US2333410A - Lunch box - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 2, 1943. v, w, BUSCH 2,333,410

LUNCH BOX Filed Oct; 27, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY yer FJ E-E- NOV. 2, 1943. v w BUSCH 4 2,333,410

LUNCH BOX Filed Oct. 27, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY-9'.

Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LUNCH BOX Vern W. Busch, South Lyon, Mich.

Application October 27, 1942, Serial No. 463,494

8 Claims.

This invention relates to lunch boxes and has for its principal object the provision of a lunch box of new and improved design and construction.

Objects of the invention include the provision of a lunch box the contents of which may be inspected without the necessity of opening the lunch box; the provision of a lunch box formed substantially entirely of transparent material; the provision of a lunch box constructed from tough yet readily yieldable and elastic material whereby forces applied thereto which would permanently deform a conventional metal lunch box do not result in permanent deformation thereof; the provision of a lunch box formed substantially entirely of transparent material and provided with a carrying handle to enhance its ease of transportation; and the provision of a lunch box made from transparent plastic material of suflicient thickness to render it relatively long lived, and of such character as will encourage the owners to maintain it in a sanitary condition.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a lunch box including a body of flexible plastic material having an open end and a removable cover for the open end; the provision of a lunch box as above described in which a novel form of catch mechanism between the cover and the body of the lunch box is provided; the provision of a lunch box as above described in which distortion of the material of the main body portion of the lunch box is depended upon to release the cover of the lunch box; the provision of a lunch box provided with a bottle carrying loop therein and a. handle thereon, together with a common means for securing the loop and the handle to the main body portion of the lunch box; the provision of a lunch box having a removable cover element interiorly provided with a pocket for the reception of an identification tag, the cover being transparent whereby the identification on the tag may be observed without the necessity of removing the cover or tag from the box; the provision of a lunch box made from flexible material and provided with projecting flanges or ribs serving to maintain at least part of the wall surfaces of the lunch box out of contact with foreign objects whereby to prevent scratching of the same; the provision of a lunch box including a main body portion including side, top, and bottom walls and separately formed end members fitted thereto, the end members being provided with outwardly directed flanges serving to guard against contact of the associated walls of the main body portion with foreign objects; the provision of a lunch box as above described in which the ends are provided with downwardly projecting flanges forming means for supporting the lunch box from the supporting surface; the provision of a lunch box formed of a relatively flexible plastic material and provided with supporting flanges at the bottom thereof for maintaining the bottom out of contact with the supporting surface when resting thereon; and the provision of a lunch box having a molded bottom, and side and top walls formed from a single piece of plastic material and rigidly fixed thereto.

The above being among the objects of the present invention, the same consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and then claimed, having the above and other objects in view.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate suitable embodiments of the present invention and in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several different views,

Fig. -1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of my improved lunch box and illustrating the same filled with articles for a lunch and indicated by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the lunch box shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a slightly enlarged transverse sectional view of the lunch box shown in Fig. 2 and taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken centrally of the lunch box as on the line 4-4- of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the manner in which the removable end or closure of the lunch box is removed;

Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of a modified form of lunch box;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken through the corner of the lunch box shown in Fig. 6 as on the line 1-! thereof to better illustrate the construction of the same;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken transversely of the length of a modified form of lunch box between the ends thereof;

Fig. 9 is an end elevational view of another modified form of lunch box;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken transversely of the length of the lunch box shown in Fig. 9 between the ends thereof and illustrating a different form of bottom construction;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken through the lower edge of the cover element and main body portion of the lunch box shown in Fig. 9 to better illustrate the construction of the hinge between them;

Fig. 12 is a slightly enlarged horizontal sectional view taken centrally through the hinge structure of the lunch box shown in Fig. 9 as on the line l2-i2 thereof; and,

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary enlargement of the hinge construction shown in Fig. 12 and particularly that portion thereof contained within the circle l3, to better illustrate the details of construction of the same.

