Improvements in or in connection with Mineral Water Bottle Boxes and other Boxes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov.. 1896-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or in connection with Mineral Water Bottle Boxes
and other Boxes.
I, JOHN DAVIES, of 79, Prescot Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster,
Mineral Water Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Hitherto in the manufacture of mineral water bottle and other boxes various
methods have been adopted for strengthening them to resist the weight and rough
usage to which they are subjected. One plan has been to bind the box round the
outside at the ends with bands of iron or steel, which for various reasons, is
objectionable in so far that these bands lose their efficiency when contraction of the
wood takes place, consequently the nails or screws which hold the bands on are
wrenched partly out of the wood and the bands stand clear of the wood and leave
a hollow space between which is very objectionable indeed.
Now my invention is designed to bind the corners of the box firmly together to
resist efficiently the rough usage to which such boxes are subjected while allowing
for the expansion and contraction of the wood. With this object in view, 1 entirely
dispense with the bands or hoops aforesaid, and provide corner or angle pieces which
are fitted to and nailed or otherwise fastened to the corners of the box inside.
These corner pieces are of iron, steel or any suitable material, and are formed with
flanges also nailed or otherwise fastened to the box, which effectively bind the
sides of the box to the ends and prevent them separating notwithstanding the rough
usage to which this class of box is usually subjected. The corner pieces are flanged
over the edges of the boards at the top, the flanges also extending down the sides
at the ends if so desired. The corner or angle pieces are not provided with square
corners but the corners are rounded and stand out from the corners of the box
inside, in such a manner that if the width or length of the box be forcibly con-
tracted these rounded corners will close into the square corners of the box, or they
can be closed into the corners by a blow of a hammer and thus compensate for the
decrease in the width or length of the box caused by the contraction of the wood.
The box, notwithstanding this contraction will thus be as strong as before. It is
of course an essential feature of the invention that the corners of these angle pieces
have curved or rounded corners and stand clear of the square corners of the box
ipside, thus permitting the material of the box to contract or expand without
lessening the strength, of the box, or cause any inconvenient projections to stand
out therefrom.
DL 1
of Contomboy 1906

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or in connection with Mineral Water Bottle Boxes
and other Boxes.
I, JOHN DAVIES of 79 Prescot Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster,
Mineral Water Manufacturer, 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:-
Hitherto in the manufacture of mineral water bottle and other boxes, various
methods have been adopted for strengthening them to resist the weight and rough
usage to which they are subjected. One plan has been to bind the box round the
outside at the ends with bands of iron or steel, which for various reasons is
objectionable in so far that these bands lose their efficiency when contraction of
the wood takes place, consequently the nails or screws which hold the bands on are
wrenched partly out of the wood and the bands stand clear of the wood and
leave a hollow space between, which is very objectionable indeed.
Now my invention is designed to bind the corners of the box firmly together to
resist efficiently the rough usage to which such boxes are subjected, while allowing
for the expansion and contraction of the wood. With this object in view,
I entirely dispense with the bands or hoops aforesaid, and provide corner or angle
pieces which are fitted to and nailed or otherwise fastened to the corners of the
box inside.
The invention will be understood from the following description, reference being
had to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a general view of a mineral water box fitted with my invention;
Figure 2 a detail view of the corner plate; and
Figure 3 view showing a method of making the corner pieces.
In these figures, A is the mineral water bottle_box, B the corner or angle
plates nailed or screwed to the corners of the box. These corner pieces B are of
iron, steel or any suitable material, and are formed with flanges also nailed or
otherwise fastened to the box, which effectively bind the sides of the box to the
ends and prevent them separating notwithstanding the rough usage to which this
class of box is usually subjected. The corner pieces B are flanged at b b over the
edges of the boards at the top, the flanges also extending down the sides at b' if so
desired. The corner or angle pieces are not provided with square corners but they
are so formed as to stand out somewhat at B' from the corners of the box inside,
in such a manner that if the width or length of the box be forcibly contracted
these corners will close into the square corners of the box, or they can be closed
into the corners by a blow of a hammer and thus compensate for the decrease in
the width or length of the box caused by the contraction of the wood. In practice
rounded corners B' are found most suitable. The box notwithstanding this con
traction will thus be as strong as before. The metal of which the corner plates is'
composed is sufficiently strong to resist efficiently the rough usage to which such
boxes are subjected, while capable of, closing into the square corners of the box
when contraction takes place. Thus it will be seen that the corners of the angle
pieces standing clear of the square corners of the box inside, permit the material of
the box to contract or expand without lessening the strength of the box, or cause
any inconvenient projections to stand out therefrom.
A convenient way of forming the angle plates B is to take a rectangular flat
plate (Figure 3). In this plate a hole is punched at C, the plate cut diagonally
from C to D to form the flanges b b, and the plate bent at right angles on the
dotted lines E F. The plate is again bent at right angles at C with a round

page_text: corner, this bending of the plate separating the flanges b b which are fastened to
the edges of the boards at the top, and the corner piece is completed by bending
flange b' on the dotted line G. It must be understood, however, that either one or
more of the flanges 6 6¹ may be dispensed with if so desired.
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. The improvement in or in connection with mineral water bottle and other
boxes, whereby the corners of the box are bound firmly together to resist efficiently
the rough usage to which such boxes are subjected, while allowing for the expansion
and contraction of the wood; this result being arrived at by fitting to the corners
of the box inside, metallic corner pieces having corners which stand out from the
corners of the box inside in such a manner, that if the width or length of the box
be forcibly contracted, these corners will close into the square corners of the box,
and thus compensate for the decrease in the width or length of the box caused by
the contraction of the wood, substantially as described.
2. A metal corner plate for boxes having its corners rounded or otherwise formed
to stand out from the corners of the box inside, in such a manner that if the width
or length of the box be forcibly contracted these corners will close into the square
corners of the box, whereby a decrease of the width or length caused by the
contraction of the wood is allowed for, without diminishing the strength of
the box.
3. A metal corner plate formed out of a single piece of metal and flanged over
the edge of the box at the top at one or more points, and nailed or otherwise
fastened to the box to effectively bind the sides and ends together, substantially as
described.
4. A metallic corner plate substantially as described and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.