A New or Improved Combined Show Case and Storage Compartments for Cigars and the like.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Combined Show Case and Storage Compartments
for Cigars and the like.
I, CHARLES LEMUEL PRATT of 2741 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, County of
Hennepin, State of Minnesota, U.S.A., Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention and in what mauner the same is to be performed to 'be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to means for preserving the natural flavor of cigars and
for maintaining the qualities thereof with respect to the various grades of moisture.
and the object of the invention is to provide a piece of furniture or store fixture
which in itself shall be adapted for both the display and storage of cigars; and
further by means of which several grades of more or less moist cigars may be
maintained; the further object is to provide a cheap and convenient means for
supplying moisture; for keeping the temperature within the case low and för
carrying off the deleterious odors of the poorer qualities of cigars in the display
compartment, to prevent the same from affecting the flavor of the more expensive
grades.
Heretofore I have introduced upon the market large numbers of combination
cigar cases embodying the constructions shown and described in Letters Patent
of the United States granted July 7th, 1891 and May 17th, 1892, numbered
respectively 455412 and 474923. The cases manufactured under the former
Patents, however, I have found to be but moderately successful, owing to the
fact that no means are provided therein for changing the air within the storage
and display compartments, the result being that the cigars, although kept moist by
water from the pans in the lower part of the case, become so saturated with the
odor of the stagnant moisture-laden air as to quite sensibly affect their flavor and
render their use objectionable. In the other Patent referred to I have shown a
combination case provided with means for ventilating the same, but this case is
open to the objection that both the upper and lower compartments are practically
one so far as any distinction between the moisture of the two parts is concerned,
there being so many passages through which air from the lower compartment may
pass into the upper one even when the upper side of the drawers, shown are in
place; a further disadvantage is that but one grade of moisture can be maintained
in the cigars in the lower part of the fixture. Although neither of these defects
are fatal to the use of the combination cases, they being superior to anything
heretofore employed for the purpose, still it is desirable to obviate the above
objections.
771
To this end I have devised the combination cigar case shown in the accom
panying drawings, in which;
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a combination cigar case embodying my present
invention, a portion of the front being broken away to show the interior
construction.
Fig. 2 shows the back of the casing and the ventilators arranged therein.
Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on the line 2 of Fig. 1.
1 ..
As shown in the drawings the case consists of two main parts, namely; the upper
show case or display compartment having the glass front sides and top, 2, 3 and 4
respectively, and the back of the same being made up of several doors 5 provided
with mirrors 6, and hinged at their lower edges 7. These doors fit tightly to
exclude either the entrance or exit of air currents. Beneath the display compart
ment which extends the full length of the case, there is a space of substantially the
same size having imperforate walls and separated into three or more distinct com-
partments by means of the imperforate" bottom floor 9, the vertical partitions 10

page_text: and the intermediate floor 11, all of which are solid and effectually prevent the
passage of air currents from any one of the storage compartments into another.
Access to these storage compartments is had through vertically hinged doors 12,
one of which is shown open in Fig. 2. Between the floor 11 and the lower
edge of the glass case I leave a space of several inches in depth adapted to
receive the water drawers 13 which are either composed entirely of metal or
provided with metal linings. The drawers are preferably separated by low
partitions 15 extending transversely from the front to the back of the case and
with the end strips 16 and suitable side strips 17 serve to support the wire
floor 18, composed of a light wire fabric and of sufficient strength to support a
number of opened boxes of cigars 19, which are thus in position to be viewed
through the glass walls. At points above and opposite the drawers I provide
ventilating openings 20 adapted to be closed by the circular slides 21, and in
the front panel or molding 22 I arrange the ventilator slides 23 which, as
shown, are about opposite and on a line with the ventilators in the back of the
case. Ventilators are thus provided preferably for each drawer and owing to the
fact that the air currents will in the main take a direct path across the water pans
rather than to diverge into other parts of the display compartment the cigars above
a particular pan may be kept approximately in the condition regarding moisture in
which they are originally placed in the displaying compartment, thus by fully
opening the ventilators for the drawer in one end a large amount of moisture will
be taken up from the water in the pan and deposited upon the cigars directly above
it, the impure air passing out through the opposite ventilator. At the second
drawer the ventilators may be opened only half way to maintain a medium degree of
