Improvements in or relating to boxes for the Packing and Carriage of Hats.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Mar., 1898--Accepted, 4th June, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to boxes for the Packing and Carriage
of Hats.
I, JOSEPH TOWNEND WARD, of Redhouse Lane, Bredbury, near Stockport, in
the County of Chester, Hat Manufacturer, 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:
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My said invention relates chiefly to cardboard, millboard or like boxes used for
the packing and carriage of felt hats, which have heretofore been loosely packed in
said boxes, one inside the other, and by reason of the shaking or rough treatment
of the box have frequently been damaged in the brim, or marked in the felt.
The object of my invention is to enable hats to be sent by rail or post with the
risk of damage reduced to a minimum, even with the roughest treatment, and to
that end my invention consists in providing the box with one or more false-bottoms
or plates loosely fitted in the box, and sustained at their proper height, or distance
apart, by a supporting edge or flange.
In each plate a series of holes are formed corresponding approximately in shape
and size to the shape and size of a felt hat above the brim. Into these holes of
which there may be, say, four in one plate the hats to be packed and carried are
placed, one hat in each opening, and with or without hat rests, and the distance
between each plate is such that there is sufficient room for the crowns of the hats to
project through the plate above.
In order that my said invention may be more readily understood and carried
into practical effect I have hereunto annexed a sheet of drawings, and will now
proceed to describe the same with the various figures and letters of reference marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a box fitted with my improved arrangement of
false-bottoms or plates for securing the hats. Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3
is a perspective view of one of the plates removed from the box.
The box (A) is made of thin card or paste-board (by preference) with linen, in
lieu of wooden, joinings for the corners. Each plate is made in a similar manner,
and comprises a sheet of cardboard (B), with sides or flanges (C). In the part (B)
of each plate are holes (D) slightly larger than the hats intended to be packed
therein.
Assuming the box (A) to be empty, and it is desired to pack a dozen hats, an
empty plate is first placed in the box, with its flanges (C) resting upon the floor of said
box. Four hats are then placed in such plate, each (by preference) suspended in a
card-board collar (E), and by virtue of such collar, and the flanges (C) sufficient room
is left for the crowns of the hats to project through the plate without touching
the floor of the box. After this first plate is filled another empty plate is placed
in the box, and another lot of hats fitted with collars (E) dropped into the holes (1)),
which, by reason of collars (E), and by reason of the flanges (C) of the second plate
resting on the top of the first plate, have sufficient room to lie in such holes without
touching the hats below. A third plate is then placed upon the second plate and
when duly filled the hats again have room by reason of the flanges (C) of such

page_text: third plate resting upon the second plate, and so on for any number of such plates
placed one above another.
The plates are, by preference, made an exact fit in the box, which in consequence
is greatly strengthened and can be made of thinner material than heretofore, and
without the usual wood joinings or stays and therefore enable our invention to be
applied at much the same cost as an ordinary box.
The flanges (C) may be cut away in parts for lightness, or may be dispensed
with, and legs or corner-pieces only be used, which may be adjustable in depth to
suit various sized hats. The plates may likewise be made in various sizes and
shapes to suit various sizes and shapes of boxes and hats, also with a greater or
lesser number of holes than aforeaid of various sizes and shapes to suit the number,
shapes and sizes of hats to be packed.
In lieu of the flanges (C) I may form ledges on the sides of the boxes on which
the parts (1) may rest, but such an arrangement would not be so desirable.
The spacing of the holes from each other may vary to suit the brims of the hats,
and in lieu of the holes being parallel they may be at right angles with each other,
or all at an angle with the sides of the box.
Although chiefly designed for use in packing felt hats I may apply my inven-
tion for the packing of silk or straw hats.
For keeping the hats stationary in their respective plates I may so arrange the
flanges (C) as to allow the crowns of the hats in one plate to just enter, and mesh
with the openings of the crowns of the hats below, with the lid (F) arranged to fit
close on to the brims of the hats in the upper tray. I may also provide means,
such as a piece of elastic or tape, for keeping the hats in position, and I may
provide an opening, such as shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 2, for facilitating the
removing, or handling of the plates when filled with hats. The hats may be
placed in the plates before being put in the box.
In some cases, and for economy of room, I may dispense with the collars (E)
and allow the brims to rest direct upon the plates, but in such cases the brims
would be liable to loose their proper shape. The collars (E) are made in various
sizes and depths, and in packing each plate I prefer to use a slightly deeper
collar for the hats in one set of holes than in the other in order that the brims of
the hats shall not rub against each other. The collars may be in one piece with,
or be fixed to the plates.
Although more particularly applicable to cardboard boxes, I may apply my
invention to wooden and other boxes.
Having thus 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:
1: A box for carrying hats, in combination with one or more plates or false-
bottoms with holes in for the reception of hats, and formed or provided with edges
flanges or their equivalent for holding the plates apart, and with or without rests
or collars, as set forth.
2: A plate or false-bottom with holes or openings for the reception of one or
more hats, as set forth.
1-1
1
1909