US1358724A - Car-load brace - Google Patents

Description

B. S. GALLUP.

CAR LOAD BRACE- APPLICATION man OCT. 3|. 1919. 1,358,724..

RENEWED SEPT. 29, I920- B. S. GALLUP.

CAR LOAD BRACE.

APPLlCAIlON FILED 0CT.3I, 1919. RENEWED SEPT.29, 1920. 7

1,358,724. PatentedN ov. 16,1920.

2 SHEETS- SVHEEI 2.

UNITED STATES BENJAMIN S. GALLUIP, 0F HAMMOND, LOUISIANA.

CAR-LOAD BRACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed. October 31, 1919, Serial No. 334,702. Renewed September 29, 1920. Serial No. 413,635.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN S. GALLUP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hammond, in the parish of Tangipahoa and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Load Braces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to car-load braces, and consists of an improved device of the character mentioned which is adapted to efficiently and positively maintain a load of articles in place during transportation, irrespective of the shape and size of the load, or the nature of the articles of which it may consist.

While retaining some features of my earlier form of load-brace, as shown in Patent No. 1,187,898, issued to me on June 20, 1916, and on which it is an improvement, the present device is characterized by the use of a single bracing element for the entire load, in the form of a gate, as distinguished from the several individual tier-braclng members made use of in the earlier form of the device above'referred to. The number of parts necessary in individual tier-bracing is thus materially reduced, and only such support ing and securing means required as are essential to the proper operation of the gate.

The present invention further comprises improved supporting and take-up means for the upper end of the load-bracing member which, in addition to maintaining the gate in constant binding relation to the load, notwithstanding shifting of the latter during transit, will readily permit the gate when not in use to be swung up against the car ceiling and moved freely together with its supporting and take-up means in either direction length-wise of the car.

It is also desired to provide a device of the character mentioned which is so con. structed as to permit of its being readily positioned relative to the load should the same be high and extend close to the middle of the car, the gate being transversely hinged substantially midway of its height for this purpose; Further means are provided for maintaining the gate rigid when so desired.

Another object is to provide novel means for adjustably securing the lower end of the bracing member or gate against the load, use being made for this purpose of a mechanism similar in principle to that of the upper gate securing means.

With the above and other objects in view as will readily appear upon consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, my

invention consists of the parts, and construction and combination of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, reference being had to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator car showing the device in front elevation as it appears in operative position with relation to a load of stacked crates;

Fig. 2, a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a car, the operative positions of the load b'race and its attachments with relation to the load of crates being clearly shown;

Fig. 3, an enlarged side elevational view of the upper portion of the gate with its hinged joint, and the automatic take-updevice, certain parts thereof being broken away forsake of clear'ness;

Fig. 4C, a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 8, which shows clearly the interior construction of the gate hanger and the relation of the other parts of the device thereto;

Fig. 5, a side elevational view of the device with the gate swung up against the car ceiling in the position in which it is kept when not in use, parts of the device being broken away for sake of clearness;

Fig. 6, a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5, showing in front elevation, the

' means for securing the lower end of the gate in the position shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 a fragmentary front elevational view of the locking means for maintaining the gate rigid at the hinged joint, when so desired;

Fig. 8, an enlarged front elevational view of the means for securing the lower end of the gate; V

Fig. 9, a plan view of the same; and

Fig. 10, a sectional view taken on line 1010 of Fig. 9.

Referring to the attached drawings, in which like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the loadbracing gate is shown as consisting of vertical members 1 and cross members 2, forming the gate frame upon the inner face of which is secured a series of slats 3. Vertical members 1 extend above the main gate structure, and are provided at their upper extremities with certain novel supporting and takenp means adapted to connect the gate with supporting rails or' tracks 4; fromwhich; it is suspended. Rails l are held in proper position adjacent the carceiling by means of suitable brackets 5 at each end thereof, said rails being of sufiicient length to extend a substantial distance toward the ends of the I canon each side of the center thereof.

Thesnpporting and take-up devices above.

' referred to are'designed to operate-on the mentioned.

same principle as the devices for this purpose described in my patent'here nbefore In the present IlGVICG, each of the rails l is provided with a main dog 6 v and a take-up or spring dog 7, both of which are slidably and adjustably mounted thereon. Interposed between said. dogs, is a spiral spring 8, the same being'a'ttached to dogf6 at a point immediately beneath the rail l and to spring dog"? at its lower eX- 'asis the casewhen the gate is in operative "position against the face of the load.

