US1525296A - Car door - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 3, 1925. 1,525,296

K. M. HAMILTON CAR DOOR Filed April 1e, 1923 2 shuts-sheet. 1

Feb. 3, 1925.

y K. M. HAMILTON CAR DOOR Filed April 16. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 3, 1.925. y

inzage@ unirse srarss PATENT OFFICE.

KARL ivi, HAMILTON, ororiicaeo, immers, ssieivon To THE B Errnnnonr GOM- PANY, or BETTENDORF, Iowa, e. CORPORATION or IOWA.

CAR DOOR.

Application led April 1:6, Y19423. Serial No. 632,280.

To all eelt-m t may concern.'

Be it known that I, KARL M. HAMILTON, a citizen of the United States', residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Car Doors, of which the following is a full, clea-r ,'concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to car doors.

One object of the invention is to provide an end door structure of simple and strong construction, especially adapted for railway cars of the box or house type, so arranged that lumber or other long material may be easily and eliiciently loaded into the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide an end door structure of the type indicated, in which the door frame is stamped from sheet metal, and the door associated therewi-th in such a manner that the same is self-closing, burglar and weather proof.

VA still further object of the invention is to provide a door structure of the type indicated wherein a metal threshold is provided, which over-laps the lower wall of the door opening in the end of the` car, thus providing means on which the material may be slid while loading.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door construction, wherein the hinge connection is fully protected by a water shed or flashing.

A more specilic object. of the invention is to provide simple and efficientV automatic latching mechanism for holding a door in closed position, having a means associated therewith for receiving a car seal, and wherein additional means is provided for locking the door from the inside of the. car to preclude the opening thereof from the outside, when this is desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims "hereinafter foil-g lowing.

In the -drawings forming al part 'of this specification, Figurel 1 is an :eleva-tional view of a portion "of the end wall `of a car, showing my improvements in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a transverse, horizontal, sectional view, corresponding substantially to theline -2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 iS,l -@Verifica-1,

sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, the latching mechanism an'd locking pin being shown in elevation. Fig. t is avertical, sectional view on an enlarged scale, similar to Fig. 3, of the lower portion of the door structure, showing t-he latching mechanism in section. And Fig. 5 is a detail perspective lview of one of the hinge butts.

In the drawings, denotes the end wall of an ordinary single sheath box car, to the outer face of which are `secured vertically extending reinforcing Z-bars v11--11. The wall 10 is provided with a rectangular door open-ing 12 located between the Z-bars, the opposite vertical side walls of the door opening being inwardly spaced Afrom said bars.

The improved door` construction, as shown, comprises, broadly, a frame A; a hinged door B; a flashing C; an 'end plate D, a pair of hinge butt brackets E; a latching mechanism F; and a locking pin G.

The frame A is in the form of a rectangular sheet metal plate, having integral, right angular, vertically extending, outwardly projecting flanges 13 at the opposite sides thereof, rigidly secured to the webs of the Z-bars 11 by any suitable means, such as rivets 14. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the flanges 13 extend from the lower edge ofthe plate toa point approximately in line with the upper wall of the door opening 12. The plate forming the frame A is of `such a size as to extend an appreciable distance above and below the upper and lower walls and bey-ond the side walls of the'opening '12, and is provided witha door opening 15 adapted to register with the opening 12. Along the side and bottom edges of 'the opening 15, the plate forming the frame A is :bent outwardly to provide a continuous` bead or rib 16, the bead at the bottom edge terminating in an inwardly projecting 'horiz ontal flange 17 extending at right angles to the bottom portion of the plate, and the bead v portions at Ithe iside edges terminating in inwardly projecting, vertical flanges 1S also extending at right angles to the Ibodj.v portion of the plate. Along the top edge of the opening 15, the plate forming the frame A is bent outwardly to provide a. horizontal flange 19, having the outer edge curved downwardly and terminating in a downwardly extending vertical portion 20 overhanging the Opening 15. The Opposite ends of the flange 19 merge with the vertical side portions of the bead 16, thus: providing a continuous, outwardly projecting, peripheral wall around the opening 15 of great strength and especially adapted to resist blows. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the flanges 18 are cut away on diagonal lines at their lower ends, have their upper ends spaced from the upper wall of the opening 15, and part-ly overlap the inner faces of the side walls of the opening 12. The horizontal flange 17 is coextensive in length with the lower wall of the opening 12, extends inwardly a greater distance than the flanges 1S and forms a threshold protecting the lower wall of said opening. The parts are so proportioned that the outer faces of the flanges 17 and 16 snugly engage the bottom and side walls, respectively, of the opening 12, thereby aiding in holding the frame A in proper position.

