US1335297A - Spring closing and holding device for car-journal-box lids - Google Patents

Description

w. F. RICHARDS.

SPRING CLOSING AND HOLDING'DEVICE FOR CAR JOURNAL BO'X LIDS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2|, 1918- I Patented Mart30, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD F. RICHARDS, OF LANCASTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO GOULD COUPLER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEEING- CLOSING AND HOLDING DEVICE FOR CAR-JOURNAL-BOX LIDS.

Application filed June 21, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD F. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spring Closing and Holding Devices for Car-Journal--Box Lids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to spring actuated devices for closing the lids of car journal boxes and holding the lids closed under spring pressure, and also for releasably retaining the lids in the open position when raised.

In car journal boxes of the accepted M. C. B. type the lid is hinged at its upper end to open upwardly and is pressed against the outer end of the journal box and held in closed position by a leaf spring which is fixed at its lower endon the inside of the lid and bears at its free upper end against the hinge lug on top of the journal box. The spring bears on a flattened face at the outer or front side of the hinge lug for holding the lid closed, and when the lid is opened the spring passes over the upper corner of the lug and bears on the top of the lug for retaining the lid in the open position. These leaf springs are a source of much annoyance and expense because the free or movable portion of the spring is necessarily relatively short on account of the size of the lid and the springs are frequently broken or are caused to take a permanent set and thus rendered inoperative because of the necessary fiexure of the free end of the spring incident to the opening and closing of the lid.

One object of this invention is to provide a journal box lid with a relia le and durable spring-actuated device for closing the lid and releasably holding it in the closed and opened positions, of a construction enabling lid-s equipped with the devices to be used on M. C. B. journal boxes now in use in place of the lids thereof having leat spring closing devices, and which will securely hold the'lid in closed position and reduce to the minimum the outward pressure on the upper portion of the lid tending to prevent a tight closure of this portion of the lid.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient and reliablespring-actuated journal box lid-closing and holding device Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 30, 1920.

Serial No. 241,132.

of a novel construction which insures a tight closure of the lid and which presses the lid firmly against the mouth of the journal box at all points.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the outer end of a car journal box provided with a lid closing and holding device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 1s a sectional elevation thereof on line 2-2, Fig. 1, showing by full and broken lines the closed and open positions of the lid.

A represents the journal box, the outer end portion only of which is shown, and B the lid for closing the usual opening or mouth a in the outer end of the journal box. The lid, as usual, is hinged at its upper end to swing upwardly and downwardly, preferably by the usual hinge pin a passing through hinge lugs 0 on the lid and through a hinge lug C on the journal box between the lugs of the lid. The outer portion of the journal box including this hinge lug C is of the construction commonly employed in M. C. B. journal boxes, so that lids with the closing and holding devices forming the subject of this invention can be used on M. C. B. journal boxes now in use to replace the usual M. C. B. lids. The lug C has the usual flattened front or outer face 0 between the ends of the lug against which the upper end of the spring closing device on the lid bears to hold the lid closed, and a flattened top or upper face 0 against which the closing device bears to hold the lid open. d is the usual inwardly proj ecting" marginal flange on the lid adapted to surround the mouth of the journal box for preventing the entrance of snow, rain and dust into the box.

The spring-actuated lid-closing and holding device comprises a bell crank lever E pivoted on the inner side of the lid B below the lid hinge, and a coil spring F arranged between a spring support or abutment on the inside of the lid and one arm of the lever i01- pressing the other arm of the lever against the hinge lug C on the journal box. The lever E is suitably pivoted at its angle or middle portion on the journal box lid near the upper end of the mouth a of the journal box, the lever, in the construction shown,

