Improvements in and relating to Shoe Boxes or Cartons.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 29th June, 1897-Accepted, 7th Aug., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Shoe Boxes or Cartons.
I, LEONARD LEROY DOBLE, of No. 240 Essex Street, Lawrence, in the County of
Essex and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
That is to say: This invention relates to boxes such as are used by shoe dealers
to contain their goods while in stock, and it has for its object to enable the sales-
man to readily remove a pair of shoes from its carton without necessarily removing.
the carton from the shelf, so that when the cartons are piled in tiers, one upon
another, access may be had to the goods contained in a carton of a lower tier
without removing those above it. The invention consists in the improved con-
struction which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,―
Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of my improved carton, the movable end-
piece being displaced to expose the interior of the carton.
Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section, showing the movable end in place
to close the carton.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings—
"
a represents a box or carton composed of four side-pieces 2 2 and 3 3 and a fixed
end-piece 4, said parts being permanently connected and made of such strength
and stiffness as that they constitute a practically rigid box, the term "rigid
being used in the sense that the box is not collapsible under ordinary usage such
as a shoe-carton would be subjected to.
To complete the box, I employ a movable end-piece 5, which is hinged at one
edge to one end of one of the side-pieces 3, the hinge being preferably a strip 6
of cloth cemented to the adjacent portions of the said movable end-piece and side-
piece. The movable end-piece 5 is formed to close the open end of the box, and
is provided with a marginal flange 7, which preferably extends around the three
free or disconnected edges of the end-piece and is formed to enter the open end of
the box and bear with sufficient frictional contact upon the interior of the box to
hold the movable end-piece in the closed position shown in Figure 2, so that when
the movable end-piece is in place it is held by friction with sufficient firmness to
prevent it from dropping accidentally. The flange 7 is inclined inwardly toward
a line at right angles to the plaue of the end-piece 5, in order to make said flange
bevelled or inclined, whereby said flange will readily enter the open end of the
tox and bind at its base against the sides of the open end of the box, to hold the
end-piece 5 in place.
The portion of the flange 7 which is opposite to and parallel with the hinge is
inclined, as indicated in Figure 2. The essential features of construction is that
both the front and rear edges of the flange 7 shall engage frictionally with the
edge of the portion 3 of the box, so that as soon as the end-piece 5 is turned to
P77

page_text: close the box, and even a portion of the flange shall have entered the box, the said
end-piece will be held against dropping outward. Obviously, if this portion of the
flange 7 were parallel with the portion 3 of the box, it would have to be at such a
distance from said portion 3 as to permit the end-piece or lid 5 to be swung out-
wardly. This might insure a frictional engagement with the inner edge of the
flange but there could be no frictional engagement when the end-piece or lid is
pushed entirely in, and therefore the lid would be liable to open at least pari-way
when the box is in the position shown in Figure 2.
To the interior of the box, at points near its open end, are secured stiffening-
strips 8 which serve to some extent to compensate for the absence of the movable
end-piece when the latter is swung outwardly, thus adapting the carton to support
any weight that is liable to be imposed' upon it, such as one or more cartous piled
above it, whether the movable end-piece be in place or not. Said strips 8 also
serve as abutments for the flange of the movable end-piece, preventing the latter
from being forced too far into the box.
It will be seen that when the movable end-piece is in place, as shown in Figure 1,
said end-piece and its flange support and stiffen the open end or mouth of the box.
The convenience of the improved carton for use in retail stores will be readily
seen. The carton may be made of paste-board or any of the usual materials
employed for receptacles of this character. The free edge of the movable end-
piece may have a handle 9, which may be a strip of tape cemonted to the flange 7,
for convenience in opening the box.
b represents a slide resting loosely on the bottom of the box and having a
flange at its inner end, its outer end being connected by one or more flexiblo
strips with the hinged end-piece 5.
When the end-piece 5 is closed, it presses the contents of the box inwardly
against the flange b', forcing the latter toward the fixed end-piece 4. When the
end-piece 5 is opened, it pulls the slide 6 outwardly through the strip or strips b²,
thus causing the flange b to partially eject the contents of the box. This ejecting
device may be omitted if 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. A box or carton comprising four side-pieces and an end-piece permanently
connected and forming a comparatively rigid box which is open at one end, and a
movable end-piece which is hinged to one of the side-pieces and provided with an
inclined flange opposite and parallel with the hinge, the inclination being such
that either the front or rear edge of the flange may bear frictionally on the other
side-pieces and hold the said end-piece in position to close the open end of the box.
2. A box or carton comprising four side-pieces and an end-piece permanently
connected and forming a comparatively rigid box which is open at one end and is
provided with internal stiffening-strips adjacent to said open end, and a movable
end-piece which is hinged to one of the side-pieces and provided with an
inclined flange opposite and parallel with the hinge and formed to enter said open
end and abut against one or more of said stiffening-strips, the inclination of said
flange being such that either the front or rear edge of the flange may hold the
movable end-piece in place by frictional contact with the interior of the box.
A box or carton having a swinging end-piece, a movable effecting device, and
a flexible connection between said end-piece and ejecting device.
'
Dated the 28th day of June 1897