US936028A - Crate. - Google Patents

Description

DON F. PAYNE, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

Application filed October 26, 1908. Serial No. 459,480.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DON F. PAYNE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Corpus Christi, in the county of Nueces and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Crate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to crates used for shipping, my more particular purpose being to provide a type of crate which maybe folded readily when not in use, and provided with top and bottom members detachable from other portions of the crate and adapted to be sprung into position for the purpose of holding them securely.

My invention further relates to means for securing the removable members of the crate firmly in position relatively to the body portion, by aid of appropriate fastenings.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective showing the crate provided with its bottom member, the top member, however, being removed; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the crate as it appears when the top member is being placed in position upon it; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the top member as sprung into its normal position; and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing how the body portion of the crate is folded.

A number of rods 5 are connected together by aid of side panels 6 and end panels 7. Four rods 8, 9, 10, 11 connect the side and end panels together at their ends, thus forming hinged corners for the purpose of enabling the body portion to be readily folded, as will be understood from the diagram in Fig. 4. The top and bottom removable members are exactly alike, the top member being shown in perspective in the upper lefthand portion of Fig. 1.

A number of thin boards 12 of spring material are connected together by aid of slats 13, 11, 15, the slats 13, 15 being somewhat thinner than the slat 1 1. In order to insert either of the removable members, it is placed in such position (see Fig. 2) that the slat 13 projects partially beneath one of the end panels 7, the slat 14; resting directly upon the side panels 6, while the slat 15 is raised slightly above the under side of the other end panel 7. The slat 15 is next depressed a little so that the adjacent ends of the boards 12 slip underneath the end panel 7 at that end of the crate. This securely fastens the removable member in position, as will be understood from Fig. 3. The slat 11 is a little longer than the slats 13 in order to support the removable member while the slats 13, 15 are being adjusted relatively to the end panels 7 The ends of the boards 12 project slightly beyond the adjacent slats 13, 15, so that when a removable member is placed in position as indicated in Fig. 3, the slats 13, 15 have little or no play relatively to the end panels 7, and yet the ends of the boards 12 are not so much restrained and simply cling against the inner surfaces of the end panels by their own spring pressure. Wire fastenings 16 are secured to the ends of the slat 1 1, and are adapted for engagement with nails 17 which are driven partially into the side panels 6. \Vhen the removable members are placed in position, the wire fastenings 16 are secured and this being done they serve to hold the removable members more firmly in position.

The operation of my device is as follows: The body portions of the crates are, for purposes of shipping in bulk, flattened out as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, these body portions and the removable members being shipped separately or together, as desired. In order to fit up the crate ready to receive material to be transported, the body portion is arranged as indicated in Fig. 1. The detachable member serving as the bottom is placed in position as above described, the crate is turned so that the detachable member just mentioned is downward, the material to be transported is next placed in the crate, and finally the detachable member representing the top is placed in position as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The wire fastenings are neat secured and this completes the operation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with end panels and with side panels, and a detachable member provided with a slat for engaging saidside panels and thus momentarily supporting said detachable member, said detachable member being further provided with spring boards for engaging the under side of said end panels and being also provided with slats disposed at its ends to prevent said detachable member from moving in the general direc tion of its length or from becoming detached from said end panels.

2. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with panels disposed in one plane and with other panels crossing said first-mentioned panels and disposed in another plane, and a detachable member comprising a number of spring boards connected together by a central panel, said central panel being long enough to reach entirely across said body portion and overlap said first-mentioned panels, said detachable member being further provided with portions to be sprung under said first-mentioned panels, and fastening members for connecting the overlapping portions of said central panel to the adjacent portions of said first-mentioned panels.

3. In a crate, the combination of a body portion provided with end panels and with side panels, said side panels comprising a plurality of rods disposed parallel with each other, two of said rods, located at the ends of each side panel, serving as pintles upon which said end panels are journaled for the purpose of allowing the same to bend relatively to said side panels, and a detachable member provided with a centrally disposed slat for engaging said side panels and thus materially supporting said detachable member, said detachable member being further provided with spring boards for engaging said end panels, and also provided with slats disposed at its ends to prevent said detachable member from moving in the general direction of its length, or from becoming detached from said end panels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DON F. PAYNE.

\Vitnesses Cums. L. YUNG, MILDRED SEATON.

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