Improvements in Folding or Collapsable Trunks, Bathing Tents, and the like.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 16th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 12th May, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Folding or Collapsable Trunks, Bathing Tents, and
the like.
I, FREDERICK WHIPPY FEW, of Greville Lodge, Putney, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to trunks and the like, and is chiefly designed to provide a
simple and efficient folding or collapsable trunk so as to economize space when the
trunk is not in use.
For this purpose, I construct the trunk or the like with a lowermost board or
bottom, preferably of rectangular shape, and with two boards connected thereto
one at each end by hinge-joints, and of such size that, when folded down upon the
bottom board, their free ends will meet or nearly meet. To the front and back of
the bottom board are firmly secured low walls to which the front and back boards
of the trunk are connected respectively, by hinge-joints. The said walls are of
such height that the upper surface of one of the same is flush with the end boards
of the trunk when the latter are folded down upon the bottom thereof, whilst the
upper surface of the other is flush with the front or back board as the case may
be, when the latter is folded down upon the end boards. The four sides of the
trunk are thus adapted to fold down closely one upon another. The said sides are
so proportioned relatively to each other that, when they are turned up at right
angles to the bottom, their upper surfaces or edges are flush with each other and
parallel with the bottom board.
To the said bottom board is connected, by means of a cover or outer casing of.
canvas, cloth, leather or other suitable flexible material, a frame of about the same
size externally as the bottom of the trunk. This frame carries the lid of the trunk,
which may be connected to the said frame by hinge-joints; and the said frame is
adapted to rest on the upper surfaces or edges of the sides of the trunk when
turned up at right angles to the bottom, the length of the canvas or other cover
being such that it is strained tightly between the said frame and the bottom when
the sides are thus turned up.
In order to retain the parts of the trunk securely in position, when the said
trunk is adjusted for use, I provide suitable screws or pins which are passed through
holes in the said frame and into nuts or sockets attached to the upper surfaces or
edges of the sides of the trunk. The heads of the said screws may be sunk either
into the lid or cover of the trunk or into the frame as may be found most
convenient, so that the lid can be properly closed.
In some instances I find it advantageous to extend the plates of the hinges which
connect the sides to the bottom, up the said sides and to bend them over the edges
of the sides; and I can form in the extensions of the said plates the above
mentioned nuts or sockets for the screws or pins, so that, when the screws or pins
are passed through the upper frame and screwed into the said nuts or sockets, the
said frame is directly connected to the bottom through metallic fastenings, thus
imparting great strength to the trunk. The trunk is preferably provided with
removable handles, which may be conveniently secured to the aforesaid extensions
of the hinge-plates.
When it is desired to fold up or collapse the trunk, the screws or pins are
removed and the sides are successively folded down in their proper order, when the
upper frame carrying the lid, being no longer held up by the said sides, may be
laid down on the top or the said sides, and the canvas arranged in convenient folds.

page_text: The whole trunk will then occupy but little space and can be placed under a bed or
in any other convenient place.
The trunk may be provided with a lock, straps or other suitable fastenings
and accessories, and may be finished internally and externally in any suitable
manner.
It is obvious that my improved trunk may be somewhat modified without
departing from the nature of my said invention.
The above mentioned improvements are also applicable to bathing tents or the
like, which are thus made easily portable and have the advantage that they are
provided with a wooden floor.
In some instances 1 make the folding sides of the structure in the shape of open
frames which are connected to the bottom by hinge-joints and serve to support the
upper frame and to tightly stretch the canvas or other flexible material. The ends
of the structure may, if desired, be made in two or more parts connected by hinge-
joints. Or one of the end-boards or frames may be connected by hinge-joints to a
low wall secured to the bottom, so that this end board or frame will fold down upon
the other end board or frame. I can, if desired, make the bottom as a frame instead
of a board.
Dated this Eighth day of March 1894.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Folding or Collapsable Trunks, Bathing Tents, and
the like.
