US2300259A

US2300259A - Sealed engine container

Info

Publication number: US2300259A
Application number: US328332A
Authority: US
Inventors: Albert E Kueppers
Original assignee: Wright Aeronautical Corp
Current assignee: Wright Aeronautical Corp
Priority date: 1940-04-06
Filing date: 1940-04-06
Publication date: 1942-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1959-10-27

Description

Oct. 27, 1942. A E, KUEPPERS 2,300,259

SEALED ENGINE CONTAINER Filed April 6, 1940 TTU-LP' Patented Oct. 27, 1942 SEALED CONTAINER Albert E. Kueppers, Paterson, N. J., assignor to Wright Aeronautical Corporation, a. corporation of New York Application April 6, 1940, Serial No. 328,332

(Cl. 20G-46) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to shipping containers and particularly to a metallic packing case for machine assemblies such as radial cylinder aircraft engines. Previous practice in packing and shipping engines of the above mentioned type has consisted in securing the engine upon a mounting plate which in turn is bolted to a wooden table forming part of the bottom of a Wooden packing case, the edges of the case bottom having attachment points for the case top which is dropped over the engine and is firmly secured to the case bottom. Thereafter, handling of the case must be eiected by rope slings or special vehicular equipment. Since the engine is approximately 50 inches in diameter and anywhere from'60 to 'l0 inches long, it is apparent that a rectangular wooden packing case to accommodate it is a very bulky object measuring generally, about ft. to 6 ft. square and 6 to 7 ft. high. Since the engines are shipped Iby rail or boat, the case must be very sturdy and accordingly is fabricated with great care and of high grade materials, and a further requirement is that when engines are shipped in these cases by boat, the case must be completely lined with waterproof material and the engine itself must be well covered with an anti-rust compound. By changes in temperature of the atmosphere, there is a certain amount of breathing of air into and out of the case, tending to increase the moisture content therein which, unless proper protection is given to the parts, obviously will cause corrosion and rust. The Wooden packing cases above described must be of such sturdy construction that they Weigh a great deal-of the order of 1,000 pounds or more.

Itis an object of this invention to provide a metallic packing case suitable for aircraft engines which may be tted more closely to the outline of the engine thus to occupy conside.'- ably less bulk and also to provide a metal casing which may be hermetically sealed to prohibit the entrance of moistureand to avoid the necessity for the previously necessary anti-rusting preparation.

Another object is to provide a metallic engine container which is relatively light in weight but structurally of suicient strength to safelyl carry the engine without danger of damage to the more or less delicate parts thereof when the packed engine is given' a normal, somewhat rough, handling common to transferring cargoes to and from ships and rail equipment.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sealed, leak-proof Econtainer which is floatable on Water with the engine packed therein. A case of this character may be floated ashore from ships instead of handled by rigging and lighters, which at times may be a great convenience.

It is appreciated that in the past steel drums have been used as containers for liquids and semi-solid compounds, fbut it is believed that the use of steel drums of the character hereinafter nested for compact shipping with an engine therein; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section through a portion of the container showing an alternative means for securing the container parts to one another.

A typical radial cylinder engine is shown in dotted lines at I0, and a conventional mounting provision for -the engine comprises a plurality of bosses II circmnferentially arranged around the principal axis of the engine. These bosses serve as a means for mounting the engine upon an aircraft and also serve as a means for mounting the engine upon a mounting member or plate I2 provided, as shown in Fig. 2, with a central cutout through which the rear section I3 of the engine may be passed and with lugs I4 registering with the bosses II so that the lugs and bosses may Abe secured by bolts I5. The member I2 is preferably of circular form concentric with the engine axis, and is of a diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of the engine, the periphery of the plate having a plurality of bolt holes, as shown.

The packing container per se comprises a central section I6 of drum form with flanges I9 at each end, and endA sections Il and I8 of cup form which have flanges 20 and 2| at their open ends, the diameter of the several sections I6, I1, and I8 being suilicient to embrace the engine and of a dia-meter equal tothe diameter of the plate I2. When the engine is to be packed, the bottom cup section I'I is placed on its end on the floor, the plate I2 is disposed on the open end clamp the flanges I9 and 20 securely against the gaskets and mounting plate. Now, if the engine has considerable overhang from the mounting plate, a steadying bushing 28 may be placed over the engine propeller shaft and a guide plate 29 slipped over the bushing, said plate, having al periphery similar to the plate I2 so that it rests upon the upper flange of the plate IB. Thereafter, the member I8 is assembled, as shown, and is bolted at its flanges to the upper flange of the drum I6 so that the plate 29 is rmly secured. It will be obvious that the engine is rigidly supported within the drum and that the drum is a unitary structure which may be readily handled by conventional slings or other handling equipment. To facilitate drum handling, the end sections II and I8 may be provided with lifting eyes 3I to receive hooks of lifting equipment. For local handling, the drum may readily be rolled upon its flanges without the necessity of special truck equipment which has heretofore been necessary, and the drum may be upended for unpacking by a simple hoist which will subsequently be used to lift the engine out of the case when the case has been opened.

It is obvious that when assembled, the drum comprises a leak-proof, hermetically sealed, container. Preliminary designs of the drum contemplate the use of 1%" or 1/4 boiler plate or the like which will give adequate strength to the assembly without excessive weight, the weight of the drum suitable for the conventional engine being of the order of 900 pounds which is less than the weight of material necessary for the conventional wooden rectangular case. In the drawing, the thickness of material forming the drum is exaggerated.

As a further convenience, in shipping the containers empty, I contemplate making the drum section I6 of full diameter with the end sections Il and I8- of suiciently smaller external/diameter so that they will sleeve into the drum section in the manner shown in Fig. 3, so that the cubical content of an empty drum, ready for shipment, is only one-third as great as the cubical content of the container when the engine is packed therein. The end sections I'I and I8 may have cylindrical sides, as shown, or alternately may be of conical shape so that they nest one within the other.