In war production plants it is common practice to make the workers entering the plant to open their lunch boxes before entering so that the guards may inspect the contents thereof and thus prevent anything from being brought into the plant in the lunch boxes which might be employed for sabotage purposes. It is also common practice in many plants not working on war production to require the workmen to open their lunch boxes for inspection upon leaving the plant so as to guard against the theft of parts which might otherwise be taken from the plant in the lunch boxes of the workers. It will be appreciated that because ofthe fact such lunch boxes are conventionally made from metal the only way that such inspection can be made under present circumstances is to open the lunch boxes and in many cases remove at least a portion of the contents in order to effect a thorough inspection. Such inspections are of inconvenience both to the guards and to the workmen and consume an appreciable amount of time inasmuch as it is necessary to unfasten the cover to the lunch box and open it up and to remove and replace certain of the contents where considered necessary. It is considered, however, that the necessity of such inspections overcomes the weight of the inconvenience and must be carried on under any circumstances.

With the above in view the present invention contemplates the provision of a lunch box the contents of which may be thoroughly inspected without the necessity of the workmen or the guard opening the lunch box and/or removing any portions of the contents thereof to effect a complete inspection. This i accomplished by making the lunch box substantially entirely of a transparent material so that the entire contents of the lunch box may be inspected from the outside without requiring the box to be opened. Additionally, under such circumstances and particularly where the worker carrying the lunch box is employed by a war Production plant the employee may be required to wrap sandwiches and other articles of food requiring wrapping in transparent cellulose wrappings such as that commonly marketed under the trade-name Cellophane, so as to further permit inspection of the contents of wrapped articles without requiring the box to be opened. Where the lunch box includes a thermos bottle, then, of course, there is no way of inspecting the contents of the thermos bottle without opening it up inasmuch as the surface of the inner bottle is required to be silvered under any circumstances. However, war plants are discouraging the bringing of thermos bottles into the plant by the workers wherever possible and are furnishing means by which the workers may obtain their desired beverage for their lunch at the plant at lunch time. This feature, therefore, offers no unusual difficulty in carrying out the primary purpose of the present invention.

In constructing a lunch box in accordance with the present invention the transparent material from which it is constructed is preferably a transparent plastic of any suitable character. In constructing a lunch box of such material certain problems do, of course, arise. For instance, transparent plastic material is readily susceptible to scratching and marring and in accordance with the present invention particularly the flat side and bottom portions of the box are protected against contact with the adjacent flat surface by means of outwardly projecting flanges or outwardly projecting thicknesses of the material itself serving to space such flat surfaces away from any adjacent flat surface. Furthermore, to enhance the ease of manufacture and simplify the construction it is desirable that instead of having the top of the box serve as a cover as in most conventional constructions, one end of the box is made removable and serves itself as a cover. The ends in such case are preferably marginally flanged and fit about the ends of the main body portion of the box so as to provide the protecting means above mentioned. These marginally flanged portions of the ends may additionally be flanged outwardly, either on the bottom alone so as to form supporting ribs for the box when resting on a surface, or more or less completely around the entire periphery thereof to provide a more pronounced protection if thought necessary or desirable. The end margins of the body portion which receive the removable end or cover member may be provided with outwardly projecting pins or the like receivable in holes formed in the inwardly turned marignal flange portions of the removable end to removably retain the cover or end in position. The body of the box, being made from flexible plastic material, may simply be depressed adjacent one or more of the pins in order to release the pin or pins from the cover, upon which the cover may h pivoted outwardly where the pin is so released and then simply moved transversely of the length of the box to disengage the remaining pin from their respective openings and thus completely release the cover from the box.

The main body portion of the lunch box may be made entirely from a sheet of transparent plastic material, or particularly the bottom portion thereof may be formed as a molded part and the sides and top portion made from a sheet of plastic material and secured thereto. The molded bottom part in such case may be formed with flanges for the same purpose as above described and if desired in such case the ends may also be of a molded construction and cooperating hinge elements formed on one of the ends and on the molded bottom part to provide a true hinge structure between the two.

Such lunch boxes are, of course, provided with a carrying handle and this may or may not be also of a transparent material, there being no necessit, for any transparency in the handle itself. Where provisions are to be made for carrying a Thermos bottle in the lunch box, then a carrying loop for the Thermos bottle may be provided interiorly of the box and a screwmay be provided which not only secures the loop to the main body of the lunch box but additionally serves to secure one end of the handle thereto. It will be appreciated that this serves to provide a feature of economy in the construction and additionally provides an amply strong connection for both the handle and the loop.

