An Improved Cupboard or Case for Letters and Documents or other Objects.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Cupboard or Case for Letters and Documents or
other Objects.
HERMANN HENRY JOHN SACK, Merchant, of 12 Chelsham Road, Clapham,
S.W. London 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 improved cupboard, case, or box when completely set up has the appearance
of an ordinary pigeonhole letterbox.
It may be made in various sizes, and with any convenient number of
pigeonholes.
The peculiarity of its construction consists in its being capable of being taken to
pieces, and packed into a small and portable compass, and built up again, without
fixing or unfixing any fastenings.
The capability of being packed up into the small compass depends not only on
the manner of connecting the parts, but also on the proportion of the measures
of the several pieces, but not on their absolute size, nor on their number, both of
which may be varied within certain limits.
The article is represented in three drawings:
A, a front elevation of the box built up, without door.
B, a section of the box when packed up, with door.
C, a section of the box on the line M-N with door showing particularly the
method of connecting front and back by moveable side pieces.
The measures of the box as drawn are those given in the following description
but these measures may be varied as long as the power of closely packing the whole
is not interfered with.
The parts are
1. A back frame (B & C, a, a) square or rectangular, here shown with interior
height 20", interior breadth 20%, closed by a back (B & C, b, b) here shown
thick, so as to form a shallow box or tray. All round in the interior runs a
rectangular or other shaped groove, here shown rectangular, 14″ broad, *" deep
(B & C, c, c,).
2. A front frame (A, B, C, d, d,), similar in size to the piece (1) with a similar
groove, which may be closed by a door corresponding to the back (B, C, e, e), and
which, with such door, forms a shallow tray.
3. A top-piece (A, B, f,f), here 20 in. long, 10" wide in. thick.
4. A bottom-piece (A, B, C, 9, 9), exactly the same size as (3) but differing in
the depth of the transverse grooves which will be mentioned further on.
5 & 6. Two side pieces (A, B, C, h, h), 19 in. long, 10 in. wide, in. thick, with
or without transverse grooves.
The four last-named pieces have fastened along the longer edges of their largest
surfaces on each side of one only of the surfaces beadings or small laths of the
same size and section as the grooves in the two frame portions and exactly fitting
into these grooves, as shown in section C.
If now the front and back frames be placed facing each other, upright; if then
the top and bottom pieces be successively placed between them, and the beads, or
laths firmly pressed into the grooves, if then the two side-pieces be placed upright
between top and bottom pieces, and their beads also pressed into the grooves of
the frames, the six pieces so far described will form a rigid box, which can only be
dismembered by considerable inward pressure on the two side-pieces last placed
into position.
7, 8, 9. Three horizontal shelves (A, B, k, k) 10" broad, in. thick, and either

page_text: 19 in. long, or longer, according as they are not, or are, grooved into the upright
side-pieces, the former method being shown to the left of the drawing A, the latter
to the right.
These three shelves give to the box perfect rigidity.
10 to 25, 10 to 29, 10 to 33 etc. Sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, or any convenient
number of upright partitions, shown in the drawing 10" long, 43" broad, " thick.
These slide into grooves in all the horizontal portions, as shown in sketch A. The
grooves are shown in. broad, in, deep, except in the top piece, in which they
are deeper, to allow for shrinking.
The building up of the box having been described and being shown in sketches A
and C, the packing up for transport is effected as follows:
Having pulled the parts asunder, place front and back pieces upon each other,
so as to form a flat shallow box-open the door, if there be any, into this box,
which measures in the clear about 20" by 20", place the top and bottom, side by
side, beadings upwards. These two pieces fit the box exactly (see sketch B).
The space between the beadings of both top & bottom being 20" x 9", and
deep will in each piece take up exactly 4 of the thin vertical partitions.
Upon this lowest layer place the two side-pieces. Here also the spaces between
the beadings will give room for 8 of the vertical partitions.
On these place two of the three shelves which will be only a trifle too short to
"fit completely.
On these place the third shelf.
There will now remain a space equal to one shelf or 8 vertical partitions.
If the number of these partitions be 24, the space alluded to will be perfectly
filled. If the number be less, the space is nevertheless filled up, but some of the
spaces below between the beadings of the side-pieces are left unoccupied.
The heights of the two frame-pieces are so chosen that the pile of internal fittings
which is in the drawing inches high reaches exactly from back to door. The
door is now closed, or its place partly occupied by a. piece of board of the same
thickness, and the whole forms now a small casily transportable parcel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the said is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. That I fit together a box of many loose portions in a strong and peculiar
manner.
2. That this box is capable of being taken to pieces without unfastening
anything.
3. And that when so taken to pieces the box, in consequence of the peculiar
measures of its parts, as to proportion, can be packed into a very small parcel.
Dated the 10th August 1891.
H. SACK.