IMPROVEMENTS IN COAL-BOXES AND OTHER BOXES OR RECEPTACLES FOR HOLDING FUEL
Year: 1884

page_text: I, EDMUND BULLIVANT, of the firm of Edmund Bullivant and Company,
of Blakenhall Works, Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Tin-plate
Workers and Japanners, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN COAL-BOXES AND OTHER BOXES OR RECEPTACLES FOR HOLDING
FUEL and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this Invention is to provide means whereby coal and other fuel
may be more conveniently supplied to and withdrawn from coal-boxes, and
analogous boxes, of the type usually made to open in front, and the lining thereof
(when such is employed) more conveniently removed and replaced, than in the case
of such coal and analogous boxes of the ordinary construction.
I will describe and illustrate my Invention as applied to a coal-box when its
application to boxes or receptacles for holding wood, turf, or other fuel, will be
obvious without need for further description.
According to the usual method of constructing a coal-box of the above type, the
door or lid is hung along the top edge thereof, and when the same is lifted up the
light thus admitted to the interior of the box is frequently insufficient; and
moreover pieces of coal and coal dust are very liable to fall down upon the carpet
immediately in front of the box as they are being removed therefrom.
The lining
of the box, when such is employed, has also, in this case, to be pushed into the box
and removed therefrom in an endway direction by means of two handles, the
operation in either case being one of considerable inconvenience.
Now, according to this Invention, the ordinary door or lid is hinged along its
lower edge so as to open down on to the floor or carpet of the room, and the top of
the box is itself hinged so as to open backwards and thus leave a clear continuous
opening along the front and over the top of the box. The lining is formed open at
the top as well as down the front and has a plain bar-handle across the top by
which it is readily lifted up and carried.
My Invention will be readily understood by reference to the Drawings herewith, of
which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through my improved construction
of coal-box, Figure 2 a plan of Figure 1 with the box shewn open, and Figure 3 a full
size vertical section shewing the connection of the front door or lid with the top
D
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page_text: lid. Similar letters of reference occurring upon any two or more of these views
indicate corresponding parts. AA is the box proper, B B B the lining thereof, C the
front door or lid, and D the top lid. In Figure Í both the lids C and D are shewn
by full lines in their closed position and by broken lines in their open position,
being in the latter case lettered respectively C¹ and D¹. In Figure 2 both the lids
⚫are shewn open.
In closing the box the top lid D is first shut down, and then the lid C is shut
with its upper inner face bearing against the lower outer face of the lid D. Two
studs a a (lettered a¹ where shewn by broken lines Figure 1) projecting rigidly
from the lid C take into corresponding holes in the lid D and thus enable the box
to be lifted by means of the handle E on the lid D, when the box is closed. The
top of the lining B B B is open as shewn so as to give a continuous opening with the
front opening thereof from the point b (Figure 1); and a cross bar. F is fixed from
side to side of the lining at the top thereof by which means it can be lifted and
carried with one hand only.
It will be seen that by the employment of this Invention the interior of the box
when open is much lighter, and that coal is much more readily supplied to and
removed therefrom, than in the case of the ordinary description of coal-box; and
that the lining (when such is employed). is readily lifted up out of and replaced
within the box proper by one hand only; and that, further, any coal dropped
immediately in front of the box will fall upon the lid instead of upon the carpet
or floor.
The illustration shews a coal-box made of sheet metal, but the Invention applies
equally in the case of wooden boxes and of boxes made of any suitable material or
materials.
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:
1. A coal-box or other box or receptacle for holding fuel, constructed to open
both at the front and top, substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and shewn.
2. For a coal-box or other box or receptacle for holding fuel, having the front
and top to open in the manner herein described, the method of connecting the
lower lid to the upper lid by means of a stud or studs, substantially as and for the
purpose herein described and shewn.
3. For a coal-box or other box or receptacle for holding fuel, constructed to open
both at the front and top substantially as described, a lining having both the front
and top thereof open, and preferably with a cross-bar handle thereto, substantially
as and for the purpose herein described and shewn,
Dated this Twenty third day of July 1884