With the above in mind reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show suitable embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, it will be noted that the lunch box there shown includes a central main body portion indicated generally at 20 and opposite end members 22 and 24, respectively. These members are formed from transparent plastic material so that the contents thereof may be observed visually directly through the material. For instance, as illustrated in Fig. 1 the lunch box may contain some sandwiches indicated by dotted lines at 28, a piece of pie indicated by dotted lines at 28, and a Thermos bottle indicated by dotted lines at 38 all of which are visible through the main body portion or ends of the lunch box. The material itself may be, of course, of any suitable transparent plastic material but, of course, is preferably not of such character that will taint the contents of the lunch box with any inherent odor and preferably is of a non-inflammable or at least a slow burning character. The lunch box is, of course, intended to be of a permanent character and for this purpose the material is required to be of a substantial thickness, preferably not less than 0.020" in thickness. I have found that material of this character of an inch in thickness provides a very satisfactory construction but even thicker material may be desirable under some circumstances. Material substantially less than 0.020" in thickness would be of such character as to render the device so short lived as to beimpractical.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the main body portion 20 is formed from a sheet of material of a width equal to the desired length of the box and it is centrally bent to provide a semi-cylindrical top surface 32, flat sides 34, and flat bottom 36, the opposite end margins being overlapped as at 38 approximately centrally of the bottom 36 and there adhered or otherwise secured together in a conventional manner. While the ends 22 and 24 may be formed of slightly thicker material than the main body portion 26 this is not necessary in most cases. The end members 22 and 24 shown are pressed out of sheet material to provide an end face of the same contour as the cross-sectional conformation of the main body portion 28 and the marginal edge portions are flanged inwardly as at 38 so as to socket the corresponding marginal end portions of the main' body portion 28 therein. Additionally, both end members 22 and 24 are flanged downwardly as at 48 at the free margin of the flange 38 along, the bottom edges thereof so as to provide a pair of flanges or ribs which serve to space the bottom wall 36 from a surface upon which it is supported and thus prevent such bottom surface from becoming scratched through contact with a supporting surface.

The end member 22 is preferably permanently adhered or otherwise secured in position on the corresponding end of the main body portion 28 but the end member 24 is made removable so as to serve as a cover for the lunch box. For the purpose of removably securing the end member 24 to the main body portion 28 a pair of pins 42, which may be formed from the same material as the end member 24 and body portion 34 are projected downwardly in spaced relation to each other transversely of the width of the box through the bottom wall 36 within that portion thereof which is embraced by the flange 38 of the cover 24 when in position. The flange 38 at the bottom of the cover 24 is provided with cooperating holes for reception of such pins 42. A similar but single pin 48 is projected through the top wall 32 of the main body portion 34 within the area of the flange 38 for the cover 24 at the top of the box and the flange 38 is similarly provided with a hole for reception of the pin 48. The pins 48 and 48 may be reinforced in their securement to the main body portion 34 by reinforcing strips such as 68 suitably adhered to the inner face of the main body portion and through which the pins project and to which they are suitably flxed.

portion 34 immediately inwardly oi the pin 48.

will cause such portion of the top wall to be deformed downwardly and to withdraw the pin 48 from its cooperating hole in the cover 24, thus releasing the pin from the cover and permitting the upper edge of the cover to be moved outwardly from engagement with the main body portion of the box. Preferably an upwardly directed flange 52 is provided at the inner margin of the flange 38 of the cover 24 in the immediate vicinity of the hole in the cover for reception of the pin 48 so that, as illustrated in Fig. 5, when the adjacent portion of the top' wall 32 of the main body portion 20 is depressed as shown to withdraw the pin 48 from the cover 24, pressure by a finger may be applied to the flange 62 to facilitate the outward movement of the upper part of the cover 24.

The above described movement of the cover 24 is a pivotal movement about an axis provided between the pins 46 and the bottom flange 38 of the cover 24 and it will be appreciated that as soon as the flange 38 at the upper portion of the cover 24 is withdrawn outwardly from the upper wall 32 of the main body portion 34, the cover 24 as a whole may be dropped to thus withdraw it from the pins 46 and thereby permit complete withdrawal of the cover from the box. In re-applying the cover to the box the pins 58 are first engaged in the corresponding openings in the flange 38 at the bottom of the cover 24 and then the upper edge of the cover is swung towards its closed position, the adjacent portion of the top wall 32 of the main body portion 34 being momentarily depressed to permit the cover to slide over the pin 48 whereupon release of the depressing force will permit the pin 48 to engage its associated opening in the cover 24 and thus lock the cover in place.