The door B is preferably formed of sheet steel, iis of Generally rectangular outline and has the major portion thereof off-set outwardly, thereby providing' a flat, generally rectangular portion 21 having rounded corners; inwardly projecting, continuous top, bottom and side walls 22, 23 and 24, conforming to the outer wall defined by the bead 16 and the flange 19; and a continuous top, bottom and side flange 25 lying in a pla-ne parallel to the portion 21. The top portion of the flange 25 is co-extensive with the width of the door, and is extended upwardly, terminating in a rolled edge 26 enclosing and retaining a hinge rod 27. lhe hinge rod 27 extends outwardly beyond the side edges of the door a sutlicient distance to properly co-act with the hinge but-t brackets E.

The flashing C is in the form of a flat plate, co-extensive in width with the door B, having the lower end portion thereof bent outwardly and downwardly, as shown in Figure 3, in loosely embracing overhanging relation to the rolled edge 26 of the door, thereby forming a water shedding flange 28, )reventing water from entering between the door and the door frame A, The flat portion of the flashing plate C is interposed between the door frame A and the lower end portion of the end plate D, and has the upper edge thereof in alinement with the upper edge of the door frame. The plate C is secured to the end wall of the car by bolts 29, or any other suitable means, passing through the saine and the end plate D. The end plate D extends across the end wall of the car beneath the Z-bars 11 and has the lower edge thereof in abutment with the upper face of the flange 28.

The hinge butt brackets E are of similar construction, one being right and the other left, Each of the brackets E consists of au upper, flat, plate-like portion 30, a lower portion comprising, an outwardly project- Y ing, downwardly curved flange 31 conforming to the fla-nge 28 and adapted to overlap and cover one of the outer end portions of the same; and a thickened hinge rod supporting portion 32, provided with a bore 38 adapted to receive one end of the hinge rod 27 The portion 32 extends downwardly beyond the flange 31, is formed with an outer curved face and has the rear face thereof, offset with respect to the rear face of the plate as indicated at 33, thereby providing a horizontal shoulder 34. The plate is also provided with a vertically extending, central reinforcing rib 35, which merges with the flange 31 and the hinge supporting portion The hinge butt brackets E, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3,.

are located at the upper end of the door at the opposite sides of the door opening 15 and are rigidly secured to the end plate D and the flashing C by rivets 36 extending therethrough and through the openings 37 in the plate portions of the brackets. The offset portions 33 of the brackets E project beneath the end plate D with the lower edge of the latter in abutting relation to the shoulders 34. The flanges 31, which over-lap and cover the ends of the rolled edge 26 of the door A, form sheds effectively protecting the hinge connection between the rod 27 and the brackets E from the weather.

In assembling the door frame A and the door B, the frame is first assembled with the flashings C and the end plate D. The hinge brackets are then placed in position on the door by engaging the projecting ends of the hinge rod 27 within the bores 38 brackets E. The door with the brackets E attached is next placed in proper position on the door frame and the brackets secured in place bv the rivets `36.

To automatically latch' the door B when the same swings to closed position, the latching mechanism indicated at F is provided. The latching mechanism F comprises a spring pressed, reciprocating lat-ch plunger 39 adapted to co-act with a latch bracket 40. The plunger 39 is slidably mounted for reciprocating movement in housing 41, riveted to the lower portion of the door B. The plunger is pressed outwardly by a spring 42 interposed between the upper wall of the housing and the slotted plate 43 locked to the plunger 39 by engagement within the circumferential groove 44 thereof. The plate 43 in addition to serving as an abutment 'on the plunger co-acting with the spring, also limits movement of the plunger outwardly of the housing. The plunger is provided with a beveled lower end adapted to engage within a recess in the latch bracket 40. As clearly shown in Figure 4, the latch bracket 40 is in the form ot' an angular plate and is rigidly secured to the end wall of the car by bolts 47 or any other suitable means. v

