US3675814A

US3675814A - Auxiliary carrier for portable boxes

Info

Publication number: US3675814A
Application number: US83138A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edwin H Graf
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-10-22
Filing date: 1970-10-22
Publication date: 1972-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-11

Abstract

A pair of corner brackets are removably strapped to spaced corners at the front of the cover of a lunch box of the type having an outwardly projecting surrounding rib where the cover and main body meet, each bracket having the upper end of a Ushaped clip attached thereto whereby an elongated item may be releasably held by the clips in a position close to the body of the lunch box and extending longitudinally thereof below the cover.

Description

United States Patent Graf [54] AUXILIARY CARRIER FOR PORTABLE BOXES Edwin H. Grai, W 187, S6876 Jewel Crest Drive, Muskego, Wis. 53150 Oct. 22, 1970 Inventor:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

US. Cl. ..220/85 R, 190/60, 206/4, 224/ Q Int. Cl ..A45r 13/40, Bd 25/00 Field of Search 190/42, 52, 60; 206/4, 47 R; 220/18, 23.4, R, 85 H; 224/45 Q; 211/89;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 676,310 6/1901 Goldberg ..l90/60 523,953 7/1894 Albershardt ..l90/60 51 July 11, 1972 3,233,856 2/1966 Ammerman ..248/3l6 D X 3,347,354 10/1967 West 3,035,803 5/ 1962 Miller ..248/3 1 3 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 6,512,498 3/1967 Netherlands /60 Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant EmminerSteven E. Lipman Attorney-Morse & Morsell [57] ABSTRACT A pair of comer brackets are removably strapped to spaced comers at the front of the cover of a lunch box of the type having an outwardly projecting surrounding rib where the cover and main body meet, each bracket having the upper end of a U-shaped clip attached thereto whereby an elongated item may be releasably held by the clips in a position close to the body of the lunch box and extending longitudinally thereof below the cover.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PKTE'N'T'EDJUL n 1912 3.675.814

lllllll:|ll]lllllll|llllll/IITII114 INVENTOR EDWIN H.6RAF

ATTORNEYS AUXILIARY CARRIER FOR PORTABLE BOXES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an attachment whereby an elongated item such as a folded newspaper may be releasably carried on the exterior of a conventional lunch box.

2. Description of the Prior Art Workmen with lunch boxes commonly purchase newspapers in the morning and carry them to work. It is inconvenient, particularly when traveling on mass transportation facilities, to carry the lunch box in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand as it leaves no hand free. Also, the user is frequently carrying other items such as topcoat, umbrella, or the like, which makes it inconvenient to carry a newspaper separately. In my prior application, Ser. No. 65,967, filed Aug. 21, 1970, an auxiliary carrier is disclosed which is suitable for use on one type of lunch box. Another type of lunch box is commonly made of plastic and has interfitting, outwardly projecting ribs at the upper edges of the main body and at the lower edges of the cover. This type of lunch box also has a lower body portion which is downwardly tapered so that a carrier of the type shown in my co-pending application would not stay in position.

With the above in mind, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple removable auxiliary carrier which permits the user to carry both the lunch box and newspaper in one hand in a convenient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides spaced, yielding clips removably strapped to spaced comers of the cover of that type of lunch box which has outwardly projecting, interfitting ribs between the upper edge of the body and the lower edge of the cover, the clips being positioned to releasably hold a newspaper or the like close to the body portion of the box.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment as above described arranged so that the ribs at the lower edge of the cover serve to hold the attachment against undesired downward movement on the lunch box.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in combination with a lunch box of the type described, an attachment wherein strap means extending around the lunch box cover is employed to readily connect the attachment to said cover, said strap means being readily removable with the attachment without unbuckling the strap.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary carrier in which the brackets and clips may be readily formed of sheet metal, plastic, or other low-cost material, thereby providing a device which is inexpensive to manufacture.

A further, more specific, object of the invention is to provide, in combination with a lunch box, clip means at opposite ends of the cover of the lunch box for releasably carrying a newspaper or other elongated item.

Still further objects of the invention are to provide, in combination with a lunch box, a novel attachment for lunch boxes which is easy to install and remove, which can be readily carried within the empty lunch box when not in use, which is durable and long-lasting, and which is otherwise well adapted for its intended purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing, illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a lunch box with the improved attachment in position thereon;

FIG. 2 is an end view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken approximately on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one of the comer brackets and clips, the ends of the strap being broken away; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a folded newspaper in position in the clips of the attachment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularly to the drawing, there is illustrated a lunch box 10 of the type which is usually made of plastic and which conventionally has an external rib 11 at the lower margin of the cover which meets and interfits with an external rib 12 at the upper margin of the lower body portion. The lower body portion includes a generally rectangular bottom 13, front wall 14, a back wall 15, and a pair of

end walls

16 and 17. The end walls are approximately parallel to one another. The front and

rear walls

14 and 15 converge somewhat downwardly as shown in FIG. 2. The cover 18 has upwardly converging front and

rear walls

19 and 20. The cover is joined to the back wall of the lower body by hinge means 21. Suitable coacting latch means 22 are provided on the cover and on the front wall 14 to permit the cover to be readily latched in its closed condition. An external handle 23 is mounted on top of the cover.