Where provisions are made for carrying a Thermos bottle in the above described lunch box thenthe following construction may be resorted to. A segmentally shaped bracket 60 having an inwardly directed flange and formed from the same material as the remainder of the lunch box may be suitably adhered to the inner face of the end 22 as shown, the curvature of the flange corresponding to the curvature of the base of the Thermos bottle so as to form a socket for receipt thereof. Adjacent the opposite end of the box a loop 62 of a diameter to slidably receive the Thermos bottle therein is provided so that the Thermos bottle may be slipped through the loop and its base received by the bracket 68 for the purpose of suspending it within the lunch a conventionally made of the same length so that where a lunch box such as that shown is made of a length sufficient to receive, for instance, a pint size Thermos bottle therein, when the cover 24 is applied it will maintain the thermos bottie against material endwise movement and in contact with the bracket 60, thus insuring its being maintained in position during transit.

The lunch box is, of course, provided with a carrying handle provided centrally of the upper surface thereof. In the broader aspects of the invention such handle may be of any conventional construction, made from any suitable material and secured in place in any suitable manner. In the present case the handle is illustrated at 64 and may be assumed to be formed of the same plastic material as the remainder of the lunch box. It may be adhered in place by the usual solvents employed for securing plastics together and particularly for the particular solvents necessary for the materials employed. On the other hand, it may be mechanically secured in place. In the construction shown by way of illustration one end of the handle 54 is assumed to be adhered to the top wall 32 of the main body portion 34 and the opposite end of the handle 54 mechanically secured in place but in this case by means forming a further feature of the present invention. In other words, a screw 66, best brought out in Figs. 3 and 4 is projected upwardly through the top wall 32 of the main body portion and threaded into the corresponding end of the handle 64. However, in this case the screw 66 projects up through the loop 62 before passing through the top wall 32 and, therefore, serves the dual function of securing the loop 62 in place and of securing the corresponding end of the handle 54 in place. Furthermore, although the loop 62 may be made from a suitable strip of material, in the present case it is assumed to be formed from the same plastic material as the rest of the box with the free ends thereof embraced between a pair of segmentally shaped strips 68 and ID, as best brought out in Fig. 3, which in the present case are assumed to be formed of the same plastic material as the remainder of the lunch box and these are adhered to the loop 62 and form a reinforcement in the securement of the loop 62 in place. It is not necessary that the loop 62 be formed of plastic material inasmuch as it could not possibly be employed to conceal anything in the lunch box and, therefore, may be made of metal or the like Without affecting the visibility characteristics of the box in any respect.

It is usually desirable to provide some individual identification on lunch boxes and in some plants the worker is required to place his name and badge number onthe lunch box. Provision for such identification is made in the present case by securing a strip 12 of the same material from which the remainder of the lunch box is constructed on the inner face of the cover 24 in generally but slightly spaced relation with respect to the face of the cover 24 and with the sides and bottom margins fixed to the cover 24 so as to provide a pocket 14 in which an identification card may be inserted. The identification card is, therefore, on the interior of the lunch box but the identification material thereon faces outwardly and may be readily read from the outside of the box without the necessity of removing the cover. The identification card in this way is protected against damage or becoming soiled and thus retains its legibility and is so positioned as to not be easily tampered with.

A limited amount of ventilation is usually required in all lunch boxes in order to prevent the occurrence of undesirable odors, and while such ventilation may be accomplished in any suitable or desirable manner in connection with the lunch box of the present invention, in the construction shown ventilation holes I6 are preferably provided in the lower comers of the end members 22 and 24 and one or more holes such as I8 provided in the top wall 32 01' the main body portion 34, preferably within the length of the handle 64 as best shown in Fig. 4.

