US1957450A - Demountable automobile body - Google Patents

Description

May 8, 1934. B. F. FITCH DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed June 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4

gnventox L, e7. 6 2/2? B. F. FITCH DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed June 23, 1931 May 8, 1934.

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DEMOUNTABLE AUTOMOBILE BODY Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, 001111., assignor to Motor Terminals Company, Wilmington,

Dole, a corporation of Delaware Application June 23, 1931, Serial No. 546,273

4 Claims.

In the transportation of freight, demountable automobile truck bodies, which may be lifted with their contents and placed on a flat car, provide for economical handling and minimize danger of loss or breakage of L.C.L. freight. For such purposes, I have developed a very efficient demount-' able body, which forms the subject matter of my prior application, Serial No. 500,160, filed Decemher 5th, 1930.

Such demountable bodies may be employed for the handling of perishable goods, fruits, etc, and in such cases it is sometimes desired to provide means for continuously ventilating the container while it is in transit. On the other hand, during cold weather it is frequently desirable to close the ventilation openings to prevent chilling the contents. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide verysimple, eifective means for v causing and controlling such ventilation.

My demountable body, as set out in the application above mentioned, where its walls are of sheet steel, has inwardly projecting door jambs, so that the doors may be substantially flush on the exterior to provide for the most efficient handling on the truck. These inwardly projecting door jambs, which are preferably in the form of Z-bars, have, however, a disadvantage in providing sharp corners which may sometimes injure package freight when packed in light cartons.

Now in the present invention I have devised a means of at once providing the desired ventilation, and also shielding the corners of the jambs to protect the package freight. I accomplish this by mounting vertical shield plates within the container, each of which leads upwardly from the floor but terminates well below the roof and is secured at one edge to the inner face of the door jamb and at the other edge is connected to the container wall. Openings are made through the wall into the lower portion of the flues, thus provided, and the draft entering through such openings passes from the upper end of the flue into the interior of the body, thence over the contents and out through the corrugated roof, which acts to provide a Venturi suction, making a material draft in transit.

Thus, at one time I prevent the packages from engaging a sharp corner of the jamb; I stiffen the body construction and I provide a ventilation flue which is in an idle region of the container. The flues may be shut off, whenever desired, by suitable dampers at the upper ends thereof.

My invention is illustrated in the drawings in connection with these drawings, and the essential features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a side elevation of a fiat car carrying two of my demountable bodies, each having the ventilating flues of this invention; Fig. 2 is an end View of one of such bodies, illustrating it in the act of being lifted from, or lowered onto, the car; Fig. 3 is a vertical section transversely of the car looking toward one of the end doors, as indicated by the line 3-3 on Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the container adjacent one end, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 on Figs. 2 and 3;- Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through ventilating flues at the end and at the side of the car, as indicated by the line 5-5 on Fig, 4; Figs. 6 and '7 are details in horizontal and vertical section of the flue damper and its locking device.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates a suitable flat car, equipped with positioning devices a, (shown as external corner brackets, though projections adapted to engage sockets beneath the container floor might be used) B indicates a demountable body adapted to be placed on the car and located by means of these positioning devices.

The body B has a suitable base frame 10, composed of suitable structural shapes, this base frame carrying a flooring 11. Sheet metal side walls 12 and end walls 13 rise from the base frame and carry a roof 15, formed of corrugated metal, arranged in an arch and with the serpentine lines thereof extending longitudinally, thus presenting a succession of downwardly facing transverse troughs terminating at the eaves, and providing a series of ventilation spaces leading to the outside of the container. A longitudinal wooden protection strip may be mounted above the roof sheets in this region to prevent possible damage to the edge portions of the roof sheets or crushing of the corrugation, which might reduce the ventilation spaces.

The doors 20 of my container are located preferably in pairs at each side of the container and at each end thereof. These doors seat in inwardly projecting jambs which are preferably in the form of Z-bars 19, having their outer flanges secured to the wall 12 or 13 of the car, and their inner flanges projecting across the door opening. The door thus seats in the rabbet provided by the intermediate web and the flange, the outer face of the door being substantially flush with the outer side of the container.

To provide the ventilation flues at the ends of the container, I secure vertical plates 30 to the inner flange of the Z-bars 19 and extend them parallel with the wall 13, these plates be ing bent at 31 at their outer edges and there secured to the side walls of the container. At the side doors, I provide shield plates 32 which are secured to the inner faces of the Z-bars l9 and then extend, at an acute angle, to the side of the container, and finally have slightly bent edge portions 33 secured to the side wall 12.