moisture; while in the third section of the display compartment the slides of the
ventilators may be entirely closed, thus practically preventing the deposit of
additional moisture upon the display cigars, which however, will be kept in good
condition by a slight degree of moisture from the other parts of the case and the
complete ventilation and coolness of the case due to the constant circulation of air
through the other parts thereof. The storage compartments are each fitted with
a water drawer 25 and with front and rear ventilators 26 and 27 respectively,
arranged in the walls of the case so that the control of the ventilation and moisture
in one storage compartment is made entirely independent of that in another;
further each compartment is provided with a wire floor 28, and at its end and front
wall with secondary walls 29 of wire cloth or fabric. These secondary walls stand
away from the walls proper such a distance as to insure the circulation of air
within the case regardless of the positions of the unopened boxes 30 therein. Thus,
it will be seen that in one compartment very dry cigars may be kept for supplying
customers fancying such a cigar, in another compartment mediumly moist cigars
may be kept, and in the other the cigars may be kept in a very moist condition. In
all of the compartments the ventilation, and, the cooling of the air owing to the
presence of water, and sometimes of ice, in the pans, will always be complete and
sufficient to prevent heating and sweating of the cigars. Extending into the middle
compartment and sliding beneath the floor 11 is a till drawer 31. On the floor
panel of the case and both in front and at the ends I provide a metal sheath or
base plate 32, upon which the ventilators 27 are secured, the object of the sheath
being to prevent the disfigurement of a very ornamental and expensive fixture, by
customers kicking their feet against the base panel.
Heretofore I have found it necessary to often replace or repolish these base
panels and I consider this metal base as a most important part of my invention. It
is obvious that if desired an entire metal base may be provided for the wooden
structure to rest upon. The exact construction of my combination cigar case may
be varied to suit the taste of the purchaser or the position in which it may be
placed. The same forms a single fixture combining a show case and storage com-
partments and may, if desired, be arranged upon the walls of a room under which
circumstances it would be necessary to provide the doors in the front of the case.

page_text: I do not, therefore wish to confine myself to the particular construction shown and
described.
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 :-
1. A combination cigar case having a metal base or floor panel, substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination in a cigar case, of compartments for both the display and
storage of cigars said storage compartments being two or more in number, and
means for moistening the cigars therein, substantially as described.
3. The combination in a cigar case, of display and storage compartments, said
storage compartments being three or more in number and entirely separated from
one another and from the display compartment, and means for moistening and for
independently regulating the moistening of the cigars in the several compartments,
substantially as described.
4. The combination in a cigar case, of three or more storage compartments, a
superimposed single display compartment in the same fixture, all of said compart-
inents being separated by air tight walls, water drawers for said storage and display
compartments, and perforations in the walls of the case for admitting and exhausting
air from the several compartments, substantially as described.
5. The combination with three or more distinct storage compartments, of a
display compartment, said compartments being separated by imperforate walls, wire
floors for the several compartments, secondary wire walls for the said storage
compartments, water drawers for the several compartments, and ventilating
openings and slides for each compartment whereby the process of moistening and
ventilating the cigars in the several compartments is made independent.
6. The combination in a cigar case, of three or more storage compartments, with
a display compartment arranged above the same, said compartments being
separated by imperforate walls, water drawers arranged in the several com-
partments, ventilating openings in the walls of the case for each compartment,
and slides for said openings, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
7. The combination with a glass display compartment, of three or more storage
compartments, the walls of the case being imperforate, the solid partitions 10, the
floors 25 and 11, the wire floors in said storage and display compartments,
ventilators arranged in the walls of the case below the line of said floors and
for each compartment, the partitions 15 in the lower part of the display com-
partment, the water pans arranged between said partitions and the water pans
provided in the bottom of the storage compartments, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
8. The combination with the separate storage compartments having imperforate
walls, of the glass display compartment, the intermediate floor 11, the wire
floor 18, the wire floors and walls for said storage compartments, the water drawers
of the several compartments and being two in number for each drawer, a door for
each compartment, and a metal base or panel, substantially as and for the purpose
■pecified.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1899
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.