It will be observed that in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the flanges 38 of the end members 22 and 24 project outwardly beyond the sides 34 of the main body portion 20 and thus serve to a greater or lesser extent to prevent the sides 34 from coming in contact with any flat surface against which the lunch. box may be placed. Should the sides of the lunch box bulge because of an excessive amount of material placed therein, or for other reasons the sides still might come in contact with some such fiat surface and in order to further guard against such an occurrence, the end members 22 and 24 may be modified as illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7. The construction illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 is identical to that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, with the exception that the flange 40 of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is extended completely around the periphery of the end members 22 and 24 as shown and indicated at 40'. The flange 40 thus takes the place of the flange 40 in the preceding construction as well as the-flange 52 and projecting laterally beyond the side faces 34 of the main body portion 20, as well as the top wall 32 thereof, serve as an additional guard for preventing such surfaces from coming into contact with a foreign object.

It is not necessary in all cases that the main body 34 be made of a single piece of material but, if desired, it may be made up of two or more pieces. For instance, in Fig. 8 a construction is shown in which the main body portion of the box is made in two pieces, namely, and 82, respectively, which cooperate to form a main body portion equivalent to the main body portion 20 i1- lustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive. In this case, the portion 82 forms the bottom of the main body portion and comprises a fiat strip of material of suitable length and width with the opposite side margins thereof downwardly bent as at 84. The corresponding free marginal edge portions of the piece 80 which forms the equivalent of the top 32 and sides 34 of the previously described construction, overlap the marginal portion 84 and are suitably secured thereto by adhesion or the like, as shown. The remainder of the construction including the end members 22 and 24 may be identical to those previously described.

In all of the constructions described up to this point, it is assumed that the various parts of the lunch box are formed from sheet material either bent or otherwise suitably formed to shape. In some cases it may be desirable that one or more of the parts be of a molded conformation, under which circumstances certain features which may be considered of advantage may be obtained. In Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive. a modified form of construction is employed in which the bottom and the ends are illustrated as being of a molded conformation and. of course, formed from a transparent plastic material as in the case of the previously described construction. It might be mentioned, however, that where constructions such as illustrated in Figs. 8 to 13, inclusive, are employed having a separately formed bottom, such bottom may in some instances be made of either a translucent or an opaque material as the transparency of the bottom may not be absolutely necessary in all cases.

Referring now to Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, it will be noted that the lunch box there shown is the same general conformation as those previously described. As in the case of the construction shown in Fig. 8, however, the bottom 90 is formed separately from the side walls 92, the latter of which may be of the same general conformation as the side walls of the previously described construction, that is, formed of sheet material and integral with the top thereof. The bottom 90 in this case is of molded construction and each side of which at least is formed to present a downwardly projecting bead or rib 94 and the bottom 90 is grooved on its upper surface in line with each bead 94 so as to receive the lower free margins of the side walls 92 therein and in which they may be suitably secured by adhesion through the use of a suitable solvent, or otherwise. The closed end may be of the same general conformation as the end 22 previously described except that in case where the groove in the bottom 90 which receives the side members 92 is extended across the corresponding end, such corresponding end may then be received in the groove in the same general manner as the side members shown instead of being flanged inwardly as in the previous constructions.

In the construction shown in Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, the end member indicated generally at 96 which serves as a cover is hingedly secured to the remainder of the box. For this purpose, the cover 96 is of molded construction and has formed along its lower margin a plurality of spaced hinge eyes 98. The corresponding edge of the bottom 90, as brought out in Fig. 9, is provided with a plurality of complementary eyes I which are aligned with the eyes 98 and alternate therewith. Any suitable means for pivotally connecting the eyes 98 and I00 may be employed but for ease of assembly and to make the cover 96 removable, where such removal is desired, a hinge structure of the type shown is preferably employed.

