IMPROVEMENTS IN PACKING BOXES OR CASES FOR TIN, TERNE, IRON, OR OTHER METAL PLATES OR SHEETS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR OTHER MATERIALS OR SUBSTANCES OR FABRICS." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hopkin Thomas, of Maesteg, in the County of
Glamorgan, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PACKING BOXES OR
CASES FOR TIN, TERNE, IRON, OR OTHER METAL PLATES OR SHEETS, ALSO
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER MATERIALS OR SUBSTANCES OR FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hopkin Thomas at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th January 1880.
" IMPROVE-
JOHN HOPKIN THOMAS, of Maesteg, in the County of Glamorgan.
MENTS IN PACKING BOXES OR CASES FOR TIN, TERNE, IRON, OR OTHER METAL
PLATES OR SHEETS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR OTHER MATERIALS OR SUBSTANCES OR
FABRICS."
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of boxes or cases to
be used for packing tinplates, terne plates, black (or iron) plates, and copper sheets,
or other metallic plates or sheets, and which boxes or cases are also applicable for
packing other materials or substances or fabrics.
The boxes or cases which are at present used for the packing of tin and other
plates are made wholly of wood, generally of elm. The sides and ends are made
of the depth required for the intended contents. To this box or framing a bottom
of elm planks is nailed, and after the plates or other intended contents have been
put into the box a cover similar to the bottom is nailed on, and the package is
complete.
The following are some of the disadvantages attendant on the use of these packing
boxes or cases as thus constructed:-The covers and bottoms being necessarily
thick when made of wood take up more room than is desirable, and are most
inconvenient in small, confined, or limited spaces, lessening the number of such
cases or boxes which could be packed therein were the covers and bottoms con-
structed of some equally strong yet thinner material, are of very little, if any, use
to those likely to purchase such cases or boxes of tin and other plates or sheets.
The boxes are not sufficiently strong to withstand the rough usage and abuse of
transit to which they are subjected, and are a source of great trouble and loss, and
yet (according to the old construction) they cannot be made stronger without
reducing their capacity or increasing their bulk and weight, all very objectionable

page_text: features. The usual wooden covers and bottoms do not keep the contained plates
sufficiently dry, and thus allow them to deteriorate in quality, and moreover in
long voyages and storage they are liable to the peril of spontaneous combustion
owing to their damp condition.
It is the object of this Invention to remove these disadvantages, and this I effect
by the following means:-
I construct the frames or ends and sides of the boxes or cases of oak, elm, spruce,
or other wood, or of any suitable artificially made substance, such as paper or
straw pulp moulded into the required form, which will give the desired strength
with the least substance, making the box of such a shape as required for the
intended contents.
The tops or covers and the bottoms I make of tin plate, terne plate, black (or
iron) plate, or of zinc, or copper, or other suitable sheet metal or coated sheet
metal, and I fasten or secure them to the frame of the case or box by means of
flat topped or "head"-nails, or by other suitable kinds of nails, or by bolts or
screws or other similar fastenings of any suitable shape.
By thus constructing the boxes, and the bottoms and covers thereof, and fastening
the latter thereto, I am enabled to obviate the above mentioned disadvantages, as
more can be stored in a given space without reducing their capacity, the covers and
bottoms will be of more use to the purchaser, the boxes will be stronger, and more
capable of withstanding the rough usage incidental to transit without injury, the
contents will be better protected, and the peril of spontaneous combustion greatly
lessened.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Hopkin Thomas in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
July 1880.
JOHN HOPKIN THOMAS, of Maesteg, in the County of Glamorgan. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PACKING BOXES OR CASES FOR TIN, TERNE, IRON, OR OTHER METAL
PLATES OR SHEETS, ALSO APPLICABLE FOR OTHER MATERIALS OR SUBSTANCES OR
FABRICS,"
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture or construction of
boxes or cases to be used for packing tinplates, terneplates, black (or iron) plates,
copper sheets, and other metallic plates or sheets, and which boxes or cases are also
applicable for packing other materials or substances or fabrics.
The boxes or cases at present most generally used for the packing of tin and
other metallic plates are made wholly of wood (generally of elm). The sides and
ends are made of the length and depth required for the intended contents, and to
this framing a bottom of elm planks (about ths of an inch thick) is nailed, and
after the plates or other intended contents have been put into the box a cover
similar to the bottom is nailed on, and the package is complete.