I, FREDERICK WHIPPY FEW, of Greville Lodge, Putney, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, 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 :-
a
My invention relates to trunks and the like, and is chiefly designed to provide
simple and efficient folding or collapsable box or trunk which, when folded or
collapsed, will occupy a comparatively small space and can therefore be very
conveniently laid away or stored so as to economise space when the trunk is not
in use.
For this purpose, I construct the trunk or the like with a lowermost board or
bottom, preferably of rectangular shape, and with two boards connected thereto
one at each end by hinge-joints, and of such size that, when folded down upon the
bottom board, their free ends will meet or nearly meet. To the frout and back of
the bottom board are firmly secured low walls to which the front and back boards
of the trunk are connected, respectively, by hinge-joints. The said walls are of
such height that the upper surface of one of the same is flush with the end boards
of the trunk.when the latter are folded down upon the bottom thereof, whilst the
upper surface of the other is flush with the front or back board as the case may be,
when the latter is folded down upon the end boards. The front and back boards
of the trunk are thus adapted to fold so that they lie closely one above the other
upon the said end boards when the latter are turned down upon the bottom board.
The tour sides are so proportioned relatively to each other that, when they are
turned up at right angles to the bottom, their upper edges are flush with each other
and parallel with the bottom board.
A frame of the same or about the same size externally as the bottom of the
trunk, is connected, by means of a cover or outer casing of canvas, cloth, leather
or other suitable flexible material, to the said bottom board, so that, when the box
or trunk is folded or callapsed, the said frame may rest upon the back or front

page_text: board as the case may be. This frame carries the lid of the trunk, which may be
connected to the said frame by hinge-joints; and the said frame is adapted to rest
on the upper edges of the sides of the trunk when the sides are turned up at right
angles to the bottom, the length of the canvas or other cover being such that it is
strained or stretched tightly between the said frame and the bottom when the
sides are thus turned up. This movable frame attached to the flexible onter casing
or covering, constitutes an important feature of my said invention as, by its use,
great strength and rigidity are imparted to the collapsable box or trunk when the
same is in condition to be used.
In order to retain the parts of the trunk securely in position, when the said trunk
is adjusted for use, I provide suitable screws or pins which are passed through
holes in the said frame and into nuts or sockets attached to the upper surfaces or
edges of the sides of the trunk. Or I provide other convenient devices for this
purpose. The heads of the said screws may be sunk either into the lid of the
trunk or into the frame as may be found most convenient, so that the lid can be
properly closed.
I find it advantageous to extend the plates of the hinges which connect the sides
to the bottom, up the said sides; and in some instances I bend them over the upper
edge of the sides; I can then form in the extensions of the said plates the above
mentioned nuts or sockets for the screws or pins, so that, when the screws or pins
are passed through the said frame and screwed into the said nuts or sockets, the
said frame will be directly connected to the bottom through metallic fastenings,
thus imparting great strength to the trunk. The trunk is sometimes provided with
removable handles, which may be conveniently secured to the aforesaid extensions
of the hinge-plates. It may, moreover, be provided with a lock, straps or other
suitable fastenings and other accessories, and may be finished internally and
externally in any suitable manner.
In the accompanying drawing I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section, and
Figure 2 a transverse section of one form of my folding or collapsable box or
trunk showing the same in condition for use.
Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section showing the said box or trunk with the
end boards folded down, and
Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section showing the box or trunk folded or
collapsed.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
A is the bottom board of the trunk; to which is firmly secured in
any convenient
manner an outer casing or covering B of canvas or other suitable flexible material.
C is a frame which is firmly secured in or to the casing or cover B at the upper
end thereof, and to which the lid D is attached by hinge-joints D', Figure 2.
The end boards E, E' are attached to the bottom board A by hinge-joints a, a¹
respectively, so that they can be turned up into the position shown in Figure 1, or
folded down next the bottom board A in the position shown in Figures 3 and 4..
