US2700485A - Shipping container - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 25, 1955 N. GOLDBERG ET AL SHIPPING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 2, 1952 INVENTOR. /V4 THAN 601 055% M604 055/36 zi A 77'OENE WV I 1955 N. GOLDBERG ET AL 2,700,485

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 2, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 N VEN TOR. Mmzwowama Jacoe M 60 055% 5%; Z, WW

ATTORNEY United States Patent O SHIPPING CONTAINER Nathan Goldberg and Jacob M. Goldberg, Denver, Colo. Application February 2, 1952, Serial No. 269,671

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-80) This invention relates to shipping containers. The container shown and described herein is especially designed for the safe storage and shipment of motion picture film on reels, but obviously shipping containers embodying our invention can be used for the storage and shipment of a wide variety vof contents.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce a light weight, durable container, eflicient for its intended purposes, which completely encloses the contents and protects the contents when shipped by plane, railway or other means of transportation, or when carried by hand.

Another object of the invention is to produce a container for the purposes described in which the contents may be stored without chafing or marring either the contents or the interior of the container.

Another object is to provide special means for connecting separate wall members of the container together, whereby light weight material may be used for the container walls, and said connecting means serves to reinforce the walls and to form metal edges or corners of the construction.

An important feature of the invention is the construction of the wall connecting means in the form of prefabricated strips, whereby lengths of said strips may be quickly and easily connected to the wall sections for the purpose of connecting two wall panels together in an efficient manner.

The connecting strip construction is such that slots may be preformed in the wall panels adjacent their edges for the reception of parts of said connecting strips, and after the application of said strips to the wall panels as intended, the slots are invisible from the exterior and the connecting strip presents a smooth straight, folded edge appearance.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification.

.In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the shipping container as a whole.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the outer casing.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the inner holder.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane of the dotted line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the wall sections of the inner holder.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the connecting strip in its initial flat form.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the prefabricated connecting strip showing its form preparatory to attachment to the wall members of the container.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the strip shown in Fig. 7, parts of the container wall members being indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the connecting strip after the tongues have been inserted through the slots of the wall members and bent to clamp the wall members between the strip and the tongues.

In the preferred embodiment of our .invention shown in the drawings, the container comprises two main members constituting an inner holder 10 and an outer casing 11. It will be apparent, however, that certain features of the invention hereinafter described, such as the means for connecting the wall panels together, may be employed in single unit containers such as conventional boxes and cases of various forms.

The inner holder 10, in this embodiment, consists of opposite side walls 12, 12, opposite smaller top and bottom walls 13, 13, and an end wall 14 which is opposite t1h6e open end 15. Attached to the end wall 14 is a strap The outer casing 11, in this embodiment, consists of opposite side walls 17, 17, opposite smaller top and bottom walls 18, 18, and an end wall 19 which is opposite the open end 20. The top wall 18 has attached thereto a handle 21 for use in carrying the container as a whole. The outer casing 11 is slightly larger than the inner holder 10 so that the latter can be contained in the casing 11, the open end 15 being inserted into the open end 20 of the outer casing. When the two-parts 10 and 11 have been assembled as shown in Fig. 1, the end wall 14 of the inner holder is exposed and constitutes an end wall opposite the end wall 19 of the outer casing. The strap 16 is arranged to encircle the walls 17, 19 and 17 as well as the wall 14 to which it is attached, and to be fastened by means of cooperating fastening means 22 on the strap 16.

The several wall members or panels preferably are made of light weight but durable material such as fiberboard or other suitable substance. Heretofore shipping cases used for the purposes herein described, particularly those designed for shipping motion picture film, have been made of metal, and such cases have been expensive and of greater weight than is desirable.

' Due to the special connecting means which we have devised for connecting adjacent wall members together, it is possible to use non-metallic material in the construction of the container walls. The special connecting means is prefabricated in strips, from flat long and relatively narrow pieces of metal 23. These strips are stamped or otherwise cut to provide a series of laterally projecting tongues 24, which extend outwardly in opposite directions from the longitudinal margins of the strip 23. Then the strips are formed by bending longitudinally as indicated by the dotted lines 25 and 26. The bending on the lines 25 is for the purpose of folding the edge portion 27 inwardly against the surface of the strip so that the marginal portion is double and the folded edges 25 constitute the outer edges of the strip. Simultaneously the tongues 24 are bent at the line indicated at 28 to dispose them at right angles to the adjacent strip surface. Also in this forming step, the strip is bent longitudinally midway between its side margins so that the two halves at opposite sides of said line 26 are at right angles to each other.