Main dog 6 is connected to the gate by means of a chain section 10, one end of the chain being-connected to the lower endof 7 said dog, while the opposite end is attached to eye-bolt 11 secured in the upper end" of v A hangerl2,,ot inverted U-it'orm incross- 1 "section. partially incloses dog 6, said hanger member 1 of the gate;

straddling rail l on whichitisadapted' to travel in either-direction by means otrollers 13; Dogfi is adapted to-travel back along tracks a.

7 andforth in unison with hanger 12, aswill be hereinafterexplained. Spreader member iby reason of the angle at which rod 24 14: serves tomaintain the depending sides of hanger-12in proper positionrelative to the partsinclosed therein, so as not to interfere with the proper functioning-of the latter. Each hanger 12 is further provided with a pin 15 near its lower edge with which hooks 16 on the upper ends of members 1 of the gateare adapted to engage in order to support said gatejmdependent of'dogs6,"preliniinary to swinging the gate into its hori- 50- Zontal position against the car-ceilingwhen not in use,,or for the purpose ot-inovmg the gate supporting and take-up ,mean's Lugs 17 are provided, projecting inwardly vfrom the sides of hanger 12 and so -posi-.

tioned'withrelation to dogfi as tocausethe latter to slide freely on railfl upon the r movement of hanger 12 in either direction.

fWhile placed sufficiently close to the faces 2 60 -r unisontvithhanger1-2. said lugs arenot ofldog 6 as" to'cause the'latterto move in so close as to interfere with the slight pivotal movement of the dog necessary to its binding action on rail 4, as when th'e'parts ,vof thQf dQVICQ- Q. secured in operative: position relative to .the load. il /leans are also provided to enable dog 7 to be movedalong rail with hanger 1-2 and dog 6' without 'IllOSt corners thereof, said devices being adapted to coiiperate for this purpose with angle irons or rails 20 extending along and suitably secured-to each side otthecar,

will be hereinafter. explained. i Each 01" said clutch or grip devices comprises a iinge member 21, see Fig.,9,;having one hali thereof suitably attached to a beveled portion22 on the face of lowercross member 2 of the gate. The outeror free halt of member 21 projects beyond the side of the gate, and is provided near -its out'er end with hole 23 adapted to receive a grip rod2 l; Said rod-24c is bent at one end to form ahookfportion 25adapted to engage with a series of holes 26 in the upper face of rail 20, and is provided'at its opposite end with an eye portion 28 which serves to prevent hinge 21 from accidentally slippingon. the grip rod at that end, Thefreeend oi hinge member 21 is of such length that when grip rod 21% engages with one of the axis of the car. Thus, it will be seen that stands,; and the slightly bent position '01" hinge member 21, du'e'ato said hinge memioo her being mounted on beveled face 22, any 1 movement of the lower end of the gate away from the loadwill immediately causethe free end of hinge 21 to tightly grip or -b1nd upon rod 2a. TlllS gripping or bind ingactionis facilitated and quickenedjby on beveled face- 22, as Willreadi-ly be under- Although not essenti al to the operation of the-device, the gate is shown in the drawings as provided with-a hinged joint substantially'midway of its height, the upper and lower'sections of members 1 of the gate, on

to the load, should the latter be unusually high and extend close to the-centerof the Locking means-are'provided'aon the outer reason of hingemember- 21 being mounted face of each gate member 1 opposite hinge 28, for maintaining the gate in its normally rigid form. A buckle 29, pivotally secured in the lower end of member 30, which is suitably secured to the upper section of member 1, serves to engage with hook portion 31 of member 32, attached to the lower section of member 1, thus maintaining the lower section of the gate in line with the upper section. Suficient space is allowed between the abutting ends of the upper and lower gate sections to permit buckles 29 to be readily slipped over hooks 31. Button 33, pivotally secured to the face of member 1, co-acts with hook portion 31 of member 32 to prevent buckle 29 from disengaging from said hook portion, as when the gate is swung into its horizontal position.

