IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPA- RATUS FOR CARRYING OR STORING EGGS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ann Brooman, of Camberwell, in the County
of Surrey, Widow and Sole Administratrix of the late Clinton
Edgcumbe Brooman, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPA-
RATUS FOR CARRYING OR STORING EGGS."-A communication to the said
Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman from abroad by Philip Paul Josef
of Buffalo, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 8th February 1870, and dated the 9th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Clinton Edgcumbe
Brooman at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th August 1869.
I, CLINTON EDGCUMBE BROOMAN, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman,
and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR CARRYING OR STORING EGGS," to be aş
follows:-

page_text: The object of this Invention is to form an egg carrier of such con-
struction that eggs may be packed therein and transported without risk
of breakage or necessity of packing or counting. This is accomplished by
the use of separate cells or compartments for each egg, and by placing
the eggs in these cells in such manner that they are firmly or sufficiently
held and enclosed at both ends in an upright position. I use two kinds
of cells or compartments, one in the form of a pocket, the other a
perforation in a sheet of suitable stiffened material.
In order to form these pockets I take a piece of the material known
as "burlaps," or other suitable soft material, and subject it to pressure
between properly constructed dies; these stamp it out into cells or
pockets, each having small spaces between them; but as a sheet of such
soft and yielding material as "burlaps" would lack the rigidity necessary
to preserve its form when stamped out, and be likely to sag out of shape
when filled with eggs, it becomes necessary to add something to it to
impart this quality. This is done by means of glue, paint, varnish, or
gum, with or without paper, pasteboard, or its equivalent, in the
following manner :-After the cloth has been stamped out and while it
yet remains upon the press, I take a piece of stout paper or pasteboard
and cause holes to be made in it equal in number to the pockets
stamped out, and of sufficient size to pass over them, and apply some
adhesive substance as above to it, and then placing in the cloth so
stamped cause it to adhere thereto by means of pressure with or without
heat.
By this mode it will be perceived I only stiffen the interspaces and
leave the pockets flexible and free to accommodate themselves to the
shape and size of the egg.
When these sheets are thus made, I secure
them to wooden frames in the following manner :-The wooden frame
is made of strips of proper size fastened together. On one edge of this
I place a sheet, and on the top of this four strips; I then fasten the
whole together by driving nails through the strips and sheet into the
frame; it is then reversed and a similar sheet and strips secured upon
the other edge, thus giving to each frame or tray a double series of
pockets, one of which may be called the upper, serving to contain the
lower ends of one layer of eggs, and the other, which may be called the
under, covers and encloses the upper ends of the layer immediately
beneath. In this casc the cells fit into their interspaces, thus
economizing space. These trays or frames thus made and filled with

page_text: eggs may be placed one ou the other in a suitable crate or box, and
secured against displacement.
In another mode the use of the crate is avoided, and the trays are
secured together in an effectual manner by means of flanged metallic
pieces and a bar.
In the other kind of cell or compartment before alluded to, which
consists of perforations, these perforations are made in a sheet of cloth,
felt, or other suitable material stiffened by the addition of paper as
aforesaid, and having holes cut or punched in it, either entirely out
or cut into a star shape, and the rays beut inwards to form a sort
of pocket.
The frames to which these perforations or the pockets
formerly described are attached are made of suitable thickness and
rebated on the edges so as to fit over and enclose each other like the
lid of a box. One of these rebates serves also as a strip to fasten the
sheets to the frame; another strip is set down within the first rebate for
the same purpose. The flauged metallic pieces are secured to the bottom
tray by means of pins or bolts, and raise or lower to secure or release
the trays. A bar is secured upon a pivot to the top tray and holds the
flanged pieces in position by means of a stud and slot.
In addition to the paper formerly mentioned as added to the.burlaps,
in order to give rigidity to the sheet I also when the pockets are used
employ slats inside the frames to support them still further and prevent
sagging when filled with eggs. Strings or wires may be placed at right
angles with these slats, and over and upon them between the rows of
pockets if further support is deemed necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Ann Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANN
BROOMAN, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Widow and Sole
Administratrix of the late Clinton Edgcumbe Brooman, of the Firm
of Robertson, Brcoman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City
of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, oy Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Ann Brooman, Her special licence that
1, the said Aun Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Ann Brooman, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPA-
RATUS FOR CARRYING OR STORING EGGs," (communicated to the said Clinton
Edgcumbe Brooman from abroad by Philip Paul Josef, of Buffalo,
in the United States of America,) upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Ann Brooman, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the. said Ann Brooman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to form an egg carrier of such con-
struction that eggs may be packed therein and transported without risk
of breakage or necessity of packing or counting. This is accomplished
by the use of separate cells or compartments for each egg, and by placing
the eggs in the cells in such manner that they are firmly or sufficiently
held and enclosed at both ends in an upright position. I use two kinds
of cells or compartments, one in the form of a pocket, the other a
perforation in a sheet of suitable stiffened material.
In order to form these pockets I take a piece of the material known
as "burlaps," or other suitable soft material, and subject it to pressure
between properly constructed dies; these stamp it out into cells or
pockets, each having small spaces between them, but as a sheet of such
soft and yielding material as burlaps would lack the rigidity necessary to