The marginal regions of the several wall members or panels constituting the inner and outer casing members are provided with slots 29 extending longitudinally parallel to the marginal edges and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the width of the connecting strip between the tongues 24 and the center bend indicated by the line 26. Longitudinally these slots are spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the tongues which project from a side of the connecting strip. The tongues preferably are of a width substantially equal to the length of the slots 29 so that each tongue can be inserted easily through one of said slots and fits snugly therein.

The connecting strips may be fabricated in any desired length and after they have been formed as described they may be cut into lengths suitable for connecting two wall members together. Said wall members are disposed at right angles to each other, the connecting strip is placed against the external surfaces of the marginal portions of the adjacent wall members, the tongues 24 adjacent one side of the strip are inserted into the slots 29 of one wall member and the tongues adjacent the other side of the strip are inserted into the slots of another wall member. Then the tongues are bent back toward the strip so as to engage the internal surfaces of the marginal portions of said wall members.

Pressing of the tongues 24 firmly against the inner surfaces of the wall panels results in forming a strong joint and edge construction in which the outer surfaces of the metallic strip are smooth and disposed at right angles to each other, with folded non-cutting outer longitudinal edges, and whereby the slots 29 through which the tongues 24 extend are completely concealed. Interiorly of the case, the tongues 24 are visible but unobtrusive in their flattened positions in engagement with the' inner surfaces'of the wall panels. The parts are closely fitted together so that dust and moisture cannot aflect the contents of the container.

The wall panels of the inner holder are offset as indicated at 30-so that the container contents bear-against theotfse't' areas-and are spaced from the rest of the walls and'from' the tongues'2 i on thcin's'ide of 'thecon'tainr, This arrangementprevents chafing, of the contents as well as marring of the'interio'r of the-case and avoids contact between'the' contents anc'l'a'ny metallicp'art of the construction. 7

Changes maybe madein the form and"dirn'ensio'ns of parts, in the type of container, and in details of construction, Without departin'glfrom' the scope of our invention as set forth in the appendedclainis.

We claimi 1. In a shipping container comprisin a plurality of wall members having edges and" a' u'rii taryconnecting strip joining at least two of said wall members together, said unitary connectingstrip comprising a single relatively narrow piece of material longitudinally bent intermediate'its edges into angular form in cross-section and each longitudinal edge of said unitary strip folded inwardly upon itself along a longitudinal lineparallel to and intermediateof each edge and saidlongitudinal fold forming marginal portions having a'srnooth outer surface, a plurality. of tongues-projectinginwardly from-the edges of 'said u'nitary strip and disposed intermediatethe marginal portion and the'longitudinal bend of 'said' unitary strip, each wall member having a slot extending'longitudinally parallel to said wall edges and'spaced therefrom a distance equal to the width ofth'e unitary connecting strip betweenthe' tongues and thelongit'udinal bend, said tongues extending through the slots of the wallmembers and bent in a direction toward said longitudinal bend and engagingtheinternal surface of the walls to secure said'wall members between the unitary strip and the tongues.

2. A shipping container comprising an outer casing and an inner holder, each having two side walls, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an end wall opposite an open end, the inner holder being contained in the outer casing with the end'wall of the inner holder exposed through the open end of the outer casing, means for retaining the inner holder in the outer casing, each of said container members comprising a plurality of wall members having edges and a unitary connecting strip joining at least two of said wall members together, said unitary connecting strip comprising a single relatively narrow piece of material longitudinally bent intermediate its edges into angular form in cross-section and each longitudinal edge of said unitary strip folded inwardly upon itself along a longitudinal line parallel to and intermediate of each edge and said longitudinal fold forming marginal portions having a smooth outer surface, a plurality of tongues projecting inwardly from the edges of said unitary strip and disposed intermediate the marginal portion and the longitudinal bend of said unitary strip, each wall member having a slot extending longitudinally parallel to said Wall edges'and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the width of the unitary connecting strip between the tongues and the longitudinal bend, said tongues extending through the slots of the wall members and bentin adirection toward said longitudinalbend and'eugagifigfthe'interrial' surface ofth'e walls to secure said wall members between the unitary strip and the tongues.

3. The structure defined in claim "2, wherein the wall members of the outer casing have plane surfaces, and the wall members of the inner holdera're' offset inwardly of their edges providing bearing surfaces spacing the container contents from non-offset areas" and from the itlorigiues of the connecting'strip"interiorly of the inner References Cited in thc'file'of 'this patent UNITED STATES -PALTENTS 421,496 Hen'ning- Feb. 18, 1890 1,427,244 Tobey Aug. 29, 1922 1,800,075 Imrie Apr. 7, 1931 1,904,019 Vignos Apr. 18, 1933 2,389,468 Terry Nov. 20, 1945 FOREIGN I PATENTS 27,827 Great Britain Dec. 1907 332,817 Great Britain July 31, 1930

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