For a drum of the size contemplated, namely, about 60 inches in diameter, it is apparent that, With 1%" or 1/4 material, a great number of securing bolts 25 would have to be used in order to hermetically seal the flanges. The large plurality of bolts may be readily secured or removed by the use of power driven speed wrenches which are now commercially available but if desired, an alterriate means of securing the flanges may be utilized after the manner of Fig. 4 which eliminates nearly all of the flange bolts. In Fig. 4, the case sections I6 and I8' correspond to the sections I 6 and I8 of Fig. 1, and the mounting plate 29 is placed between bulb anges 34 and 35 of the case sections. An annular inturned split channel member 36 is snapped around the drum flanges and is of such width as to force the flanges 34 and 35 firmly against the edge of the plate 29 and the Agaskets which would be used between the flanges and plate, the annulus being readily assembled by progressively beating it over the flanges with a. mallet or the like. When the annulus fully embraces the flanges, it may be given additional security against inadvertent displacement by one or more through bolts 31 which pass through appropriate holes drilled through the annulus flanges, through the drum flanges, and through the mounting plate. Preferably, about four or five such bolts would be used, one adjacent each end of the split' annulus 34, and two or three spaced around the periphery of the drum to serve as locaters for the plate 29 and the drum sections against relative radial displacement. Alternate clamping means for the drum sections will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, but it is be- @section I'I at the point where the lifting eye 3I is located.

lieved that the two clamping means shown in Figs. 1 and 4 would be both practical and appropriate for an arrangement of this character.

As shown in Fig. 3, the smaller end section I9 of the packing case is provided with a recess 38 to receive the reentrant portion of the drum In engines which do not havegreat overhang from their mounting planes, the steadying bushing 28 and the plate 29 maybe redundant in which case they may be omitted and the flanges of the drum sections I6 and I8 secured directly to one another gfith only a single gasket therebetween.

It will be seen that a drum of the character shown may be tted much more closely to the external dimensions of an engine than the Wooden rectangular packing cases of prior practice so that the total volume occupied by the packed container will be substantially less than was heretofore necessary. This is a distinct advantage particularly in ship transportation, since bulk is as much of a factor in determining freight rates as is weight-the usual ship ton is either 2,000 pounds or 40 cubic feet, whichever is reached first, so that a saving of from 20% to 40% in volume will afford a. corresponding saving in shipping cost.

As to flotation of a packed container, there is ample margin since the packet weight of the engine will be approximately 3,000 pounds where the displacement of an equal volume of water would be of the order of 8,000 pounds.

While I have described my invention in detail in its present preferred embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding my invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the` spirit or scope thereof. I aim in the appended claims to cover all such modications and changes.

I claim as my invention:

1. A metallic cylindrical drum container comprising cylindrical parts securable at their edges to one another, whereby the drum when opened parts between its ends, a mounting plate to which a packed article is secured having a perforated peripheral portion engageable between the edges of said cylindrical parts, said cylindrical part edges comprising perforate flanges, and bolts passing through the plate and ange perforations securing the flanges and mounting plate periphery together.

2. A metallic cylindrical drum container comprising cylindrical parts securable at their edges to one another, whereby the drum when opened parts between its ends, a mounting plate to which a packed article is secured. having a peripheral portion engageable between the edges of said cylindrical parts, said cylindrical part edges comprising annular flanges between which the mounting plate is disposed, and means to clamp the ilanges and plate against relative displacement comprising a plurality of bolts or the like passing through the anges and plate.

3. A metallic cylindrical drum container comprising cylindrical parts securable at their edges to one another, whereby the drum when opened parts between its ends, a mounting plate to which a packed article is secured, having a peripheral portion engageable between the edges of said cylindrical parts, said cylindrical part edges comprising annular flanges betweeny which the mounting plate is disposed, and a clamp band embracing the flanges and securing them against relative displacement.

4. A metallic cylindrical drum container comprising cylindrical parts securable at their edges to one another, whereby the drum when opened parts between its ends, a mounting plate to which a packed article is secured, having a peripheral portion engageable between the edges of said cylindrical parts, and means wrapped around and secured to the edges of the cylindrical parts for holding the parts and the mounting plate together as a unitary assembly.

5. A packing case for a radial aircraft engine comprising acircular mounting member secured to the engine substantially concentric therewith, a circular pilot member loosely engaging the concentric. power shaft at the front of the engine, a drum embracing the engine and engaging at its ends with said members, cup elements covering the front and rear of the engine and engaging at their edges with respective members, and means to secure said members, drum and elements to one another to comprise a unitary carrying case for said engine.

6. A packing case for radial aircraft engine comprising a circular mounting member secured to the engine substantially concentric therewith, a circular pilot member loosely engaging the concentric power shaft at the front of the engine, a drum embracing the engine and engaging at its ends with said members, cup elements covering the front and rear of the engine and engaging at .their edges with respective members, and means to secure said members, drum and elements to one another to comprise a unitary carrying case for said engine, said cups andl drum edges comprising flanges, and said securing meanscomprising bolts engaging and clamp ing the flanges upon the members.

7. A packing case for a radial aircraft engine comprising a circular mounting member secured to the engine `substantially concentric therewith, a circular pilot member loosely engaging the concentric power shaft at the front of the engine, a drum embracing the engine and engaging at its ends with said members. cup elements covering the front and rear of the engine and engaging at their edges with respective members, and means to secure said members, drum and elements to one another to comprise a unitary carrying case for said engine, said cups and drum r edges comprising flanges, and said securing