US1949633A

US1949633A - Lock

Info

Publication number: US1949633A
Application number: US491840A
Authority: US
Inventors: James A Shafer
Original assignee: National Malleable and Steel Castings Co
Current assignee: National Malleable and Steel Castings Co
Priority date: 1930-10-29
Filing date: 1930-10-29
Publication date: 1934-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1951-03-06

Description

March 6, 1934. .1. A. SHAFER LOCK Filed Oct. 29', 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 6, 1934. J. A. SHAFER 1,949,633

LOCK

Filed Oct. 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. A. SHAFER March 6, 19341 LOCK Filed Oct. 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 J. A. SHAFER March 6, 1934.

LOCK

Filed Oct. 29, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 4 awe/W607;

]a m es -24. J/zafer W1 Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCK Application October 29,

12 Claims.

This invention relates to locking means for the discharge doors of railway hopper cars and the like. The invention provides improved, simplified, and efiective means whereby hopper doors may be maintained in closed position. At the same time the invention saves weight and increases the revenue load which the cars can carry. The invention furthermore eliminates the door spreaders heretofore employed and avoids the disadvantages incident thereto. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a hopper car with locking means embodying my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view, in central transverse section, of the car shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing a hopper door with locking means embodying my invention. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line IV--IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail elevational view, partly in section, of the structure at the left hand end of the door in Figs. 3 and 4, and Fig. 6 is a detail elevational view, partly in section, of the structure at the right hand end of said door in Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a hopper car, the hoppers 5 of which are closed by discharge doors 6 extending transversely of the car. The hoppers and doors are arranged in pairs, as shown, one hopper of a pair extending from one side of the car to the center sills 7 and the other hopper of said pair 35 extending from said sills to the opposite side of said car. The doors are hinged to the respective hoppers and are provided with locking means, an embodiment of which is shown in detail in conjunction with one of the doors in Figs. 3-6 and will now be described. Since the locking means for each door is the same as that for the other doors a description of the locking means associated with one of said doors will sufice.

In Figs. 26, the door 6 is shown connected by 45

hinges

8, 8, to the hopper 5. The door may be provided with a marginal reinforcing flange 9 and may be received within a reinforcing flange 10 secured to the hopper. Pivotally mounted at 11 on the door 6 is a locking bar 12 which extends 50 across and projects beyond the edges of said door.

The door has riveted or otherwise secured thereto near one end thereof a housing 13 through which the locking bar 12 extends. Another housing 14,

suitably fastened to the door 6 near the opposite 50' end thereof, serves to receive and guide the corre- 1930, Serial No. 491,840

sponding end portion of said bar 12. Pivotally mounted at 15 in the housing 13 is an eccentric locking member 16 provided with a handle 17 whereby said member may be swung about its pivot into firm engagement with said bar for locking the latter in the position shown in Fig. 3.

Secured to the outer side of the hopper (i. e., the side opposite the center sills '7) is a latch member 18 which is adapted to receive the bar 12 and to cooperate with said bar for maintaining the door 6 in closed position. Said member 18 is provided with an inclined face 19, a ledge 20 adjacent a shoulder 21, and an upwardly fac-. ing notched portion 22 including a shoulder 22': adjacent said ledge. A latch member 23 is secured to the inner side of the hopper (i. e., the side adjacent the center sills 7) said latch 23 hav-. ing a downwardly facing portion, including an inclined surface 24, for receiving the locking bar.

During the swinging of the door 6 toward closed position the locking bar 12 rides up the inclined face 19 of the outer latch member 18 and is thereby swung about its pivot, the end of said bar adjacent member 18 being raised and the end of said bar adjacent member 23 being lowered. When the end portion of the bar 12 cooperating with member 18 passes over shoulder 21 of saidmember, said end portion drops into engagement with ledge 20. It will be seen that by the engagement of shoulder 21 with the bar 12 the door is positively held in partiallly closed position and is prevented from being moved toward open position. A pinch bar 25 may now be so positioned that one end fulcrums on a lug 26 of member 18 and another portion bears on looking bar 12, and through said bar the door may be forced to a closed position, the bar 12 now being engaged with the face 22 of member 18. Engagement of said bar with the notch 22 may be effected by, turning the locking element 16 from the dotted to the full line position shown in Fig. 3, the bar 12 being thereby turned about its pivot 11 into engagement with said notch and firmly locked' therein by said member 16. At the same time the end of said bar adjacent the inner latch member 23 is raised into engagement with said member. In case the parts do not operate freely, due for example to binding arising from warpage, the bar 12 can be forced fully into closed or looking position in the notch 22 through the operation of a pinch bar inserted at right angles to the car between a projection on said bar 12 and a flange 20a on member 18; said pinch bar fulcruming on the underside of said flange 20a and SDI.

