US2317985A - Demountable freight container - Google Patents

Description

May 4, 1943. B. F. FITCH ErAL 2,317,985.

DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER m Mx y* l 92 BY MR, 92 o foo 90 +4 @ign vWmnoRNEYJ. l

May 4,1943- B. F. FITCH Erm. 4 3l-7,985

DEMOUNTABLE FRIIGI'I' CONTAINER u Filed Aug. 2; 1940' s sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEYS May 4, l943 B. F. FITCH ETAL 2,317,985

DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER Filed Aug. 2. 1949 s sheets-sheet s mvENToRJ.

mi A

www, MATTO' EYS Patented May 4, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEMOUNTABLE rumeur CONTAINER Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn., and Ragnar A. Norbom, New York, N. Y., assignors to National Fitch Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application October 13, 1939, Serial No. 299,328. Divided and this application August 2, 1940, Serial No. 349,699

3 Claims. (C1. 98-6) This application is a division of our copending application, Serial No. 299,328, filed October'lB, 1939, showing a demountable container and a truck body adapted to carry package freight and mounted interchangeably on a highway truck or railway car.

The body is so constructed Vthat it may be lifted with its load by suitable hoisting mechanism for transfer from one Vehicle to another, or may be horizontally skidded from vehicle to vehicle, as desired. One object of the invention is to provide a body in a form whichv shall be strong and stiff and adapted for construction in large dimensions, and at the same time shall be comparatively light to reduce the unpaid weight to be carried.

The present application is concerned With features of the body which provide for ventilation of the interior. This is accomplished by a special formation of the floor and roof of the body, which enables air to pass upwardly from beneath the body, through the interior and out through the roof. For claims on other features of the body herein disclosed reference is made to our parent application above-mentioned.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our container; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan just above the floor, as indicated by the line 2 2 on Fig.1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-'section on a larger scale in a plane indicated by the line 4-4 on Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of theV floor frame in a plane at right angles to Fig. 4, as indicated by the line 5 5 on Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is avertical section through one of the end walls ofA the container as indicated by the line 6-'6 on Fig. 3, and Fig. 7 is a Vertical cross-section through a portion of one of the side walls, and the roof of the body is indicated by the line '1 -'I onFig. -1.

The above views are duplicates of corresponding views in our parent application referredto, and hence disclose matters not herein claimed, but for the sake of completeness, we will describe the entire construction shown, as well `as the' particular features with which this application is 'concerned'and which will be 'found illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 7.

Referring rst'to Figs.' l, 2 and 3, III designates'the floor frame of the body carrying suitable iiooring, designates the side walls of the body, 39 the end walls connectedA with the vside walls at the corners. Both the side walls' and end walls extend downwardly about the floor frame, tolwhich they are secured; 40 indicates an arched roofconnected vto the side walls and end walls. A pair of side doors (each door composed of two panels hinged together) and a corresponding pair of end `doors at their ends, are provided.

Suitable lift hooks are provided at the eaves, two on each side connected with the sides and floor frame by a bracing to allow the body to be lifted with a heavy contained load, for transference from Aone vehicle to another.` Also, on the underside of the floor frame are` skid rails 9i?,v which in this instance are arranged transversely of the body and enable it to be readily transferred by surface interchange from vehicle to vehicle, the floor frame having side sockets i Il for'the attachment of push-and-pull bars to effect the surface interchange.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the floor frame of the body is made up of longitudinal side sills I2, end'sills I3, transverse beams, some single as at I/i, andV others double, as at I5, and diagonal horizontal bracing I6.- Theside and end sills areV angle plates withv horizontal and vertical flanges, and the end jsills further include channel members 39. Both side and end sills are reinforced by the side and 'end plates of Athe body, as hereinafter explained. f

lThe transverse beams I4 of the floor frame may be I-beams. The transverse beams i5, which forni the main cross-members of the floor frame comprise two outwardly facing channels spaced apart as shown in'Fig. 5, connected together by bolts I'I passing through their webs and through an intermediate wooden distance strip I8 eX-r tending lengthwise `of the channels and flush with them at the top.

