US2045154A - Flush car door - Google Patents

Description

June 3 JQE. LINDEMAN 2,045,154

FLUSH CAR DOOR Filed Feb. 29, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Bv-Tx J. E. L INDEMAN FLUSH CAR DOOR Fame 23, 1936 Fi led Feb. 29, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ET'IY June 23, 1936. J. E. LINDEMAN FLUSH CAR DOOR FiledFeb. 29, 1952 SJSheets-Sheet 5 Z/A/l/E/V TOE Jan 55 E. L/NDEMH/V Patented June 23, 1936 UNETED STATES FLUSH CAR DOOR James E. Lindeman, Chicago, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 29, 1932, Serial No. 595,843

16 Claims.

This invention rel-ates to doors for railway cars and concerns itself more particularly with flush car doors for refrigerator cars adapted to have lateral and longitudinal sliding movements relative thereto.

slidable doors for refrigerator cars employing vertical bars, provided at their ends with. crank portions for effecting lateral movement of such doors from and into door openings formed in the sides of said cars, are known. The doors are usually supported from these bars which, in turn, are sustained by hangers provided with rolling means having sliding movement upon a supporting track. In this type of door the ends of the crank portions of the bars are maintained against lateral movement relative to the car so that upon operation of said bars the main portions thereof, together with the door, move laterally away from the car side, the door being removed from its opening so as to be capable of sliding movement to open position. It is manifest that the length of each crank portion of the bars must be slightly in excess of half the depth of the part of the door received within the door opening to insure movement of said part of the door completely out of its opening. This requires positioning of the supporting track and the means to which the ends of the crank portions are secured a considerable distance from the car side witha resultant encroachment upon the tunnel clearance line, rendering the doors ineffective. The foregoing is particularly true of flush doors.

This invention has for an object the provision of slidable doors for refrigerator cars having bars provided with crank portions for moving said doors laterally with respect to said cars wherein the ends of said crank portions are supported by means having substantially less extent outwar-dly of said car than heretofore utilized.

A further object is the provision of slidable doors for refrigerator cars having bars provided with crank portions positioned, respectively, above and below said doors and effective to move said doors laterally partially out of their door openmgs.

A further object is to provide slidable doors for refrigerator cars adapted to the received within openings provided in said cars, said doors having lateral displacement parallel to said cars during its initial movement and swinging displacement relative to said cars in the completion of its movement.

A further object is to provide slidable doors for refrigerator cars adapted to be received within door openings provided in said cars and having one or more vertical operating bars movable bodily laterally relative to said cars.

A further object is to provide doors for refrigerator cars supported upon tracks for lateral and. longitudinal movement relative to said cars and provided with operating bars capable of vertical 7 movement to engage and disengage said track.

Other objects will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a refrigerator car embodying the door of the instant invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 22 of Figure 1. V

Figure 3 is a vertical section similar to Figure 2, showing the door in open position in front of the door opening.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the right hand portion of the door and of the car adjacent thereto, showing the intermediate and final positions assumed by the door when moved from closed to open position.

Figure 7 is a broken enlarged view of one of the operating bars.

Figure 8.is a plan View of the top crank portion of the operating bar.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view of the operating bar looking toward the left in Figure 7 and. showing the position of the pivotally supported olevis of the crank portion and the door shown in dot and dash lines in full open position.

Figure 10 is a horizontal section taken on line Ill-H1 of Figure '7.

Figure 11 is a horizontal section taken on line H|| of Figure '7.

Figure 12 is an end elevation of a door hanger, showing the swingable arm thereof.

Figure 13 is .a horizontal section taken on line l3|3 of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a plan view of the door bracket employed adjacent the left hand end'of the door.

Figure 15 is an elevation of the bracket shown in Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a plan view of the right hand bracket.

Figure 17 is an elevation of the bracket shown in Figure 16.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a car door Ill adapted to be received in its entirety within a door opening I I provided in the side of a refrigerator car 12. Both the car and. the door may be insulated in any desired manner. The door opening which tapers inwardly is provided around the top and sides thereof with weatherproofing material l3, adapted to coact with the door, the margins of which are correspondingly tapered, to prevent the transmission of air between the door and its opening.

The door illustrated is supported for movements both laterally from and into its door opening and longitudinally relative to the refrigerator car. For this purpose a track [4 is secured to the side of the car l2 preferably, though not necessarily, above the door opening H. In the embodiment of the invention shown the track takes the form of a Z-bar l5 secured through one vertically positioned flange E5 to the car. The web I! of the track is positioned horizontally and the other flange l8 thereof extends downwardly.