bearing on the upper surface of said projection 30.

The end portion of the bar 12 which is received in the inside latch member 23 is beveled as shown at 27 (Fig. 6) for cooperation with inclined surface 24 of said member. At the time that the bar 12 rests upon the ledge 20 said bar does not engage the latch member 23, and there is a tendency for the door to sag, due to its weight at the side adjacent said member 23. The position of bar 12 with respect to member 23 at the time said bar engages ledge 20 of member 18 is indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 6. By the provision of the

inclined surfaces

24 and 27 the bar 12, during its upward movement in said latch member concurrently with its engagement with notch 22, is guided into the position shown in Fig. 6, and the sag of the door is taken up.

It will be noted that in addition to providing means for efiectively locking the doors of the hoppers I have eliminated the door spreaders heretofore employed and serving to secure the doors of each pair rigidly together. The employment of door spreaders has resulted in difii culty in fitting the doors to the car. Where doors fastened together by a spreader fit into reinforcing flanges in the hoppers exact spacing of the doors is necessary in order that they may enter the spaces within said flanges. Whether or not reinforcing flanges are employed, the four hopper sheets of the pair of hoppers must be accurately aligned or the rigidly connected doors will be held away from the short hopper sheets by the long ones. In addition, very accurate spacing of the hinges on the two doors and of the corresponding hinge butts on the hoppas i required in order that the hinges and butts may mesh and in order that the pair of doors may properly fit the hoppers. These difficulties are obviated by my invention.

My arrangement, it will be noted, permits any door to be opened by itself. In addition, the additional weight of door spreaders is eliminated. Furthermore, where door spreaders are employed, each door is locked at one edge only, with the result that the load frequently forces the other edge of the door away from the hopper and causes deflection of the spreader. With my construction, each door is firmly held and supported at both inside and outside edges. Also, my arrangement results in easier movement of doors to preliminary and to closed position since only one-half the weight is involved as compared with the prior door spreader arrangements, and the cramping of hinges and binding of doors between hopper flanges encountered in the rigid door spreader constructions are avoided. Also, my invention facilitates removal and replacement of doors since each door may be handled separately.

As indicated at 28 in Fig. 5, clearance is provided between the door flange 9 and the hopper reinforcing flange 10 and clearance is also provided between the locking bar 12 and the latch member 18 as indicated at 29. As a result of these clearances, an accurate positioning of the hinges 8 vertically is not required.

To unlock the door, the locking bar 12 (after locking element 16 has been manipulated to un locking position) may be re dily forced out of can gagement with

latch members

18 and 23 through operation of a pinch bar inserted between the upper surface of projection 26 and the under surface of said locking bar, as indicated by the dotted lines designated X in Fig. 5.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door and projecting beyond opposite edges thereof, and members secured to the hopper for receiving opposite ends of said element, one of said members having an inclined portion for turning said element about its pivot in response to movement of the door toward closed position, said element having an inclined surface adjacent one end, and the other of said members having an inclined portion cooperating with the inclined surface for forcing the door toward the hopper in response to turning of said element while engaged with said member.

