing and differences in sawing, the bands may vary in thickness and also may be warped. In addition, they may be spaced apart various distances, due to `differences in the thicknesses,vfor example,.of ,the side panelsor because of warping or, as may be seen in the upper portion of Fig. 1, due to the overlapping of the outer border band 13. However, there is, due to the spacing apart of-the adjacent side edges ofthe side wall ypanels 10, a defined normally unoccupied or free space 18, to either side of the transverse medial axis of the bands at the sides of the basket body, delined 'by the facingV side edges of adjacent side wall panels 10and adjacent bands 13 and 14. For example, this spacev may be threequarters inch long. p

Thebands may =be secured to the wall panels vin'any approved way such as by conventional staples 19 which are quite generally used for that purpose, and shown in Fig. 3. These bands 13 and 14 define the mouth of the compartment 15 of the basket body.

Referring now mainly to Fig. 4, the handle C is of bail shape and springy and it may be constructed of a single length of heavy wire such as gage number l0 (of American wire gages). Each handle C includes a hand grip portion 20, a pair of diverging portions 21 extending therefrom, a pair of short portions 22 extending inwardly from the lower ends of the portions 21, forming obtuse angles therewith and defining shoulders 23, a pair of inner border band-engaging portions 24 extending from the lower ends of the portions 22, a pair of bight portions 25 at the lower ends of the portions 24 and extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of outer border band-engaging portions 26 extending upwardly from the outer ends of the bights 2S and slightly inwardly toward their associated portions 24 and terminating at their upper free ends in slightly outturned terminal portions 27. The portions 24 and 26 with the bights 25 may be regarded as the end or terminal parts of the handle for association with the border bands of the basket body.

From Fig. 8, for example, it will be seen that the lengths of the portions 24 and 26 are such that the portions 22 will clear the inner border bands 14- and the terminal portions 27 will clear the lid D. The normal distance between the facing surfaces of the portions 24 and 26 is less than the normal width of the free space 1S plus the thickness of the bands 13 and 14. For example, this normal distance may be three-sixteenths to seven-thirty-seconds inch while the combined normal width and thickness of the space 18 and bands 13 and 14 may be iive-sixteenths inch. As a result, when the handle C is in position as in Figs. 6 and 8, the spaces 18 are narrowed in width (as may be seen by comparing Figs. 2 and 5 with Figs. 6 and 8) while the shortest vdistances between the facing surfaces of the portions 24 and 26 are widened. Thus, there is cooperation between the spacedapart bands 13 and 14 at the free spaces 18 on the one hand, and the portions 24 and 26 on the other hand, to cause the portions 24 and 26 to grip the bands 13 and 14 firmly so that the entire handle C will remain upright. Fig. illustrates how the handle C is canted so that one end portion thereof may be inserted into the compartment 15 until the portion 27 clears the lower edges 17 of the bands 13 and 14 and this end portion then drawn upwardly. The two bands, at the free space, 18 will give enough so that this may be accomplished. The outturned terminal portions 27 enable the portions 26 to ride over the lower edges 17 without snagging or splitting the bands or otherwise damaging them.

It will be noted that these operations require no puncturing of the bands 13 and 14 nor of the panels 10. Nor are any so-called Wrap-around operations required. The bands 13 and 14 are contacted along substantially their entire width by the portions 24 and 26 of the handle and there are no points, projections nor free ends of the handle Within the compartment 15, which would tend to damage the contents of the basket.

The lid D of Figs. 7 and 8 is of generally conventional construction and provided with a pair of axially-aligning centrally-disposed recesses 30 disposed adjacent the side edges 31 of the lid and adapted to receive portions of the handle C as shown in Fig. 8. The handle prevents longitudinal and transverse sliding of the lid. It will be noted in Fig. 8 that the portions of the lid adjacent the edges 31 overhang the terminal portions 27 of the handle C which are outwardly of the basket body and do not tend to damage the contents of the basket compartment 15.

When knocked down, with the handle C removed and disposed upon the bottom wall 11, the basket bodies B may be nested, as two are shown in Fig. 2, and the lids disposed one upon another to provide, in all, a compact 4 arrangement for shipment and storage of the basket parts before assembling and lling of the baskets.

However, the major contribution to the art resides in the provision of basket bodies having resilient or springy parallel bands, spaced apart, and providing a free space between them at the transverse center of the side walls of the basket body in combination with a springy material handle which, when applied as described, will cause the bands, at the space mentioned, to move toward each other while the portions 24 and 26 of the handle are forced apart and, these portions and the bands tend to retain the handle in an upright position against any tendancy to swing or tip to an inclined position.

Various changes may be made to the form of inven tion herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the claim.

What is claimed is:

ln combination with a basket body having upwardlyextending facing walls defining an upwardly-opening compartment and each of two opposite of said walls being provided with a recess at its upper end portion, and inner and outer spaced-apart border bands of springy material facing each other and with portions of said bands disposed across the sides of said recesses and secured to said walls, the walls of portions of said recesses and said portions of said bands `defining free spaces, a lid for said compartment and being provided with opposite edge portions outwardly overhanging the outer faces of the outer border bands, each of said opposite edge portions being provided with a recess spaced inwardly of the outer edges of said opposite edge portions and with the mouths of the recesses facing one another, and a handle for the basket body having a first pair of upwardly-extending portions facing one another, extending in gripping relation over portions of the outer faces of said inner border bands at the free spaces and into said recesses, and a second pair of upwardly-extending portions, facing one another, extending in gripping relation over portions of the outer faces of said outer border bands at the free spaces and with the free ends of the second upwardlyextending portions being beneath said opposite edge portions outwardly overhanging the outer faces of the outer border bands, all of said upwardly-extending portions being of springy material, said bands at said spaces being forced by said upwardly-extending portions toward each other and said bands at said spaces tending to force said upwardly-extending portions apart, whereby said handle will be firmly secured to said basket body, in an upright position, against tipping.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 410,686 Gandy Sept. l0, 1889 669,768 Sitterly Mar. 12, 1901 1,442,955 Lane Ian. 23, 1923 1,447,800 McLennan et al. Mar. 6, 1923 1,598,755 Townsend Sept. 7, 1926 1,931,329 Sherman Oct. 17, 1933 1,967,642 Williams et al July 24, 1934 2,017,782 Bacon Oct. 15, 1935 2,124,217 Van Benschoten July 19, 1938 2,195,070 Backert Mar. 26, 1940 2,554,025 Harrison May 22, 1951

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