US2697537A - Hinged box for jewelry and other articles - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 21, 1954 R. A. WETHERELL 2,697,537

HINGED BOX FOR JEWELRY AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Nov. 27, 1951 fiiv i 2%.? EmeZZfl. Miemll V 5 ,MM 4 ya HINGED BOX FOR JEWELRY AND OTHER ARTICLES Russell A. Wetherell, Attleboro, Mass., assignor to The Mason Box Company, Attleboro Falls, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 27, 1951, Serial No. 258,335

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-31) This invention relates to small decorative boxes of the kind commonly used to display jewelry and the like, objects of the invention being to produce a box which is simple and economical in construction, which is neat and attractive in appearance and which is strong and durable in use.

According to this invention the box comprises top and bottom parts having end walls with opposing surfaces which substantially meet in a plane when the box is closed and having back walls provided with interfitting elongate concave and convex pivotal surfaces extending lengthwise of the back walls and sliding on each other to permit the top part to swing to open position, the convex surface being disposed substantially wholly below the aforesaid plane and the concave surface extending below said plane in front of the convex surface. Preferably the top and bottom parts have narrow flanges of approximately equal width extending around the box adjacent the aforesaid plane. While the top and bottom parts may each be formed in one piece, each of the parts preferably comprises a rim or frame which is open at the top and bottom, the openings being closed by cover members which telescope over the frame members and seat against the aforesaid flanges. In the preferred embodiment the convex and concave surfacesterminate short of the ends of the box and the aforesaid opposing surfaces extend all the way to the back of the box. Thus the aforesaid flanges may be made of equal width even though they be comparatively thin, and instead of the concave and convex surfaces showing at the ends of the box the flanges may extend continuously all the way around the box.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an end view of the box when closed;

Fig. 2 is a similar view when the box is open;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. with the cover closed.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the box with the cover open;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a similar section with the cover closed.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises top and bottom frame members 1 and 2 which are open at the top and bottom respectively and which have exterior flanges 3 and 4 extending continuously therearound. Fitted snugly over the frame members and seating against the flanges 3 and 4 are covers 5 and 6. The covers 5 and 6 may be secured to the frame members by means of cement. While the parts may be formed of any suitable material the frame members are preferably formed of plastic and the covers are cardboard. The two frame members have flat surfaces 7 and 8 which seat against each other 1n a plane when the box is closed, these surfaces extending across the front and ends of the box and thence along the back of the box.

Extending lengthwise of the back wall of the bottom frame member are two upwardly-facing elongate convex surfaces 9, these surfaces being disposed below the aforesaid plane and extending upwardly substantially to the plane. The top frame member has corresponding concave surfaces 10 which slide over the convex surfaces. In front of the concave surfaces 10 are depending ridges 11, the bottom frame member being provided with corresponding troughs 12 to receive the ridges when the nited States Patent 0 Too box is closed. As shown in Fig. 5 the convex and concave surfaces stop short of the ends of the-box and they are interrupted at the middle of the box to accommodate the C-string 13 which yieldingly holds the cover either in closed or open position in well-known manner, the spring being disposed in recesses in the frame members as shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

By disposing the convex surfaces 9 wholly below the horizontal plane of the abutting faces 7 and 8 of the frame members they may be terminated short of the ends of the box so that they do not show at the ends. This disposition of the convex surfaces wholly below the aforesaid plane also permits the two flanges 3 and 4 to be of equal width, even when relatively thin in a ver- It)ical direction, and to extend continuously around the It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the parts have been referred to as top and bottom parts for convenience only; inasmuch as the parts can obviously be reversed the claims are to be interpreted as covering the claimed construction whether used as shown or upside down.

I claim:

1. A box comprising top and bottom frame members open at the top and bottom respectively and having end walls with opposing surfaces which substantially meet in a plane when the box is closed and having back walls provided with interfitting concave and convex pivotal surfaces extending lengthwise of the back walls and sliding on each other to permit the top part to swing into open position, said members having narrow flanges extending around the box with opposed faces substantially meeting in said plane, and top and bottom covers telescoping over said members and seating against said flanges, said concave and convex surfaces terminating short of the ends of the box and said opposing surfaces extending to the back of the box, said convex surface being disposed below said plane substantially tangent to the plane and said concave surface extending below said plane in front of the convex surface, the bottom member having an upwardly extending flange around its inner edge to fit into the upper member when the box is closed, thereby to restrain shift of said top and bottom parts when the box is closed and also to permit the flanges on the top and bottom parts to approximate each other in thickness.

2. A box comprising top and bottom parts having exterior flanges and opposing surfaces which meet in a plane when the box is closed, the opposed faces of the flanges constituting parts of said surfaces, said surface of one part having an elongate recess extending along the back of the box and spaced inwardly from the rear edge of the flange, and the other part having an elongate rib spaced inwardly from the rear edge of the flange and extending into the recess when the box is closed, the rear edge of said recess and said rear edge being rounded to form a convex surface and said rear side of the rib being rounded to form a concave surface, said convex and concave surfaces interfitting and being substantially tangent to said plane, so that when the box is opened the rear face of said rib slides over said rounded edge of the recess and the flange of the other part slides over said rounded rear edge.

3. A box comprising top and bottom parts having exterior flanges and opposing surfaces which meet in a plane when the box is closed, the opposed faces of the flanges constituting parts of said surfaces, said surface of one part having a row of recesses along the back of the box and spaced inwardly from the rear edge of the flange, and the other part having projections spaced inwardly from the rear edge of the flange and extending into the recesses when the box is closed, the rear edges of said recesses and said rear edge of the flange being rounded to form convex surfaces, the rear sides of said projections being rounded to form concave surfaces interfitting with said convex surfaces, said convex and concave surfaces being substantially tangent to said plane, so that when the box is opened the rear faces of the projections slide over szrid rounded edges of the recesses and the flange of the Number other part slides over said rounded rear edge. 2,442,873 2,534,989 References Cited in the file of this patent gggZSgZ k 5 428 I UNITE1) STATES PATENTS 2,571,909 Number Name Date 2,014,951 Ra'thbun Sept. 17, 1935 2,233,326 Rooney Feb. 25, 1941 2,296,599 Cbstello Sept. 22, 1942 10 Number 2,314,245 Rathbun Mar. 16, 1943 343,406

Name Date Graham June 8, 1948 Radde Dec. 19, 1950 Budlong June 19, 1951 Costello Aug. 14, 1951 Magnenat Oct. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Feb. 19, 1931

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