The construction just described is illustrated in section in Fig. 5, from which it will be seen that I have protected the corners of the door jambs both at the ends and the sides of the con tainer. and have also provided a vertical flue in practically idle spaces within the container and back of the door edges. Suitable openings 40 and 41 through the end and side walls of the container into the vertical spaces at the ends and sides, furnish admission to the flues, which act to direct the air passing through the openings upwardly and discharging it into the car at the top of the shield plates, these shield plates terminating in a suitable intermediate region in the height of the container.

It will be seen that, by locating the entrance openings near the bottom of the flues and the discharge at the top, any passage of water into the interior of the container, by reason of the flue, is prevented. Such water as enters the flue is drained out through suitable opening which may, for instance, pass through the wall, as indicated at 45, in Fig. 3.

To prevent mice or birds from passing into the fiues through the openings 40 or 41, I prefer to secure across these openings, on the inner side of the walls 12 or 13, a suitable screen 46, welded, or otherwise secured, to the wall sheet.

The lines conduct the air upwardly along the car wall, then discharge it over the top of the contents, and then the air is drawn out by Venturi suctions through the openings provided by the corrugated sheets. This causes a continuous draft, when the container is in motion, over the top of the goods in the container, which serves to carry away the moisture arising therefrom, and maintains perishables in good condition.

To enable the flues to be readily closed for cold weather, I provide, at the upper end of each flue, a damper 50. This damper is shown as a plate hinged to the shield plate 30 or 32 on a pin 52. This pin, beyond the hinge, is bent at right angles to the pintle portion to furnish a handle 53. This handle engages a spring retainer 55 secured to the container wall and having depressions to retain the handle in either of its extreme positions.

When the flue is active, the handle 53 stands vertical and the damper is idle against the inner face of the flue sheet, as shown in Fig. 7. When, however, it is desired to close the flue, the operator grasps the upper end of the handle and pulls it inwardly oi the container, bringing it into position shown in broken lines in Fig. '7, where the damper extends across the flue and closes it. The other depression in the spring retainer 55 now holds the damper handle in this new position until released by the operator shoving outwardly on the upper end of the handle.

It will be seen that my fiues occupy practically idle spaces in the container, and that the flue sheets are of positive advantage in shielding the sharp corners of the door jambs and also provide structural braces for the jambs, increasing the rigidity of the container. The fines are very efiective in directing the air into the upper portion of the container, while the corrugated roof causes its rapid exit as the car moves, so that ventilation is insured.

The drawings illustrate the flue sheets as extending well toward the roof, but, for some uses, it is desirable to terminate them considerably lower than illustrated, and the height may be varied as desired, provided the top of the fiue is sufficiently above the entrance openings so that water cannot pass into the interior.

My damper provision is simple, easily and cheaply applied, and will hold itself either in the active or inactive position during the use of the container, but may be readily changed whenever desired by the attendant in the interior of the container. When once set by him, and the doors closed and locked, there is no danger of its being changed until the doors are opened.

I claim:

1. A container having a side Wall with a doorway in it, an inwardly extending door jamb carried by the side wall and comprising a Z-bar, a sheet secured to the inner flange of the Z-bai. and extending at an acute angle toward the side wall and having its other edge secured to the side wall, there being an opening through the side wall into the flue thus provided and an opening from the flue into the interior of the container.

2. A container having a side wall of single thickness with a doorway in it, an inwardly extending door jamb carried by the side wall, a sheet secured to the inner edge of the door jamb and extending at an acute angle toward the side wall and having its other edge secured to the side wall, there being an opening through the side wall into the flue thus provided, and an opening from the flue into the interior of the container.

3. A container having a floor, a roof, side and end walls, one of the end Walls being provided with a doorway having an inwardly extending door jamb, and means for converting the idle space between the door jamb and side wall of the car into a ventilation flue, comprising a trans versely arranged vertical plate secured to the door jamb and spaced from the end wall and leading from the floor of the car to a position well toward the roof, there being an opening through the lower portion of the end wall of the car into such flue.

4. A container having a floor, a roof, and side and end walls, each of said walls being of a single thickness, a doorway in an end wall, an inwardly extending door jamb carried by said end wall, and a sheet secured to the inner edge of the door jamb, said sheet extending substantially parallel to said end wall to the side wall, to form a flue, said flue extending upwardly from a point adjacent the floor to a region below the roof, there being an opening through the wall of the container into the lower portion of the flue and the upper portion of the flue opening into the interior of the container.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

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