US1147367A - Automatic chute-closure. - Google Patents

Description

D. C. BOYD.

AUTOMATIC CHUTE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, I915.

1,147,367. Patented July 20, 1915.

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DAVID C. BOYD, OF GAL-ION, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 GALIO N IRON WORKS & MFG. 00;, OF GALION, OHIO,.ACORP,ORATION OF OHIO. 7

AUTOMATIC anew-mosses.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1,- DAVID C. BOYD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Galion, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented certain new.

use in connection with means or apparatus for use in transferring stone, coal, or any other substances from bottom-discharge railway cars to an elevator or storage bin alongside of the track, in which apparatus the inclined trough or chute is located underneath the track toreceive the contents of the hopper-bottom or similar cars, as required. v

As is obvious to those familiar' with the construction, maintenance and operation of apparatus of this character, objections are found by the railroad and other officials when there is an open chute underneath the track, owing to the danger of employees or others stepping into the opening and sustaining injuries, and with a knowledge of these conditions and objections, the primary object of my invention is to provide simple, durable and efficient means for overcoming these objections by entirely removing their cause and by providing a chute inwhich there is an automatic closing door, as hereinbefore set forth.

A further object of the invention is an improved construction and arrangement of trap door or closure which may be easily held in its raised or closed position until a load has been deposited thereon and which can then be easily released whereby it will sink with its load and swing down to an inclined position where it will constitute the slide plate or false inclined bottom for the chute down which the load" will slide,zso. as to be discharged into the pit or abucket or similar receptacle therein, and thence elevated to the storage bin or the like, the

closure subsequently automatically swinging. up to its raised and closed position Specification of Letters Patent. v Patented July 29. 1915, Application filed March 31,1915. Serial 1%. 18,333.

through the instrumentality of a contractile spring or springs, arranged as hereinaftermore fully specified. And the invention also aims to generally improve devices of this class so asto render them more useful and commercially desirable.

With these and other objects infiview, as

will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combina' view of the means which are in the present embodiment of the invention employed to move the latch mechanism to its operative position and retain it in such position until released bythe operator. Fig. 4 is-a detail sectional v1ew taken substantially on the line 4 l= of Fig. 2. Fig.5 is a detail top plan view of the parts which are provided to return the trap door or closure to its raised or closed position.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and designated in all of the views of the accompanyingdrawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing A designates a chute or inclined trough as a whole, the same embodying a main or stationary inclined bottom l and sides 2.

3 designates the track rails extending across the chute whereby hopper-bottom or sheet metal and is'in the form'of a plate I l pivotally mounted at one end, as at 5, at the shallow end of the chute whereby it may be swung-downwardlyto the inclined position illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Near its relativelyfree 'end,the closure li's provided with "a keeper'fi which, in the icof present embodiment of the invention, is in the form of an angle bar extending transversely of the closure, as clearly illustrated in the drawing, and designed for engagement by latches 7 that are mounted upon a transversely extending shaft 8 journaled in any desired way in the chute at or near the deeper end thereof. The latches may be returned to their operative positions and held in such positions in any desired way. In the present instance, I have shown, as means for this purpose, one end of the shaft 8 being turned at right angles to its main portion, as at 9, the laterally projecting portion of the shaft being connected to a contractile spring 1.0 which is in turn connected to an angular bracket 11, which not only serves as a support for the spring, but as a stop to limit the movement of the shaft in one direction.

Secured by rivets or any other desired way, to the lower face of the closure 4 is a bar 12 provided with an angularly disposed depending end 12' which is perforated to receive the threaded shank of a tie rod 13, a nut screwing up on said rod so as to provide forthe adjustment thereof. This rod 13 is in the form of an eye bolt and is connected to one end of a contractile spring 14, said spring extending longitudinally underneath the lower face of the closure 4, and having its other end connected in any desired way, as by the eye, as shown, to a carriage 15 in which a roller 16 is journa-led, said roller contacting with and being adapted to roll along the lower surface of the closure.

