An Improved Basket or Container for use in Transporting Coal, Stones, Earth, and other Mineral Matter or Debris.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 4th Mar., 1899
An Improved Basket or Container for use in Transporting Coal,
Stones, Earth, and other Mineral Matter or Debris.
I, ROBERT BARNARD, of Birkenshaw, Sitrampore, E. I. R., Bengal, India, Con-
sulting Mining Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention consists in a novel construction of basket-like container for use
in transporting coal, stones, earth, and other mineral matter or debris from place
to place by human labour, particularly for example in the loading of coal into
ship's coal bunkers and such like operations, the object of the invention. being to
provide a cheap and light basket-like container which is of especially durable
construction as compared with the wicker baskets heretofore used for such-like
purposes.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification and will be described with reference thereto. Figure 1 represents a
central vertical section and Figure 2 a part plan of the new basket-like container.
Figure 3 shews a detail of one of its constituent parts developed in the flat and
partly broken away. Figure 4 is a detail view of a modification.
The container of this invention is of approximately hemispherical form and is
constructed wholly of metal such as ordinary hoop iron or steel and is made as
follows: The ribs of the structure are formed of, say, six or any other suitable
number of plain laths a of stout hoop iron about three-fourths of an inch broad
of equal length which are rivetted together at their common crossing point by
a rivet and are disposed crosswise of each other so as to radiate at equal angles
from such common centre so as to form the ribs of the structure. In order to
prevent the superposition of the said laths forming a projection below the bottom,
which would prevent the container standing steadily on a level surface, and in
particular in order to adapt the container to be carried on the head of a porter, as
practised by coolies, the bottom of the container is given a hollowed form on the
underside, as shewn, and for this purpose the laths or ribs are reversely curved
as shewn so as to form a hollow or "kick at the centre, surrounded at a sufficient
distance to ensure the requisite stability by a convex surface of annular form
forming a base upon which the container may rest while being loaded, the said
ribs a being gradually bent upwards to form the vertical or approximately vertical
siles of the container. At their upper ends the ribs a are doubled or bent over of
hook shape as at c and when the structure is completed they embrace a ring d
formed of a strip of flat bar iron bent to the circular form and having its ends
rivetted or welded together, the hook-shaped ends of the ribs a being doubled
orer the top edge of the ring d and being secured to the said ring by rivets e
passed through holes punched through the ring and through the inner and outer
members of the hooked ends of the ribs a as shewn. Before the structure is thus
completed the spaces between the ribs are closed in by a strip or strips of thin
hoop iron f laced in and out between said ribs, the successive convolutions of the

page_text: strip being closely juxtaposed. The strip or strips f would be of gradually taper-
ing width as indicated in Figure 3, the narrowest end of the strip, which is that
first laced in towards the centre, being only about one-quarter of an inch or less
in breadth. In practice; in order that the adjacent coils of the strip should be
oppositely disposed with regard to the ribs a, two similar strips f f¹ would be
used side by side so that they are laced in parallel or contiguous spirals passing
the one inside and the other outside of the same rib so as to form a strong basket-
like interweaving or plaiting of the strips with the ribs. These strips f f¹ may
be in continuous lengths and the interlacing thereof with the ribs a may be effected
by sliding the strips past the ends of the ribs and alternately inside and outside
of consecutive ribs, before the latter are rivetted to the ring d, the strips being
pushed down laterally along the ribs. Instead of the strips being continuous,
successive strips of convenient length for interlacing might be used in which case
their ends might be overlapped and rivetted as the work proceeds. In either case
when the work of interlacing is completed the final ends of the strips would be
made fast to the ribs at which they terminate. When continuous strips are used
the final operation would be to place the ring in position, to punch rivet holes
through the hooked end of each rib and through the ring d at one operation so
as to ensure coincidence of the rivet holes, and then rivet the ribs to the ring,
thus completing the whole structure.
If desired the ring d may have a pair of handles g rivetted to it to facilitate
lifting the loaded basket.
Instead of the ring & being of flat section it may be made of round iron and the
ends of the ribs a instead of being rivetted to the ring, may completely embrace
the ring and be rivetted to themselves as shown in Figure 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
A basket-like container for carrying coal, and other mineral matters or débris,
consisting in the combination of crossed metallic strips rivetted together and
forming radiating ribs bent approximately to a hemispherical form as described,
a filling formed of a thin metallic strip or strips of graduated width interlaced in
a spiral convolution or convolutions with the said ribs, and a rigid metal ring to
which the ends of the ribs are rivetted, so as to form a rigid structure, all sub-
stantially as herein described and represented in the drawings.
Dated this 30th day of January 1899.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.