Wire basket.

Application filed. July 20, 1907. Serial No. 384,768.

To dll whom ii may concern:

Be it known that I, Thomas J. Goodwin, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleburne, in the county of Johnson and State of 5 Texas, have invented a new and useful Wire Basket, of which the following is a specifica'· tion.

The invention relates to improvements in wire baskets.

io The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire baskets, and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one of great strength and durability, designed particularly for grocerymen, huck15 sters, and the like, and adapted to successively stand the hard usage to which such baskets are subjected.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and 20 novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and 25 minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:—Figure 1 is a perspective 30 view of a wire basket, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view. Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail views, illustrating the means for uniting the woven wire at the corners of 35 the basket. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view, illustrating the construction of the upper metallic binding strip or rim. Fig. 6 is a detail view, illustrating a modification of the invention and showing a curved 40 connecting device for uniting the ends of the woven wire.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing. 45 The wire basket, which may be made either round, oblong, square, or any other desired shape, is provided with a wooden bottom 1, to which the lower edges of the woven wire, forming the walls of the basket, 50 are secured by means of a lower metallic strip or band 2 and nails or tacks 3, or other suitable fastening devices. In the accompanying drawing is illustrated an oblong wire basket, having woven wire side and end 55 walls 4 and 5, which are inclined to provide a tapered or flared basket to enable baskets to be compactly nested for shipping and storing.

The contiguous end edges of the side and end walls are united by corner fastening de- 60 vices 6, each constructed; of a strip or piece of sheet metal, bent longitudinally at the center to provide angularly disposed sides or wings 6^a to conform to the configuration of the corner, and longitudinally folded and 65 bent inwardly at opposite sides of the center to form the intermediate ply or layer 7^a, and then outwardly to provide the inner ply or layer 7 and to form recesses or grooves 8 for the reception of the terminal portions of the 70 woven wire.

The terminal portions of the woven wire are designed to be soldered in the grooves or recesses 8, but they may be simply fitted within the same as they are firmly held 75 against displacement by means of the lower metallic band or strip 2 and upper side and end metallic binding strips 9 and 10, which form a rim. The inwardly bent portions 7 are fitted together and abut at the center of SO the device at 7^b to mutually support and brace each other. The connecting means for the contiguous ends of the woven wire is adapted for use both at the corners and at an intermediate point between the corners, and 85 in constructing round baskets as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawing, or baskets having rounded ends, the connecting device willjjbe curved instead of angular to conform to the configuration of the basket. 90

The upper rim is constructed of sheet metal, and the side and end strips 9 and 10 are each folded longitudinally at the bottom at 12 and bent upwardly and inwardly to provide a bottom longitudinal groove or re- 95 cess 13 at the inner face of the metallic strip to receive the upper edge or portion 14 of the woven wire. The upper edge or portion 14 of the woven wire of the side and end walls is fient outwardly and downwardly to pro- 100 vide a depending flange, which is fitted in the lower portion of the rim to interlock the parts, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing. The upper edge 15 of each of the strips 9 and 10 is stiffened by bending it Ion- 105 gitudinally, the bent portion being extended outwardly and inclosing a stiffening wire 16 to form a bead, but the wire may be omitted, if desired.

The terminals of the strips 9 and 10 extend 110 into the grooves or recesses 8 of the corner connecting device 6, and the contiguous over900,162 lapped parts are secured together by rivets 17, but the latter may be omitted if desired. The basket is strengthened between its ends by transverse sheet metal straps 17^a, extend5 ing across and secured to the lower face of the bottom 1 of the basket by tacks 18, or other suitable fastening devices and extending upwardly at opposite sides of the basket and haying their terminals secured flat to the side 10 strips of the rim above the groove 13 by rivets

19, or other suitable fastening devices, whereby the depending flange is retained in the groove 13 and the parts secured in their interlocked relation.

The basket may be provided with any suitable handles, and these preferably consist of openings 20, but in the upper end strips 10, - - the metal 21 cut to form the openings is preferably bent back upon the metallic strips to 20 reinforce the same.