Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1898
I, SAMUEL SIDNEY BROMHEAD, of 171, Queen Victoria Street, in the City and
County of London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
The invention relates to receptacles for hats, particularly ladies hats, and the
object of the invention is to provide a box containing a rack, upon which a number
of hats may be placed one above the other, each hat being supported indepen-
dently of the others to prevent the weight of those in the upper part of the box from
crushing or otherwise damaging those beneath, the slide or bar of the rack con-
stituting a brace for the wall of the receptacle; a further object is to provide a
hat box, having a removable rack to permit access to hats at the lower end of the
rack without disturbing those above, and to permit all the hats to be removed
simultaneously from the box to be dusted or exhibited when the device is used in
millinery or gents furnishing stores.
The invention consists generally in a box, having a removable rack arranged
therein, said rack comprising an upright slide, which serves as a brace for the walls
of the box, and a series of brackets or hooks thereon, and means for supporting
said rack in an upright position and permitting the removal thereof; and further
the invention consists in various constructions and combinations all as hereinafter
described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,
Fig. 1 is a hat box embodying my invention.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same.
Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the interior wall of the box, showing the vertical
guides.
Fig. 4 is a view of the removable rack.
Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the hooks or brackets, and
Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view on the line
of Fig. 2.
In the drawings, 2 represents the box made preferably of pasteboard, and sub-
stantially cylindrical in form, having a cover 3 which fits down closely over the
open end of the box to exclude dust and dirt therefrom. I have shown the box
made sufficiently deep to accommodate a series of three hooks to support as many
hats placed one above the other in the box, but if desired, the box may be made
deeper to accommodate a larger number. Upon the inner wall of the box I provide
the strips or plates 4, preferably of pasteboard, secured in a vertical position to the
inner wall by pasting or in any other suitable manner, and having their adjacent
longitudinal edges turned outwardly to form the vertical flanges or guides 5,
between which the rack is vertically slidable. This rack comprises a bar or slide 6,

page_text: substantially triangular in cross section arranged to slide freely between the
guides 5, and provided upon its inner surface with a series of hooks or brackets 7,
each having a downwardly turned loop at one end to receive the screw 8, by means
of which the bracket is secured to the slide 6, and upwardly turned at its free end
and provided with a horizontal loop 9 to support the crown of a hat and hold the
same in a horizontal position. The hooks or brackets 7 are arranged at intervals
on the slide 6, and there are as many of them as there are hats to be placed in the
box. As each hat is supported on the frames or brackets independently of the
others, it is obvious that by removing the rack from the box a hat may be taken
off the rack without handling the others, and when the box is used in millinery
or gents furnishing stores the hats may be exhibited or dusted without being
handled, and those at the bottom of the box will be in no danger of being crushed
or damaged by the weight of those above.
Near the end of the slide 6, as shown in Fig. 4, I provide a notch or recess 10,
to permit the slide to be easily grasped by the fingers of the operator and removed
from the box. Instead of having a notch in the slide itself,
may provide a nob
or button thereon, for the same purpose. The slide also constitutes a brace for
the wall of the box or receptacle.
By making a box of sufficient diameter, I may arrange several slides within the
box, so that a large number of hats may be placed therein and protected from dust
until such time as they are needed. While I prefer to use the form of guides shown
herein, on account of its cheapness, I do not confine myself to this exact construc-
tion, as any device which would retain the slide in an upright position and at the
same time permit it to be moved freely up and down in the box would be
applicable for the purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The hat box comprising a receptacle having its walls formed of light material
and provided with a vertical slide to brace the same, and a bracket extended from
said slide and adapted to be inserted and removed from the box with the slide, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described.
2. The hat box comprising a receptacle having its walls formed of light material,
a vertical slide to brace the wall, and a series of brackets arranged upon said slide
one above the other and at such distances apart that a hat may be placed on each
bracket and removed therefrom without disturbing the other hats either above or
below it, said slide and brackets being removable together from the receptacle,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 18th day of October 1898.