Improvements in Metal Boxes and in Apparatus Employed in their Construction."
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Aug., 1889-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Metal Boxes and in Apparatus Employed in their
Construction."
I, FREDERICK JOHN KING of 3-6 Camomile Street in the City of London
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference more particularly to metal boxes having hinged lids or
covers and has for its object to construct such boxes cheaper and more expeditiously
than heretofore.
According to my invention I form the hinge of the box in the metal of which the
box is made and dispense with the use of a wire or hinge pin usually employed for
the lid to turn on and which connects the two parts of the hinge together.
On the upper edge of that side of the body of the box to which the lid is to be
hinged L.form a tube or partial tube which may be effected by bending the said upper
part of the plate round a suitable mandrel or otherwise but preferably by means of
an apparatus hereinafter described. This tube is formed on the exterior of the box and
inside this tube is inserted a similar tube or partial tube formed on the lid or cover
to be hinged thereto. The tubes being inserted the one within the other as described
constitute the hinge upon which the lid or cover may turn and in order to prevent
the lid from becoming detached from the body and also to give to the box a neat
appearance the upper part of the side of the body of the box on which the hinge is
formed is bent inwards so that the ends of the tubes constituting the binge come
against the inner faces of the ends or side of the box which are at right angles to the
hinged side. A simple strong and secure hinge is thus formed without the use of
solder or hinge pins as heretofore.
The apparatus which I employ for bending the plates for forming the hinge is
similar to that described in the Specification to my former Patent No. 1429687 for
folding over the edges of metal plates except that instead of the nipping jaws having
flat or right angled acting surfaces as therein described the acting face of one of the
jaws of the nipping device which I employ for forming hinges is concave and the
corresponding acting surface of the other jaw is convex so that when the edge of
the plate on which the hinge is to be formed is nipped between, it is bent or curved
to correspond to the concavity of the nipping jaw and then by turning the nipping
device on its centres as described in the before mentioned Specification for folding
over the edges of plates the necessary tube or partial tube will be formed on the
plate.
A tube or partial tube is also formed in a similar manner on one side of the lid of
the box and the one tube having been inserted within the other as herein before
described to form the hinge the same may be bent inwards to the interior of the box
to complete the connection of the lid to the body of the box by means of the same
nipping device employed for forming the tubes. This apparatus may be employed
for forming hollow or tubular strengthening beads round the edges of the bodies and
lids of metal boxes.
Dated this 93rd day of it. 1 1900
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Metal Boxes and in Apparatus Employed in their
Construction.
I FREDERICK JOHN KING of 3-6 Camomile Street in the City of London
Merchant 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 :-
My Invention has reference to metal boxes having hinged lids or covers and has
for its object to construct such boxes cheaper and more expeditiously than
heretofore.
According to my Invention I form the hinge of the box in the metal of which the
box is made and dispense with the use of a wire or hinge pin usually employed for
the lid to turn on and which connects the two parts of the hinge together.
On the upper edge of that side of the body of the box to which the lid is to bo
hinged I form a tube or partial tube which may be effected by bending the said upper
part of the plate round a suitable mandrel or otherwise, but preferably by means of
an apparatus hereinatter described. This tube is formed on the exterior of the box
and inside this tube is inserted a similar tube or partial tube formed on the lid or
cover to be hinged thereto. The tubes being inserted the one within the other as
described constitute the hinge upon which the lid or cover turns and in order to
prevent the lid from becoming detached from the body and also to give to the box
a neat appearance the upper part of the side of the body of the box on which the
hinge is formed is bent inwards so that the ends of the tubes constituting the hinge
come against the inner faces of the ends or side of the box which are at right
angles to the hinged side. A simple strong and secure hinge is thus formed without
the use of solder or hinge pins as heretofore.
