Container

May 29, 1951

F. D. JONES ET AL

CONTAINER

2,554,531

Filed Dec. 22, 1945

Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US2554531A_D0001.tif" />

FIG J

INVENTORS

FD. JONES. TO. WELINDT,

<img file="US2554531A_D0002.tif" />

ATTORNEYS.

May 29, 1951

Filed Dec. 22, 1945

F. D. JONES ET AL

CONTAINER

2,554,531

Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2554531A_D0003.tif" />

<img file="US2554531A_D0004.tif" />

ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 29, 1951

2,554,531

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,554,531

CONTAINER

Frank D. Jones, Tage O. Welindt, Loyal Clayton Garrett, and George B, Hill, Ottumwa, Iowa, assignors to Deere Manufacturing Co., a corporation of Iowa

Application December 22,1945, Serial No. 636,890

Claims.

The present invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to containers for dispensing wire, twine, or the like from one or more coils disposed within the container, and has for its principal object the provision of a novel and improved container which is simpler in construction, lighter in weight, and therefore less expensive to manufacture than similar containers heretofore known to those skilled in the art.

Although the container which is the subject matter of the present invention may be found to have a wide variety of uses, it is particularly designed and adapted for use in crop baling machines for holding the coils of wire, twine, or other tying material and dispensing the same as it is used in the baling machine. In the conventional automatic wire tying baling press, the baled crops are tied by means of a pair of wires which must be fed from a pair of coils so arranged and supported that the wires will feed smoothly from the coils to the tying mechanism, without kinking or snagging, and therefore it is a more specific object of our invention to provide a container for the pair of wire coils which will support the latter for this purpose.

Still another object of our invention relates to the provision of a container for the coils of wire, which is so arranged that the coils are clearly visible at all times, so that the operator of the baling press can readily determine at a glance when the supply of wire needs replenishing.

A further object has to do with the provision for easily detachable mounting means for the container for securing the latter in a convenient location, such as on top of the baling chamber.

Another object relates to the provision of a container comprising at least two compartments for holding the wire, which are arranged as compactly as possible in order to hold a maximum quantity of wire or other material but without obstructing the openings through which the wire is drawn, and at the same time providing for visibility of the interior of both compartments.

Still another object relates to the provision of a container comprising a pair of overlapping staggered compartments having open ends and formed from a single sheet metal blank.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container (Cl. 242—146) embodying the principles of our invention with one of the end gates or retainers removed;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the container;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the sheet metal blank from which the container is made, drawn to a reduced scale.

Referring now to the drawings, the container is indicated in its entirety by reference numeral ¹⁰ 5 and comprises a pair of staggered overlapping compartments S, 7. The container 5 is composed of a unitary common dividing wall 8 with the two compartments 6, 7 positioned on relatively opposite sides of the wall 8, respectively.

¹⁵ Thus, the compartment 6 includes the common wall 8, which is normally disposed in a vertical position, an outer vertical wall 9 parallel to the common wall 8 and spaced therefrom, and a pair of horizontally disposed top and bottom walls 10, 20 11 interconnecting the corresponding top and bottom edges of the walls 8, 9, respectively.

Similarly, the other compartment 7 is defined by the common wall 8 and by a third vertical wall 15 spaced in parallel relation thereto on the ²⁵ opposite side of the wall 8 from the outer wall 9.

A top wall 18 interconnects the upper edges of the parallel walls 8 and 15 while a bottom wall 17 interconnects the lower edges of the same walls.

The container is fabricated from a single 30 sheet metal blank, the central portion of which comprises the common dividing wall 8, as shown in Figure 4, with the upper, outer, and bottom walls 10, 9, ί I formed as an extension of the common wall 8 along the upper edge thereof. 35 The other compartment 7, comprising the lower, outer, and upper walls 17, 15, 16, is formed from an extension of the lower edge of the common dividing wall 8. It will be noted that the extension which forms the compartment 6 has its 40 shorter dimension somewhat greater than half the longer dimension of the common wall 8 along the upper edge thereof from one end of the latter, while the extension forming the compartment 7 extends along the lower edge of the 45 common wall from the opposite end thereof a distance appreciably greater than one half the longer dimension of the wall 8, with the result that when the two extensions are folded to define the two compartments 6, 7, the latter overgo lap each other on opposite sides of the dividing wall 8.

The outer end of the extension forming one compartment 6 is provided with a tongue 20, which turns upwardly along the dividing wall 8 gg at the lower edge thereof. The tongue 20 has

2,554,531 a longer dimension which is less than the shorter dimension across the extension that includes the walls 10, 9, 11 in order to avoid interference with the lower wall 17 of the other compartment 7, when the tongue 20 is folded upwardly along the lower edge of the common dividing wall, and the tongue 20 is suitably secured to the dividing wall 8 by welding, or by any other suitable means known to those skilled in the art.

