US1844001A - Closure for the domes of tank cars - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9, 1932. D. B. YOUNG 1,344,001

' CLOSURE FOR THE DOMES OF TANK CARS Fi led June 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 my H /6 15 k a0 /Am R a 4 k /.6 38 l0 H U z]; 20 Z7" i 24 W 26 I] 40 INVENTOR. flavidfil'ou/n g,

A TTORNEYS Feb. 9, 1932. v naYuNG 1,844,001

CLOSURE FOR THE DOMES 0F TANK CARS Filed June 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYJ Patented Feb. 9, 1932 PATENT. OFFICE DAVID YOUNG, or IAwnENcEvILLE, ILLINoIs, AssIGnon OFVONE-HALF ro LoUIs w. MAY, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

GLO SURE FOR THE DOMES OF TANK CARS Application filed June 14,

, tion, comparatively inexpensive to manufac- .ture and more eflicient in use than those which have been heretofore proposed. It is at present the common practlce 1n the filling of tank cars with hydrocarbonoils and the like to run the car into-a fill ng rack or station where the cover of the dome is removed and a filling pipeintroduced through the dome opening, by means of which the oil .or other material is loaded into the interior of the car. Thedome openings are ordinarily relatively large, say from fifteen to eighteen inches or more in diameter, whereas the filling pipes commonly employed may range from say two to four inches in diam- 1 eter. The said pipes,therefore, occupy only arelatively small part of the dome opening, with the result that the oil in thecar is exposed more or less to the atmosphere, and in the case of the lighter hydrocarbons, suchas gasolene, benzine, naptha, and the like, an

appreciable amount is lost through evaporation. Extensive testsconducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines have shown that in the loading of the average tank car as much as nine 7 or ten gallons of the: lighter hydrocarbons may be'lost through the evaporation-result- T ing from the exposure of the oils to the-outi side atmosphere and when it isaconside'red that hundreds of tankcars are filled each day it will be readilyunderstood thatthis loss in quite a conv I instances the dome openings 11 are provided the course of ayear amounts to siderable item. I I

It is one of 'theprimary objects of the present invention, therefore, to I provide 1 40 means whereby thisloss' maybe-prevented while at the same time the filling of the cars will not be interfered with. It is a further object of the invention to provide a temporary closure for the openings of tank car domes, which closure is provided with means.

whereby the filling pipe may be introduced therethrough and also with means whereby ,the closuremay be readily secured in place over dome opemngs of various sizes and x characters.

1928. Serial No. 285,395.

' With the above and other objects-in view, which will appear as the description pro.- ceeds, the invention consists in-the novel details of construction and combinations of part'smore fully hereafter disclosed and park ticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which like reference characters designate like parts in all the views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the upper portion of the tank car dome with a temporary filling closure constructedin accordance with the present inventionin place thereon. Y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central sectional View through the closure and a portion of. the dome.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the wall-engaging members carried by, the

closure which serve to readily secure thesaid vclosure 1n posltion over the dome openings of various sizes and characters.

Fig. 4; is a top plan view of the closure constructed in accordance with the pres'ent,invention, and

Fig. 5 is a bottom shown inFig. 4.

' In the said drawings numeral 10 indicates the dome of a tank car which is provided with the dome opening 11 through which access may be had to the interior of the car. These openings are normally closed by plates or other closure members secured in various ways, suchas by bolts passing through the" closure member and into the dome, or in some plan view oft-he closure and shape to completely cover the dome opening 11 of any of the standard tank cars now in general use. This plate 12 is provided with an opening or aperture 13 extending there- 7 through,through which the filling pipe 14 isadapted to be introduced, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Suitable means are provided adjacent this opening 13 for securing the filling pipe in position temporarily, such means being here shown as comprising a pair of lugs 15 secured to the plate 12, which lugs are adapted to co-act with companion lugs 16 formed upon a ring member 17 which is car ried by the filling pipe 14. The said filling pipe may be provided with handle members 18 by means of which it may be manipulated to bring the lugs 16 into and out of engagement with the lugs 15 through partial rotation of the pipe, as will be readily understood. In order that the closure plate 12 may be readily detachably secured over dome openings of various sizes, whether they be threaded or not, said plate is provided with a plurality of wall-engaging members 20 which are mounted in suitable guideways 21 for sliding movement radially of the said plate. Cover plates 22 are secured to the guiding lugs 21 by bolts 23 to retain the slidable members 20 in position, as will be readily understood.

The outermost faces of the sliding members 20 are provided with screw threads 24 which are adapted to engage with the threads of the inner wall of the dome opening 11 if such opening be threaded, or if it is not threaded, then with the plane surface of said wall as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The inner ends of the sliding members 20 are preferably bifurcated, as shown and have rollers 25 journaled therein on suitable pins or shafts 26, see Figs. 2 and 3. The said rollers 25 are received in angularly disposed cam slots 27 provided in an actuating disk or member 28 which is journaled by means of a rigid stud or shaft 29 in the plate 12. The said stud or shaft projects through the said plate and is provided at its upper or outer end with an operating handle 30 rigidly secured thereto as by the pin 31. Said stud or shaft 29 is threaded below the said handle 30 as at 32, to receive a nut or member 33, which may be provided with a handle 34 by means of'which it may be adjusted, as will be readily understood, to lock the disk 28 in operative position. i

The closure plate 12 is preferably provided .with one or more sight glasses 35; with suitable handles or projections 36 by means of which it may be lifted; and with a suitable relief valve 37 through which air may escape during the filling of the car. A suitable gasket or packing member 38 is preferably interposed between the plate 12 and the upper surface of the dome 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The manner of using the temporary filling closure will be readily apparent from the foregoing, but may be briefly summarized as follows: When an empty tank car is to be filled with hydrocarbon oils or other similar materials, the car is run to the filling rack as here illustrated is then place-d in position over the dome opening 11 and is secured in [0 place on the domethrough manual operation of the handle 30 which serves to move the disk 28 through the arc of a circle, which movement will, through the action of the inclined slots 27 upon the rollers 25, cause the slidable members 20 to be moved radially outward so that their serrated outer faces 24!: will be brought into engagement with the inner wall 40 of the dome opening 11, thereby securely fastening the closure in place. If this said wall be threaded the threads: 24 of the members 20 will interlock with the threads of the dome opening, or if the latter be plain, as shownin Fig. 2, the threads ofthe members 20 will merely engage the plain wall, as will be readily understood, in either instance securely locking the closure in position. The filling pipe 14L is then introduced through the opening 13 and locked by partial rotation which serves to bring the lugs 16 carried by the pipe beneath the lugs 15 carried by the plate 12, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The ring 17, which carries the lugs 16,

serves to close and pack the space between- In actual practice it has been found that the use of these temporary filling closures effectually reduces, and in fact substantially eliminates the loss of volatile hydrocarbons during the filling operationand as above pointed out, such elimination results in a -material lsjaving and conservation. of such hydrocarons.

While one form of the invention has been illustrated and described it is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as the arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore it is not wished to be limited to the above disclosure, except as may be required by the claim.

What is claimed is z A temporary closure for the openings of tank car domes, comprising a substantially flat plate adapted to be positioned over and to extend beyond the edges of the opening; radithe perimeter of said plate; means for moving said members inwardly and outwardly, comprising a stud passing through and journalled in said plate and a cam disk carried thereby operatively engaging with said members; means whereby said stud may be oscillated; and means for clamping said studand disk against said plate, whereby said members may be locked in operative positions.

In testimony whereof I afllx my signature.

DAVID B. YOUNG.

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