The apparatus which I employ for bending the plates for forming the hinge may
be similar to that described in the Specification to my former Patent No. 14,2967 for
folding over the edges of metal plates except that instead of the nipping jaws having
flat or right angled acting surfaces as therein described the acting face of one of the
jaws of the nipping device for forming hinges is concave and the corresponding
acting surface of the other jaw is convex so that when the edge of the plate on which
the hinge is to be formed is nipped between these jaws it is bent or curved to
correspond to the concavity of the nipping jaw and then by turning the nipping
device on its centres the necessary tube or partial tube will be formed on the plate.
A tube or partial tube is also formed in a similar manner on one side of the lid of
the box and the one tube having been inserted within the other as hereinbefore
described to form the hinge the same may be bent inwards to the interior of the
box to complete the connection of the lid to the body of the box.
The tube formed upon the body of the box may if desired be inserted within that
formed upon the lid, instead of as previously described.
The apparatus for forming the hinge may be employed for forming hollow or tubular
strengthening beads round the edges of the bodies and lids of metal boxes.
And in order that my invention may be clearly understood will describe with
reference to the accompanying drawings the mode of making a binge according to
my invention premising however that I do not restrict myself to the details of the
mechanism described and illustrated.
Figure 1 represents in plan the body portion of a metal box constructed according
to my Invention as described in the Specification hereinbefore referred to and con-
taining the anvil or supporting frame which receives the pressure of the folding device
whilst folding over the upper edges of the sides of the box. Three of the said
upper edges of the body are folded inwards whilst the upper edge a of the fourth
side, to which the lid is to be hinged, is bent outwards at an angle to the side as
shewn.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lid, which may also be made in the manner

page_text: described in the Specification hereinhefore referred to, its four edges being turned up
so as to form a shallow tray. Three of these turned up edges are connected together
by folding the corners over as shewu at 6 whilst the fourth edge c which is to be
hinged to the body A of the box is separate from the other turned up edges, pieces of
the metal of which the lid is made being cut out of the corners as at d. Figures 3
to 8 illustrate the apparatus which I prefer to employ for forming the tubes or partial
tubes constituting the hinge of the box, and the different stages in their formation the
apparatus for completing the connection of the lid to the body of the box being
illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. Figure 11 is a sectional perspective view of the
completed hinge.
To form the tube or partial tube on the projecting edge a of the body of the
box, the said body with the anvil or supporting frame B therein, is placed on the
platform or table C with the projecting edge a in position to be nipped between
two jaws D D of a nipping device which is hinged at d to the frame E carrying.
the table C. This nipping device is similar to that described in the specification
hereinbefore referred to for folding over the edges of the box except that the jaw 1)
is concave on its inner face, and the jaw D2 is correspondingly convex to fit into
the concavity in the jaw D. The body A being in the position shewn in Figure 3,
the handle of the jaw D2 is moved on its fulcrum f2 into the position shewn in
Figure 4 thereby causing the convex surface a¹ on the said jaw to press the pro-
jecting edge a of the body into the concavity a³ in the face of the jaw D, thus
imparting a curved form to the edge a as shewn, after which the two jaws D
and D, are simultaneously turned on the axis d by means of the handles F F¹
into the position shewn in Figure 5, thereby further curving the edge a into the
partial tubular form shewn in the said Figure 5.
