US575429A - Mail-bag - Google Patents

Description

G. A. PILE, AIL BAG.

7 m kw,

m l; M

(N0 Model.)

UNTTED STATES PATENT OE ICE.

GEORGE A. PILE, OF JENNERSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

MAIL-BAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,429, dated January 19, 1897.

Application filed June 25,1896. smart. 596,856. (NomodelJ T0 (tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. PILE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Jennerstown, in the county of Somerset and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Bags, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in mail-bags, and has for its object to provide a simple and effective means for closing and locking the mouth thereof; and for this purpose it consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an open bag provided with this invention. Fig. 2 is a section through the mouth of the bag, and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail sectional views.

The bag A may be of any approved mate rial and construction, and has its top edges formed into a channel a, in which is contained the mouth-frame 1. This frame consists of four strips 2, each having its ends hinged to the contiguous ends of the adjoining strips, and as the frame is adapted to fold flat, as shown in Fig. 2, and when opened to form a parallelogram, two'of these strips form the front of the frame and two the rear. Those strips that form the front have projecting from their rear faces hooks 3, while the rear strips have apertures 4 therein corresponding in position to the hooks and through which the latter may pass when the bag is closed.

A pair of hinged slides 5, each of which is composed of a rigid piece, is contained within the rear channel of the top of the bag and upon the outside of the strips 2 therein, the hinge between the slides when the latter are in their unlocked position being directly on the outside of the hinge between the rear strips of the frame, thereby permitting the bag to open to the formshown in Fig. 1. slides 5 are provided with apertures 6, registering with the apertures 4 in the rear strips of the frame when the slides 5 are in their unlocked position, thus permitting the passage of the hooks 3 through the apertures 4 and 6, whereupon if the slides be moved in the proper direction the hooks will be en- The;

gaged and the mouth of the bag prevented from opening. In order to provide for this movement of the slides and for locking them in the position to which they may be moved, the exterior end of one of the slides has hinged thereto a bent hasp 7, which is pivoted thereto and is adapted to be brought over an eye 8 on the front of the bag and there secured by a suitable lock 9. As will be seen, the shape of the hasp is such that in folding it against the.front of the bag for this purpose theslides will be drawn Within the channel a, thus reducing the number of movements necessary to close and lock the bag. In order to similarly reduce to a minimum the number of movements necessary for opening the bag, I may in a slot 10, cut in one of the strips 2, place a spring 11, one end of which bears against the end of the slot and the other end of which is secured to the slide 5 contiguous to it, the spring being compressed when the slides are moved to engage the hooks, thus storing up power which when the lock is moved will be exerted in automatically throwing the slides back into their normal or unlocked position, thus disengaging the hooks.

As an additional safeguard I may also form another slot 12 in one of the slides and secure to the adjacent strip a flat spring 13, having a boss 14 upon its outer surface, the said spring being contained within the slot 12, with the end of which the free end of the spring is adapted to engage when the slides are in their locked positions. As such a boss will be concealed in any desired manner, it will be obvious that it will be impossible for any person not acquainted with the position of the boss to open the bag, to do which it is necessary to press upon the boss, whereby the end of the spring will be pressed flat upon the strip and disengaged from the slide, permitting the movement of the latter.

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

1. The combination of a hinged mouthframe, composed of hinged part-s folding fiat, the front of said frame having hooks thereon and the rear of the frame having apertures therein, hinged slides upon the rear of the frame having apertures adapted to receive the hooks, an eye upon the front of the bag,

a hasp pivoted to the slides and adapted to move the slides, a spring having its opposite ends secured to the said frame and slides, and adapted to throw the slides upon the release of the hasp, and a spring-lock contained within the material of the bag and adapted to lock one of the slides to the adjoining part of the frame.

2. In a mail-bag, the combination with a bag provided at its upper end with a channel, of a locking device seated in said channel and consisting of a sliding bar designed to engage flanged fingers, a coiled spring connected to said sliding arm, the opposite end bearing against the frame in the channel of the bag, I 5

to engage the end of the slot of the sliding 2o locking-bar.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. PILE.

WVitnesses:

J. J. MEsHLER, Ms. M. COVER.

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