US1976474A - Cigar box - Google Patents

Description

1934- A. ARATA 1,976,474

CIGAR BOX Filed May 1, 1933 Patented Oct. 9, 1934 I UNITED sTATEs PATENT *oFFicE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved cigar box and seeks, among other objects, to overcome the common defect of conventional boxes, namely, that the box lid, after becoming warped cannot '5 ,be tightly closed.

The invention seeks, accordingly, as a further object, to provide a box wherein provision will be made to permit tight closing of the lid, should the lid become warped, so that the cigars contained in the box may be maintained in fresh condition.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a box wherein the present improvements will involve no great change in the structural make-up of the box and wherein the improved box may be manufactured and sold at a cost not higher than conventional boxes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cigar box embodying the present improvements,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view through the box and showing, in dotted lines, the possibility of tightly closing the lid even though the lid has become warped, and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing, in dotted lines, the impossibility of tightly closing the warped lid of a box not embodying the present improvements.

As is well-known, the demand of the smoker is for moist or fresh cigars and accordingly, when cigars are first packed in wooden boxes, as now commonly used, the cigars are in a moist condition. These boxes are then packed in more or less dry storerooms with the result that the outer surfaces of the boxes become dry. Consequently, when the storekeeper opens such a box and places it upon his shelf, the inside surfaces of the box have absorbed some of the moisture from the cigars with the result that the inside surface of the lid expands and the outside surface of the lid contracts, the lid becoming warped to bow or curve downwardly. As a result, the lid cannot subsequently be tightly closed so that the cigars within the box are exposed to the atmosphere and become dry and undesirable to the smoker. The 5Q .present invention aims to solve this difficulty.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing. I have shown a box embodying front and back walls 10 and 11, end walls 12 which project above the upper edges of the front and back walls,

55 a bottom wall 13 and a lid 14. Extending along the rearlongitudinal margin of the lid as well as the upper margin of the back wall 11 is a suitable binding 15 providing a hinge for the lid, said binding being usually of cloth. The customary lining, indicated at 16, which overlies the 60 inner side of the lid and the inner surfaces of the box body, cooperates with the binding 15 to hingedly support the lid. The lid is normally flat and is movable to rest against the upper edges of the front and back walls of the box body, lying flush with the upper edges of the end walls 12 for tightly closing the box. All of the walls of the box body as well as the lid are preferably of wood, as is customary.

Attention is now particularly directed to the fact that the upper edge of the back wall 11 is beveled downwardly and inwardly, as indicated at 17. Thus, when the lid is closed, the lid contacts the upper edge of the back wall only at the apex of its angle with the outer surface of said wall. A joint between the lid and the back wall is thus established so that while the lid serves its function to tightly close the box body, clearance is, nevertheless, provided between the lid and the sloping surface of the upper edge of the back wall. In all instances, the angle of the beveled upper edge of the back wall will be such that the clearance will be sufiicient to accommodate a maximum warping of the lid. 1

Assuming now that the lid becomes warped and thus assumes a downwardly bowed shape, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the clearance provided by the beveled edge 1'7 of the back wall 11 will accommodate the curved contour of the lid so that even though the lid is dished, the lid may, nevertheless, be freely swung to rest at its free longitudinal margin against the upper edge of the front wall 10 while the margin of the lid adjacent the hinge binding 15 will rest against the apex of the beveled edge of the back wall 11 so that the lid will tightly close the box. Evaporation of moisture from cigars contained within the box will thus be prevented so that by keeping the lid closed, the cigars may be maintained in a fresh condition, even though the lid is warped.

In Fig. 3, the triangular shaped cut-away portion of the back wall 11 severed by the beveling of the upper edge of said wall is indicated in dotted lines at 18 and, as will at once be seen,

should the lid become warped to assume the dished shape shown in dotted lines in this figure of the drawing, the rear lower margin of the lid would abut the portion 18 of the back wall and prevent a complete closing movement. Thus,the lid, as

in ordinary boxes, would be held in open position as shown in dotted lines. As will be perceived, beveling of the upper edge of the back wall 11, in accordance with the present improvements, eliminates this difficulty so that the lid may be tightly closed at all times. a

In connection with the hinge 15 of the box lid, it is to be noted that when this hinge is formed of cloth, said cloth absorbs moisture from the cigars contained in the box and thus shrinks so that although the box lid is apparently notwarpedin any way still, due to the shrinking of the cloth of the hinge, said hinge will prevent the tight closing of the lid. Accordingly, unless the lid is nailed, the hinge will hold the lid partly open. Furthermore, when wet glue or other ad,-

hesive is applied to the border strips or lining of the box, the glue will, as it dries, cause shrinking with the result that the hinge will be caused to hold the box lid open. As will be seen, the present improvements will avoid these difiiculties so that the lid may, at all times, close tightly.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

A cigar box including a body having back, front and end walls, and a lid hinged to the back wall and movable to closed position resting upon the upper edges of the back and front walls between the end walls, the upper edge of the back wall being beveled inwardly and downwardly from end to end to provide an unobstructed clearance between the underside of the lid and the inner side of the back Wall to permit closing of the lid whenwarped.

ALBERT ARATA. Us]

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