AN IMPROVED CON- STRUCTION OF PACKING CASE
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Cocker at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th September
1860.
I, JAMES COCKER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Wiredrawer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF PACKING CASE," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to construct packing cases that they will
afford perfect security to the goods placed therein for transmission without
requiring nails or wood screws to secure the lid to the box, and yet will at the
same time admit of being readily opened without injury to the case. The
Invention admits of slight modifications in carrying it out, but the same
principle of construction (consisting mainly in the use of a compound lid) will,
in part or in whole, be retained in every example. For large cases I form
the lid in three parts, the middle one of which I make wedge shaped in plan,
and fit its sides with a metallic or other tongue extending from end to end
thereof. The short end of this middle piece I form with a shoulder, that it
may overlap the edge of the case when driven home, and in the rebate I fix a
metal pin, which is to enter into a corresponding hole in the inner side of the
case. The side pieces which complete the lid I form with a shoulder on their
outer edge, and on one or both ends to overlap the edges of the case, and their
inner edges I cut to fit the middle wedge-shaped piece, and groove them to
receive the metal tongues of that piece. I also fit pins in the outer edges of

page_text: the side pieces, to enter corresponding holes in the sides of the case. The
side pieces being slidden laterally into their places, and the middle portion of
the lid inserted (one side of the case being cut down a little to allow of its
insertion lengthwise between the side pieces), the middle piece will, when
forced home, wedge in tightly between the side pieces, and keep them firmly
in position. To secure this middle piece I use a thumb-screw, which works
in a sunk metal socket, and enters the front end of the case. For further
protection to the case, or to prevent it being surreptitiously opened, I bore a
hole or holes through the lid at the junction of the parts, and insert a cork
plug therein; I then cover this with a seal, and thus prevent the case being
opened without the removal of the seal. If thought desirable, the several
pieces forming the lid may be applied endwise. To admit of this, the front
end must be cut down below the sides a distance equalling about two-thirds
the thickness of the lid. For a small case the lid may be made of two wedge-
shaped pieces, or even of one piece tongued and grooved on one end and two
sides. When making the lid of two pieces, I tongue and groove the contact
edges, and the outer edges I rebate to form shoulders for overlapping the
edges of the case, and one edge I fit with a tongue, which enters a groove in
the side of the case, and the other with pins to enter corresponding holes in
the other side of the case. The method above described for securing the lid
I propose to apply in all instances requiring security against tampering with
-the contents of a case.