page_text: preserve its form when stamped out, and be likely to sag out of shape
when filled with eggs, it becomes necessary to add something to it to
impart this quality. This is done by means of glue, paint, varnish, or
gum with or without paper, pasteboard, or its equivalent in the following
manner After the cloth has been stamped out and while it yet remains
upon the press I take a piece of stout paper or pasteboard and cause
holes to be made in it equal in number to the pockets stamped out and
of sufficient size to pass over them, and apply some adhesive substance
as above to it, and then placing on the cloth so stamped cause it to
adhere thereto by means of pressure without heat.
In Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing I have shewn an elevation
of a press (partly in section) to illustrate the form of die employed.
a is the bed plate with a number of semi egg shaped projections, over
which the burlap or other material is placed, and which is caused to
follow their shape upon the down stroke of the head b, which can be
worked down by hand or otherwise. The press head is formed with
hollows or counterparts of the projections as shown.
By the above mode it will be perceived I only stiffen the interspaces
and leave the pockets flexible and free to accommodate themselves to
the shape and size of the egg. When the sheets are thus made I secure
them to wooden frames in the following manner, one of which is shewn
in Figure 2-The wooden frame is made of strips of proper size
fastened together. On one edge of this I place a sheet, and on the top
of this four strips; I then fasten the whole together by driving nails
through the strips and sheet into the frame; it is then reversed and
a similar sheet and strips secured upon the other edge, thus giving to
each frame or tray a double series of pockets, one of which may.be
called the upper series, to contain the lower ends of one layer of eggs,
and the other, which may be called the under, covers and encloses the
upper ends of the layer immediately beneath. In this case the cells
fit into their interspaces, thus economizing space. These trays or frames
thus made and filled with eggs may be placed one on the other in a
suitable crate or box and secured against displacement, as represented
in Figures 3 and 4.
In another mode the use of a crate is avoided, and the trays are
secured together in an effectual manner by means of flayed metal pieces
and a hun

page_text: In the other kind of cell or compartment before alluded to, which
consists of perforations, these perforations are made in a sheet of cloth,
felt, or other suitable material stiffened by the addition of paper as
aforesaid, and having the holes cut or punched in it either entirely out
or cut into a star shape and the rays bent inwards so as to form a sort
of a pocket, as shewn at Figure 5. The frames to which these per-
forations or the pockets formerly described are attached are made of
suitable thickness and rebated on the edges so as to fit over and enclose
each other like the lid of a box. One of these rebates serves also as a
strip to fasten the sheets to a frame; another strip is set down within
the first rebate for the same purpose. The flanged metallic corner or edge
pieces c, c, are secured to the bottom tray by means of pins d, d, and
can be inoved on the pins to raise or lower to secure or release the trays.
A bar is secured upon a pivot to the top tray, and holds the flanged
pieces in position by means of a stud and slot.
In addition to the paper formerly mentioned as added to the burlaps
in order to give rigidity to the sheets, also when the pickets are used,
employ slats inside the frames to support them still further and prevent
sagging when filled with eggs, Strings or wires may be placed at right
angles with these slats, and over upon them between the rows of pockets
if further support is deemed necessary.
.
The following is a detailed description of the Invention :-It consists
in a box or crate for carrying eggs divided into or composed of a series
of trays or frames containing pockets or perforations or cells each
capable of containing a single egg. These trays are so arranged with
reference to each other that on one being filled another can be placed
on and over it in such manner that the cells, perforations, or pockets on
the under side of such upper tray or frame will fit over and enclose the
upper ends of the eggs left projecting from the pockets of the lower tray
immediately beneath. Each of these upper and lower series of pockets
being made to contain and enclose about one half of the egg placed in
them, so that as each tray is removed or lifted off the eggs beneath are
exposed in a manner easy to be handled and taken out, while during
transportation if the caarier be securely closed they are held firmly in
their places and protected from breakage. By preference the trays are
arranged in a mode calculated to hold their contents in an upright
position, which renders them less liable to spoil when stored or in process
of transportation than if placed on their sides.