It will be evident that when the door swings to closed' position, the beveled' Aend #l5 'of the plunger 39' will engage the edge of the bracket 40', ride upwardly thereon, compressing the spring 42", and will be projected into the opening d6. by the spring 42 when the door reaches its closed position. y

Means is also provided to permit the attachment of the usual car seal when the door is in closed position to prevent unauthorized opening of the door and theft. rlhis means comprises a 'laterally extending ii'ange 4S integral with the lower portion of the plunger 39, provided with a seal receiving opening a9 adapted to register with a seal receiving opening 50 in the plat-e 40, when the door is in closed position.

On 'the inner side ot the door, near the bottom thereof, is rigidly secured an angular bracket 5l, havingthe horizontal flange 52 thereoic pro-vided with an opening 53' adapted to register with an opening 54 in the fla-nge 17 of the doorframe A when the door is in closed position. The openings 53' and 5st are adapted to receive the locking pin G, whereby the door may be locked in Vclosed position from the inside independently of the outer latching mechanism, wheire the end door is not required in loading the car and when the car contains a valuable cargo.

In loading box cars with long material, such as lumber, it .is the usual practice, especially when the car has been nearlyfilled, to pass the material into the car through the end door opening, thus subjecting the side and bottom walls of the opening to considerable wear, especially in cars of wooden construction. As the material is slid over the lower door wall in loading, the latter will, ordinarily, be subjected tothe greatest amount ot damage. 'By protecting the bottom wall of the opening by a metal sill, and the side walls by metal lanoes, as hereinietore described, all damage to the wallsof the opening is minimized.

It will be evident that, by forn'iing the door and iframe each of one piece construction, the parts are made seamless, water tight and danger oi corrosion reduced.

It will also be evident that, in addition to producing a weather prooi construction by providing the one piece door vframe with the projecting bead which surrounds the door opening and co-acts with the top, bottom and side walls of the oti'set door portion, the bead also forms a strengthening rib which reinforces the entire iframe structure.

It will be understood that, although the door Jframe, door and other partsare herein shbwn and described as being formed ot sheet metal, the invention is not limited thereto, and the Lparts may be otherwise formed. It willy also be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatiny improvements are equally adaptable to box cars having socalled metal ends and that my improvements, whether applied to all wood or metal end box cars, are equally adapted to new and old cars.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of cai'- rying out the invention, but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modiiications that come within the scope ot' the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

vl. Ina box car having an end wall provided with an end door opening therein and exteriorly braced by vertically extending beams, the combiiiatio-n with a metal door traine member having an opening adapted to register with said first named opening, said member being provided with portions at each side by which it may be rigidly secured to said beams; of a door movably attached to the door frame member and arranged to close the opening therein.

2. In a car having an end wall formed of wood provided with a door opening, the combination with a unitary sheet metal door frame, having a door opening therein adapted to register with said iirst named opening, said frame being provided with inwardly bent projecting marginal flanges at the door opening adapted to overlie and protect the walls of said iirst named opening 5v of a one piece outwardly opening door exteriorly hinged to said 'trame and adapted to "close said opening.

3. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a metal door trame comprisinga plate-like port-ion having face contact with said end wall and f having a door opening` therein adapted to register with said first named opening, said plate-like portion being provided with a. bead at the marginal edge of the said opening therein and flanges inwardly projecting from said bead and adapted to ove-rlie and protect the walls of said i'lrst named opening; ot a one piece door hinged to said traine and adapted to close said opening, said door being provided withan inwardly projecting liange adapted to engage over said bead when the door is swung to closed position.

Ll. In a car having a wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a metal door frame secured to said wall and having a door opening therein adapted to register with said iirst named opening, said frame being provided with an outstanding hollow bead at the marginal edge of the opening therein; of a one piece metal door 'hinged to said trame and adapted to close ZIO said opening, said door being provided with a flange adapted to eXteriorl overlie and abut said bead when the door 1s closed.

