US1162980A - Expansion-joint for vehicle-bodies. - Google Patents

Description

E. E. COLLISON.

EXPANSION JOINT FOR VEHICLE BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. I915.

Patentd Dec. 7, 1915.

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y////////fl//// UTE @TEBd AE EDWARD E. COLLISON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, .ASSIGNOR TO RUSSELL IE. GARDNER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1192115.

Application filed April 19, 1915' Serial No. 22,505.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD E. COLLIsON, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in EX- pansion-Joints for Vehicle-Bodies, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in expansion joints for wagon (or vehicle) bodies; and it consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

The present improvement is particularly directed to that class of wagon or carriage bodies wherein the outer walls or panels are secured to an inner frame composed of longitudinal and transverse sills, the object sought being to provide a constructlon whlch will eliminate the danger or possibility of the walls of the body cracking or splitting at the corners as a result of expansion or sweliing of the sills brought about by various atmospheric conditions and influences, by moisture or water, and other causes having more or less effect on wooden structures.

The advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from a detailed description thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which' Figure 1 represents a perspective of a conventional wagon body, showing my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a top plan of one end of the improved body, parts being broken away; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of Fig. 2, showing in addition however a fragment of one of the cross floorsupporting strips; F 4 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line l lof Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the body at one of the corners thereof, with a portion of the panel wall peeled elf or removed to expose the lap joint formed by the meeting ends of the side and end sills; Fig. 6 is a view of the same joint taken at right angles to the showing in Fig. 5, or looking to the left on Fig. 5 with the end panel wall removed; and F ig. 7 is a plan of one corner of the body showing the old method of construction and on which the present is an improvement.

Referring to the drawings, and for the present to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, 1, 2, represent respectively the side (or longitudinal) and end (or transverse) walls forming the panel portion of the wagon body, said panel being generally constructed of a single panel or sheet of soft or gum wood bent to the desired form, the corners of the panel being more or less rounded as shown. This feature is well understood in the art and requires no further description. In the present embodiment of my invention the sill section of the body to which the panel is cemented or glued comprises the longitudinal or side sills 3 and the end or transverse sills 4:, the terminals of the members 3, a, forming a lap joint a at the corners of the body, the face 6 formed by the scarfing of the end sill (Fig. 2) engaging a corresponding face on the scarfed end of the side sill (which is the thicker or heavier sill) so as to let the side sill project above the end sill (Fig. 6), the scarfed terminals of the respective sills forming the several lap joints, being secured by screws 5 passed therethrough from the bottom (Fig. 3) as well understood in the art. The sills thus united constitute the sill-frame which supports the cross-bars 6 on which the flooring 7' is laid. The sills are usually composed of hard wood such as maple and the like, the panel portion being any suitable variety of soft wood.

In the present embodiment of my invention the ends of the scarfed terminals of the respective sills 3, 4-, as well as the sides of said terminals are corrugated, whereby there are formed at the corners of the sill-frame parallel ridges r disposed in planes parallel to the general plane of disposition of the sill-frame (or in other words horizontal) said ridges curving in conformity to the curvature of the corners of the panel body and through an arc coextensive with the arc of curvature of such rounded corner (Fig. 2). When therefore the scarfed ends of the sills 3, 4, are overlapped and properly assembled, the outer faces contiguous to each corner of the sill frame will have disposed thereon a series of corrugations resulting in parallel ridges or ribs 1 alternating with corresponding depressions or grooves d, said corrugated corners being preferably coated with a layer of white lead or equivalent ma terial m (Fig.

It will be seen from the foregoing that in the event of a swelling or lateral expansion of the wood composing the sills, a

swelling by the way which makes itself felt to a most pronouncec degree at the corners of the sill-frame, the hard wood ridges 7 of the sills will dig er embed themselves into, the comparatively soft wood of the panel frame 1, 2, thereby eliminating the dang r of the panel splitting or cracking at the corners c, c. The embedding of. the ridges r into the wood of the panel is facilitated by forming the ridges l -shaped or wedgeshaped in cross-section as shown (Fig. l), the sharp edges of the ridges biting into the wood of the panel without straining the latter to the splitting point; and with the embedding of the ridges 7 into the panel, the layer of white lead or other coating will be forced well into the spaces formed by the grooves (Z, so that there results a water tight joint at the corner of the wagon body, the panel remaining intact. By corrugating the corners of the sill as described, the same contact with the corner Walls ofthe panel only at points defined by the rid es, there being no contact opposite the grooves (Z. By

' this arrangement only those portions of the panels which are engaged by the ridges are affected with any swelling oreross expansion of the wood of the sills, the other portions remaining undisturbed; and when the wood of the sills swells, the ridges simply dig orbury themselves into the panel without causing any splitting thereof. lVere the sill corners smooth so as to engage the panel corners throughout, then, there being I no formations on the sills which could dig into the panels, the latter would yield under the expansive force of the wood (which always expands across the grain) and split. By my invention this evil effect is altogether avoided- Attempts have been made to overcome the splitting of the panel corners by cutting away the terminals of the lapped sills 3, l, so as to leave a corner slot 8 between the sill frame and the panel'frame as shown in Fig. .7, but this method is objectionable for the reason that Water and moisture accumulating in wet weather at the slot 8 find their Way to the glue or other adhesive by which the sills are in a measure joined to the panel Walls, in time disintegrating the adhesive and causing the sills to work loose from the parallel to panel frame. My present invention is therefore an improvement on the method shown in Fig. 7.

I do not of course wish to be limited to ridges or corrugations as here shown to bring about the spaced points or surfaces of contact between the corners of the sill frame and panel frame, any equivalent formations or projections operating to embed themselves at intervals into the panel walls without causing a splitting of the latter, being contemplated by my invention.

The joint herein while finding extensive application in vehicle bodies, is not restricted in its use thereto, but may serve as a oint in other arts and industries. The corrugating herein described is not to be understood as limited in its application to lap joints, but may be applied to any joint whatsoever.

rlaving described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a vehicle body, side and end sill members suitably connected at the corner, a panel frame extending around said corner, the sill members being provided with corrugations opposite the corner of the panel frame.

2. In a vehicle body, side and end sill members suitably connected at the corner, a panel frame extending around said corner, the sill members being provided with corner corrugations disposed in planes parallel to the general plane of the sill members.

3. In combination with a vehicle body panel frame, sill-frame composed of side and end sills lap-jointed at the corners of the frame and encompassed by the panel frame, the outer faces of the sills at the corners being corrugated to form ridges and alternatingdepressions disposed in planes the general plane of the sill frame, the cross-section of the ridges being wedgeshaped, whereby with a swelling of the joint members at the corners, the ridges will embed themselves into the panel walls, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. COLLISON. lVitnesses:

EMIL S'rAnnK, J. S. HUNT.

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

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