The web ll of the track provides a tread upon which the hanger 25 is adapted to be supported for sliding movement through the agency of a roller 2! carried thereby. The hanger 25 extends downwardly on the outside of the flange I8 and is provided with an inwardly extending portion 22, carrying a roller 23 adapted to engage the underside of the web I? to prevent frictional binding between said hanger and the track. A lobe 24 extends downwardly from said hanger and provides support for a swinging arm 25. As best illustrated in Figure 12 of the drawings, said arm is adapted to be retained upon the lobe 24 by means of a plug 25 riveted to the bifurcated ends 21 of the horizontal portion of said arm by means of which the arm is assembled with the lobe. As illustrated in Figure 1 0f the drawings preferably two hangers of the character described are employed with each door.

A plurality of brackets are secured to said door adjacent the upper horizontal margin thereof. The left hand bracket 28 is adapted to cooperate with the left hand hanger and the right hand bracket 29 cooperates with the right hand hanger. The bracket 28 is provided with an attaching portion 30 through which bolts or the like are adapted to extend to secure said bracket to the 'door. Formed preferably integral with the bracket 28 is a. guideway 3i positioned in a groove 32 provided in the upper margin of the door. The guideway 31 extends at an angle to the door and is provided with inwardly directed overhanging flanges 33--34. The guideway 3| is adapted to receive the free end of the vertical portion of the arm 25, said arm being positioned in said guideway through the open end 35. The vertical portion of the arm 25 is provided at its end with an enlargement 36 adapted to be engaged with the overlapping flanges 33-34, whereby the door is supported by the hanger.

The door bracket 29 is provided with an attaching portion 3! through which said bracket may be secured to the door. The bracket 29 is provided with a guideway 38 inclined relative to the door similar to the guideway 3| provided on'the bracket 28. The guideway 38 is adapted to be received within the groove 39 provided in the upper margin of the door and receives the lower end of the vertical portion of the arm 25 of the corresponding hanger in order to support the door therefrom. The guideway 38 is formed with overhanging flanges 4!] and 4| and the open end 42 thereof, as well as the open end 35 of the guideway 3| may be closed after assembly with the arms 25 of the hangers 20 so as to prevent disengagement between said arms and said guideways. The bracket 28 is provided with a semicylindrical portion 43 and the bracket 29 is provided with a corresponding portion 44 adapted to receive and retain operating bars positioned adjacent the opposite vertical margins of the door for rotating and sliding movement relative to the door.

Each operating bar 45 comprises preferably a metal pipe member 46 to the opposite ends of which crank portions 471 and 48 are secured. The crank portion secured to the upper end of the bar 45 comprises a vertical member 49 extending into the pipe 45 and secured thereto as by rivets 55. A substantially horizontal member 5|, preferably formed integral with the member 49, extends therefrom and is provided with a clevis 52 having a shank portion 53 extending through an opening 54 provided in the member 5i and capable of swiveling in said opening. The clevis 52 has spaced projections 55 and 56 extending upwardly therefrom, the projection 55 being longer than the projection 55 for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. It is to be observed that the end of the shank portion 53 of the clevis is inclined and that this inclination is the same as that of the upper margin of the door. The projections 55 and 56 are adapted to engage opposite sides of the flange ill of the track I 4, the longer projection 55 lying outwardly of said flange and the projection 56 lying inwardly of said flange.

The crank portion 45 is secured to the lower end of the operating bar 45 by means of a member 51 extending into the pipe 45 as by rivets 58. A horizontal member 59 extends from the member 51 and carries a lug 65. The lug 65 on each of the crank portions 48 is adapted in the closed position of the door to be received within guideways 6l62 formed in keepers 63-54 secured to the car below the door opening adjacent the lower ends of the bars 45. One side of the horizontal members 59 of the crank portions 48 is cut away as indicated at 65 for a reason which will appear later.

The operating bar is flattened for a portion of its length and received within a bracket 65 secured to the door. It is to be understood that the bracket 66 is so designed as to permit both vertical and rotational movements of the bar. Pivotally secured to the flattened portion of the bar is an operating lever 57 by means of which the bar may be rotated. One end of the operating lever adjacent its pivotal connection with the bar 45 is bifurcated as clearly shown in Figure 10 of the drawings. The bifurcated portions 58-69 of the operating lever are in the form of cams adapted to fulcrum upon bearings 18 and 1| supported by the bracket 65. The stationary handle 12 is secured to the door.

