US1994235A - Brief case or the like - Google Patents

Description

'March 12, 1935. s. SOLOMON BRIEF CASE OR THE LIKE Filed March 23, 1954 INVENTOR Jamzw/Jolowom BY 7 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My present invention is concerned primarily with improvements in brief cases although it may 7 be embodied in other envelope type bags or cases of various descriptions.

The term brief case th'erefore is to be understood in the specification and claimsas including all structures of a similar type.

An object of the invention is to provide a brief case which will not get out of shapeeven though it be carelessly handled and subjected'to rigorous use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brief case with a self-opening flap which when released will normally spring to open position so that material may be conveniently introduced into the case while therflap is out of the way.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a brief case of the reinforced type which will combine a neat and attractive appearance with ruggedness and durability in use, which is of simple, practical, inexpensive construction andwhich is well suited to meet the requirements of convenicnt and rapid manufacture.

Another more specific object is to provide a brief case reinforced by metallic reinforcing members within which the members are so :designed and so mounted that they present no sharp edges or unprotected ends iadapted to chafe or cut through the fabric of the case itself or to wear away the fabric which conceals them even after a prolonged period of use.

Another specific object of the invention is to so design the reinforcing members that by their own inherent resiliency they oppose permanent distortion of the brief case and tend to keep the case, when empty, always fiat and uncreased.

Another specific object is to preform the fabric sections of the brief case so that the reinforcing elements may be simply emplaced in prepared grooves or channels and quickly secured in posi-- tion. 1

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying. drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a brief case embodying the invention'and showing the cover flap sprung to its normal open position,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the brief case section which constitutes the back wall of the cover flap with parts broken away to expose the hinge springs and reinforcing members,

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the front section of the brief case,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail on the line 44 of Fig. 1,

(Cl. ISO-1.6)

Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional detail showing the manner in which one flap actuating spring is anchored to two of the reinforcing 5 elements.

Referring tothe drawing, I have used the reference numeral 10 to designate the sheet of material which constitutes the rear wall of the brief: case and the top portion of which is adapted to 10 be bent over to serve as a flap 11. The front wall of the brief case is indicated at 12 and the front and rear wallsare adapted to be connected in a conventional manner by gussets 13 (Fig. 4) sewed by lines of stitching l4 and 15 to the sections 10 and 12 and to each other and to any suitable number of partition forming members 16 which divide the brief case into a plurality of compartments or pockets.

Many suitable means may be utilized for retaining the cover in closed position, such means constituting no part of the present invention and I have illustrated the use of conventional strips 17 and buckles 18 for the purpose. The front and rear brief case sections are made of any suitable material such as leather, Fabricoid, artificial leather etc., the only requisite being that this sheet material is capable of being embossed since in accordance with my invention by a suitable embossing process, the inner faces of both the member 10, the flap 11 and the front sheet 12 have wire receiving grooves 19 formed therein by an embossing or pressing out process, these grooves appearing as raised portions or beads 23 at the exterior of the brief case which serve to enhance the attractive appearance thereof.

Inasmuch as short lengths of reinforcing wire or other material are apt to chafe or cut the channels which house them and further since a great waste of material is involved in stamping U-shaped reinforcing portions out of sheet stock, I use U-shaped wire reinforcing members. The wire is preferably resilient and of course can be readily bent into the desired U-shape.

One U-shaped wire, indicated at 20, is laid in the U-shaped groove which follows the lower and side edges of the backing sheet 10. Another inverted U-shaped wire 21 is laid in a corresponding pressed out groove in the brief case flap, while a. third similar reinforcing member 22 of wire is emplaced in the corresponding groove in the inner face of the front brief case section 12.

As the wires are laid in position within the grooves 19, they may be quickly secured by the use of rivets 24 passed through the brief case of the case.

force and the application of a narrow cover strip such as the strip 26 is thereby facilitated.

Preferably, as indicated in Fig. 4, the grooves 19 are of a depth corresponding to the diameter of the wires so that the wires do not extend inw'ardly into the compartment forming portion The wire concealing strips 26 follow the contour of the wire, are secured by two lines ofstitching 2'7 at each side of the groove 19 and completely conceal the wire as well as concealing the flap actuating springs 28 whichv I shall now describe- The coiled springs 28 which serve to automatically open the flap 11, preferably connect.

the upwardly extending legs of the frame 20 and the downwardly extending legs of the frame 21. Qne convenient method of securing the springs to these legs is to screw-thread the leg extremities as indicated at 29 (Fig. 6) and then screw the convolutions of the spring 28 onto these leg ends.

Thus the ends of the legs are concealed and the spring is anchored. These springs may be soldered to the legs if desired or they may be permanently secured in any desired fashion, it

being preferable to connect the frames 20 and 21 with the springs 28 and then assemble the springs and these two frames as a unitin the grooves 19 of the back forming and flap forming sheet 10, 11.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that entirely independently of the spring head, the brief case is effectively reinforced particularly against inward bending at the ends thereof. The reinforcing members are so applied and so anchored that they cannot abraid or chafe through the fabric of the case. They occupy none of the available compartment space within the case and therefore recedinggrooves define an ornamental bead or ridge about the periphery of the case. Not only is the construction simplified but assembly is greatly facilitated by pressing the grooves of the brief case sections, dropping the reinforcing members of the grooves, riveting them. quickly in position and subsequently applying the completing strips.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described. an article in which the several features of this invention are embodied. and which article in its action attains the various objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I.

claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A brief case including a front section and .a rear section connected together to define a pocket the rear section being extendedupwardly to afford a'fiap foldable over the face of the front 7 section, reinforcing wires mounted at the side edges of the rear section and its flap forming portion and with their ends spaced apart and axially aligned, coiled springs connecting the ends of said reinforcing wires and afl'ording a spring hinge for the flap normally tending to maintain the flap in open position.

2. A reinforced brief case construction including a front-section and arear section, each of relatively stiff flexible material, said sections being connected together to form an envelope, each of said sections having outwardly proiect ing ribs defining grooves in the inner faces of the sections, said grooves following but spaced from the-side and bottom edges of the sections,

and reinforcing wires lying wholly within the grooves, and means to prevent displacement of the wiresfrom the grooves.

' SAMUEL SOLOMON.

Images