US464686A - Basket-cover - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE O. GARBRANCE, OF WATERVLIET, NEW YORK.

BASKET-COVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,686, dated December 8, 1891.

Application filed August 22, 1891. Serial No. 403,393- (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. GARBRANCE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the town of WVatervliet, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain .new and usefullmprovements in Basket-Gov- .ers; and I do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in The objects of my invention are to produce a basket-cover frame of hexagon or octagon form and composed of six or eight pieces,

which will be securely held together by the respective groups of alternating tongues and mortises made with the ends of said pieces without the use of nails or glue; also, to produce a cover by combining a frame com posed of six or eight pieces united by groups of alternating tongues and mortises made with each end of each of said pieces and horizontal slats secured by nails to said framepieces; further, to provide with a basket-cover a hook having an elastic-bracket connection with the cover for engagement at will with the rim of the basket, and, finally, to provide with a basket-cover means by which several covers may be closely packed together and held securely together for storage and shipment until purposely separated. I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Fighre 1 is a plan View of the frame of the cover, with the slats indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a cover and the means for securing it to abasket. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of'three of the pieces of a cover-frame when joined together, and illustrating the means for holding the same securely joined, and also the means for securing the cover with the basket and for securing one cover with another. Fig. 4 1s a view of the hook and a bracket which serves as an elastic connection between said hook and the cover. Fig. 5 is a sectional viewof a section of a cover and rim of a basket and a hook elastically connecting the cover with the said rim; and Fig. 6 is a side View of a pack of covers, and illustrating the manner in which each cover in a pack is held secured to its neighboring covers.

The same letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A is the cover,'ma'de with an octagon form and having its frame A composed of eight pieces a a a a a a a a, securely joined together, as hereinafter described, and having the fruit-protecting slats b b secured to said frame, preferably by nails.

The frame-pieces a a are each made of about the same length as the others and with such an extension as will give to the frame, when said pieces are joined together, the size it is required to have for use with the basket it is to be used with. These pieces a a are each made the duplicate of the other, so as to be readily interchangeable with all the others in the frame, and for use for fruit-baskets-such as baskets for peaches, plums, &c..-I prefer to make them with a vertical depth of about one and one-quarter inches or more or less and with a thickness or horizontal extension of about one-half of one inch or more or less. These pieces a have their ends cut and formed at about the angle of forty-five degrees, (45,) and their outer sides are the shorter sides in each piece. lVith each end of each piece a is made a series of two or more tongues c c and a correspondingnumber of grooves or mortises e e. These tongues and their associated grooves and mortises are made on an angle corresponding with the angle of forty-five degrees (45) with which the ends of the said pieces are cut and extend inwardlyfrom each end surface to a distance corresponding with the thickness of pieces and to the shoulders c c of each tongue, as shown, with the line of each of said shoulders corresponding with those of the other shoulders and at an angle of forty-five degrees, (45,) the same as the lines of the outer end surfaces of the said tongues, so that in a plan view these tongues will be diamond-shaped in form from their shoulders c c to their outer ends. These tongues c c and recesses or mortises c e, which are shown to alternate, correspond in size as to thickness and form with each other, while each group of tongues provided with one end of each of these pieces a-say those at the right-hand end of each piece-are so arranged that the line of the lower side surface of the lower tongue of the right-hand group will coincide with the line of the lower edge surface of the several pieces as well as the piece it is itself integral with, while those of the lefthand end of each piece are so arranged that the line of the upper side surface of the upper tongue of the left-hand group of tongues will coincide with the line of the upper side surface of the said piece and also that of the like surfaces of the other pieces, so that by these arrangements of the said tongues in each end of each of the said pieces a the uppermost shoulder c of the right-hand group of tongues c will be relatively above the upper tongue of the group and the second shoulder a be relatively above the second tongue, while the lower shoulder a of the group will be relatively above the lowermost tongue of the same group, while with the left-hand group of alternating tongues and recesses the shoulder of the uppermost tongue 0 will be relatively below that tongue and that of the second tongue be also relatively below it and the lowermost tongue of that group have its shoulders relatively below, all as illustrated in Fig. 3.

\Vith the several pieces a a, composing the frame A of the cover, having with their right and left hand ends the groups of alternating tongues c c and recesses or mortises e 6, arranged as above described and shown, the left-hand end groups of alternating tongues and recesses or mortises of each of the said pieces of this frame maybe made to securely engage with those of the right-hand end groups of similar pieces by simply thrusting the tongues of the respective ends to be joined into their corresponding recesses or mortises of said respective ends and setting the inner edges of the tongues of each end close and tight up to the shoulders of the coacting tongues, which shoulders are in fact the backs of the recesses or mortises. hen the several pieces a a composing the frame A, are joined together, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1,the inner edges of the interlocking tongues of each group will be at an angle with those of the other, while the interlocking tongues of each group will be braced by the shoulders of the coacting tongues of the other group, so that the joint between the joined ends cannot be readily broken by force exerted in di- "rection from the inside of the frame outwardly and at right angles to the line of each of said pieces.

