US1132202A - Freight-car door. - Google Patents

Description

J. MAPBS.

FREIGHT GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION mD El 1914' Paten-1811 Mar. 16,1915.

J. MAPES.

FREIGHT CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1313.111914.

Patented Man-16, 1915.

2 SHBETSASHEET 2.

A @mue/wko@ 7. fifa/bes 15. A Za? wit/Magnan THE MORRIS PETERS Cov4 PHOTO-LI7HO., WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MAPES, OF ALEDO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ZALES S. IVICGINNIS, OF ALEDO, ILLINOIS.

FREIGHT-CAR DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

Application filed February 17, 1914. Serial No. 819,283.

kTo all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, J oHN MAPES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aledo, in the county of Mercer and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Freight-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in car doors of the type which are designed particularly for use in connection with freight cars.

As its principal object, this invention aims to provide a door which may be readily attached to any standard form of freight car with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

A further object is to construct the door in such manner that it may be easily and conveniently moved longitudinally over the outer face of the side of a freight car.

l/Vithin the knowledge of the inventor, there have been patented a number of freight car doors which may be moved longitudinally along the side of the car, but almost without exception these doors are open to one very important objectiomwhich is that they too frequently stick or bind against the side of the car when the operator endeavors to move them into open or closed position.

A further object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a car door so constructed that all liability of binding engagement and sticking of the door against the car side will be eliminated.

A still further object is to mount the door in a frame which is slidable longitudinally of the car on tracks of the well known type, hinging the door at its lower terminal so that its upper terminal may be swung outwardly, thus spacing the major portion of the inner face of the door from the side of the car, whereby contact of the door and car is eliminated and liability of sticking is overcome during the movement of the door into open or closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lever controlled mechanism for swinging the door inwardly or outwardly on its hinges, so that, when in closed position, the door may be tightly sealed against the side of the car to prevent the leakage of grain, in case such a cargo is being transported.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct the door operating mechanism in such manner that it may be locked to hold the door in open or closed position.

Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims, which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

With reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated the preferred embodiment of this invention as it is reduced to practice. and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the door in open position on a freight car; Fig. 2 is a side elevation illustrating the door in closed position; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1: Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the door operating elements in disassembled position. but indicating the relation which the various elements bear to one another when in operative position.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, and referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 in which the invention is best illustrated in assembled position. the numeral 10 designates as an entirety a slidable frame in which the door, indicated by the numeral 11. is hingedly mounted. The frame l0 is in the preferred embodiment of the invention substantially rectangular in shape, being constructed of relatively light bar iron or steel. The side members 12 and 13 of the frame are bifurcated at their upper terminals, the outer arms 14 produced by such bifurcation being bent inwardly, as at 15, and thence downwardly, as at 16, while the other arm produced by the bifurcation iscut ofi', leaving merely a lug member 17. Between the portion 16 of the member 14 and the main body portion of the said arm is journaled on a transversely eX- tendingpin 18 a supporting wheel 19.

` It will be obvious upon reference to the drawings that a supporting wheel l19 is provided for'the upper terminal of each of retaining fingers ating the side bars 12 and 13. These wheels 19 are mounted for movement along a bar track 20 which is mounted to extend longitudinally along the side of the car adjacent the upper portion thereof. The track bar 20 is equipped with a downwardly extending rib 21 which is positioned at the forward edge of the track. The lug members 17iof the frame arms 12 and 13 are adapted to engage against the rear face of the ribv 21 for holding the wheels 19 against displacement from the track. A longitudinally extending angle iron 22 is secured by bolts or other suitable fastening devices, indicated at 23, to the lower portion of the side of the car. This member 22 is adapted to receive the lower transverse frame member 24 and to hold the frame against outwardly swinging movement, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 particularly. The upper terminals of the frame side members 12 and 13 are braced so that they will be maintained in parallel spaced relation by means of a transversely extending bar or iron rod, indicated at 25. This member v25 is terminally secured by the pivot pins 18.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that there has been provided a relatively light docr frame which is so constructed that it is possessed of all necessary strength for supporting the door 11. Y

The door member 11 is, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, constructed of wood, and is, as shown, substantially rectangular in shape to conform to the outline of the frame member 10. The door 11 is attached at its lower terminal to the lower transverse vmember 24 of the frame 10 by meanslof hinges 26 and 27. Intermediate the length of the frame members 12 and 1,3 are positioned a pair of outwardly offset or lugs, indicated at 28 and 28. These members 28 and 28 extend a slight distance beyond the edges of the door and serve as stops for limiting the outward swinging movement of the door.

As previously explained, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide an operating means which not only vserves to hold the door in open or closed position, but is so constructed that it may be operated 4to swing the upper terminal of the door outwardly so that the inner face o1 the door may be spaced from the side of the car to guard against the possibility of frictional engagement between the side4 face of the carv and the door when this latter member is being moved into open or closed position. VThe preferred form of means ernployed in this connection consists in an operlever 29' which is pivoted on the Iouter face of the door and is connected tothe side frame members 12 and 13 of the frarnel't) in such mannerlthat, when swung in oner'direction, it will act to `swing the door-:out-

39 and 40 wardly on its hinges, and will, when swung in the opposite direction, move the door inwardly on its hinges. The lever 29 is preferably constructed froma elongated metallic bar which is pivoted to the upper portion of the door by a pivot pin 30. At each side ofthe door, and adjacent the upper terminal thereof, are arranged segmental gear members 31 and 32 which are respectively keyed on crank shafts 33 and 34. The crank shaft 34 is journaled in a pair of brackets 35 and 36 at the right hand side of the door,A while the crank shaft 33 is journaled in brackets 37 and 38 secured adjacent the left hand side of the door, as clearly indicated in Figs.

