IMPROVEMENTS IN CHESTS, TRAVELLING BOXES, PACKING CASES, AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th January 1881. A communication
from abroad by Jean Baptiste Geneste, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. * IMPROVEMENTS IN CHESTS, TRAVELLING BOXES, PACKING CASES,
AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES." A communication from abroad by Jean Baptiste
Geneste, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to chests, travelling boxes, packing cases, and similar
receptacles, and consists in constructing the same of a number of separate parts,
which are capable of being connected together or taken apart with great facility
and celerity; the said parts when connected together form a strong chest or box,
and when taken apart resemble flat boards, which admit of being packed in a
very small space, whereby considerable practical advantages are obtained.
In carrying out this Invention the improved chest, box, or case is composed of
six rectangular or square sides or boards of any suitable wood or other material.
One of these boards forms the base or bottom of the box, and is provided with
pins projecting from its four sides, which fit into corresponding holes formed in
the four vertical sides hereinafter described, as the front, back, and right and left
sides of the box in such a manner that the bottom is firmly supported at its edges
all round, and is not liable to come out even when the box is filled with weighty
articles.
The vertical sides are connected together at the corners by metal hinges and
corner pieces hereinafter described arranged in the interior of the box, and serving
to retain the parts generally in the proper position. Two hinges attached to the
back and to the left side of the box enable the latter to fold up against the inner
surface of the back, and the right side is similarly connected to the front of the
box. The right side of the box is connected to the back by means of a series of
metal eyes or loops arranged one above the other, and attached alternately to the
said back and side. The loops attached to the back of the box are provided with
a metal plate surrounding or embracing the edge of the woodwork forming the
sides of the box, and each extremity of this plate is perforated with suitable holes
corresponding to similar holes in the opposite extremity for the insertion of rivets,
which thus pass through the wood of the back and through both ends of the plates
and hold the latter securely in position thereon. When the back and side are in

page_text: position the loops on the back are in the same vertical line as the loops on the
side.
The loops on the side are similarly attached to the wood-work of the side, and
are arranged at equal distances apart from the top to the bottom of the corner in
such a manner that the loops on the right side fit between the loops on the back
in the inside angles formed by the junction of the back and side. When the back
and side are in position they are connected by means of a long pin, which is
is passed through all the loops in the angle, and thus maintains the woodwork
firmly in place. This pin is provided at its upper extremity with a ring or handle
to facilitate its manipulation is prevented from accidentally slipping out of
the loops by means of a pin, spring catch, or other suitable device at its lower
extremity. The left side of the box is capable of being connected to the front in
the same manner as hereinbefore described with reference to the right side, and
the back of the box and the top or lid of the box is hinged to the upper edge of
the back in such a manner as to be capable of folding back, so as to lie flat
against the outside of the back.
In order to take the box to pieces it is simply necessary to withdraw the two
long pins from the loops hereinbefore described in the angles of the box, where-
upon the box may be divided into three principal parts, viz., first, the base or
woodwork forming the bottom; secondly, the lid or cover with the back and left
side; and, thirdly, the front and right side.
The left and right sides are capable of folding against the inner surfaces of the
back and front respectively, the latter being provided with recesses for the
reception of the projecting loops.
In the case of boxes intended for the reception of very heavy articles the top or
lid, the bottom, and the four vertical sides are all capable of being detached, so as
to form a box composed of six separate parts in lieu of three, as herein before
described, and in place of the ordinary binges employed in two of the corners, as
hereinbefore described, metal fittings or corner pieces consisting of plates with
loops or eyes connected by means of long pins provided with spring catches, as
herein before described with reference to the angles between the front and right
side, and the back and left side, are employed in all the four vertical angles in the
If it is desired to
box, and the lid is also connected to the back by similar means.
impart further solidity to the box it may be strengthened by employing cross
pieces maintained by means of loops and pins, as hereinbefore described.