IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PACKING CASES OR BOXES FOR HOLDING BOTTLES EITHER FULL OR EMPTY
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Gilbey, of Oxford Street, London, County of
Middlesex, Wine Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF PACKING CASES OR BOXES FOR HOLDING BOTTLES EITHER
FULL OR EMPTY."
Sealed the 25th November 1862, and dated the 81st May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Gilbey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st
May 1862.
I, ALFRED GILBEY, of Oxford Street, London, County of Middlesex, Wine
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PACKING CASES OR BOXES FOR HOLDING BOTTLES
EITHER FULL OR EMPTY," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention consists in forming my cases so as to have
certain shelves and supports, upon which the bottles are balanced, and rest so
that each bottle is isolated from the other, and rests upon the shelves and
supports. The junction of the neck with the shoulder of the bottle at the one
end, and the portion at the bottom of the other end being the strongest parts
of the bottle, I arrange my shelves so that these parts shall be supported in
whatever side the box may be turned. To effect this I place and fix within
the box, parallel with one of its faces, preferably the bottom, and at a distance
about equal to the length of the bottle's neck a shelf having a series of holes
made in it equal to the largest diameter of the neck of the bottle close to the
other face of the box, and parallel with this shelf or partition I fix another
shelf composed of intersecting rails or bars similar to an ordinary bottle rack

page_text: or bin, composed so that the centre of each opening or space formed by the
intersecting bars shall coincide or nearly so with the centre of each perforation
in the other shelf. It will now be seen that if the bottle neck be pushed
through the orifice in the first shelf its end will rest in the corresponding space
formed by the intersecting bars in the other partition, hence each bottle rests
upon its own support, and does not touch another while the introduction of
the shelves or partitions gives such increased strength and rigidity to the side
of the case as to enable it to resist compression from external or internal pres-
sure, all packing or fracture of the bottles being avoided. It will be seen that
by placing the shelf with the perforations for the bottle necks in the middle of
the case, and by arranging the perforations, and their position, and by placing
a rack partition at both faces of the box, double the numbers of bottles may be
placed within the box, the neck of each series resting on the middle partition,
the ends turning outwards to the sides of the box.
It will be evident that by adopting the plan of suspending or resting each
bottle on the shelves or bars various modifications can be applied to suit
particular circumstances.
The next part of my Invention relates to the method I have in order to
cause the lid of the box when opened to lie flat back so as to allow another
box to be placed on the top; for by such an arrangement, as each box forms a
compartment of a bin, a series of boxes piled one on another will form a
complete wine rack or bin avoiding the necessity of erecting such, and
enabling one case to be taken away, and another put in its place.
The method of hanging the lid at present, not only requires an expensive
hinge if the lid falls wholly back, but the time required in fitting them, and the
tendency they have to tear up the box renders them inapplicable. My hinge
is composed of a hook or link working in a buckle, the buckle being fastened
to the box by a couple of studs or eyes, the link being fastened to the
top of the lid the buckle allowing sufficient play to allow the lid to flap quite
over.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Gilbey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
GILBEY, of Oxford Street, London, County of Middlesex, Wine Merchant, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Gilbey, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Gilbey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alfred Gilbey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PACKING CASES OR BOXES FOR HOLDING BOTTLES
EITHER FULL OR EMPTY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Gilbey, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their bands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Gilbey do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement :-
The object of my Invention consists in forming my cases so as to have
certain shelves and supports upon which the bottles are balanced and rest, so
that each bottle is isolated from the other, and rests upon the shelves and
supports. The junction of the neck with the shoulder of the bottle at the one
end and the portion at the bottom of the other end being the strongest parts
of the bottle, I arrange my shelves so that these parts shall be supported on
whatever side the box may be turned. To effect this, I place and fix within
the box parallel to one of its faces, preferably the bottom, and at a distance
about equal to the length of the bottle's neck, a shelf having a series of holes
made in it equal to the largest diameter of the neck of the bottle; close to the
other face of the box and parallel with this shelf or partition I fix another,
composed of intersecting rails or bars, similar to an ordinary bottle rack bin,
composed so that the centre of each opening or space formed by the intersecting
bars shall coincide, or nearly so, with the centre of each perforation in the
other shelf. It will now be seen, that if the bottle neck be pushed through
the orifice in the first shelf, its end will rest upon its own support and does not

page_text: touch any other while the introduction of the shelves or partitions gives such
increased strength and rigidity to the sides of the case as to enable them to
resist compression from external or internal pressure, all packing or fracture
of the bottles being avoided. It will be seen that by placing the shelf with the
perforations for the bottle necks in the middle of the case, and by arranging
the perforations and their position, and by placing a rack partition the ends
turning outwards to the sides of the box.
It will be evident that by adopting the plan of suspending or resting each
bottle on the shelves or bars, various modifications can be applied to suit
particular circumstances.
The next part of my Invention relates to the method I have in order to
cause the lid of the box when opened to lie flat back, so as to allow another
box to be placed on the top, for by such an arrangement, as each box forms a
compartment of a bin, a series of boxes piled one on another will form a
complete wine rack, or bin, avoiding the necessity of erecting such, and enabling
any one case to be taken away and another to be put in its place.
The method of hanging the lid at present, not only requires an expensive
hinge if the lid fall wholly back, but the time required in fitting them, and the
tendency they have to tear up the box, render them inapplicable. My binge.
is composed of a hook or link working in a buckle, the buckle being fastened
to the box by a couple of studs or eyes, the link being fastened to the top of
the lid the buckle allows sufficient play to allow the lid to flap quite over.
In order to illustrate my Invention more clearly, I have appended the

page_text: the front of a single case (Fig. 3), and at each end of a double case (Fig. 2),
and of such a width as to receive easily the greatest width of the bottle, the
end of which rests on the lowest bar. It will thus be seen that the low end
of each bottle rests upon the lattice bars and its neck within the hole in the
partition; it is thus kept, not only quite firmly in its seat suspended by the
lattice bars and partition, but is completely isolated from every other bottle,
thus without the necessity of straw or other packing, all chance of fracture is
in a great measure removed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and how the same is
constructed and acts, I wish it understood that what I claim as new and wish
secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent is, the sole right of
making, using, and vending packing cases for holding bottles (either full or
empty), substantially as here-within described and illustrated generally in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Gilbey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-two.
A. GILBEY. (L.S.)