US2001103A - Means for actuating folding doors - Google Patents

Description

MEANS FOR AGTUAIING FOLDING DOORS Filed June 20, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 LL gwwnfoz EDMUND G. MATHAUEE May 14, 1935.

E. G. MATHAUER MEANS FOR ACTUATING FOLDIiIG DOORS Filed June 20, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwumlto'c EDMUND G. MATHAUEE aka z mu:

May 14, 1935- E. G. MATHAUER MEANS FOR ACTUATING FOLDING DOORS Filed June 2 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet s EDMUND G. MATHAUEE Patented May 14, 1935 ulvrrnn STATES MEANS FOR ACTUATING FOLDING DOORS Edmund G. Mathauer,

Philadelphia, Pa., as-

signor to American Car and Foundry Motors Company, New York, N. Y'., a corporation of Delaware Application June 20, 1933, Serial No. 676,648

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in means for actuating the folding doors of buses and. other vehicles, and comprises doors adapted when in normal closed position 5 to rest in alinement with. the side walls of the vehicle, and when in open position, to occupy a. position outwardly beyond. said normal line and being folded one upon the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple, powerful and. economical means for actuating the doors to open and closed positions comprising a pneumatically actuated engine positionedpreferably under the floor of the: ve-

hicle and relatively at one side of the step well leading from the normal floor of the vehicle to the ground.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a broken side elevational view'of a vehicle, a passenger bus in the present instance, equipped with the in.- vention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view, the section being taken. relatively on the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Figure 3 is a sectional view, the section being taken on. the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is. a: sectional view, the section. being. taken relatively on the line. 4--4 of Figure: 3'.

' Figure 5 a plan view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, certain parts being shown. in section.

Figure 6 is. a fragmentary plan View, partly in. section, the section being taken. on lineG-G of Figure 1.

It has been conventional. practice in buses of In modern practice the doors are opened and closed usually by pneumatically actuated engines which are connected in some manner with 50. the doors, to open and close the same, These with the housing enclosing such door actuating mechanism and experience has shown that frequent claims for damages have been made because of accidental contact of passengers headgear or their heads with such housing.

'I'o obviate the disadvantages referred to, this invention provides means including pneumatically actuated engines connected directly with the doors and so positioned as to be entirely out of sight of passengers and. in such position that accidental contact therewith is obviated.

To that end the system illustrated in the accompanying drawings is employed, in which A, A B, 13 indicate compressed air conduits which are connected. to opposite ends of the cylinders of pneumatically operated engines I, which engines are equipped with pistons 2., piston rods 3, relief valves 4,. and links or extensions 5, which are pivotallyconnected at 6, directly to the piston rods 3, said links having extensions 1, which are pivotally connected withv the brackets 8 secured directly to the inner faces of. those leaves of the folding doors which are nearest in alinement with. the engines referred to.

Included in the system an engine M which may be the one used to propel the vehicle, and may be. positioned as shown. or elsewhere. Driven by the engine M is an air compressor C connected by conduit I16 to the. compr ssed. air cylinder ID, from which leads a conduit II to an air control valve [2, which may be a conventional four-way valve of the: type illustrated in Patent 999,246 of August 1,. 1911,. or may be of any suitable construction adapted. for the pur-' pose.

As is conventional with this type of. valves, an exhaust outlet I3 is provided, and. from one sidev of the valve extends the conduit A which supplies: air to the engines of both the front and the rear doors, said conduit comprising the branches A, A, from which lead the branches A A A A directly to the rear or inner ends of the engines I. The branch conduit B from the valve [2, leads through the branch lines B B to the front or outer ends of said engines so that when the valve I 2 is thrown to open communication from the compressed air cylinder l, air may be sent either to the inner or outer end of each of said engines I, and if sent to the ihner end, the piston 2 will be driven outwardly, that is, in the direction of the doors, thereby, through the pis ton rod 3, link and extension 1, forcin the doors outwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2.

When it is desired to close the doors, the control handle I4 is shifted so as to cut of! the air supply from the conduit A, A and direct the compressed air through the conduit .8, B. To facilitate operation of the engine, relief valves 4-4 of conventional design are provided at each end of the engine cylinder so that when compressed air is not being sent from the compressed air valve it may exhaust backwardly through the, connected conduits, the valve I2 and the exhaust I3.

The drivers seat I5 is shown in a convenient position to readily enable the driver to control the handle I4 without leaving his seat.

For convenience, the engines are housed below the normal or main floor line indicated in dotted lines at H in Figure l and shown in plan in Figure 2. If desired, the engine may be housed in a sheet metal casing I8, shown in elevation in Figure 3.

Preferably the step well opening is made wider for my invention than would be a normal step well so that the engines may occupy the positions shown in Figure 2 without restricting unnecessarily the area of the step wells.

Preferably also, the floor I1 is carried across above that portion of the step well in which the engines are positioned, as shown in Figure 3, and over the normal floor is secured an anti-slip tread 9 of conventional design, well known in the art, which anti-slip tread also extends above the engines and their housings in the preferred construction.

As will be obvious from the showing in Figure 2, the conduits A, A, B, B and II and the compressed air cylinder I0 are concealed beneath the floor I'I.

As the control valve I2 is within the vehicle and about on a level with the steering wheel (not shown), it is obvious that a short length of each conduit I I, A and B from below the floor to the valve I2, is exposed within the vehicle though said conduits are below the floor for the greater part of their length.

Figure 6 illustrates certain parts on a larger scale than in Figure 2. For example, the door post E, door D, pneumatic engine I, link 5, extension 1, and connection 8 with the door.

From the disclosure in this figure it will be seen that the brackets 8 are sufilciently removed from the pintle 24 of the door' hinge 25 to permit easy operation of the door.

Looped about the pintle 24 the hinge straps 25 and 26 are secured, by means not shown, respectively to the door post E and to the next adjacent door section. To position the piston and piston rod of the engine in alinement with the hinge member 8, the spacing block 26 is provided as shown in Figure 6.

Features of merit in the device hereinbefore described when compared with devices for a similar apparatus now on the market, are found to be as follows: (a) Weight-the weight per vehicle of the apparatus described in the present application is about one hundred pounds less than the weight of comparative equipment now on the market where the latter is placed in a cabinet above the doors and applicants device is placed in the step well. (b) The comparative cost of applicants device and other devices on the market is as follows: Applicant's device located in step well, less than one-half the cost of competing devices and will produce a saving of nearly three times its cost when compared with similar devices in which a cabinet for the operating mechanism is provided above the doors to be operated including the cost of the cabinet.

The device of applicant is now in service and has demonstrated that itis both eificient and durable as well as economical in production.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the best embodiment of the invention has been described, but it is to be understood that the drawings are only illustrative and that the invention could be carried out by other means, for example, the arrangement of parts can be modified by placing the engine in a position under the main floor back of the step well, as for example in Figure 2, between the conduits A A as shown at the right hand side of that figure, in which case the conduits A and B could be shortened somewhat, but it would be necessary to lengthen the connection from the piston to the door.

What I claim is:

1. In a vehicle provided with a doorway and a step well, hinged doors normally closing said doorway, a floor for the vehicle, parallel housings at opposite sides of said step well, floor extensions covering said housings, and door operating means enclosed in said housings and being operably connected to the hinged doors at points spaced from the-passageway whereby an unobstructed entrance is provided.

2. The substance of claim 1 characterized in that the door operating means is in the form of power motors which have arms extending through the housing and directly connected to the doors at points adjacent their hinges.

EDMUND G. MATHAUER.

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