On the under face of lower member 2 of the gate, and directly beneath members 1, there are provided hook members 34, pivotally attached to member 2 and adapted to serve as a means for supporting the lower end of the gate from tracks 4 in the horizontal position in which it is stored when not in use. Hooks 34 are attached to member 2, as shown in Fig.6, so as to allow a greater portion of the hook member to project below the pivot than above, whereby the lower end of the hook member is rendered heavier than the upper and the hook is always kept in a substantially upright position, whereby to readily engage with tracks 4 without manual adjustment. Maintenance of this position is further insured by the location of the pivotal point nearest the notched side of the hook member 34 as shown. The upper beveled edge of the hook members also facilitate their engagement with said rails. The upper end of the gate is supported in this position by means of hooks 16 and hanger pins 15, as herelnbefore explained.

A hook 35 is secured to the car ceiling directly above each supporting rod 4 about midway the length of the car, said hook being adapted to engage its corresponding rod and prevent sagging and springing thereof when the bracing gate is hung thereon.

In the operation of the device, the same being illustrated as applied to a load of fruit crates, merely by way of illustration, said crates are loaded in the car and arranged in the usual manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device itself belng stored in its horizontal position adjacent the car ceiling so as not to interferewith the loading operation. The car having been loaded, hooks 34 are disengaged from rails 4 and hooks 16 from pins 15, and the gate lowered and positioned firmly against the face of the load. The hooked ends of rods 24 of the lower securing means are then placed in the proper holes 26 in angle irons or rails 20, and the free halves of hinge members 21 pushed up as far as possible on rods 24, said members 21 serving, upon release, to firmly and positively clutch or grip rods 24, as hereinbefore explained.

To secure the upper end of the gate, chain sectlons 10 are first drawn taut by moving hanger 12 together with'dog 6 toward the load. Take-up dogs 7 are then placed such den movement or jerking of the car, will be quickly and positively taken up through the gate by virtue of its being connected at its upper end with dogs 6 which in turn are continually drawn toward dogs 7 by means of the tensioned springs connecting the same.

Due to the continuous action of the automatic take-up devices at the upper end of the gate, said gate will exert a leverage action against the face of the load with the upper part thereof acting as a fulcrum, there by tending to force the lower end of the gate outward. Any outward movement of the lower end of the gate will only serve to increase the gripping or binding action of hinge members 21 on grip rods 24, as hereinbefore explained, thus precluding any tendency of the gate to work loose at thelower end.

A similar load-bracing gate withits corresponding securing means are provided to brace the load in the other end of the car.

This latter gate may be lowered from its horizontal position adjacent the car ceiling and allowed to rest temporarily against the gate securing the braced load, in order to allow loading of the remainder of the cargo and the bracing thereof in the manner here.- inbefore explained.

In order to remove the gate from its op-.

erative position against the load, spring dogs 7 are first loosened and slid forward on rails 4 toward the gate, thereby permitting main dogs 6 to be moved forward until the upper end of the gate is free from V hand, the lower securlng means may bereof thecar; tracks located in the upper per-- 4c What I desire to claim is removedfrom engagement with holes 26.

VThe upper securing'means may then be released, as above explained. V

During transit, when the load is comaressed' du to 'ar or im not the ate will i follow it up, dogs 6 being drawn to a greater or less extent toward dogs 7' by movement of springs 8, thus mamta nmg the gate in constant binding contact with the. load. In case the load should fail to resume its normal proportions after impact, the gate-will still securely brace the same, due to thecontinual compensating action of retake-up springs 8; Should the, load tend to expand dogs 6 willbe swung forward at their lower ends by reason of their connections withthe 'gate, thereby causing "said dogs to clamp ;or'bind onsupporting rails: sand consegate.'- a V The device, constructed as here nbefore described and explalned; does'not require the quently prevent outward movementof the us of extraneous means, such as tools, nails,

etc., in order to operate the same, and may be readily manipulated'by one person'with no trouble whatever.

' 1.. A device 'otthe character described comprising the combination witha car, or a loadrbracing member adapted to be swung into and out of a substantially verticalposition; means for securing the lower end of said bracing member to the lower portion tion of the car; automatic take-up means interposed between the upper end of the bracing member and the tracks, and adapted tomaintain said bracing member inconstantbinding relation to; the load; and means, movably mounted on said tracks,

it'rom which the load-bracing member may be suspended independent of said talre-up means. I l

