US1068701A - Silo-door. - Google Patents

Description

A. H. RICE.

SIL() DOOR.

m'uwA'rloN FILED Nov 29 m? Patented July 29,1913.

2 SHEETS SHEET] A. H. RICE.

suo DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912. 1,068,701 Patented July 29, 1913.

2 SHEBTSSHBET 2 ALBERT H. man, or ons Motivos, IOWA.

sirio-Doon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patent-ed July es, i913.l

Appiiation ined November 2e, 1912. Asemi No. 734,201.

To N 'ii-7mm it may concern Fig. 3

` le it ,known that I, ALBERT H. RICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des .Moinesv in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented 'a certainlneivY and nseful Silo-Door, of which the following 1s a specification.

The 'object of my invention isto provide a -silo door of simple, dnrable and inexpensive construction.

It is well known that in silo construction it is desirable to secure a door so constructed and arranged with relation to the. frame, of the silo as to all-ow for expansionand con traction.

It is, therefore, my object to provide a silo door so constructed and arranged as toprovide for this expansion and contraction.

More particularly, it is my object to provide a silo door having slidable side members which may be adjusted with relation to the door and to the silo wall and securely locked in positionvvhen ,the dooi` is installed. In this connection, it is my purpose to provide simple and durable mechanism, for ope erating the sliding members of the sito door sections. l

It is afurther object to provide a silo door Section 0f Simple, durable and inexpensixh'e construction, constructed and arranged to tit snugly and lirmly the opening'in the silo Wall, said .door being preferably of the .typey having vertical members' and horizontai members, as shown in order that itmay withstand moisture and expansion and contraction.

My invention yconsists in certain details, in the construction, arrangement and col'ibmation of the various parts o the device, Whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more 'fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, intvhich;

Figure l shows a from; elevation ot a. part of a. silo equipped with door sections embodying my invent-ion. Fig. 2 shows ver tical, transv erse,'se.ti0nal view through thtA siloshovving my door sections from the side. shows a large. detail view of the means for operating the sliding side members of my door Figs. 4 and show detail. sectional views of my door sections. Fig. 6 shows a horizontal .sectional view of part'of thf silo door and Wall, showing ineansby which `the sidemembers of t i door are moved, and Fia. 7 shows a hormontal, sectional v1evv ot one ot my doorsand part of the silo wall.

lln the accompanying drawingd have used the reference numeral lO'to indicate', generally, the stoves of the silo 4Wall which are held together by means of the retaining bands or rods 11. The silo is provided vvith the ordinary door opening, extending from top to bottom. The edges ot' the silo wall,

along the door opening, are preferably ness of the strips 14 and' 15 is approximately the same as the thickness of the silo Wall members 10. .The sido edges of the horizontal strips 15 are beveled .to fitl the beveled edges 12 and the. edges ot the vertical strips 14 at the side' of the door section are made concave to [it the halt round lil, as clearly `shown in Figs. 6 and i'. vThe members 14 are preferably slightly thinner than the halt' round 13, above mentioned, so' that a tight yjoint may be formed, as hier(4 nafter more fully set forth. The onterQvertiCal strip or .member 14, at each side ot the door section.

isslidably mounted on the body ot thc dou section in the following manner: .X verti cal plate or metal strip 16 is seci'ired to cach slidable member 14 on the outer surface at the edge thereof, adjarentto the side' at the silo door opening'in such position and :nanner that when forced laterally v-fith the member '14, it tends to dra tlie members l outwardly, th-us'forniivg a veryv iight icint. Secured to eachy upright strip 14. which is adjacent to the movable strip 14, a ivi-*ier plate 17 which cxtcnds from the top to bottom of the door section and i. of suflicicii width to overlap the movable section 14 and to cover the gap between the movable .section 14 and the adjacent fixed strip if.. Mounted on each movable strip 14,;ippr'oximately at the center thereof, is a metal block or body 18 havingv a laterally` cit-tending vflange 153 which is secured to the movable flange 19 is provided with a horizontal clone,