17 designates the actuating lever which is shown in the form of two bars which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the carriage 15 and that are pivotally connected at their lower ends, as at 18, to a bracket or supporting plate 19 riveted or otherwise secured to the main or stationary bottom of the chute.

lhe latches 7 may be released from the closure 4 in any desired way, within the purview of my invention. For example, there may be an eccentric such as 20, engaging the laterally extending end 9 of the shaft 8 and carried by a transverse shaft 21 operated by the hand lever 22 so that when said lever is raised the eccentric will turn the shaft or rod 8 about its longitudinal axis and effect the release of the latches 7 from the closure 4.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, the operation of my improved automatic trap door or chute closure will be apparent. In the practical use of the device, the closure 4 is normally held in raised position by the latches 7. When a car is run upon the track 3, and deposits its load upon the closure 4 while the closure is still in its raised position, the operator, by raising the lever 22 or otherwise, may move the latches 7 to release the closure and the load upon the latter will cause the same to swing down to the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 1, where it will become the slide plate or false bottom for the chute down which the load will pass. In this movement of the closure 4 it is evident that the roller 16 will roll along the under surface of the closure 4 toward the pivot point 5 thereof, owing to the different arcs of movement of the closure and the ac tuating lever 17, and consequently the spring 14 will be stretched, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 by means of the dash and dot radius and are described thereon, the spring 14 being held under tension while the load is moving ofl of the closure in its lowered and inclined position. When the closure is relieved of the weight of the stone or the like, it is manifest that the spring 14 will be permitted to act and will contract and, through the instrumentality of the lever 17 and its concomitant parts, will cause the return of the closure 4 to its upper and closed position where it will be automatically engaged by the latches 7 and held in its closed position until the operation is repeated.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple and durable construction of automatic closing lid for track chutes and the like, which will entirely overcome the objection to the open chute and which will operate effectively to close the lid after the weight of the load has been relieved therefrom; and it will further be noted that the lever is fulcrumed at a point spaced from the pivot point of the lid or closure 4 and projects from said fulcrum in a direction toward the pivot point and to a point between the pivot point and the point of connection of the spring with the closure whereby when the lid or closure moves down, the spring will at once be placed under tension and held under tension so as to promptly raise the closure again after the stone or the like has passed oil of the closure.

It will also be seen that the parts are so arranged that when the closure 4 is in its lowermost position, where it constitutes the slide plate or false bottom for the chute, down which the load will pass, the lever 17, sprin 14, and correlated parts are all house d underneath the closure where they will be entirely out of the way of the load, and that, as the lever 17 comprises two bars arranged in laterally spaced relation to each other between which the carriage 15 is pivoted, the spring 14 will lie between said bars and in a plane co-incident with the lever, being contained within the same.

While the accompanying drawing illustrates what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. A chute, a closure pivotally connected at one end to the chute, a lever fulcrumed within the chute at a point spaced from the pivot point of the closure and extending from its fulcrum point toward said pivot point, and a contractile spring connected to the lever at the upper end thereof and to the closure between the end of the lever and the relatively free end of the closure.

2. A. chute, a closure pivotally connected at one end to the chute and movable down into the same, a contractile spring connected to the closure underneath the same, a roller bearing against the under surface of the closure and operatively connected to said spring, and a lever fulcrumed within the chute at one end and operatively connected to said roller at its opposite end.

3. The combination with a closure, of a contractile spring connectedthereto at one end, a roller movable along one face of the closure and operatively connected to the other end of the spring, and a lever fulcrumed at a point distant from the closure in the closed position of the latter, and operatively connected at one end to the roller.

4:. A chute, a closure pivotally connected thereto, a contractile spring connected to the closure and extending longitudinally thereof underneath the same, a lever fulcrumed in the chute and extending upwardly therein toward the pivot point of the closure, and an operative connection between the lever and the spring.

5. The combination with a chute, of a closure pivotally connected thereto at one end and movable down into the chute, releasable means for holding the closure in raised position, a contractile spring connected to the closure and extending longitudinally underneath the same, a lever fulcrumed in the chute and extending from its fulcrum point upwardly toward the pivotal point of the closure, a carriage connected to the spring, a roller journaled in the carriage, and an operative connection between the roller carriage and the upper end of the lever.

6. A chute, a closure pivotally connected at one end to the chute, latches arranged to engage the relatively free end of the closure to hold the same in raised position, a bar connected to the closure on the lower face thereof and provided with a depending end,

chute and extending from its fulcrum point I upwardly toward the pivot point of the closure, a lever comprising laterally spaced bars, and a contractile spring connected to the closure and operatively connected to the lever and designed to be received between said bars upon the downward movement of the closure.

8. The combination with a chute, of a closure pivotally connected thereto at one end and movable down into the chute, releasable means for holding the closure in raised position, a lever fulcrumed at one end in the chute and comprising laterally spaced bars, a carriage pivotally mounted between said bars at the other ends thereof,-a roller journaled in said carriage, and a contractile spring connected at one end to the carriage and at its other end to the closure.

9. The combination'with a chute, of a closure connected thereto and movable down into the chute, releasable means for holding.

the closure in raised position, a lever fulcrumed at one end 1n the chute, and a contractile spring connected to the closure and.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. 0.?

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