5. In a car having a wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a unitary door frame fixed to said wall and having a door opening therein adapted to register with said first named opening, the margin of said frame surrounding said opening being outwardly offset with reference to said end wall; of a one-piece door adapted to close said opening, said door being provided with a flange adapted to exteriorly` over-lap said offset portion when the door is closed.

6. In a door construction, the combination with a unitary sheet metal door frame having a door opening therein surrounded by a continuous, outwardly projecting hollow bead; of a one piece sheet metal door adapted to close said opening, said door being provided with a continuous flange along the bottom and side edges thereof conforming to said bead and adapted to overlie and substantially fit the latter when the door is in closed position.

7. In a door construction, the combination with a unitary door frame havinga door opening therein surrounded by a continuous outstanding wall of a one piece dooil adapted to close said opening, said door having a major portion thereof outwardly off-set to provide a continuous wall conforming to and adapted to eXteriorly overlap said outstanding wall of the frame when the door is in closed posit-ion.

8. As an article of manufacture, a sheet met-al door frame comprising a'liat platelile portion provided with a door opening, said door opening being surrounded by a continuous rib outwardly projecting from one side of said fiat plate, and inwardly projecting flanges formed integral with the lower and side portions of said rib, said ribs extending an appreciable distance beyond the opposite side of said plate.

9. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame applied to the exterior of said wall and having a door opening therein adapted to register with the first named opening; of an outwardly opening door exterior-ly hinged to, and closing against the outer side of said frame; and means overhanging the hinged edge of the door to protect the same from the weather.

10. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having a door opening therein registering with the first named openinol; ofa door having a hinge rod secured to the upper edge thereof; and hinge butts secured to said frame and receiving the opposite ends of said rod, said butts being provided with inwardly extending flanges adapted to overhang the hinge rod adjacent the ends thereof.

11. In a car having a wall provided' with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having an opening therein registering with the first named opening; of a door having a hinge rod secured to the upper edge thereof; and hinge butts secured to said frame pivot-ally receiving the opposite ends of said rod, said but-ts being provided with inwardly projecting flanges overlapping the side edges of the door and' portions of the hinge rod adjacent said edges.

l2. In a car having a wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having an opening the-rein registering with said first named opening; of a door having hinge pivots projecting from the opposite edges thereof; hinge but-t members secured to said frame and each provided with aI portion adapted to receive one of said pivots; and a flange forming a continuation of each of said hinge-receiving portions and overlapping the adjacent side edge of the door.

13. In a door for railway cars, the combination with a pivoted hinge connection; of a hinge-pin receiving portion; and a water shedding flange for said connection, said flange forming a continuation of said hinge pin receiving portion.

14. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having a door opening therein adapted to register with said first named opening; of a door having an upper rolled edge; a pivot rod enclosed by said rolled edge and extending outwardly beyond the opposite edges of said door; a plate secured to the frame above the door and having a flange at its lower edge overhanging said rolled edge; and hinge butt members secured to said frame, said members being provided with bearing parts adapted to receive the opposite ends of said rod, said members being further provided wit-h inwardly projecting flanges adapted to over-lap the opposite ends of the flange on said plate.

15. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having a door opening therein adapted to register with said first named opening; of means for hinging said door to said frame including, hinge butt members; and water shedding means over-hanging the hinged edge of the door.

1G. In a car having an end wall provided with a door opening, the combination with a door frame having a door opening' therein adapted to register with said first named opening; of means for hinging said door to said frame including hinge butt members; and water shedding means over-hanging the hinged edge of the door, including a plate having an outwardly projecting flange and flanges associated with said hinge butt menibers and over-lapping said first named flange.

17. In an end door for box cars, the combination with a unitary door frame member having an opening therein and adapted to be applied to the outer face of the car end; of a door hingedly attached along its upper edge to said member and adapted to swing against the outer side of said frame member to close said opening, co-operating inter-litting means around the side and bottom edges of said opening on the door frame member and door providing a Weather seal when the door is closed; and Weather protecting flashing projecting outwardly from the frame and extending over the hinge connection between the door and door frame member.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this 11th 2o day of April, 1923.

KARL M. HAMILTON. IVitnesses FRANCES SAVAGE, HARRIETTE M. DEAMER.

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