The floor planking I l is made in comparatively.

short sections extending lengthwise of the body and rests on the top flanges of the transverse beams I4 and I5 and is held in place by bolts I9 passingv downwardly through the planking and through the distance strips I8 of the transverse beams. At the ends vof the container the planks are held down by being bolted to the top flange of the sill channel 36, their end'sbeing protected by the'vertical flange'of the en'd sills I3, as shown in Fig. 6. This construction enables the ready removal andreplacement of anyiloor plank which becomes injured or worn in use. The heads of the bolts I9 are preferably sunk into the planking so as to leave a perfectly flush fioor and the nuts of the bolts are on the underside of the strips I8 and between the twochannel'beams I5,'Where they are protected but readily accessible.

It'will be seen from Figs. r2 and 4, that the floor planking II does not reach the sides of the container except at the doors. This leaves a ventilation space along the floor at each side. As the container is supported by skid rails located at spaced intervals beneath its bottom, as hereinafter described, there is suicient Vertical open space beneath the sides and ends to allow access of air to pass beneath the floor frame and up into the interior, and thereafter escape through openings in the roof, as hereinafter explained, thus furnishing effective and continuous ventilation.

The sides 2!! of the container are vertical metal plates engaged at their lower portions tov the outer faces of the side sills I2, and at their lower' ends bent beneath these sills and welded to them on both the vertical and horizontal regions of engagement. This makes a strong and rm construction, and at the same time is considerably lighter than an embodiment employing a standard channel beam of corresponding depth.

The end sill construction, which has been described, is illustrated in Fig. 6. The end plates outside of the door frame 30 extend downwardly into engagement with the upright flange of the sill member I3, to which these plates are welded. At the corners the side plates-20 and the end plates Sil are reinforced by vertical angle bars 29 welded to them as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8.

At their upper ends, the side plates 20 are flanged inwardly at 4I, in a direction slightly above horizontal, and provide a roof support which is reinforced by a plate 42 welded to the side and internal flange thereof. Resting on the flanges 4I, 42 is the roof 40. This roof may be of the construction shown and claimed in Patent No. 2,135,526, issued November 8, 1938, assigned to Motor Terminals, Inc. Such construction comprises transverse pipes 44 welded to the flanges 4I and corrugated sheeting resting Aon the pipes and welded to them. If a plurality of corrugated sheets is employed, each sheet overlaps the endmost corrugation of the adjacent sheet and then such parts may be effectively retained in place by being welded together or by a surmounting pipe vabove the two sheets which at its end is connected to the body side, as shown in the patent just mentioned.

Whether or not the outside pipes are employed, the construction of the underside of the roof sheeting is substantially fas shown in Figs. 6 and 7, which leaves ventilation space beneath the corrugated sheets and above the supporting plates 4I and 42. This space leads to the exterior of the body at the eaves. We have found the natural space for the corrugations is greater thanneeded for ventilation, and we therefore reduce this space and at the same time furnish a protection for the edges of the roof sheeting by bolting a longitudinal angle bar 46 (Fig. 7) on to the top of the sheeting at its edges. The downward flange o'f `this angle bar is of such depth as to leave just the desired space between it and the upper surface of the bent-in side plate 4l.

At the ends'of the body, Ithe corrugated sheets 45 are flanged downwardly, where they are secured by rivets 4l passing through an exterior reinforcing strip 48 and the downward flange of a transverse angle bar 49 which conforms to the curvature of the roof. The top plate 3| of the container end is secured to the vertical flange of this angle bar by the same rivets 41, and extends downwardly to the top of the doorway. The doorway at the top is completed by a transverse channel beam 32, facing downwardly, having its outer flange 33 abutting the inner face of the plate 3l, and its inner flange 34 lying on the inside of the end plates 3|] and welded to them, as shown in Fig. 6. The downwardly facing channels stillen the body ends and also provide a protection for the doors when closed. The top vertical end sheet 3i is bent outwardly at its lower edge to provide a water drip.

