Improved Method of and Means for Securing the Parts of Packing Cases.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of and Means for Securing the Parts of
Packing Cases.
I, LEVY HELFT, of Brandenburg on the Havel, in the Province of Brandenburg,
Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Merchant do hereby declare the nature of
my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :--
My invention relates to a method of and means for securing the parts of packing
cases in which the driving in of nails is dispensed with and presents a great number
of advantages over the usual method, as hereinafter fully shown.
The method of closing packing cases by driving in nails which has been in
general use hitherto is a very defective one in several respects; the employment of
sheet-metal or wire-clamps as employed for boxes of card-board and metal, was not
directly applicable to packing cases, but required some alterations for this purpose,
and these alterations form the subject of my invention.
My invention consists, therefore, in the employment of specially prepared pieces
of wire or wire-tacks in lieu of the ordinary nails, and these tacks are entered from
one side into the parts to be joined, and on the other bent toward another and
twisted together by means of a flat plyer.
The better to make my meaning clear, I will proceed to describe the manufacture
aud employment of the wire tack made use of in my invention, with reference to
the accompanying drawing, on which:
Fig. 1 is an elevation of one of the tacks,
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same,
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of one of the joints,
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the closed packing case.
The wire-tacks are made of flexible wire having any suitable section, though
round wire is preferred, but I may also employ square-section wire, or very narrow
strips of metal. The material used is no matter of importance in my invention,
provided it be appropriate for the use which is made of it in closing and opening
packing cases, that is to say, it must be flexible enough to be twisted several times
without breaking. I prefer to employ zinc wire, but reserve the right of employing
any metal or alloy for this purpose.
The wire-tacks are manufactured by forming a head to the nail a by means of
a flat plyer in the manner illustrated by Fig. 2; the tack therefore consists of one
piece only and may easily and rapidly be made by the aid of the said plyer, there
being no necessity to heat the wire.
I pierce a number of suitable holes through the cover and side-boards of the
packing cases, and place cach time two holes near another, so that the ends of the
tacks entered through the same may be twisted together and thus firmly secured.
The tacks are of course inserted from inside the packing case, so that the ends
project outwards. It is advisable to pass the tacks through small disks of metal g
outside the trunk, in order to prevent the holes made in the wood from widening
when the ends of the tacks are twisted together. In Fig. 3 c indicates a side-board,
d the cover of a packing case, on which a lathe is nailed; two tacks a, the heads b
of which are placed inside the packing case, are passed outside through discs of
The
metal g, then bent toward the edge and twisted together as shown at f
packing cases are opened either by untwisting the nails at f, or by severing the
same, the wood of the packing case therefore need not be touched at all by the tool
employed for opening the same.
The wire-tacks may also very conveniently serve to increase the solidity of the
joint of the bottom with the side-boards and of the latter with another.
Instead of the described tacks, which are not pointed, I may also employ pointed

page_text: .
ones and drive the same through the parts to be united, and then twist their ends
together as in the first case; but the described tacks are the simplest and most
practical, and therefore the preferred form of the invention.
My invention may also be used to join all parts of packing cases with another,
without employing any ordinary nails. I thereby obtain packing cases which may
be taken to pieces and put together in a very short time, and which I may term
"folding packing cases.' This is a very important advantage when empty packing
cases have to be mailed.
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"
A comparison between the old and the new method will clearly show the defects
and inconveniences of the former, and the advantages offered by the latter.
The driving in of a great quantity of nails was a manipulation requiring a great
deal of time, and even of skill and carefulness under some circumstances, for
instance, in the case of packing cases made of thin boards; unskilful work was
there apt to injure the contents of the packing cases, the side boards often showed
cracks and fissures which made them unfit for further use, and points of nails
protruding out of the wood were very inconvenient and disagreeable when carrying
and transporting the packing cases. The nailing of the same moreover occasions
a great noise, which is at least a disagreeable feature of the usual methods.
But the principal disadvantage of the old method is the unpractical manner of
opening the packing cases, whereby the cover very often was damaged to such an
extent, that it had to be repaired or was rendered totally unemployable.
All these defects are overcome by my described invention in a most simple and
reliable manner. The advantages obtained are the following:-
The ends of the tacks cannot protrude inside the packing case under any
circumstances. Nor is there any danger of cracks in the wood when closing the
packing cases, as the tacks are simply inserted in holes made previously; the
insertion of the same is therefore the easiest possible and is always made at the same
places. The only tool required is a flat plyer. The nails are not provided with
points, so that the ends of the same, projecting from the packing cases, cannot
cause any damage. The closing of the packing cases is in consequence thereof
very easy and moreover much more accurate and reliable than in the usual method.
I need hardly mention that in my improved method the closing of the packing
cases takes place with very little noise, if there is any noise at all. The solidity of
the packing cases closed in this manner is a particularly great one.
The principal advantage of my method is however seen best when opening the
packing cases. The latter are not driven open by force with sharp tools which
injure the packing cases themselves and the contents of the same, but the tacks are
loosened in the simple manner described, and thereupon the cover may freely be
taken off, thus remaining entirely intact; any damage to the side-boards is equally
impossible.
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 method for closing packing cases, and, more generally, for joining the parts
of packing cases, consisting in inserting one piece of wire provided with a head
from one side into each of the parts to be joined, and in bending the projecting
ends toward another, and in twisting the same together, for the purpose as
described.
2. The manufacture and employment of a wire-tack made of one piece, and
having a head formed to it by bending the wire several times, for the purpose as
described.
Dated this 15th day of LAQUARD 1905
By F. Bosshardt & Co.,
LEVY HELFT.
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.