1 and 2. 'The sector gears 31 and "32 are f adapted to respectively mesh with rack bars which may be either formed integrally with or .in any well known manner secured to the inner face of the side frame members 12 and 13 adjacent the upper ter'.- minals thereof. Link members 41 andv 42 are employed in pivotally and freely con- 1 necting the lever 29 with the cranks 43 and 44 of thecrank shafts, heretofore designated by the numerals 33 and 34. The inner'terminals of these link members are, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, pivoted in the bifurcated arms of attaching members 45 and 46 which are detachably secured to the lever 29 at points equidistantly spaced above and below the pivot pin 30. The members 45 and 46 are, of course, mounted for swinging movement on the lever, being freely connected thereto by means of bolts or similar fastening devices, indicated at 47 and 48.

From the foregoing description, and upon reference to the drawings, it will now be seen that by swinging the lever 29 tothe right hand side ofthe door, the sector gears 31 and 32 will, by engagement with the rack bars 39 and 40 operate to swing the upper terminal of the door 11 inwardly. T herack bars and sector gears are so arranged that, when the lever 29 has been moved into complete closed position at the right hand side ofy he door, as in Fig. 2,.the door will engage the side wall of the car throughout its entire length, and will be freely sealed thereagainst effecting a closure which will absolutely pre.- vent the leakage ofY grain or any other material through the car door.

When the operator` desires' to open the door, it is necessary before sliding the frame 10 along the track 2O to swingthe lever 29 to the left lhand side of the car. When the Y.

lever'is thus swung, the sectorgears by travcling along the rackbars `act to swing the uy per end of the door outwardly, as in Fig. 3, so that lapproximately Vthe yentire inner Y face of the door is spaced from th'e sideof ing engagement of the door against the side of the car, as in ordinary freight car doors.

1n assembling the elements of the door, the sector gears are so keyed on the crank shafts 33 and 34 that the crank portions 43 and 44 thereto extend toward the center of the door at an angle of 45O thereof when the door is in closed position, as in Fig. 2, and outwardly away from the center of the door and at an approximate angle of 45O thereto when the door is in open position as in Fig. l. This arrangement of the crank members 33 and 34 is, of course, necessary so that the pull exerted upon the cranks by the links 41 and 42 will, at all times, be angularly directed, and never in a straight line, for if such were the case it might be impossible to actuate the sector gears.

As a means for locking the lever 29 in position at either the right or left hand side of the door, there has been provided a pair of staple members 49 and 50, which are adapted to receive a hasp 51 pivotally carried at the lower terminal of the lever. lt will, of course, be seen upon reference to Figs. l and Q that a padlock may be applied to the staple for preventing any unauthorized person from opening the door.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of this invention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most efcient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

1n the preferred embodiment of the invention, the door 1l is constructed of wood, inasmuch as this material has been found to be relatively light and as durable as is necessary, although, if so desired, any other material, such as sheet iron, steel or the like may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

lVhat is claimed is l. A device of the character described including a frame slidable longitudinally over" the frame for swinging the upper terminal of the door toward or away from the car side, said door carried means being further adapted for locking the door spaced from the car side or in sealing engagement therewith.

3. A device of the character described including a frame having wheels at its upper terminal, a track receiving the wheels, whereby the frame may be moved longitudinally over the side of the car, a door mounted in the frame and having its lower terminal hinged to the lower transverse member thereof, and exteriorly operable means for swinging the upper terminal of the door into sealing engagement with the side of the car, or for swinging the upper terminal of the door away from the side of the car, said means including a crank shaft mounted on the door, a segmental gear keyed on the crank shaft, a rack bar formed on the inner side of one of the side members of the frame, said segmental gear and rack bar being arranged to mesh, and a lever pivoted on the door and freely connected to the crank shaft, said lever being movable in one direction for swinging the upper terminal of the door toward the car side and into engagement therewith, and movable in the opposite direction for swinging the upper terminal of the door away from the side of the car and in spaced relation thereto.

4. A device of the character described including a frame slidable longitudinally against the side of the car. a door having its lower terminal hinged to the lower transverse member of the frame, and means for swinging the door inwardly toward the side of the car or swinging it outwardly therefrom. said means including a lever pivotally mounted on the outer face of the door, rack bars formed on the inner sides of the side members of the frame, brackets carried by the outer face of the door, crank shafts journaled therein, segmental gears keyed on the crank shafts and meshing with the rack bars, and link members pivotallv connecting the crank shafts to the lever, whereby the movement of the lever in one direction will swing the upper terminal of the door inwardly for engaging the inner face of the door against the side of the car. and whereby the movement of the lever in the opposite direction will swing the upper terminal of the door outwardly for swinging the inner face of the door away from the side of the car.

5. A device of the character described including a. frame slidable over a car side. a door having its lower terminal hinged to the lower transverse member of the frame. rack bars carried by the frame, pinions mounted on the door, and a lever operatively connected to the pinions, said lever being movable in one direction for swinging the free end of the door toward the car and being `movable in the other direction for swinging the free end of the door away from the car.

6. A device of the character described including a frame mounted for sliding movementy longitudinally of a car side, a door having its lower terminal hinged to the lower transverse member thereof, rack bars carried by the frame, pinions mounted on the door, 'crank arms connected to the pinions, a lever mounted on the door, and linksV freely connecting the lever at points above vand below its pivotal point to the crank arms vwhereby'the lever when swung in one direction will move the free end of the door toward the car and when moved in the other direction will move the free end of the door in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN MAPES. [11. SJ

Witnesses:

LORENZO B. MOREY,

FRANK L. GREEN.

-Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patent Washington, D. C.

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