the
The table C on which the body A rests is capable of being raised by any suitable
means, to the required extent to admit of the partial tube being formed on the
edge without disturbing the body A from its position on the table. I have shewn
in the drawing an arrangement for this purpose consisting of a turntable G placed
between the table and a piece C bolted to the base of the frame E the turn
table being provided with a handle H by which it may be turned. On the under
side of this turn table are cam surfaces e bearing upon corresponding cam surfaces e²
on the piece C so that while the workman is operating the nipping device D D
with one hand, he may with his other hand rotate the turn table by means of
the handle H the cam surfaces e being thus caused to slide up the cam surfaces e²
and thereby raise the table C to the required extent as shown in Figure
table being guided in its vertical movements by studs of screwed into the frame E
and entering holes in the table C. The edge a having been curved or formed into
a partial tube as described the jaws D D are opened out or separated, the jaw D³
being turned into the position shown in Figure 6 in which position it may be
retained by a spring 9. A mandrel of the required diameter is now inserted in
the partially formed tube and held in position by a "tee" piece I or other suitable
instrument while the jaw D is further turned on the axis d so as to cause the
metal to partially embrace the mandrel. The tee piece 1 is then removed and the
tube, or partial tube completed on the mandrel by turning the jaw D into the position
shown in Figure 7. The tube or partial tube being thus completed the jaws D
and D are returned to their normal position, the table lowered by reversing
the motion of the handle H and the hody A removed from the apparatus. The
mandrel is removed from the tube thus formed which is then ready to be connected
to a similarly formed tube on the lid which is to be hinged to the body A. The
tube or partial tube may be formed on the lid of the box in a similar manner to
that described for forming the tube on the body A and preferably around a smaller
mandrel but as the lid is shallower than the body, a support K as shown in
Figure 8 is fastened on the platform or table C upon which support the lid is
placed with its rim turned upwards, the edge c being placed between the jaws D D' of
the nipping device. The tube or partial tube is formed on the edge c by operating
the apparatus in the manner hereinbefore described after which the mandrel on

page_text: which it is formed is withdrawn and the tubes or partial tubes formed respectively
on the body A and the lid of the box are inserted the one within the other as
shown in Figure 9. The body A with the lid connected thereto is then placed on
the apparatus illustrated by Figures 9 and 10 by which the hinging of the lid to
the body of the box is completed by bending the tubes inside the box, and the
lid into its closed position so that the ends of the tubes are covered by the ends or
sides of the box thereby preventing the tubes being withdrawn one from the other.
The apparatus for completing the hinge consists of a frame L to which is hinged a
jaw M having a concave face a similar to that of the jaw D of the nipping device
herein before referred to. The box with the lid attached is placed in the frame Las
.shown in Figure 9 with the lid standing in a vertical position and the hinge bearing
against the concave face of the jaw M. The box is held firmly in this position by a
strap or frame N which is hinged at m to the main frame L and embraces three sides
of the box as shewn. The axis on which the jaw M turns corresponds to the edge l
of the concave face of the jaw so that when the jaw is turned on its axis by means of
the handle P into the position shown in Fig. 10 the side of the box on which the
hinge is formed will be bent inwards and the lid forced into its closed position, the
hinge entering a recess 'n provided for it in the top edge of one of the sides of
the anvil or supporting frame B. The jaw M is now returned to its normal position
in readiness for the next operation the strap or frame N is raised so as to release the
box which is then removed from the apparatus and the anvil or supporting frame
removed from the interior thereof the connecting of the lid to the body of the box as
shown in Figure 11 being completed.
It is obvious that the apparatus herein before described for forming tubes for
hinging the lid to the body of the box may be used for forming tubular beadings or
projections on the edges of metal boxes.
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 :-
1st. A hinge for metal boxes consisting of two tubes or partial tubes placed one
within the other substantially as herein before described with reference to Figure 11
of the accompanying drawings.
2nd. In apparatus for forming tubes or partial tubes on metal boxes a nipping
device consisting of two jaws, the face of one jaw being concave and the face of the
other jaw being convex and both being capable of being turned over whilst gripping
the metal substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
3rd. The combination with the subject matter of the last preceding claiming clause
of a table or platform for supporting the body of the box while the tube or partial
tube is being formed thereon the said table or platform being capable of being raised
and lowered substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
4th. The combination and arrangements of parts constituting a machine substan-
tially as and for the purposes herein before described and illustrated by Figures 3 to 8
of the accompanying drawings.
5th. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting apparatus for com-
pleting the hinging of lids to the bodies of metal boxes substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by Figures 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of Avonct 1880
FREDK. J. KING.