Similarly, the outer end of the other extension which forms the compartment 7 is provided with a tongue 21» which is turned downwardly along the upper edges of the dividing wall s, and this tongue is also so dimensioned with respect to the walls 17, i5, IS, in order to avoid interference with the upper wall 10 of the overlapping compartment 6, and is also suitably secured, as by welding, to the dividing wall 8.

Thus, by bending the blank along the dotted lines shown in Figure 4, the container, comprising a. pair of staggered overlapping compartments 6, 7, is formed, with each of the compartments having open ends. Each of the inner overlapped ends of the compartments S, 7 is provided with a narrow retaining strap 22, .23, which retain the coils of wire within the compartments 6, 7, without interfering with the operator’s view of the interior of the compartments. Each Of the retaining straps 22, 23 is provided with a pair of flanges 24, disposed at opposite ends of the strap, for securing the latter to the two parallel vertical walls of each compartment, the flange 24 being secured to the walls 8, 9 and 15, respectively, by any suitable means, such as by welding.

The opposite outer ends of the compartments 8, 7 are provided with a pair of readily removable gate members 25, 26, respectively, each of the gate members being provided with inwardly turned flanges 27 along the vertical edges of the gate. The flanges 27 of each of the gates 25, 26 are apeftured to receive a U-shaped securing member 30, which can be inserted through the apertures in the flanges 27 and through aligned openings 31, 32 in the vertical walls 8, 9, 15 of the compartments. Cotter pins 33 or other suitable means are provided for securing the ends of the U-shaped members 30 to prevent the latter from sliding out of place. It will be noted that the vertical dimension of the gates 25, 26 is less than the height of the container, to provide the operator with a view of the inside bf the compartments so that he may determine when it is necessary to replenish the coils of wire therein.

A support, indicated at 35, is provided for the container 5, and is preferably the top of the bale case of the press, the latter being provided with a pair of upstanding ears or lugs 36, which are disposed in substantial alignment and have axially aligned apertures 37 therethrough to receive a securing rod 38, which can be inserted through holes 39, disposed in the three vertical compartment walls 8, 9, 15 in alignment with the apertures 37 in the lugs 36. The rod 38 extends beyond each of the outer walls 9, 15 and is secured in place by a pair of cotter pins 40, which are inserted through suitable holes extending transversely through the end of the rod 38.

The ears or lugs 36 are rigidly secured to the support 35 and extend upwardly therefrom, the lower walls 11, 17 of the compartments 6, 7, respectively, being notched outwardly, as indicated at 41, from the inner edges thereof, through which notches are inserted the lugs 36. The apertures 39 are positioned to dispose the rod 38 along the center line of the container, in order that the latter is reversible on the support 35.

Each of the compartments 6, 7 is provided With a pair of aligned Wire dispensing openings 43 centrally disposed in the vertical walls of each compartment. Each of the openings 43 is formed by pressing the metal outwardly from the compartment, thereby providing a dispensing nozzle with curved edges for permitting the wire from the coil to be drawn outwardly therethrough without damage to the wire. By providing an opening in each of the vertical walls of each of the compartments, the container is reversible, although Only one of the openings is ordinarily used at a time in each compartment.

‘Ih operation, the coils of wire can be placed in the compartments before the container is secured to its support, although it is necessary to remove the gates^: 2'5, ^:26 before the coils can be deposited therein. The gates 25, 26 are then replaced and secured by insertihg the retainers 30 through the aligned apertures, after which the container is placed upon the support 35 with the ears or lugs 36 extending upwardly through the notches 41 in the lower walls II, 17. The rod 38 is then inserted through the holes 3'9 and apertures 37, and.retained in place by the cotter pins 40. The inner end of each coil of wire is then threaded through its respective opening 43 and the wire is drawn through the latter as it is used. By virtue of the open-ended compartments 6, 7, the operator can readily determine at a glance when it is necessary to insert a new coil of wire in either compartment, the latter being accessible by removing the U-shaped retainer 30 and gate 25 or 28 of either compartment.

The advantage obtained'by staggering the two compartments is that either compartment can be easily visible from either end thereof and the two strands of wife can be pulled out through the 'two dispensing holes 43 in one side of the container. The two compartments 6, 7 overlap, thus obtaining ample space for large coils of wire, but the amount of overlap is not enough to interfere with the dispensing bf Wire through either of the openings.