The carrier attachment includes left and

right hand brackets

24 and 25, each bracket being L-shaped and otherwise shaped to fit around the

tapered comers

26 and 27 of the cover 18 of the lunch box.

Clips

28 and 29, which are U-shaped, have rear legs with upper ends connected to the front portions of the

brackets

24 and 25. The rear legs project downwardly to near the bottom of the lunch box and there are upwardly extending yielding

front legs

30 and 31. The clips may be formed of metal, plastic, or other durable but relatively inexpensive material.

While the bracket and clip may be integral, particularly if plastic is used, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, the upper end of the rear leg of each clip is connected-to the front of its bracket by upper and lower sets of spacers 32 so as to provide a transverse slot 33 between the upper and lower spacers through which a strap 34 may extend. One end of the strap is equipped with a buckle 35 which may be detachably engaged by the other end of the strap 36, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to fasten the carrier around the cover. When in the position of FIGS. 1 and 2 the lower edges of the

brackets

24 and 25 are supported on the cover ribs 11 against downward movement. Due to the taper of the cover as shown in FIG. 2 it is apparent that the attachment may be readily removed without unbuckling the strap by merely slipping the strap upwardly on the cover. Ifdesired, an adjustable tie bar section 37 may be riveted or otherwise secured to the inner leg of the clip 28 to extend longitudinally across the front of the lunch box, and a similar tie bar section 38 may project from the clip 29. These tie bars may be provided with registering slots 39 whereby, upon tightening a bolt 40, the tie bars may be adjustably secured in a desired overlapping condition depending upon the length of the lunch box. This tie bar serves to reinforce the lower portions of the clips.

When the user is going to work the folded newspaper 41 or other elongated item may be slipped between the front wall 14 of the box and the yielding

clips

30 and 31, as shown in FIG. 5, to extend longitudinally of the lunch box. A standard newspaper is of just slightly greater length, when folded, than the lunch box. By grasping the handle 23 of the lunch box the user may carry both the lunch box and newspaper in one hand, leaving the other hand free.

After he has finished reading the newspaper, if he does not desire to take it home with him, the attachment may be quickly removed from the lunch box and carried home inside of the empty box, or the attachment may be used for carrying other items home, such as elongated packages or the evening paper if it is purchased on the way home.

It is to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a lunch box having an upright wall and having a movable cover, said box being of a type wherein its main body has an upper edge rib and wherein the cover has a lower edge rib interfitting with the rib of the body when the cover is closed, horizontally spaced brackets supported on said cover in a position where said cover rib limits downward movement, and clips carried by each bracket in a position to removably support an item adjacent a wall of the box, each bracket being L-shaped and including a flange fitting around an upright corner of the cover, with each bracket being seated on the cover rib.

2. In combination with a lunch box having an upright wall and having a movable cover, said box being of a type wherein its main body has an upper edge rib and wherein the cover has a lower edge rib interfitting with the rib of the body when the cover is closed, bracket means supported on said cover in a position where said cover rib limits downward movement, clip means carried by said bracket means in a position to removably support an item adjacent a wall of the box, and strap means detachably connecting the bracket means to said cover.

3. In combination with a lunch box having an upright wall and having a movable cover, said box being of a type wherein its main body has an upper edge rib and wherein the cover has a lower edge rib interfitting with the rib of the body when the cover is closed, horizontally spaced brackets supported on said cover in a position where said cover rib limits downward movement, and clips carried by each bracket in a position to removably support an item adjacent a wall of the box, each bracket having a horizontal slot and there being strap means extending through said slots detachably connecting the brackets to the cover.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 2 in which the cover of the lunch box is tapered upwardly and in which the strap means fits removably over said taper to a position above the cover rib.

5. In combination with a lunch box having an upright wall and having a movable cover, said box being of a type wherein its main body has an upper edge rib and wherein the cover has a lower edge rib interfitting with the rib of the body when the cover is closed, horizontally spaced brackets supported on said cover in a position where said cover rib limits downward movement, and clips carried by each bracket in a position to removably support an item adjacent a wall of the box, each clip being U-shaped and having an upper end connected to a bracket and having a portion extending downwardly in front of the main body portion of the lunch box and then upwardly, there being tie bar means adjustably connecting the lower portions of the clips to each other.