US750783A - Banana-shipping case - Google Patents

Description

No. 750,783. PATENTED JAN. 26, 1904. F. SGHMITZ.

BANANA SHIPPING CASE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1902.

NO MODEL.

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i ,f A A UNITED STATES Patented January 26, 1904. I

FRANK SOHMITZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANANA-SHIPPING 'c'AsE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No; 750,783, dated January 26, 1904.

Application filed January 22, 1902. Serial No. 90,736. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK SoHMITz, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Banana-Shipping Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in banana-shipping cases, the object of which is to produce a case which is cheap, light, and strong and which while perfectly ventilated will accommodate various sizes of bunches of bananas and cushion the same, so as to prevent the bruising of the fruit.

To this end the invention relates to certain novel features of construction, a description of which will be found in the following speciiication and the essential features pointed out in the claims.

The invention is illustrated by means of drawings furnished herewith, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional perspective taken longitudinally through a case built upon the general plan'of my improved case. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken in the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective of my paddingstrip, and Fig. 4 is a perspective of a hood or cap adapted to be pulled down upon the bunch of bananas to protect the same from the top and to center it with respect to the case.

In this construction, A represents an openwork crate made up of longitudinal slats a and encircling hoops a a a (4*, connecting said slats to form a substantial frame capable of supporting a bunch of bananas. Within this crate is suspended a funnel-shaped bottom B, preferably made up of some fabric, such as burlap or the like, which is pliable and forms a support for the bananas, besides allowing air to pass freely through it. As shown, this bottom is secured to the hoop a by securing its top between the hoop and the slats, where it may be tacked to the hoop or otherwise secured thereto, as desired. The inclosing wall of the case (seen at (3) consists, preferably, of a sheet of elastic material such as very stout paper,veneer, papier-mziche', or some like substance which may be rolled into a cylindrical shape, but on account of its elasticity will tend to unroll, and thereby when placed within the crate will expand and hold itself firmly in place. Such a casing may be placed Within the crate and may either rest upon the hoop a and be confined between it and the hoop (L2 or may extend beyond the hoop (b or the hoop (f, or both of them, and be held in place either by its own elasticity or by any other suitable means.

To more perfectly cushion the fruit, I have placed the padding-strips C U, 850., between the tubular casing and the walls of the crate. These strips may be laid upon the longitudinal bars of the crate or they may follow the line of the horizontal hoops in the crate; but in the preferred form the first of these methods is used, as shown in the drawings. While these padding-strips may be formed of any suitable padding material, the preferred form is that shown in Fig. 3, where C represents a paper covering rolled about a bundle of hay, excelsior, or a like substance. The corners c c are bent over, as shown in the drawings, in order to retain the packing material within the tube and to give additional strength to the tube where it is fastened to the crate. These strips are fastened in the crate as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end with the cornersc 0 being preferably secured between one of the horizontal hoops and the longitudinal bars and the upper end of the packing-strip being held in place by the strings which are used to tie on the f unnel-shaped cap used as a covering.

In using the case a bunch of bananas may be placed therein with one end centered in the funnel-shaped bottom B. If necessary, asuitable fillingsuch as hay,&c.may be packed in between the bunch and the casing; but this is not essential, as the cap D may be pulled down upon the other end, so that the bananas will be practically held between the two ends B and D. In pulling the cap down it may be necessary when a bunch of bananas is quite short to pull it over the casing, as seen in Fig. 1, and the top of the casing because of its elasticity will enter the top and be held between it and the hoop (t at the bottom.

It is obvious that in packing bunches ofbananas of various sizes the casing may be made of greater or less height by using longer or shorter sheets of material and that in this way a great Variety of sizes of bunches may be accommodated.

The construction is extremely simple, cheap, and light, and if the casing becomes damaged anew one maybe readily inserted in its place.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a banana-shipping case, the combination with a suitable crate, a suitable bottom suspended therein and an elastic tubular casing confined within said crate, of packingstrips confined between said elastic casing and the walls of said crate and running about said tubular casing in a transverse direction; substantially as described.

2. In a banana-shipping case, the combination with a suitable crate, a bottom suspended therein and an elastic tubular casing support- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my 7 hand, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 28th day of October,

FRANK SCHMITZ.

Witnesses:

CHAs. O. SHERVEY, S. BLIss.

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