OI Trays.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 26th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 2nd. Mar., 1889
OI Trays.
We, ALFRED NIND HOPKINS, of the firm of J. H. Hopkins and Sons, of Granville
Works, Birmingham in the County of Warwick, tinplate workers and japanners, and
THOMAS JAMES BAKER, foreman in the employment of the said firm, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
the
Trays are usually stamped or blocked so as to form the desired rim therearound in
the sheet which forms the plate or panel thereof. This method of manufacture
involves the employment of expensive machinery and tools; and, moreover,
articles made in this manner must be always used with the same face upwards or to
the front, owing to the character of the formation which it is necessary to give to
the rim.
Now, according to this invention, the trays are made of a plain sheet (forming the
panel) with a wooden or papier maché rim, or rim of other suitable material, fixed
separately therearound. The flat sheet may be coated with paint japan or other
desired coating substance previously to being set in the rim, or it may of course be so
coated afterwards if preferred, and the rim is made up as a frame and put together
around the panel, being grooved for the reception of the edges thereof. The rim thus
formed projects from both faces of the panel. When a tray. is made up in this
manner, it may be used with either face upwards, thereby dividing the wear between
its two faces, and affording facility for presenting a choice of colour, pattern or design,
on the upper side.
A special advantage in the employment of this invention for trays in which the
plate is made of papier maché, consists in the facility which is afforded for coating the
surfaces of the plate previously to fixing the rim therearound, by means of a roller or
rollers as described in the specification of a patent No. 5209 of 1881 granted to the
said Alfred Nind Hopkins..
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton and Walsall,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: OI Trays..
We, ÁLFRED NIND HOPKINS, of the firm of J. H. Hopkins and Sons, of Granville
Works, Birmingham in the County of Warwick, tinplate workers and japanners, and
THOMAS JAMES BAKER, foreman in the employment of the said firm, 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 :-
--
In the ordinary method of manufacturing a tray the material from which it is to be
formed is stamped or blocked so as to form the desired rim therearound in the sheet
which forms the plate or panel thereof. This method of manufacture involves the
employment of expensive machinery and tools; and, moreover, trays made in this
manner must always be used with the same face upwards, owing to. the character
of the formation which it is necessary to give to the rim.
4
Now, according to this invention, the trays are made of a plate or sheet of metal or
papier maché (forming the panel) with a wooden or papier maché rim or rim of other
suitable material fixed separately therearound. The plate or sheet may be coated with
paint japan or other desired coating substance previously to being set in the rim,
or it may of course be so coated afterwards if preferred, and the rim is made up.
as a frame and put together around the panel, being grooved for the reception of
.the edges thereof. The rim thus formed projects from both faces of the panel.
A tray made up in this manner may be used with either face upwards, thereby
dividing the wear between its two faces, and affording facility for presenting a choice.
of colour, pattern or design, on the upper side.
A special advantage in the employment of this invention for trays, in which the
plate is made of papier maché, consists in the facility which is afforded for coating
the surfaces of the plate previously to fixing the rim therearound, by means of a
roller or rollers according to a method of coating described in the specification of
a patent No. 5209 of 1881 granted to the said Alfred Nind Hopkins.
This invention will be readily understood on reference to the. accompanying
drawings, which illustrate a tray constructed in the manner above described:
Figure 1 is a plan; figure 2 a section taken on line a of figure, 1; and figure,3
a full size section through one side of the rim shewing the connection of the plate
(which forms the bottom of the tray) therewith. The plate A is fitted within a
groove a of a rim B of wood, papier maché, or other suitable material. The members
of the rim may be joined together at the corners in any manner in which frames
of like description are so joined. A simple and efficient method is the common
one of sawing in inclined slots and gluing strips of wood or other suitable material
therein.
The invention may be varied considerably without departing from its nature, for
instance, in lieu of forming a groove to receive-the edges of the plate, the plate

page_text: may be held in place between strips of wood or other suitable material fixed inside
the rim or framé, or may be let into a rebate in the frame and be held between
the bottom of such rebate and strips fixed inside the rim or frame. Various shapes
in outline may of course be adopted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In the manufacture of a tray forming the plate or panel of sheet metal or
papier maché independently of a rim and afterwards fixing a rim therearound
which projects from the plane of each face, substantially as described.
2. In the manufacture of a tray of which the plate or panel is of papier maché
forming such plate or panel independently of the rim, then coating the same by
means of a roller or rollers according to a method of coating described in the
specification of a patent No. 5209 of 1881 granted to the said Alfred Nind Hopkins,
and completing the tray by fixing a rim therearound which projects from the plane
of each face, substantially as described.
3 In a tray the combination of a sheet metal or papier maché plate or panel
with a wooden or papier maché rim or rim of other suitable material fixed separately
therearound and projecting from the plane of each face thereof, substantially as
described for the purpose or purposes set forth.
4. A tray formed substantially as described with reference to the drawings
herewith, for the purpose.or purposes set forth.