2. In combination, discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door, and projecting beyond opposite edges thereof, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by an end portion thereof, said member having an inclined race for turning said element about its pivot during movement of the door toward closed position, and also having a shouldered portion for receiving said element upon further movement of the door and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed, means cooperating with said element for preventing disengagement thereor" from said notchedv portion of said member and means secured to the hopper and cooperating with the other end portion of said element for receiving the latter and taking up the sag of the adjacent side of the door with respect to the hopper as said element is moved inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

3. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door and extending beyond opposite edges thereof, means secured to the hopper and cooperating with the outer end or" aid element for receiving the latter when the door is closed, and means secured to the hopper and cooperating with the other end of said element for receiving the latter after the outer side of the door has been substantially closed and causing the sag of the adjacent side or the door with respect to the hopper to be taken up in response to turning of said element about its pivot.

l. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door and projecting beyond opposite edges thereof, means engageable by one end portion of said element when the latter is turned about its pivot with the door in closed position, and means cooperating with the other end of said element for taking up the sag of the adjacent side of the door with respect to the hopper in response to turning of said element after said element has been turned into engagement with the first named means.

5. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said (1001' and projecting beyond opposite edges thereof, a member secured to the hopper and engageable by an end portion of said element;

said member having an inclined face for turn-' ing said element about its pivot during movement of the door toward closed position, and also having a ledge forming a bearing surface for said element and a shoulder providing a positive stop engaging said element while in position on said ledge to prevent movement of the door from a partially closed position toward open position, said member further having a notched portion beyond said ledge for receiving said element when the door is fully closed, and means secured to the hopper and cooperating with the opposite end portion of said element for receiving the latter and moving the related end of the door to fully closed position as said element is moved inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

6. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door, a member secured to the outside of the hopper and engageable by an end portion of said element; said member having an inclined face for turning said element about its pivot during movement of the door toward closed position, and also having a shouldered portion for receiving said element upon further movement of the door, and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is fully closed, and means secured to the inner side of said hopper for receiving the other end p r ion of said elem nt, said means being in spaced relation to said other end portion when said element is first moved into said notched portion, said means being adapted to engage said other end portion to move the related end of the door to fully closed position upon further movement of said element inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

'7. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element mounted on said door, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by an end portion thereof, said member having a portion for receiving said element during closing of the door, and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed, a projection on said member providing a fulcrum for an implement for forcing said element from the first mentioned portion to the notched portion of said member, and means secured to the hopper and cooperating With the other end portion of said element for receiving the latter and moving the related end of the door to fully closed position as said element is moved inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

8. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element mounted on said door, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by an end portion thereof, said member having a portion for receiving said element during closing of the door and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed, a projection on said member providing a fulcrum for an implement for forcing said element from the first mentioned portion to the notched portion of said member, another projection on said member providing a fulcrum for an implement for forcing said element into said notched portion, and means secured to the hopper and cooperating with the other end portion of said element for receiving the latter and moving the related end of the door to fully closed position as said element is moved inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

9. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element mounted on said door, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable thereby, said member having a shouldered portion for receiving said element during closing of the door, and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed. fulcrum means on said member enabling the door to be moved by an implement from the first mentioned portion to the notched portion of said member and into engagement with said notched portion, and means secured to the hopper for receiving the other end portion of said element and moving the related end of the door to fully closed position after said element is moved into the notched portion of said member.

10. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said car, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by an end portion thereof, said member having a square shouldered portion for receiving and retaining said element during closing of the door, and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed, means on said member providing a fulcrum for an implement for forcing said element from the first mentioned portion to the notched portion of said member, and means comprising a projection on said member and a projection on said element whereby said element may be subsequently forced by an implement to turn about its pivot into engagement with said notched portion.

11. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element pivotally mounted on said door, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by an end portion thereof, said member having an inclined face for turning said element about its pivot during movement bf the door toward closed position, and a notched portion for receiving said element when the door is closed, and means secured to said hopper and having a wedging surface cooperating with the other end portion of said element for taking up the sag of the adjacent side of the door with respect to the hopper as said element is moved inwardly in the notched portion of said member.

12. In combination, a discharge door for a hopper car, a locking element movably mounted on said door, a member secured to the hopper adjacent said element and engageable by said element, means on said member providing a fulcrum for cooperation with an implement to force said element into a given relation to said member and means enabling an implement to be positioned for engagement with said element transversely of the car for forcing said element into another position.

JAMES A. SHAFER.