US1020107A - Car-door latch. - Google Patents

Description

L. J. MOCLOSKEY. CAR DOOR LATCH. APPLICATION FILED D20. 29, 1911.

1 ,020, 1 O7. Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

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Alforuqv COLUMIIA PLANOGRAFH C0. WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS J. MGCLOSKEY, OF CARRICK BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PHILLIPS MINE AND MILL SUPPLY 00., 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-DOOR LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs J. MoCLosKnY, citizen of the United States, residing at Garrick borough, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Latches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention has relation to car door latches and relates in particular to latches for the doors of mine cars of that class in which the door is pivoted at or near its upper edge and swings outwardly when the car is tilted in discharging the coal and swings inwardly when the car has been allowed to resume its normal horizontal position after the coal has been discharged.

In the ordinary mine car a latch is employed which must be opened and closed by hand and these latches do not close automatically, being usually composed of a pivoted angular piece that engages the terminal link on the free end of a chain which projects through a hole in the swinging door, the other end of this chain being fastened to the draw-bar of the car or to the floor of the car inside the door. In this, the ordinary latching device, it is always necessary to latch the door by hand, and hence this form of latch cannot be used where the cars are employed on self dumping cages.

The object of my invention is to provide a latch of novel construction which will operate automatically upon the closing of the door and which may be unlatohed from either side of the car.

My invention consists in the novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing in which I have illustrated my invention: Figure 1 is a rear end elevation of a car having my improved latching mechanism applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the end portion of the car shown in Fig. 1 and taken on the dotted line 00-40 of Fig. 1, the door being shown in its fully closed position. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the door in a partly closed position, such as it assumes when it swings back of its normal perpendicular position toward the inside of the car as the car rights itself after having been tipped or tilted.

The sides of the car are designated A and the bottom of the car is designated B and carries the draw-bar C. D, designates the door which conforms in shape to the crosssectional form of the car and is suspended from a round rod E, that is sustained by the vertical bars F, carried by the sides A of the car, said bars F projecting slightly above the sides A, and being bent inwardly at their projecting upper ends G, as shown.

The door D is suspended from the rod E, by hinges II, which are each composed of a flat strap that is bent into a semi-circle at its middle, its ends extending down vertically to near the lower edge of the door and the bent central portions of the straps extending around the rod E, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The door D, is formed with an opening I, at the center of its lower end, through which the draw bar C, projects, and in order to strengthen and protect the wood of which the door is formed, a flat plate of metal J, is bolted to the outside of the door, this plate havin an opening 2', for the passage of the draw bar C, the opening 2', corresponding to the opening I, in the door.

A guide plate K, is secured to each hinge on the outer side of the door and between these guide plates and the hinges a round bar L, is arranged, this bar having its ends Z, Z, bent outwardly at right angles, and the bar fitting loosely in and being adapted to slide up and down and rock between the guide plates and hinges and being provided with collars M, which are welded or otherwise firinly secured in position on the bar L, and are located a SIllllClGIll; distance from the guide plates K, to permit the rod to be tilted slightly, while serving at the same time to prevent unnecessary longitudinal movement of the bar L.

At the center of the bar L, a latch plate N, is attached to the bar by welding or in any other suitable manner, this plate being arranged at substantially a right angle to the bent ends of the bar L, the lower edge of the plate extending, when the bar is at its lowermost position, slightly below the upper edge of the openings 2' and I, in the plate J, and door D, respectively.

A keeper 0 is mounted on the top of the draw bar 0, this keeper having an upturned outer end 0 that engages the latch plate N, the upturned end 0, being of such length that it will pass through the openings 2' and I in the plate J, and the door D, as the door swings open and shut, but will engage the latch plate N and keep the door locked against outward movement when the door is closed, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Operation: The door is shown in closed position in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the bar L being now at its lowermost position in the guide plates K and the latch plate L being in engagement with the upturned end 0, of the keeper 0, thus holding the door securely locked. To open the door it is only necessary to raise the bar L at either end, which can be conveniently done from either side of the car by striking the lower side of one of the outwardly bent ends Z, of the bar, so as to throw the bar up at an angle either on one side or the other according to whichever end of the bar is raised, thus raising the latch plate up and out of engagement with the upturned end 0 of the keeper 0 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. a

When the latch plate is raised as described, the weight of the coal within the car will, particularly if the car has been tilted, force open the door and permit the coal to be discharged, the door swinging outwardly on rod E, and the rod L dropping back to horizontal position. As the car is tilted back to its normal horizontal position after the coal has been discharged, the door will swing back slightly beyond its normal perpendicular position and, during this movement of the door, the latch plate will glide over the upturned end 0 of the keeper O,-in the manner shown in Fig. 3 and after the latch plate N, is passed over the upturned end 0 of the keeper 0, the weight of the outwardly bent ends Z, Z, of the bar L, will cause the latch plate to swing back into contact with the plate J, so that it will automatically engage the upthe door.

If desired the outwardly bent ends Z, Z, of the bar L may be dispensed with and the weight of the latch plate alone depended on to return the latch plate to position;

I claim:

1. In a car door latch, the combination of a swinging door, guides carried by the door and a keeper arranged below the door, with a horizontally disposed vertically movable and rotatable rod arranged in said guides and a latch plate carried by said rod and adapted to engage said keeper.

2. In a car door latching device, the combination with guides carried by the door and a keeper carried by the car, of a horizontally disposed, vertically movable and rotatable rod, mounted in said guides and having outwardly bent ends and a latch,.; 6 5? plate carried by said rod and arranged at an angle to said outwardly bent ends and adapted to be brought to horizontal position to engage said keeper by a rocking movement of said rod.

3. In a car door latching device, the combination with guides carried by the door, a horizontally disposed rod loosely mounted in said guides, the ends of said rod extending toward each edge of the door, of a latch plate carried by the said rod, centrally thereof, a keeper carried by the car and adapted to be engaged by the latch plate, said rod and said guides being so constructed and arranged that the rod may be lifted at either end or the center to free the latch plate from engagement with the keeper.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa-: ture in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS J. MOCLOSKEY.

WVitnesses:

ROBERT F. PHILLIPS, D. A. BECK.

7 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

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