After the several pieces a a a are joined together by the interlocking groups of tongues c c, as above described, the top slats b b are secured in place on the upper side of said frame A, preferably by nails or n. These slats b b opcrate to stiffen the frame and also guard the fruit or vegetables below from being removed, and also serve as a means for supporting weight on the cover without injury to the con tents of the basket B.

This cover is provided with fastening devices applied or secured to opposite side pieces a a of the frame in such a manner that they may be readily made to engage with the rim portions B of the basket B, so as to be securely held with the same without liability of being accidentally disengaged therefrom, although these fastening-pieces may be in form of construction and operation similar to the fastening devices shown in my Letters Patent, No. 403,528, before mentioned, or other suitable forms of fastening devices may be employed; yet the fastening devices 0 and C D, the former a rigid one and the latter an elastic one, are found to be most advantageous and reliable for general use. The rigid fastening device C consists of the hook O, join ted with the staple e, secu red to the cover, and preferably by its limbs being clamped between the middle slat b and a frame-piece a, with the end portion e of one of said limbs bent atan angle and bearing against the inner side of the said frame-piece a, as shown in Fig. 1. The elastic fastening device C D is composed of the hook O and elastic bracket or staple 1), Fig. 4:. This hook C may be in form similar to hook O of the rigid fastener, and is preferably made of wire with the hook end made to terminate, as at 0 back of the how 0 of the hook and toward a line with the plane of the eye of said hook, so that when the said hook is in place, holding with the rim of the cover of the hasket, it will not be readily unhooked from the same Without an effort on the part of an operator. The elastic bracket or staple D of this hook C is made of any suitable elastic or spring wire and has integral with its limbs (Z d the elastic coils or bends cl cl and the attaching-limbs d d", by which this elastic staple or bracket is secured with the cover, preferably by being clamped between the middle slat b and the top-edge surface of piece a, as shown in the drawings. Then the said elastic bracket D is secured in place, its elastic bends or coils d (1 will be at the corner inside, where the slat joins the piece a of the frame A, and the limbs (Z d, with their common bow holding the hook, will be projected through the notch or opening a, made in the piece a, from within to the outside of the cover, as shown, with the said hook holding limbs (Z (i, when in normal situation, up against the lower side of slat b and in the upper portion of the opening a, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, so that said limbs d d may at will have their bow ends jointed with the hook depressed, the elastic coil or bends cl cl yielding from full lines to dotted lines in Fig. 5 when the hook O is to be inserted in place to engage with the rim B of the basket or be disengaged therefrom.

When the cover is to be placed and secured on the basket B, the rigid hook C will be en gaged with the rim B of the basket when the cover is turned edge down. at said hook to said rim. After such engagement of said hook O with the rim of the basket the body of the cover will be turned fiat down on the rim all around of the basket, when the operator will force the hook C, secured to the elastic bracket or staple, downwardly, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, until the nose 0 of the hook is sufficiently down below the lower edge of the rim of the basket as to allow it to be passed inside of the basket and back of the line of inside surface of said rim, when the operator will release his hold of the said hook and allow the elastic coils or bends (1' cl to operate to lift the hook through'the staple-limbs d cl, working in the opening a of the cover, when the hook C will be raised from dotted lines to full lines and be brought in secure engagement with the rim B of the basket, as shown in Fig. 5.

Made in the cover-frame A and into pieces a a opposite each other in said frame are notches f f, cut into said pieces from their lower edges, as shownin Fig. 2. These notches f f are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and one of them is shown in full lines in sectional View in Fig. 2, and also in'perspective in a piece a of the section of cover-frame shown in perspective in Fig. 3, and also in full lines in Fig. 6. By means of these notches ffin the cover-frame severalsay twenty or more or lessof these improved covers can be packed and tightly held together for storage or for transportation without employing any device foreign to the cover for binding or holding such a number together in package.

When several of these covers are to be packed and secured together, as shown in Fig. 6, the upper cover of a neighboring pair of covers will be so placed that the hooks O C will be brought to face the said notches f f and engage with the same, which may be readily done by the same operations had with each cover and its hooks with the rim of the basket, as above described, as the hooks of the upper cover of a neighboring pair of covers will be made to engage with the notched member or piece a at notch f, the same as they would or will with the rim of the basket.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a detachable cover for baskets, the combination, with frame A, composed of six or more pieces a a, having formed with their respective ends the groups of the alternating recesses or mortises e e and tenons c 0, having shoulders c c occurring in each group, as described, for the purposes set forth, of slats Z) Z), secured to said frame, substantially as described.

2. In a detachable cover for baskets, and in,

combination with the same, the rigid hook C, secured to one side edge of said cover, and the hook O, secured by an elastic bracket or staple with the opposite side edge of the same, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a detachable cover for baskets, the combination, with the cover-frame having notches f f made in the lower side margins, of two oppositely-located pieces or members of the same, a rigid hook O, secured to another member of the frame, which quarters with said notched members,andan elasticallysupported hook 0', located opposite said rigid hook, whereby the said hooks may be made to engage with the notched members of a similar neighboring cover-frame and said notched members be engaged with the hooks provided with a similarsecond neighboring cover, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In combination with a detachable basketcover, the rigidly-attached hook C and the hook O and elastic bracket or staple D, substantially as and for-the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in pres.

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