The end doors 35 are hinged to vertical Z-bars 3l, welded to the end plates 3U. These Z-bars at their upper ends abut the web of the cross-channel 32, and are there welded to it. The end doors, when closed, lie entirely beneath the channel beam 32, andare thus well within the extreme end boundary of the body provided by the end overhanging roof, and, hence, are not likely to be injured in transportation or handling of the body, should the end of one body strike another body or some obstruction.

At the sides, the wall is reinforced by a longitudinal Z-bar construction over the doorway, shown'as an angle bar 2| welded to the side plates 20, having an outwardly extending flange 22 which is welded to the inwardly extending flange of an underlying angle bar 23, having a downward flange 24. This construction not only stiifens the body side at the doorway, but provides a protection for the doors by extending transversely beyond them and provides a weather-tight shield for the doors when the doors are closed and then'raised in their own planes, as hereinafter explained, so that the upper ends extend into the channel provided by the stiifened plate 42, and the downward flange 24.

Between the side doorways and the ends of the body, we employ suitable bracing leading .from the eaves to the floor frame. As shown, this is comprised of vertical strips 26, and diagonal angle barsr21 flaring downwardly from points near the top of the strip 26 to regions comparatively near the end of the container and the doorway, respectively.`

The downwardly facing channels above the doorways at the sides and ends of the container, beside the wall-bracing and door-protecting effects heretofore mentioned, are alsoof use in locking the doors if the doors when closed are raised in their own plane into such channels. We have indicated at 80, in Figs. 1 and 3, leveroperated plunger devices adapted to shove upwardly on the doors to cause them to enter the channels, but such construction and operation is not claimed herein, but in a copending application of ours.

The lift hooks 50 heretofore mentioned may be removably anchoredin sockets 5I (Fig. 1), rigidly secured to the car sides, and to the braces 21. This feature is claimed in a copending application of ours. These hooks provide for lifting the body with its load by the attachment of suitable hoisting mechanism, the brace bars and sheets carrying the lifting stresses directly to the floor frame. Y

To enable the body Vto be transferred horizontally by a sk idding action, from one vehicle tofa'other,"we'provide' skid rails on the underside of the floor frame. ,In the embodiment illustrated, the horizontal shifting is intended to be transversely ofthe body, and, hence, the skid rails extend transversely. These rails are mounted on the underside of the floor frame, beneath the I-beams I4.

We claim: i Y

1. A container having a floor frame, side and endV walls secured thereto, flooring within the container supported by the oor frame and spaced at its edges from the side walls to provide ventilation space, corrugated roong with its ridges and valleys arranged transversely, said roofing being secured to the end walls and side Walls of the container and providing a ventilation space from the interior discharging adjacent the eaves of the container, and an angle bar secured to the top of the corrugated roong adjacent the end and extending downwardly beyond the edge and spaced above the side Walls to form a protection for the rooi and a controller for the Ventilation.

2. A container having a floor frame, side Walls and a roof, eave plates connecting the sides and roof and extending comparatively short distances inwardly into the container, means for admitting air into the interior adjacent the fioor, the roof being corrugated with its ridges and valleys arranged transversely, said rooi near its edges resting on said eave plates, whereby at the intermediate portion of the roof the downwardly facing corrugations are in communication with the interior and their ends are in communication with the exterior, and an angle bar extending lengthwise of the container adjacent the edge of the roof and having one flange extending over the top of the corrugations and another ilange extending downwardly across the ends of the corrugations and spaced at its lower edge above the eave plate.

3. A demountable container adapted for mounting interchangeably on a highway truck or railway car, said container having side walls, end walls, a floor, and a roof, said roof being corrugated with its ridges and valleys extending transversely, the ridges providing flues from the interior of the container open atthe end of the ridge, and a longitudinal bar extending across the ends of the ridges and partially closing off the fiues formed by the ridges, thereby reducing the discharge space therefrom without closing such space.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. RAGNAR. A. NORBOM.

Images