US1923784A - Side door construction for railway cars - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 22, 1933. e. G. GILPIN SIDE DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 19, 1928 1120212 for 1933. s. G. GILPIN SIDE DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Nov. 19 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 22

Patented Aug. 22, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF lCE.

SIDE DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Application November 19, 1928 Serial No. 320,341

18 Claims.

The invention relates to a double door construction for railway box or house cars, particularly cars for carrying automobiles, aeroplanes and similar freight.

5 The A. R. A. standard box car has a side door opening six feet in width but as it is impossible to load certain classes of lading, such as automobiles, aeroplanes, fire engines, automotive trucks and the like through such a space, larger openings (usually about ten or twelve feet in width) are provided in some cars, which are called automobile cars, although they may be used on some occasions to haul other kinds of lading. A single door large enough to cover such an opening would be too large and heavy to move easily or to support and retain on the car and, therefore, supplemental doors slidably mounted like the main doors have heretofore been provided to cooperate with the main door in closing the enlarged opening.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an arrangement of a main door, a sup plemental door and one or more auxiliary doors for a railway car having a relatively large door opening wherein the main and supplemental doors function in the usual manner but wherein auxiliary doors are swingably supported and so related to the wall structure of the car that when they are closed they form structurally and functionally a part of the car wall in a manner and to an extent quite impossible in the case of a sliding door.

Another object is to provide a double door structure of the kind indicated in which the swinging or hinged doors are so constructed and arranged that it is possible to use the present common types of main and supplemental sliding doors.

Another object is to provide means whereby such a swingable door cannot be moved from its position as an integrated part of the wall structure until the main door (and/or supplemental door) has been opened. That is, a swingable door cannot be used as a door independently of D the main door.

Another object is to provide a slidable door (which moves in a single vertical plane) with a post swingably attached to one margin thereof and arranged to swing within the door opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of the door opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the slidable door beyond the door post, and to preferably provide means to lock such a post to the car body, when the door is in closed position. Frequently a pair of slidable doors are arranged to move toward each other to partially close the door opening and an object of the invention is to hingedly support such a post at the meeting edge of one of such doors so that it cannot be swung out of its normal position until the other slidable door is moved.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a portion of a car with my improved side door construction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4 of 7.0 Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section of the auxiliary door and associated parts.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross section of the meeting edges of the main and supplemental doors.

Fig. 7 shows the locking mechanism for the auxiliary door. The usual parts of the car are shown, such as side plate 1; side sill 2; flooring 3; sheathing 4; lintel 5; roof 6; fascia 7 and door posts 8.

For convenience of description I have used the terms main door (9); supplemental door (10) and auxiliary door (11).

The maximum horizontal width of the door opening, that is, the distance between the oppositely disposed vertical door posts 8 is preferably positioned equally on opposite sides of the center line of the car so that the door openings on the opposite sides of the car'will register.

The auxiliary doors 11 (or one auxiliary door" if desired) are hinged to the door posts 8 by the hinges 12 and are provided with a lip 13 engaging a recess 14 in the door post 8 for weatherproofing and the inner edge of the auxiliary door is provided with a lip 15 for engagement with the weather strip 16 on the main and supplemental doors, respectively, which also restricts the forward or closing movement of the slidable door. The auxiliary door 11 is provided with a locking means comprising an upper bar 1'? and a lower bar 18 actuated by a centrally pivoted lever 19 which lever may be provided with an operating handle if desired. Upon movement of this lever the bars engage or disengage pockets 21-22 in, thesill and plate, respectively. Guides 23 may be necessary to keep the bars in place. The lever 19 may be positioned normal to the car, as shown at 24, 01 lengthwise of the'car, as shown at 25. This locking mechanism for the auxiliary door ispreferably positioned within the door itself, as illustrated, so as to protect it and so as not to interfere with the movement of the slidable doors. However, it may be positioned on the outside wall thereof if desirable.

The main door 9, as shown, is of the usual construction and comprises upper and lower rails 3031 and front and back battens 3233 forming stiffeners for the margins of a corrugated metallic plate 34. The upper stiffener 30 interacts with the door hood 35 to form a weatherproof construction and the lower stiffener 31 forms a tread to engage the roller 36 supported by the bracket 3'7 which is mounted upon the side sill 2. The rear stiffener 33 engages the auxiliary door 11, as heretofore described, while the front stiifener 32 engages a lip 38 on the supplemental door, as shown in Fig. 6.

The supplemental door is similar in construction to the main door 9 and is supported in a similar manner. A post 40 is swingably attached to the inner margin of the supplemental door and arranged to swing within the door opening of the car when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of the door opening, as shown in Fig. 2, to provide clearance for the opening movement of the supplemental door as it passes the auxiliary door 11 and door post 8. This swingable post is provided with means to automatically lock it within the door opening, which means comprises a vertically moving locking bar 41 riding upon an inclined surface 4243 adjacent the sill and plate, respectively, and so ar ranged that after a predetermined amount of travel, portions 44-45 of the operating rod drop into depressions adjacent the sill and plate, respectively, all as indicated in Figs. 4 and 7. The swingable post is preferably U-shaped and has one arm 48 swingably attached to the inner margin of the supplemental door and the automatic locking means is preferably positioned within the U-shape of the post so as to protect it.