A device of the character described, comprising the comblnation with acar, of

. a load-bracing member adapted'to be swung into and out ofa substantially vertical position; means for pivotallysecuring the lower end of said bracing member. to :the'lower "portionof the car; tracks'located in the upper portion of the car; automatic take'eup 7 means interposed between the upper end 7 adapted to maintain said bracing member in of the bracing member andthe tracks, and

constant binding relation to the load; hangers, movably Vmounted on said tracks, from which the load bracingmember may be suspendedindependent of the take-up means;

. 3 and means iorcausing sa'id. takenp mean's v to move freely on said tracks in unison with.

on said tracks; corresponding clutch members adjustably mounted on the tracks and adapted to engage therewith; elastic ten sion means connecting the last named clutch members with the corresponding suspen-v sion and clutch means and adapted through the latterto draw said bracing member againstthe' load; hangers, movably mounted on said tracks, from which. the bracing member may be suspended independent of said supportingiand clutch meansymeans provided on said hangers and adapted to cause said supporting and clutch means and said clutch membersto move freely on said tracks in unison with said hangers, when the bracing member is suspended from the latter. 'r

4:. A' device of the character described, comprising the combination with a car, of a load-bracing member adapted to be swung into and out of a substantially vertical position, said bracing member, being hinged transversely substantially midway of its height; lockingfmeans' for securingv said bracing member in rigid form; means for pivotallyi securing the lower end of said bracing member to the lower portion of the car; trackslocated in the upper portion of the" car; and automatic take-up means interposed between the upper end of the bracing member and the tracks, and adapted to maintain saidbracing member in constant binding relation to the'load.

'5. In a device otthe character described,

the combination of a car; tracks located'in *2 the upper portion thereof; aload-bracing justable tension mechanism interposed be 7 tween said "tracksand the upper end of the load-bracing member and; servlng to draw the upper-pornon'of sa d member against the load; 1 r

I "In a the-combination or a car; tracks located 1n the upper portion thereof; a loadbracing' 7 member; clutch mechanlsm fOYSQCHlHlg the lower end of said bracing memberto the lower portion of the car; and adjustable "tension mechanisminterposed between said tracks and the upper end-of theload bracing "member and serving to draw the upper perv deviceyof the character described,

tion oi said member against the load, there by actuating the clutch mechanism securing the lower end 0i said bracing member.

r. In a device or the character described, the combination of a car; tracks located in the upper portion thereof; a load-bracing member; clutch members provided on the lower end of said bracing member; rails located in the lower portion of the car; grip rods, slidably mounted in the ends of said clutch members, and with which said clutch members are adapted to engage; means for adjustably connecting the inner ends of said grip rods and said rails; and adjustable tension mechanism interposed between said tracks and the upper end oi the load-bracing member and serving to draw the upper end of said member against the load.

- 8. In a load binder, the combination of a car; tracks located in the upper portion thereof; a load-bracing member; clutch members secured to the lower end of said bracing member; rails located in the lower portion of the car; means interposed between said rails and the clutch members, with which the clutch members are adapted to engage; elastic tension mechanism inter posed between the upper end of said loadbracing member and said tracks and servingto maintain said bracing member in constant binding relation to the load.

9. A device of the character described comprising the combination with a car, or tracks located in the upper portion thereof; a load-bracing member; spring tension means interposed between the upper end of said bracing member and the tracks and serving to maintain the bracing member in constant binding relation to the load; and clutch mechanism for pivotally and adjustablysecuring the lower end of said bracing member against the load.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination with a car, of tracks located in the upper portion thereof; a loadbracing member adapted to be positioned against the face of the load; rails located in the lower portion of the car; clutch mechanism interposed between said rails and'the lower end of said bracing member for securing said end in place, said clutch mechanism being adapted to be actuated upon outward movement of the lower end of the bracing member; tracks located in the upper portion of the car; and spring tension means interposed between the upper end of the load-bracing member and said tracks and serving to maintain the upper end of said bracing member in constant binding relation to the load.

11. A device of the character described, comprising the combination with a car, of a load-bracing member adapted to be swung into and out of a substantially vertical position, said bracing member consisting of a plurality of sections transversely hinged together; locking means for securing said bracing member in rigid form; means for pivotally securing the lower end of said bracing member to the lower portion of the car; tracks locatedin the upper portion of the car; and automatic takenp means interposed between the upper end of the bracing member and the tracks, and adapted to maintain said bracing member in constant binding relation to the load.

' In testimony whereof I have signed m name to this specification.

BENJAMIN S. GALLUP.

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