page_text: The following are some of the disadvantages attendant on the use of packing
boxes or cases as thus constructed:-The covers and bottoms being necessarily
thick when made of wood take up more room than is desirable, and are of great
disadvantage in confined or limited spaces, lessening the number or quantities of
such boxes or cases which could be packed therein were the covers and bottoms
constructed of some equally strong yet thinner material, they are of very little,
if any, use to those likely to purchase such cases or boxes of tin and other plates or
sheets. They do not keep the contained plates sufficiently dry, thus allowing them
to deteriorate in quality, and moreover in long voyages and storage they are liable
to the peril of spontaneous combustion owing to their damp condition and the
friction to which they are subjected. The boxes are not sufficiently strong to with-
stand the rough usage to which they are subjected in transit, and are a source of
great trouble and loss, and yet, according to the old construction, they cannot be
made stronger without reducing their capacity or increasing their bulk and weight,
both of which are very objectionable features.
It is the object of this Invention to remove these and other known disadvantages,
and this I effect by the means I will now describe, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheet of explanatory Drawings.
Figure 1 on the accompanying Drawings represents a perspective view of the
old construction of box, and Figure 2 represents a similar view in section, corner-
wise, illustrative of the objectionable thickness of the wood bottom and cover.
In carrying my Invention into practical effect I construct the frames or ends and
sides 1 of the boxes or cases of oak, elm, spruce, or other suitable wood, or of any
suitable artificially made substance, such as paper or straw or other pulp moulded
into the required form, which will give the desired strength with the least substance
or bulk, making the frame of such a shape (see Figure 3) as required for the
intended contents. This frame may consist of the sides and ends of a box nailed
together as usually in either of the methods illustrated in Figure 3. I then provide
it with a bottom 2 of tin-plate, terneplate, black (or iron) plate, or of zinc or other
suitable metal or coated sheet metal, fastening or securing the same thereto by
means of flat topped countersunk wire nails 3, or by other suitable kinds of nails
without any preliminary punching, or by bolts, or screws, or other suitable
fastenings. The bottom may be made of or about the same size as the frame (as
illustrated in Figure 4) and affixed having raw edges, or it may be made somewhat
larger, have its corners cut, its sides folded or seamed under, and its corners then
turned under, as illustrated in Figures 5, so as to be when adapted to the frame
with its folded sides inwards slightly smaller than the frame, as shown in Figure 6;
Figures 7 represent the reduction in size (which may be more or less) of the plate
from its cut shape to its folded shape. Or according to another method, illustrated
in Figure 8, the bottom may be cut larger than the frame, and have its sides and
ends turned up as flanges 4 through which nails can be easily driven for securing
the parts together. The bottom may however be attached to the frame without
folding or seaming, or it may be seamed and wired or attached in any other
suitable manner. The case can now be branded or marked if required in the usual
manner, it is then ready to be filled with the usual quantity of plates (for instance)
which are packed therein in the usual way. The top or cover plate 5, which is
similar to the bottom, and may be made and affixed in any of the ways above
described or referred to, is then affixed to the frame, and the package is complete
and quite rigid, as the contents tightly fill the box flush with the top and bottom.
Both the top and bottom plates can be quickly prepared by a boy at a folding
machine, such as is used by tin plate workers generally. In nailing the bottom
and top to the frame care should be observed to avoid "rumpling"; this is best
effected by keeping the bottom and top " even "while fixing by means of a weight
weight.
By thus constructing the boxes and the bottoms and covers thereof and fastening
the latter thereto, I ain enabled to obviate the above mentioned disadvantages, as
more can be stored in a given space without reducing their capacity, as five of my

page_text: boxes, one of which is represented in section cornerwise in Figure 9, can be packed in
the same depth of space as four of the old boxes, as shown in Figure 10. They are in
"14 x 20" size tin plates (for instance) of about 4 lbs. less weight, and pro-
portionate in other sizes, so that a considerable sum will be saved in carriage and
freight; they are stronger and more capable of withstanding the rough usage
incidental to transit without injury; the covers and bottoms will be of more use
to the purchaser, and will be of nearly their full original value when delivered to
the consumers; they will go duty free, being part of a packing case, so that with
every box of 112 sheets upon which duty falls 2 sheets will go duty free, the
contents are better protected, and the peril of spontaneous combustion is completely
avoided. The tinplates or their contents can be more easily examined and
sampled by merchants, and can be easily repacked in the same box, a privilege
not so easily attainable in any packing boxes as at present constructed.
I would here observe that I am aware of the customary mode adopted of
packing iron plates called "Canada plates," which consists in seaming similar top
and bottom plates together round the sides and ends so as to enclose the others,
and also with the almost similar method of packing such "Canada plates" by
similar top and bottom plates nailed to wood ends and seamed together at the
sides, or by nailing similar top and bottom plates to wood sides and seaming them
together at the ends, but to neither of these arrangements do I make any claim as
forming any part of my Invention.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that what I claim as my Invention
is,
The manufacture or construction of improved and more convenient boxes or
cases, and their use for packing tinplates, terne-plates, black (or iron) plates,
copper sheets, and other metallic plates or sheets, and which are also applicable for
packing other materials or substances or fabrics, in the manner substantially as
hereinbefore described, and as illustrated on the accompanying explanatory Sheet
of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hopkin Thomas, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
JOHN HOPKIN THOMAS. (L.S.)