The hinge structure shown in Figs. 9 to 13 includes a ball spring-pressed outwardly at the end of each of the eyes 98 and which balls are socketed in the ends of the eyes I 00., The halls I02 for each eye 98 are contained within a metallic sleeve I04 which is frictionally held within each eye 98 and the ends of which tube are inwardly turned sufiiciently to prevent ejection of the corresponding ball I02 therefrom but which permits the ball to project materially therefrom. A coil compression spring I06 within the tube I04 constantly urges the balls I02 outwardly of the tube I04. The eyes I00 are, of course, centrallv apertured as at I08 and the balls I02 seat in the end of such apertures, the balls I02 all be ng in line so that they form the actual pivotal element between the cover and the main body portion of the body. The balls I02 are, of course, retractable against the force of the spring I06 which permits th cover 95 to be snapped on or off when it is desired to apply the cover to the main body portion or to completely remove it therefrom if this action is desired. The cover 96 may be latched in place by a mechanism of substantially the same character as described in connection. with the previously described construction and, of course, is provided with an equivalent handle.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that in all of the constructions described the contents of the lunch box may be inspected without the necessity of opening up the box and/or disturbing the contents thereof, this particularly where the contents of the box are themselves wrapped in a transparent covering. It, therefore, relieves the guards of manufacturing plants from the necessity of opening and inspecting the lunch boxes of the workers and the time involvedv in connection therewith as in this case a guard may simply pick up a lunch box and thoroughly inspect all of the contents without requiring it to be opened. Furthermore, because of the transparent character of the lunch box the presence of any dirt or other foreign material is readily observed and it, therefore, is conducive to the keeping of the lunch box in a clean and sanitary condition. The various structural features described aid in rendering the lunch box economical to manufacture, strong and serviceable, as well as convenient to use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim by Letters Patent is:

1. In a lunch box, in combination, 9, container having an open end, a removable closure for said open end, a carrying handle at the top of said container, a Thermos bottle carrying loop within said container, and common means securing said loop and said handle to said container.

2. A lunch box adapted to contain a Thermos bottle and comprising, in combination, an open ended container, a bracket fixed to the closed end of said container, a loop fixed within said container in spaced relation longitudinally thereof with respect to said bracket, said loop being of a size to receive such Thermos bottle therein and said bracket being positioned to support an end of such Thermos bottle, said container being of a length corresponding with the length of such Thermos bottle, and a removable cover for the open end of said container serving to maintain such Thermos bottle against longitudinal movement therein.

3. A lunch box comprising a main body portion including bottom, side and top walls, said side and top walls being formed from a single sheet of transparent flexible material and said bottom wall being separately formed and permanently fixed thereto, a pair of separately formed end members formed of transparent plastic material and each including a peripheral laterally directed flange outwardly embracing the margin of said main body portion at the corresponding end thereof, one of said end members being permanently secured to said main body portion, and means removably securing the other of said end members to said main body portion comprising pins carried by said main body portion engaging holes in the flange of the corresponding end member and at least one of which is withdrawable from its corresponding hole by deflection of the associated wall portion of said main body port on.

4. A lunch box including a bottom member formed from plastic material to provide a. pair of upwardly opening grooves in the opposite margins thereof, side walls formed from flexible transparent plastic material having their lower edges received in said grooves and fixed therein, and a removable end closure hingedly secured to said bottom wall.

5. A lunch box including a bottom wall, side and top walls connected to said bottom wall and formed from a transparent plastic material, a reinforcing strip interiorly secured to one of the marginal edge portions of said top wall, reinforcing strip means interior-1y secured to the corresponding marginal end of said bottom wall, a pin projecting through said top wall and said reinforcing strip secured thereto and projecting outwardly therebeyond, a plurality of pins projecting through said bottom. wall and said strip means and projecting downwardly therebeyond, an and member, a laterally projecting flange on said end member outwardly embracing the marginal edge portions of said bottom, side and top walls at the corresponding end thereof, and said flange having openings therein for receiving said pins therein to removably secure said end member to said walls, said top wall being of suilicient flexibility to permit it to be manually depressed to withdraw said pin therein from the corresponding opening in said flange without permanent deformation thereof.

6. In a lunch box, in combination, a container having sides, top and an open end, a removable closure for said open end, a carrying handle at the top of said container on the outside thereof,

a Thermos bottle carrying loop within said container, and means connecting said handle and loop operable to transmit the load on said loop to said handle independently of said sides and top.

'7. In a lunch box, in combination, a container having sides, top and an open end, a removable closure for said open end, a carrying handle at the top of said container on the outside thereof, a Thermos bottle carrying loop within said container and means directly connecting said handle and loop whereby to transmit the load of a Thermos bottle on said loop to said handle independently of said side and top walls.

8. In a lunch box, in combination, a container having sides, top and an open end, a removable closure for said open end, a. carrying handle at the top of said container on the outside thereof,

a Thermos bottle carrying loop within said con-- tainer and means directly connecting said handle and loop whereby to transmit the load of a Thermos bottle on said loop to said handle independently of said side and top walls, the connection between said handle and loop serving to operatively connect said handle to said container.

VERN W. BUSCH.

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