being pivoted on a pin 6 which passes through a long. hub or sleeve 6 on the lever and through bearings 6 proj ectinginw'ardly from the journal box lid at opposite sides of the lever E. The lever has an arm or por-' tion 6 which extends upwardly from the lever pivot and is adapted to bear at its upper end against the hinge lug C on the journal box, and a second arm or portion 6 which projects outwardly from the lever pivot, preferably into a recessed outwardly projecting portion or pocket 9 of the journal box lid. This outwardly projecting arm of the lever bears on the upper end of the coil spring F, which bears at its lower end on a spring support or abutment g projecting inwardly from the lower portion of the journal box lid. This spring support or abutment and the outwardly projecting arm of the bell crank lever are preferably provided with studs or projections h h which enter the ends of thespring for retaining the spring in place. The spring extends substantially vertically upwardly from its support 9 or at an angle diverging outwardly from the inclined plane of the mouth a on the journal box so that the spring and bell crank lever in effect react against the journal box lid and the lug C on the journal box substantially in the direction indicated by the bent or angular dotted line 00*00. The spring and bell crank lever exert a downwardly and inward pressure on the journal box lid, the force thus exerted acting to firmly press the lid inwardly and downwardly throughout its circumference against the mouth of the journal box. The spring acts upwardly against the outwardly projecting arm of the bell crank lever at a point outwardly beyond the pivot for the lever and the point of engagement of the upper arm of the lever with the hinge lug C, and the upper edge of the lid as well as the other portion thereof are held in close, firm contact with.the mouth of the journal box, and a tight reliable closure of the lid throughout is therefore effected. When the journal box lid is raised, the upwardly projecting arm of the lever E will yield outwardly and pass over the corner of the hinge lug C and bear on the flattened top face of the lug, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, thereby holding the lid open. A relatively long strong spring F can be employed so that a strong pressure of the lid against the box is insured and at the same time an extended movement of the upwardly projecting arm of the bell crank lever is permitted without danger of compressing the spring to an'extent to injure it or cause it to take a permanent set. The described arrangement there fore effectually overcomes the objections to the use of the flat or leaf springs ordinarily employed on the M. C. B. journal box lids.

Since the outer end of the journal box and the hinge lug C conform to the M. C. B.

requirements, the lid B equipped with the described closing and holding device E F can be used on the ordinary M. O. B. journal box and the M. C. B. lids can be used on the ournal box A, the lid thus being interchangeable with the ordinary lids now in use.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a journal box, a lid hinged to the upper outer portion of said box, a lever pivoted on said lid below the lid hinge and having an arm extending outwardly with respect to the box from the lever pivot and'an arm extending upwardly from the lever pivot and bearing when the lid is closed against an outwardly facing fixed part of the journal box at a point above the axis of the lid hinge, and a spring bearing against a part of the lid and acting ing an upwardly projecting hinge lug at its.

outer endprovided with flattened outer and top faces, a lidhinged to said hinge lug, a

lever pivoted on said lid below the lid hinge and having an arm extending outwardly with respect to the box from the lever pivot and an arm extending upwardly from the lever pivot and adapted to bear against said outer face of the hinge lug when the lid is closed and against said top face of the lug when the lid is open, and a spring bearing against a part of the lid and acting upwardly against said outwardly projecting arm of the lever.

3. The combination of a journal box, a lid hinged to the upper outer portion of said box, a lever pivoted on the upper portion of said lid below the lid hinge and having an arm extending outwardly with. respect to the box from the lever pivot and an arm extending upwardly from the lever pivot and bearing when the lid is closed against an outwardly facing fixed part of the journal box at a point above the axis of the lid hinge, and a coil spring hearing at its lower end against an abutment on the lower part of the lid and at its upper end against said outwardly extending arm of the-lever at a point outwardly beyond a line connecting the pivotal axis of the lever and the point of bearing of the upwardly extending arm of the lever against the journal box.

4. The combination of a journal box, a lid hinged to the upper outer portion of said box, a lever pivoted on the upper portion of said lid below the lid hinge and having an arm extending outwardly with respect to the box from the lever pivot and an arm extending upwardly from the lever pivot and bearing when the lid is closed against an outwardly facing fixed part of the journal box at a point above the axis of the lid hinge, and a coil spring bearing at its lower end against an abutment on the lower part of the lid and at its upper end against said outwardly extending arm of the lever, Witness my hand, this 18th day of June,

the axis of said spring being coincident with 1918.

a line extendin downwardl and inWar from the point of bearing of the spring WILLARD RICHARDS against said lever arm and crossing the Witnesses:

plane of contact of the lid with the journal DONALD G. DAVIS,

box. ALLEN B. BRIMMER.

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