Extending through each movable member 14 and through themetal Vstrip 16, through the slot 20, to'a point outside of the flange 19, is a bolt 22. A t the outer end of the bolt 22, adj acont to the flange 19, is a7 Washer 23 having its inner surfacerough, as shown in Fig. 6, to engage the corrugated portion 21 of the flange 19. On the outer end of the bolt 22 is a nut 24. It will, therefore, beseen that` the flange 19 of the block or body 18 is secured vto the movable strip 14 on each side of each door section by means of the bolt.' 22 and that the body 18 and the flange 19 may be adjusted laterally with relation to the movable strip 14 by lloosening the nut 24 and the bolt 22 and sliding the body 18 and flange 19 laterally. The purpose of the elongated slot 20 is now seen. Formed in the block or body 18 is a horizontal opening provided With a screw thread 25 of' very wide pitch. On each. of the vertical strips 14 of the door section, adjacent to the movable strip 14 on each. side of the door section is a block or body 26 having a laterally extending flange 27 secured to the strip 17 and the fixed member 14. Rotatably mounted in the block 26, on each side of each door section, is a shaft 28 Which is also extended through the opening in the block 18 and is provided With a screw thread 29 having a pitch to correspond to the pitch of the screw thread 25.

Connecting the shafts 28, and preferably' :formed integral therewith, are crank arms 30, connected by a rod 31. lThe outer portion of the flange ,27 is concave, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, and formed on the upper and lower portion of each flange 27 are shoulders 32 and 33. The shoulder 32 is so constructed and located that when the crank 30 and the rod 31 are at the upward limit 'of their movement, the cranks 30 will rest against the shoulder 32, thereby holding the rod 31 slight-ly spaced apart from the vertical members .14 of the door section. The shoulder 33 extends outwardly farther than the shoulder 32 so that when the cranks 30 are in the lower position of their movement., the cranks 30 will be held in position eX- tendingdownwardly and slightly outwardly from the silo, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 1, thereby forming a ladder. .At the bottom of each door section, the members`14 and,

15 are beveled to form a channel, preferably having the form of an inverted V, in cross section, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and at the top of each door section, said members 14 and 15 are beveled from their outsides upwardly to their insides to fit said channel. At their upper ends, the plates or strips 17 are inclined upwardly and inwardly at 35 to fit into the channel heretofore mentioned and also to cover the space between the movable and fixed door members, as shown in Fig.

In the practical use of my improved door sect-ions, each section is placed in position from inside the silo with the rod. 31 at the upward position of its movement. The members heretofore described are so arranged that When the rod 31 is then moved to the lower position of its movement, the movable member 14 Will be moved to position adjacent to the jamb of the silo door, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Inthis connection, it may be noted that the strip 16 extends slightly beyond the movable member 14 so as to engage the outer surface of the silo Wall, as shown in Fig. 6, when the door section is in lposition and the doo-r ope-nas herinbefore mentioned. By means of the slot in the flange 1? and the'bolt 22, the body 18 may be adjusted laterally relative -to the movable member 14, thereby enabling me to move the movable member 14 just the rightv distance to make the door section fit the door' opening. The flange 19 is so con,- structed and arranged that when' the door sections are installed in a silo or other structure, they engage the beveled outer edges of the door frame, as shown in Figs. 3, and 7, thereby locking the door sections in position and helping to draw the members. 15 against the frame for forming a tight joint. Vhen the door section is in place, the silo is filled with ensilage 36. It Will be noted that the space bet-Ween the movable and fixed members 14 is lcovered by the plate 17 and atthe upper end of each section, said Vspace is covered by the portion 35 of the plate 17. i

The shape of the edges of the door sections may be changed as desired so long as tight joints are formed between the adjacent sections, and so long as the edges of the door sections snugly fit the edges of the door opening. It will also be noticed that the movable side member is centrally pivoted so that if the door opening is not exactly perpendicular, the movable members will still fit properly.

It Will be understood that many variations may be made in the details of construction of my improved silo door, it being my intention to cover any form of the device included Within the scope of the appended claims. The advantage-s of' my improved silo door are numerous.

