Cigarette Boxes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Cigarette Boxes.
I, ADOLPHE DE STEIN, of Antwerp, Belgium, Cigar 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters
and Figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention has reference to an improved spring lock or fastening for securing
the lids of cigar or. cigarette boxes when closed and to an improved spring or
springs to be used in combination therewith for causing the lid or lids to fly open
when unlocked.
I proceed with reference to the accompanying drawings to fully describe my
Invention.
.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several Figures.
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side elevation and plan of a divided cigar or
cigarette box having two overlapping lids and provided with a lock or fastening
and springs according to my Invention the lids being shewn open; Fig. 3 is a side
elevation of the same closed; Fig. 4 is a part elevation of the same open, partly in
section, to shew the lock or fastening; Fig. 5 shews the same parts as Fig. 4 the
lid being closed; Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the application of my Invention
to a divided cigar or cigarette box having two flush lids which do not overlap as
hereinafter fully described; Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 represent detailed parts of the
spring lock or fastening as hereinafter described; Figs. 15 and 16 represent a
perspective view and a side elevation partly in section respectively of a cigar or
cigarette box having a single lid and provided with a lock or fastening and springs
according to my Invention and Fig. 17 shews part of the same in section the lid
being closed; Figs. 18 and 19 illustrate a modification of my Invention; Fig. 20
shews a modified form of catch; Figs. 21 and 22 shew a cross-section of the box.
illustrated by Fige. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 but provided with a modified form of lock or
fastening according to my Invention and Figs. 23 and 24 shew a modified form of.
the spring tongue of the lock or fastening separately.
I will first describe my Invention as applied to, a cigar or cigarette box having
two lids which overlap each other and for that purpose I shall refer more
ponticule to i
1 9 3
11 10 170

page_text: A is an ordinary cigar or cigarette box having the hinged lids B1, B2 and a
partition C by which the box is divided into two parts; the edge b¹ of the lid B¹
overlaps the edge 6 of the lid B when the same are closed (see Fig. 3).
According to my Invention I attach to the lid B¹ a catch E having a hooked or
projecting end e¹. The said catch E may be of any convenient form but I prefer
to make it of a doubled piece of sheet metal, as shewn in Fig. 12, which is bent
back to form the hooked or projecting end e¹ the body being shouldered at e³ and
the ends and et being reduced so that after being passed from the underside
through a hole in the lid they can be bent down upon the same and so secured
thereto. In the partition C I provide a slot or groove c¹ extending downwards
from its upper edge (see Figs. 4 and 5) and in the said slot or groove is a spring
tongue F (shewn separately by Fig. 11) having a hooked upper end f' and spring
formed at its lower part f' by bending the end f³ upwards. In the partition C
and extending from the said slot or groove c¹ to the outside of the box I form a
hole which extends also at c³ for a short distance towards the other side of the
box. Within the said hole c* I provide a pusher G preferably formed of round
wire, as shewn separately by Fig. 13, one end g¹ of which reaches almost to the
side of the box, the other end g₁ being reduced in size to form a shoulder g³. The
reduced end g of the pusher passes through a hole f* in the hooked spring tongue F
and extends for a short distance into the hole c³. A pin h may be provided across
the hole c' and a slot g₁ in the pusher G to prevent the latter falling out of the
said hole c. To one or both sides of the box I rivet or otherwise attach a spring or
springs I the free ends i of which cause the lid to fly open when unlocked.
The operations of the parts as above described are as follows:-The lids are locked
or fastened by first closing lid B and holding it down until the lid B¹ is also closed
when the hooked catch E fixed thereto will engage with the hooked end f' of the
spring tongue F and prevent the lids opening. The spring tongue F is prevented
from rising from the slot c¹ by the end g of the pusher passing therethrough. To
open or unlock the box the pusher G is pressed inwards by any suitable instrument
(such as the metal key J) when its shoulder g³ will act upon the spring tongue F
and force the end f¹ thereof away from the hooked catch E when the lids B¹, B*
will be free to fly open by the action of the spring or springs I.
My Invention can be applied to a cigar or cigarette box having lids constructed
without overlapping edges so as to open independently of each other. This part of
my Invention I will now describe by referring more particularly to Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
and 14. I fix a hooked catch E to each of the lids B¹, B* and I form a spring
tongue with two upwardly extending ends each formed with a hooked projection fi
(see Fig. 14) and I provide a hole extending from the slot o¹ to the side of the
box in addition to the hole c². Within the hole c' I provide a second pusher G₁
similar to the pusher G. The parts which I have not described are similar to those
illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12 and 13 hereinbefore described. When the
lids B¹, B are closed the catches E fixed thereto will each engage with one of the
hooked ends of the spring tongue F and the lids will thereby be maintained
closed. Either lid can be opened independently of the other by pressing the
pusher operating that side of the spring tongue which engages with its hooked
catch. For instance if the pusher G be pressed inwards the lid B₁ will be caused
to open and similarly by the pusher G¹ the lid B³ can be opened.
When applying my Invention to a cigar or cigarette box A having a single lid B
I affix the lower end of the hooked spring tongue F to a plate K (see Figs. 15, 16
and 17) which latter is fixed to the front of the box A preferably on the outside.
I fix a hooked catch E to the lid B so as to engage with the hooked end of the
spring tongue F when the lid B is closed and to maintain it in that position
(see Fig. 17). The catch E may either be made of sheet metal as shewn separately
by Fig. 20 or Fig. 12 or it may be of other convenient form. I provide a hole k¹
in the plate K in which the end of any suitable instrument J can be inserted and
the spring tongue F pushed backwards (see Fig. 16) and the lid thereby left free
to open.

page_text: Instead of attaching the spring or springs I to the edges of the sides of the box
as illustrated by Figs. 1, 3, 6, 8 and 18, a spring or springs may be attached to the
back of the box to act upon the lid or lids (see Figs. 15 and 16).
Instead of forming the catch E and the spring tongue F each with a hooked end
so as to engage together one of them only may be formed with a hooked end and
the other have a hole in which the said hooked end will engage, for instance as
shewn in Figs. 18 and 19, where the spring tongue has a hole in which engages
the hooked end of the catch E.
The end g of the pusher G or G₁ may project beyond the side of the box
(see Fig. 21) so as to be operated without employing any additional instrument as J.
Instead of using a single catch and hooked tongue for a box having two lids
folding one over the other as hereinbefore described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 two catches and hooked tongues may be employed and the pusher G dispensed
with (see Fig. 22). In this case the said spring tongues F are placed close to the
sides of the box and may be operated by an instrument, such as the instrument J,
through holes a provided in the sides of the box and the spring tongues may have
clips formed with their lower parts by which they can be attached to the
partition C and prevented from rising (see Fig. 23).
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 improvements in or applicable to the lids of cigar or cigarette boxes
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings; that is to
say, a spring lock or fastening for securing the lids consisting essentially of a spring
tongue constructed so as to engage with a crich attached to the lid, or catches
attached to the lids, when the lid or lids are closed, and so construced that by an
inward pressure on the said tongue it can be disengaged from the said catch to
allow the lid or lids to open substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The improvements in or applicable to the lids of cigar or cigarette boxes
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings; that is to
say, the application and use of a flat or other shaped spring or springs in
combination with a lock or fastening, such spring or springs being constructed and
applied to cause the lid or lids to open when the box is unlocked or unfastened, as
described and illustrated.