page_text: In order to form these cells or perforations the following methods are
substantially made-If it is desired to use perforations they are formed
in a sheet of suitable material, which may be wood, pasteboard, cloth
felt, rubber, metal, &c., or a combination of these, observing that
wherever the eggs come into contact with the substance in which the
perforations are made it should be lined if, for instance, of wood or metal
with a material soft or flexible enough to prevent breakage of the egg by
such contact; if of cloth or other soft and yielding material it requires
to be stiffened by the addition of paper, glue, paint, varnish, or other
suitable material or combination of such materials in order to retain its
shape. I make these perforations then in any of these substances as
above with proper punches or cutting instruments at equal distances
of, say, from one-quarter to one-half inch apart, and of about 134 inches
diameter. These sizes may however be varied to suit any size of egg
or convenience of manufacture. These perforated sheets thus made I
then secure to wooden frames by means of cleats or strips placet, upon
the edges over the sheets in any manner known to workers in wood;
two such sheets are fastened to each frame, one on the under and
one on the upper edge, in such a manner that the perforations in one
sheet come opposite the interspaces in the other. The object in this
arrangement being to economize space; these perforated sheets being
near enough to allow the eggs to pass through and rest upon the inter-
spaces on the opposite one, thus the eggs pass each other and can be
packed very close without touching. This arrangement as will be
perceived further on applies to any mode of carrying eggs by this method
either in cells, pockets, or perforations.
If pockets be used they are constructed in the following manner :-
A piece of cloth, felt, or other suitable material is taken, using by
preference that known as burlaps, that being the best suited to the
process herein-after described, and stamped into shape in a press of the
following construction This press is provided with a lower and upper
plate, the former secured to proper supports, the latter capable of being
raised and lowered after the manner of presses generally. In the lower
plate are a number of holes, as many as may be required for the size of
the sheet intended to be stamped out, in which are placed dies formed,
by preference, like the half of an egg divided through its lesser diameter;
these dies are provided with stems which fit loosely into and pass
through the holes and project a little distance beneath the plate, resting

page_text: on another plate below, which is capable of being moved up or down,
carrying with it these movable dies. In the upper plate recessed are
formed corresponding in shape, size, and position with the dies beneath-
In the spaces between the rows of these recesses or female dies in one
direction at right angles to the ends of the press at which the cloth
is introduced grooves are made in the thickness of the metal of about
one inch in depth and one-eighth of an inch wide, which are intended to
receive metallic strips secured to rods passing up through the die and
working in guides above; the operation of these strips and rods being as
follows-Springs or weights are attached to the rods in order to keep
them with the metallic strips depressed at various depths graduating from
one end of the plate to the other in regular order, the object of this being
that when the cloth is placed on the lower die the upper descending first
strikes it with one of the strips and gathers it between the male dies,
then as it still descends the next strip strikes, and so on in succession ;
thus the cloth is all gathered in between the dies before the plates come
together, and at the same time the plate carrying the lower dies is
raised, thus causing more of the cloth to be gathered in, it is then
lowered again so as to bring the male dies again on the lower plate; a
sufficient fulness of cloth being thus provided it can be stamped into
pockets without straining or tearing the fabric. This sheet of pockets
thus stamped out in soft burlaps would not retain its shape if not further
stiffened on the interspaces, which can be done by means of a sheet of
paper or pasteboard perforated so as to pass over the pockets and secured
to the under side by meaus of glue, cement, &c., thus making a con-
tinuous sheet composed of rows of soft egg-shaped pockets and stiffened
into spaces capable of retaining its shape, and possessing, if properly
made, great durability. These sheets are secured to and arranged on
wooden frames in the same manner as described for the perforations, but
since these sheets would if unsupported sag down with the weight of
eggs contained therein and soon become useless and unsafe thin slats
of wood or other suitable material are employed, arranged vertically and
longitudinally of the width of the frame inside the sheets and narrow
enough to occupy the space between the rows of cells in one direction,
and these sheets rest in and are supported by said slats. The frames
thus made are provided with a single rebate on the edges, so that the
inner rebate on the edge of one tray fits into the outer one on the next
after the manner of an ordinary box, which serves to retain all these
trays when placed one on the other in their places and prevent them

page_text: from slipping over and past each other.
They may then be further
secured by metallic bands passing over the corners or around the centre
and secured by a bar on top, or other equivalent device, or they may
be placed inside a crate having a lid which can be securely fastened.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. An egg carrier and packer in which eggs are contained in
separate compartiments, each one capable of holding a single egg.
Secondly. Arranging these compartments, substantially as specified,
80 as to economize space and to hold the egg between à series of upper
and lower cells, pockets, or perforations.
And, thirdly. The general combination of the apparatus as herein-
before described and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ann Brooman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of February One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street,
London.
ANN BROOMAN. (L.S.)