Improvements in the Manufacture of Tea Chests and other Packing Cases or Boxes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1896-Accepted, 18th July, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Tea Chests and other Packing
Cases or Boxes.
I, JOHN CORYTON ROBERTS, of 16, Cromwell Grove, West Kensington, in the
County of London, Planter, 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 :-
This invention relates chiefly to the manufacture of boxes or chests for the
transport of tea but is also applicable for boxes or packing cases for other purposes,
the object of the invention being to provide a water and air-tight chest or box
which will be also light and strong and at the same time one which can be produced
at a relatively low cost.
In order to enable my invention to be clearly understood I will describe a
suitable means of manufacturing a box or chest adapted for the transport of tea, by
reference to the accompanying drawings, that is to say :-
I take a piece of suitable sheet metal such as malleable steel and stamp or
otherwise cut the same to the shape shewn in ontline at Figure 1, and I place on
this piece of metal a strip or piece of wood a the length of which will correspond
to the four sides of the box or chest, and the width of the same to the height
of the chest, and turn over on to the wood a the projecting edges b, b of the
sheet metal as clearly shewn in Figure 2; I then by any suitable machine divide
the wood b into four parts by grooving the same at c, c, c, as clearly shewn in
plan and sectional views in Figures 3 and 4 respectively, and at the same time
bevel the outer edges of the wood as shewn at d, d. I then bend the metal
covering of the wood a where the latter has been divided, so as to form the four
sides of the box as shewn in the horizontal section in Figure 5, the projecting end e
of the metal covering, Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, being passed into the space f left
between the other end of the wood and the metal covering as clearly shewn in
Figure 4, whereby I obtain the four sides of the box, the parts being securely
connected together by pins or screws g passed through the holes h (Figure 3)
into one side of the box as shewn in Figure 5: or instead of pins or screws, I may
employ solder.
I form the ends or the bottom and lid of the chest or box of sheet metal cut and
stamped or folded into the shape shewn in Figures 7, 8 and 9, Figure 7 being a
plan of the inner side of one of the ends; Figure 8 a section of the same and
Figure 9 an edge view. I then place in the interior of the said metal cover a
square piece of wood or other material i of a size such that it will fit the interior of
the chest leaving a space between the edge of the wood i and the metal edge k
sufficient to pass over the thickness of the box as clearly shewn in Figure 6 which
is a vertical section of the box with the covers on the top and bottom in position.
In the space; I place a suitable elastic packing j¹ so as to ensure a tight joint
between the ends of the chest and the covers.
1, are thin metal strips which are passed over (or through) the wood i and
through slits in the metal covering as clearly shewn in Figure 8, which strips serve
not only to connect the wood b to the metal covering of the covers but also serve
to pass over the holes m in the covers and by which they are fastened to the box
by screws or nails; the projecting ends of the strips can then be soldered over the
bail heads so that the box cannot be opened without breaking the seals thereby
preventing the chest or box being tampered with without detection.

page_text: The box or chest may be strengthened by means of metal hoops such as n which
are placed around the sides of the box before the covers are applied. The tea
chest or box thus manufactured and closed is shewn in perspective view at
Figure 13.
I propose generally to provide for each of my chests or cases two trays made of
any suitable material such as sheet metal as are shewn in plan and in section in
Figures 10 and 11 respectively, so that after the chest has been say, half fille 1, as
shewn in the sectional view in Figure 6, one of the trays may be placed on the
contents and then the remainder of the contents be placed on the tray by which
means the box would be considerably strengthened, or both trays may be so
When it is not required to strengthen the chest as above stated I place
one of the trays in the bottom of the box and when the same has been filled the
other tray is placed on the top so that it comes against the lid, as is clearly shewa
in the sectional view Figure 12, o representing the tray at the top of the box. In
this position the trays can be held down by means of two pieces of tape or cord
projecting from the inner sides of the box which, if sealed, will offer a further
effectual check to the contents being tampered with undetected.
These trays also serve another purpose, that is to say, it frequently happens that
in distributing the tea it is necessary to pack it into chests smaller than those in
which the goods have been received; when this is required one of my chests can
be divided horizontally through the middle so as to form two boxes each of which
will of course have an open end. On each open end I place one of my trays to
form a bottom thereto. The bottoms so formed may, if desired, be strengthened
by one or more strips of wood. p, p are holes in the trays through which nails or
screws can be passed so as to fix them to the divided boxes.
It will be obvious that I can cover the interior surface of the wood lining of the
box with any suitable composition to render the same waterproof and that instead
of employing wood I may employ any other suitable material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
Chests or boxes for the transport of tea and other articles constructed sub-
stantially as herein before described and illustrated in the several figures of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 13th day of June 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.