To open the door the main door 9 must be slid or rolled to complete open position, i. e., beyond the adjacent auxiliary door 11. Then the post 40 is unlatched and swung outside of the door opening, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, when it is possible to slide or roll the supplemental door into complete open position beyond the auxiliary door 11. The post 4G cannot be swung until the main door is partially moved. When the main and/or supplemental doors are in full open position one or both of the auxiliary doors may be swung open. In practice the main door would be six feet in width and the supplemental door four feet in width, giving a ten foot door opening, and with the auxiliary doors being each about two feet in width, an opening of twelve or even fourteen feet is ob tained.

The 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, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the opening, and a pair of slidable doors arranged to move toward each other to close the remainder of the opening, each of said auxiliary doors provided with means to restrict the movement of the adjacent slidable door toward the other slidable door.

2. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the opening, and a pair of slidable doors arranged to move toward each other to close the remainder of the opening, each of said auxiliary doors provided with means to restrict the movement of the adjacent slidable door, toward the other slidable door, one of said slidable doors having a post swingably attached to its inner margin so as to swing within the door opening when said door is in closed position and to swing outside of the opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of said door beyond the auxiliary door, said elements so arranged that the post cannot swing out of normal position until the other slidable door has been moved.

3. In a railway car having a door opening, a swingable door supported at one side thereof, and a slidable door positioned to move in the path of the swingable door and arranged to retain the swingable door in substantially a closed position until said slidable door is in a complete open position.

4. In a railway car having a door opening, a swingable door supported at one side thereof, and a slidable door positioned to move in the path of the swingable door and arranged to re tain the swingable door in substantially a closed position until said slidable door is in a complete open position, said swingable door provided with a lip which engages the slidable door and restricts its forward movement.

5. In a railway car having a door opening, a swingable door supported at one side thereof, and a slidable door positioned to move in the path of the swingable door and arranged to retain the swingable door in substantially a closed position until said slidable door is in a complete open position, said swingable door provided with means to look it in closed position which are positioned within said swingable door so as not to interfere with the movement of the slidable door.

6. In a railway car having a door opening, a swingable door supported at one vertical side of said opening, and a slidable door arranged to pass over said swingable door in moving from open to closed position, said swingable door provided with means to lock said door in closed position positioned within said door so as not to interfere with the free movement of the slidable door.

'7. In a railway car having a door opening, a swingable door supported at one vertical side of said opening, and a slidable door arranged to pass over said swingable door in moving from open to closed position, said swingable door provided with means to restrict the closing movement of the slidable door.

8. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the opening to partially close the opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the remainder of the opening forming a weatherproofing joint with each other, and a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the door.

9. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the opening to partially close the opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the remainder of the opening forming a weatherproof joint with each other, a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clear ance for the opening movement of the door, and means to lock said post to the car body when it is within the opening.

10. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the opening to partially close the opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the remainder of the opening forming a weatherproof joint with each other, a U- shaped post having one arm swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the door, and means positioned within said U-shaped post to lock said post to the car body when it is within the opening.

11. In a railway car having a door opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the opening, and a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the door.

12. In a railway car having a door opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the opening, and a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors, said elements so arranged that the post cannot be swung out of normal position until the other of said doors has been moved.

13. In a railway car having a door opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the opening, and a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the door, said elements so arranged that the post cannot be swung out of normal position until the other of said doors has been moved.

14. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of an auxiliary door hinged at each vertical side of the door opening to partially close the opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the remainder of the opening, and a lock to secure the meeting edges of the slidable doors together, each slidable door partially overlying its adjacent hinged door when in closed position whereby the single lock locks all four doors in closed position.

15. In a railway car having a door opening, a pair of slidable doors arranged to move in a vertical plane toward each other to close the opening, a post swingably attached to the inner margin of one of said slidable doors arranged to swing within said opening when the door is in closed position and to swing outside of said opening to provide clearance for the opening movement of the door, and means positioned within said post to lock said post to the car body when it is within the opening.

16. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of a slidable door, and a post having a channel section swingably attached to said door.

17. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of a slidable door, a post swingably attached to said door, and locking means carried by the post and engageable with pockets in the upper and lower margins of the door opening to hold said post and door in closed position.

18. In a railway car having a door opening, the combination of a slidable door, a post having a channel section swingably attached to said door, and locking means carried by the post within the channel sections and engageable with pockets in the upper and lower margins of the door opening to hold said post and door in closed position.

GARTH G. GILPIN.

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