US1681823A - Railway-car drop door - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 21, 1928. I 1,681,823

A. E. SMALL RAILWAY CAR DROP DOOR Filed Dec. 25, 1926 8 Jhventor flrl/z ur Z 7 Sm all dtiorng Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,681,823 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR E. SMALL, OF CHICAGO, ILIINOIS,ASSIGNOR TO UNION METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

RAILWAY-OAR DROP DOOR.

Application filed December 23, 1926. Serial No. 156,707.

The invention relates to a railway dump car having a door forming a part of the car for retaining the load therein which door is provided with hinges adjacent one of its edges and is capable of being dropped or swung open so that the load in discharging slides or passes over the upper surface of the door. Any means of raising the door to the closed position and anymcans for locking and releasing the door may be employed with my device.

A door for this purpose must be very strong and durable because:

First, it is a part of the floor of the car and as such must sustain the load as well as the impact blow of the load when the car is in motion. Second, the car is frequently loaded from chutes or tipples from a height of ten feet or more, causing the load to be dropped directly upon the doors. Third, clam shell buckets are frequently used to unload such cars and it is not uncommon for these buckets to rest upon and drag over these doors. Fourth, when the door'suddenly comes to rest after being dropped, it is not only subiected to a severe shock but it must sustain the severe impact'thrust of the load which of course follows the door. Fifth. as the load is theoretically equally distributed, the door must bestrong over its entire area and must be capable of transmitting the resulting stresses to the car body without much deflection and 'no substantial distortion. Any bending of the door or drooping of the corners would cause a leak of the ladine. especially ofsuch fine material as sand. chats. etc. Any bending or warping might interfere with the complete closing and locking of the door.

As it costs as much to haul a ton of car as it does to haul a ton of paying freight. itis imperative that the car an d any part thereof be as light as possible. Furthermore, the total weight of the car and freight is determined by the strength of certain standard axles. so that the lighter the car the greater amount of freight a given car will be allowed to carry.

- An object is to form a metallic door with integral corrugations orribs which impart to it a certain amount of strength and rigidity to resist loads imposed thereon and to so form the ends of the corrugations or ribs as to provide a certain amount of resiliency to enable the door to deflect and return to its normal position without appreciable amount of permanent distortion.

Another object is to form and arrange a plurality of corrugations in a metallic door so as to obtain a desired proportion between strength, rigidity and resiliency.

Another object is to obtain this result with the least amount of raw material and to provide a finished article of the least possible weight consistent with strength requirements.

Another object is to provide such acor rugated metallic door which can be formed by pressing it (when heated, if necessary) between dies which move toward each other in one direction only.

The advantages of my door are applicable to any door of a freight car. such as drop bottom general service cars (used in the drawings) hopper cars, swinging side doors or hopper bottom coal cars, etc.

In the drawings: I

Fig. lshows a portion of a railway car with my device applied thereon.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on lines 22 and 3-3 respectively of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on lines 4-4c and 55 respectively of Fig. 1 with the car parts omitted.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sections similar to Figs. 3, 4.- and 5 but show the major corrugations with an arcuate configuration.

To illustrate one adaptation of my device, I have shown a so-called general service drop bottom gondola car wherein the major portion of the floor consists of drop doors. The door openings are surrounded by the center construction 1, side wall 2 and cross diaphragms 3. In normal or clo ed position the door completely closes this opening and in fact is a trifle larger on all sides than the opening so as to provide a lap joint between the door and the car frame members. The doors are hinged to the center construction and are supported adjacent the side wall by the raising or locking machanism. Any convenient stop may be used to limit the downward movement of the door.

Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive show the preferred form wherein the body plate of the door is provided with a plurality of parallel embossments, each embossment comprising a plurality of sinuous minor corrugations 20 formed therein which are spaced apart distances equal to their respective widths and the portion 21 of the plate between adjacent minor corrugations is also sinuous so that Ill) these minor corrugations merge together to form a contiguous sinuous configuration synr metrical in cross section about a line midway between the outermost portions. of these minor corrugations so that. this line is the neutral axis of the section. Such a section is very resilient and has a spring li-ke action; under loads, and furthermore, produces a very strong section for the ainoimt of metal used. A plurality (two or more) oi? such minor corrugations 2O merge together adjacent the edges of the plate (or ends of the embossment comprising theminor and major corrugations) to form a lesser number of corrugations 22' with flat apices 23- which are spaced apart distances equal to their respective WlClllhS and the part 2% of the door between these major corrugations 22 is alsoflat, thus forming a configuration symmetrical in cross section about a: line midwaybetween the outermost portions of the e major corrugations so that this line is the neutralr axis of the section. Such a section is stronger and relatively rigid as compared with the section of the sinuous minor corrugations because more metal is positioned away from the neutral axis. The ends of the major corrugations merge into the plane oi the doorby means of terminal portions 29 of any desired formation. By such an arrangement a corrugated metallic door is. provided which is relatively rigid adjacent the end portions of the embossments and relatively resilient adjacent the middle portions of the-embossment The secondary oppositely projecting rib or' corrugation 25 is equal in widt i to the adj acent minor corrugations at 26 and decreases in width as the minor corrugations merge to gether to form the major corrugation 22. These secondary oppositely projecting; ribs 25 also preferably decrease in depth sothat any concentrated stretch of metal is eliminated where the minor corrugations merge together.

Figs. 3, 4: and 5 show the major corrugations 22 with flat apices 23 and the portions (24:) of the plate between the major corrugations also being fiat, Figs. 6, 'Z and 8 are similar to Figs. 3-, 4 and 5. respectively and show the major corrugations with arcuate apices 27 and. the portions ot the plate (28-) between the major corrugations also being arcuate.

It is understood that the embossments or corrugations may extend normally like to those illustrated in the drawings, or even diagonally, and still comev within the scope of the invention and, furthermore while I have described and claimed a single plate it is understood that the door maybe made of a plurality of united plates and still come within the scope of the invention;

The marginal portion (or portions) may be provided with. flanges 9 so as to further stiffen thev sides of the door against. deflection under load and to stiffen the entire door against buckling or distortion.

he accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it. is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it. is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a railway car having a door opening,

a door hinged adjacent one edge thereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations merging'into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions of the door to form a lesser number of corrugations. 2. In a. railway car havinga door opening, a door hinged adjacent one edge thereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions of the doorto form a lesser number'ofwidercorrugations.

3. In a railway car-having a door opening,

a door hinged adjacent one edge thereof and supported at the opposite edgethereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations spaced apart distances substantially equal to their width, said corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions ofthe door to form a lesser number of corrugations spaced apart distances substantially equal to their width.

4C. In a railway car having a door opening, a door hinged adjacent one edgethereof and supported at the opposite edge thereot, said door comprising metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations spaced apart distances substantially equal to their width, said corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions of the door to form a lesser number of wider corrugations spaced apart distances substantially equalv to their width. i

5. In a railway-car havinga door opening, a door hinged adjacent one edgethereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations symmetrical in cross section about a line midway between the outermost portions of .the corrugations merging into each other and terminatingv into the plate adjacent the oppositemarginalportions of the door toform a lesser number of corrugations symmetrical in cross section about a line. midway between the outermost portlons oi the corrugatlons;

6. In a railway car having a door opening a door hinged adjacent one edge thereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of corrugations symmetrical in cross section about line midway between the outermost portions of the corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions of the door to form a lesser number of wider corrugations symmetrical in cross section about a line of midway between the outermost portions of the corrugations.

7 In a railway car having a door opening, a door hinged adjacent one edge thereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of contiguous sinous corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the op osite marginal portions of the door to form a lesser number of corrugations with substantially flat a-pices.

8. In a railway car having a door opening, a door hinged adj acentone edge thereof and supported at the opposite edge thereof, said door comprising a metallic plate provided with a plurality of contiguous sinuous corrugations merging into each other and terminating into the plate adjacent the opposite marginal portions of the door to form a lesser number of wider corrugations with substantially flat apices.

ARTHUR E. SMALL.

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