The side boards F, F1, forming the back and front of the trunk respectively, are
attached by hinge-joints b, & to low walls G, G' rigidly secured to the bottom
board A. The height of the wall G is equal to or very slightly greater than the
thickness of either of the end-boards E, E. The height of the wall G' is equal
to or very slightly greater than the thickness of either of the said end boards plus
the thickness of the back board F.
c, c are screws which, when the sides of the trunk are turned up into the position
shown in Figure 1. are inserted in holes in the frame C and screwed into inetal
sockets or nuts & firmly attached to the upper edges of the end boards E, E' and
of the back and front boards F, F. The trunk is thus made very rigid when
ready for use, so that it can withstand very rough usage. The lid D of the trunk
has notches or recesses e formed in its underside at or near the edge, into which
notches or recesses the heads of the screws c project when the trunk is closed.

page_text: If desired the trunk is provided with a folding tray as shown in the drawing.
The back and front pieces H, H' of this tray are secured to the bottom J thereof
by hinge-joints f, fi so that they can be turned up into the position shown in
Figure 1, or folded down as shown in Figure 4. The end pieces K, K' of the said
tray are attached by hinge-joints g, g' to low walls rigidly secured to the bottom J
of the tray, substantially as above described with reference to the back and front
boards F, F¹ of the trunk, so that they may be folded down over the front and back
pieces of the said tray. When the tray is ready for use, the back and front pieces
thereof are secured to the end pieces by means of hooks h; or other suitable
devices may be used for this purpose. The tray is provided with projections j
which rest upon the frame C and thus support the said tray in the desired position
in the trunk.
When it is desired to fold up or collapse the trunk, the tray (when such is
employed) must first be lifted out; the screws or pins c are then removed and the
sides E, E, F, F1 of the trunk are successively folded down in their proper order;
the frame C carrying the lid, being no longer held up by the said sides, may be
laid down on the top of the said sides, the canvas or other cover being arranged in
convenient folds. The whole trunk, as shewn in Figure 4, will then be about
one-third of its height when adjusted for use, and can therefore be placed under a
bed or in any other place where an ordinary box or trunk of equal size could not
possibly be stored. The folded tray can be placed inside the folded trunk without
increasing the height of the folded trunk.
It is obvious that the construction of my improved trunk may be somewhat
modified without departing from the nature of my said invention.
My improvements above described are also applicable to bathing-tents or the
like, which are thus made easily portable and have the advantage that they can be
provided with a wooden floor. In this case, an opening or door is provided in one
or other of the sides of the structure.
The
In some instances I make the folding sides of the structure in the shape of
frames which are connected to the bottom by hinge-joints and serve to support the
aforesaid frame and to tightly stretch the canvas or other flexible material.
ends of the structure may, if desired, be made in two or more parts connected by
hinge-joints, so that they may be folded one or more times before being turned
down upon the bottom board. In other instances, one of the end-boards or frames
is connected by hinge-joints to a low wall secured to the bottom, so that this end
board or frame will fold down upon the other end board or frame. I can, if
desired, make the bottom as a frame instead of a board.
It is evident that, for some purposes, the structure can be so made that, when it
is ready for use, the aforesaid movable frame is vertical instead of horizontal.
It is not always essential to employ the flexible casing or covering, above
described. According to another modification of my invention, I dispense with
such flexible casing or covering, the aforesaid frame being unconnected with the
bottom board except when secured by the screws or pins to the sides of the box or
trunk. I prefer, however, to connect the said frame with the bottom board by
means of the flexible casing or covering as above described, because of the facility
with which the sides can, in such case, be moved into and held in position ready
for the insertion of the screws or pins.
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 :-
First. A folding, or collapsable trunk or similar structure, comprising a frame
connected by a flexible casing or covering to the bottom or to one of the sides of
the structure, for the purposes above specified.
1.
Second. A folding or collapsable box or trunk in which the lid.is attached by
hinge-joints to a frame connected by a flexible casing or covering to the bottom
board of the box or trunk, substantially as hereinbefore described.
tile

page_text: Third. The improved folding or collapsable box or trunk (with or without the
folding tray) constructed substantially as described with reference to the accom-
panying drawing.
Fourth. The modification of my invention wherein I dispense with the flexible
casing or covering, substantially as described.
Dated this 13th do of An-il 1001
F. W. FEW.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.