Untitled record

Application filed August 7,1891. Serial No, 401,985. (No model,)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Charles Adelbert Bacon, of St. John’s, in the county of Clinton and State of Michigan, have invented a 5 new and useful Improvement in Show-Cases, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is more especially designed to apply to show-cases for the display of plugio tobacco put up in caddies and will here be described accordingly.

The invention consists in a show-case of novel construction applicable to such purpose, whereby not only an effective display 15 of the tobacco in the caddies is obtained but the tobacco will be kept moist and free from dust and dirt, substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a view in perspective 25 of a show-case embodying my invention with a number of open caddies packed with tobacco iu plugs in position, a lid or door with which the case is provided being only shown in part. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the 30 upper portion of the case with its caddies, and Fig. 3 a horizontal section of said case in part.

A indicates the show-case proper, which is an upright substantially rectangular one, of 35 any suitable dimensions to contain any desired number of plug - tobacco caddies Β, mounted one upon the other within it. Said case, which should .be a wholly-closed one when shut, is, in order to make it an exhibit40 ing or show one, glazed on its sides, or certain of them, and may be provided with any number of doors, opaque or glazed, to admit of the entry or removal of the caddies B and extraction of the cakes or plugs δ of tobacco 45 from the caddies; but it will suffice, as is shown in the drawings, to represent the show-case A as made with one fixed glazed side c and a glazed hinged door cZ, forming a next adjacent side of the case.

To expose the caddies B in the case and plugs of tobacco δ within them, the caddies, which are usually made in the form of rect angular boxes—that is, with four sides and a top and bottom—have two of their next adjacent sides and their top removed, leaving 55 their bottom e and two sides intact. The caddies thus opened are placed one on top of the other, with their opened sides visible through the glazed sides of the case. This would leave them unsupported on their two open 60 sides. Consequently I arrange special supports under their bottoms e at the corner thereof, where their two open sides meet. These special supports consist of a series of inwardly-projecting metal arms C within the 65 case, up the one corner thereof and adj ustable in a sliding manner up and down a metal rod or upright D in said corner to any desired height to adapt them to support caddies of different depths or heights. When pressure 70 is thrown upon the arms or supports C by the weight of the caddies resting by their bottoms e on them, the leverage which the arms present will cause the latter to bind on the rod D and so be held in their places by fric- 75 tion. The arms C are free to turn, as well as to slide up and down on the rod D, to facilitate the placing or removal of the caddies.

Arranged to project down within the top of the case A is a dampening-box G, having 80 perforated sides and designed to contain a wet sponge or other suitable wet filling for the purpose of keeping the air in the case moist, and, as a consequence, the tobacco in the caddies moist too. This dampening-box 85 may be inserted through a hole in the top of the case and be closed when necessary by a pivoted horizontally-swinging door S over its top. In this way or by these means a good display is made of the tobacco and the latter 90 is kept moist and free from dust and dirt.