To move the door II] from its fully closed position shown in Figure 1 of the drawings the latching device 13, which may be of any desired construction, is released and the operating levers 61 swung in a substantially horizontal plane away from each other. Rotation of the operating bars 45 is thus efiected and in view of the engagement between the crank portions 41 and 48 of said bars with the track I4 and the keepers 63-64 the door will be moved laterally partially out of the door opening H. It is to be observed that during this movement of the door the crank portions 41 and 48 will adjust themselves relative to the track and the guideways 6l62 formed in the keepers B3-64 to permit the door to move bodily parallel to the car. In view of the fact that the length of the horizontal members 5| and 59 of the crank portions 41 and 48 is less than half of the depth of the door opening it will be apparent that the door will not be moved entirely out of the opening. During this lateral movement of the door the hangers 20 will remain stationary upon the track while the arm 25 will adjust itself by swinging substantially through an arc of ninety degrees to permit said arm to slide along the guideways 3| and 38 provided onthe door- brackets 28 and 29. Inasmuch as the operating levers 6'! have been swung during this movement ofthe door. through one hundred-andeighty degrees the horizontal members 5| and 59 of the crank portions 41 and 48' will also swing.

through-one hundred and eighty degrees. The position. of the door will then be as indicated by the dot. and'dash lines in Figure 6 of the drawings. It will be observed that the arms 25 have moved from the outer endof the guideways of the .door' brackets to the inner end thereof and that said arms have swung from the initial position illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings to the position illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. During this movement of the door the projections 55. :and 56 of the clevis member 52 remain engaged with the flange 18 of the track M and the lug 60, and the crank portions 48 lie at the open ends of the guideways 6 I 62 formed in the keepers 63-64.

Upon release of the operating levers 61 they will swing to a vertical position and depend from their pivotal connection with the operating bars '45. As the levers assume their vertical position the bifurcated cam ends thereof move relative to the fillers Tilll upon which they are fulcrumed was to permitlowering of the operating bars 45. The bars are lowered to such an extent that the projection 56 lies below the flange l8- of the track. Upon grasping the stationary handle '12 an outward force may be exerted upon the door whereupon said door will swing upon the arms 25 of the hangers 20 and the movement of the door out-0f its opening will be completed. The final position of the door is indicated in full lines in Figure 6 and it will be apparent from this figure that the operating bars 45 have moved bodily away from the car. In this position of the door it will lie under the shank portion 53 of the clevis member 52 which, as heretofore indicated, is tapered similarly to the upper margin of the door and by engagement therewithprevent swiveling of said clevis member in the horizontal member 5|. The lugs 60 formed on the crank portions 48 will clear the keepers 63E4 during this outward swinging movement of the door. In view of the: fact thatthe last step'in' the outward movement of the door from its opening is efiected by swinging the arm 25 it it manifest that the door will have a longitudinal displacement relative to the car. This displacement in the final movement of the door from its opening is utilized to effect engagement of upper and lower guide brackets 14 and 15, respectively,

one of each of which is illustrated with guideways 16 and TI provided preferably by means of metallic inserts l8 and lilin the upper and lower margins, respectively, of the door. may then be moved upon the hangers longitudinally of the car to open position.

In the closing movement of the door the above defined steps are reversed. The door is moved longitudinally relative to the car, the movement of the door toward closed position being. limited by means of a stop 80 secured preferably to the track until the door is positioned in front of the door opening. The door is then forced partially into the door opening until it is stopped by engagement between the projection 55 on the clevis member 52' and the depending flange H! of the track. During this inward movement of the door into the door openingthe horizontal member 59 of the lower crank portions 48 will clear the adjacent ends of the keepers 6364 because The door.

members. During this movement the door will, of course, swing upon the arms 25 of the hangers. The operating levers 61 are then graspedandmoved from their vertical position to a'horizontal position and during this movement the cams at the bifurcated ends of the levers will fulcrum upon the fillers 1i) and i! so as to elevate the ofthe: shapeof the portions. 65 of the horizontal.

bars and cause the projections 55 and 56 to again engage the flange i8 of the track. The 1e-' vers 61 are then swung toward each other into position against the door, whereupon the door is completely moved into its opening. The levers may then be engaged by the fastening device 13.

While, for purposes of illustration, a top supported door has been shown it is clear that the invention is applicable as readily to a bottom supported door.

Numerous changes and modifications in the details of the structural embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled'in the art. It is intended, consequently, to comprehend all such changes and modifications within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the 'claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be received in said opening, a horizontal track secured to said car side in spaced relation to said door opening, means for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track and means comprising a rotatable bar for movingsaid door laterally, said bar being provided with a crank portion embodying a swivel member having projections adapted to engage opposite sides of a flangev provided on said track.

2. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be received in said opening, a horizontal track securedto saidcar side in spaced relation to said door opening,

means for supporting. said door for longitudinal movement upon said track and means comprising a rotatable bar for moving said door laterally, said bar being provided with a crank portion embodying a swivel member having projections adapted to engage opposite sides ofa flange provided on said track, the projection adapted to engage the outer side of said flange being longer than the projection adapted to engage the inner side thereof.

3. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be received in said opening, a horizontal track secured to said car side in spaced relation to said door opening, means for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track and means comprising a rotatable bar provided with a crank portion embodying a horizontal member and a ver-' tical member swivelly connected to said horizontal member and engageable with said track, said crank portion being adapted for moving said door laterally, said bar being movable bodily laterally relative to said track whereby to effect lateral engagement and disengagement between said vertical member and said track. 4.. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car side in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, means for moving said door laterally partly from said door opening and means provided on said hangers for completing the movement of said door from said opening.

5. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car side in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, means for moving said door bodily parallel to said car side partly from said door opening and means provided on said hangers for swinging said door entirely from said opening.

6. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car side in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, means for moving said door laterally partly from said door opening and means provided on said hangers for swinging said door entirely from said door opening.

7. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, said door being provided with a guideway, guide means secured to said car side, a track secured to said car side in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, means for moving said door laterally partly from said door opening and means provided on said hangers for swinging said door entirely from said door opening, said guide means engaging said guideway in the swinging movement of said door.

8. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car side in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, means comprising an operating bar engaging said track for moving said door laterally partly from said door opening, means for disengaging said bar from said track and means provided on said hangers for completing the movement of said door from said opening.

9. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, each of said hangers comprising a swingable arm, brackets provided with guideways secured to said door, said arms extending into said guideways for the purpose set forth.

10. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said opening, hangers for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, each of said hangers comprising a swingable arm, brackets provided with guideways secured to said door, said arms extending into said guideways for the purpose set forth, said guideways being similarly inclined at an angle relative to said door.

11. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, a track secured to said car side above the opening, hangers supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track, vertical operating bars slidably and rotatably retained upon said door and provided with crank portions at the ends thereof, keepers secured to said car above and. below said door engageable with said crank portions, lever means operable in a substantially horizontal plane for actuating said bars to move said door laterally partly from said opening, means for sliding said bars vertically to disengage one of the crank ends thereof from the corresponding keepers and means provided on said hangers for completing the movement of said door from the opening and for disengaging the other of the crank ends from their corresponding keepers.

12. In a refrigerator car having a door opening, in combination, a door adapted to be positioned in said opening, means supporting said door for longitudinal sliding movement relative to said car and means for moving said door laterally from said door opening, said means comprising a rotatable, vertically reciprocable bar, a lever pivoted to said bar, a cam formed on one end of said lever and means provided on said door adapted to serve as a fulcrum for said cam, whereby swinging movement of said lever in a vertical plane will impart vertical movement to said bar.

13. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be seated in said opening, and means for imparting lateral movement to said door relative to said door opening, said means comprising a rotatable bar carried by said door for elevating and lowering movements having a member eccentrically mounted for swiveling movement upon one end thereof, means secured to said car for engagement with said member in the elevated position of the bar to prevent lateral movement of said member relative to said car, said bar in its lowered position being disengaged from said means and means for elevating said bar.

14. A railway freight car having a door opening, a track secured to said car in spaced relation to one of the horizontal margins of said door opening, a door, means capable of longitudinal movement upon said track for supporting said door and means comprising a rotatable bar for imparting lateral movement to said door, said bar being provided with a crank engageable with said track, said crank being bodily displaceable laterally for disengagement from said track.

15. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be received in said opening, a horizontal track secured to said car side in spaced relation to said door opening, means for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track and means comprising a rotatable bar provided with a crank portion en gaging said track for moving said door laterally, said bar being movable bodily laterally relative to said track whereby to efiect lateral engagement and disengagement between said crank portion and said track.

16. In combination, a car side having a door opening, a door adapted to be received in said opening, a horizontal track secured to said car side in spaced relation to said door opening, means for supporting said door for longitudinal movement upon said track and means comprising a rotatable bar for moving said door laterally, said bar being provided with a crank portion at one end thereof, said crank portion comprising a horizontally disposed member, the free end of said horizontally disposed member carrying a vertically disposed member swivelly mounted therein.

JAMES E. LINDEMAN.

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