`One of the chief problems in silo construction 'is to secure a tight joint around the door. I secure this by the form of the edges of the door opening and of the door sections andby means of the slidable or moyablc members 14. Another problem which 1S always met in silo constructionis that of providmg for expansion when the sllage heats.

'ith m door, the cranks 30 are made of metal w iich has some resiliency and in case of ex ansion said cranks may be sprung slight y, thereby avoiding any breaking of the parts.

My improved door is quickly and easily installed in position, is of comparatively simple and durable construction and enables me to secure a verv tight joint. The crank arms 30 and the connecting rod 31 not only serve for the purpose of giving me considerable leverage for operating the movable members 14, but they also form a ladder used on silos. The upper door sections may be easily and readily removed as the ensilage is taken from the silo, or shoved up and left in the openings.

In the following claims I have designated the movable strips 14 as sealing strips for the reason that they serre the pur iose of engaging the inner edges of the silo t oor frame and forming a tight joint or seal with the frame.

The combination of the resilient shaft with its crank the movable sealing stri is and the screw thread connection between t ie strips and ends of the shaft, serves to produce a very advantageous result. in that when the silo door is in place and the silo expands the sealing strips will inevitabl be pushed inwardly towar( cach other. I the connection between the shaft and the sealing strips were such that this inward pressure would operate to elevate the crank, then when the silo again expanded the sealing strips would possibly not follow outwardly and maintain a tightly sealed joint, but on account of the fact that the screw conncction is immovable against pressure upon the outer edges of the sealing strips, then when this pressure is applied, the resilient shaft will yield at the crank and thus avoid any injury to the parts. then when contraction of the silo takes place the yielding crank will operate to cause the scaling strips to move outwardly and maintain a tight joint a ith tbc edges of the silo door.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a silo door, of sealing strips at the side edges thereof, capable of movement outwardly to en ya ve the limer faces of a silo door frame, au a so capable of moving inwardlv away from suoli sealing engagement, a shaft made of resilient material rotatably mounted on the Silo door and bowed to form a crank member or handle capable of ilse as a ladder. there being a spiral screw connection between the ends of the shaft and the said sealing strips whereby when the crank member or handle is elevated the sealing strips will be moved inwardly and when the crank member or handle is moved downwardly toward position for use as a ladder the sealing strips will be moved outwardly to engage the inner edges of a door frame and` to form a tight joint therewith and whereby the said sealing strips will be locked by said spiral screw threads against movement toward each other by pressure upon the outer edges of the sealing strips.

Q. '.llie combination with a silo door, of sealinr strips at the side edges thereof, capable of movement outwardly to engage the inner faces of a silo door frame, and also capable of moving inwardly away from such sealing engagement, a shaft made of resilient material rotatably mounted on the silo door and bowed to form a crank member or handle. capable of use as a ladder, there bc'- ing a spiral screw connection between the ends of the shaft and the said sealing strips whereby when the crank member or handle is elevated the scaling strips will be moved inwardly and when the crank member or handle is moved downwardly toward position for use. as a ladder the sealingstrips will be moved outwardly to engage the inner edges of a door frame and to form a tight joint therewith, and whereby the said scaling strips will be locked by said spiral screw threads against movement toward each other by pressure upon the outer edges of the. sealing strips, and means for adjusting the said sealing strips relative to the said spiral screw connections.

3. The combination with a silo door, of scaling strips designed to engage the inner edges of a door opening, a srliaft rotatably mounted on the silo door having a craint member or handle capable of use as a ladder` lugs fixed to the sealing strips and provided with projections designed to overlap the exterior of a silo door frame, said lugs being also provided with screw threaded openings and the ends of said shaft being screw threaded and inserted in the said screw threaded o ienings, and said parts being so arranged tiat when the crank member or handle is in an elevated position the sealing strips and lugs will be disengaged from the silo door frame and when the crank member or handle is lowered to position for use as a ladder the sealing strips will form a scaling connection with the inner faces of a door frame and the lu .rs will overlap the exterior of a siio at the door frame and prevent inward movement of the door.

Des Moines, Iowa, November 25, 1912.

ALBERT I-l. RICE.

Witnesses:

M. TALL/ion, L. Roamson.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of rate'nts. Washington, D. 0.

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