US2437780A - Grain car door implement - Google Patents

Description

March 16, 1948. c, FLAGSTAD GRAIN CAR noon IMPLEMENT Filed April 22, 1944 Cameu. Fmaamn Patented Mar. 16, 1948 siren STATES PATENT OFFICE GRAIN CAR DOOR IMPLEMENT Cornell Flagstad, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 22, 1944, Serial No. 532,296

7 Claims. (Cl. 254-113) This invention relates generally to improvements in grain car doors and more particularly to means for opening or raising the doors of the cars used by railroads for transporting grain.

Cars for this purpose have side openings for loading and unloading the grain and it is, of course, necessary to close or board up these openings during transport. Doors are accordingly provided for the openings and these doors are arranged in superimposed ed e to edge relation crosswise of the opening and inwardly of the side parts thereof. In practice the doors are opened and removed one at a time, starting with the one uppermost, by urging the doors upwardly so that the grain may run out beneath. When the outward pressure of the grain against the doors is thus relieved the doors may be removed and put aside until needed again.

Due to the pressure of the grain the raising of the doors requires considerable force and heretofore this has been accomplished by various tools, all of which were makeshift to some extent and most of which caused damage to the car and doors such as to render the latter soon unfit for further use.

It is the primary object of my invention therefore to provide an implement of simple and durable nature for raising grain car doors and which may be readily and conveniently used for the purpose, will provide adequate force and leverage for proper operation, and which is very rapid in operation. Another object is to provide an implement which, used with grain car doors having suitable means for accommodating it, will not only make the raising of the doors very easy but will cause no damage whatever to cars or doors.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary outside elevation of a grain car doorway provided with doors adapted to the use of my implement.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 showing two tools in use upon the doors.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the 2 abandoned May 28, 1944, to which attention is invited for comparative purposes.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawings, A designates one of the two upright side posts which define the lateral margins of a grain car doorway, B the car floor and C the doors by which the doorway is closed when the car is filled with grain.

The doors C are of such length as to more than span the doorway, extending at their ends against inner surfaces of the door posts A as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the doors are arranged on edge one above the other to close the doorway to any height desired. As here shown the doors are three in number but any number may of course be used as required. In practice the doors may be held to the posts by lightly nailing from the inside, or by other suitable means which will permit the doors to be easily pried free by a suitable tool and then moved upwardly one at a time to permit the grain to run out beneath. The pressure of the grain against the inner sides of the doors will, of course, normally assist in holding them in place.

The doors may be constructed in any suitable manner and are herein shown as of two ply thickness, formed of oppositely laid boards and are provided adjacent each end with two upright, transversely spaced cleats C.

In accordance with my present invention I provide the doors C with means at each end for accommodating a raising implement, one of which will be used at each end of the doors in practice. Such means for accommodating the implements comprises bracket members of two forms, one a hook l6 and the other a rest ll. Qne each of these members is mounted at each end of the doors, for which purposes the members are provided with apertured base lugs designated generally at 12 adapted to be screwed, nailed or otherwise secured to the doors, preferably in the upright channel-like spaces between the cleats C. The hooks ID are located substantially midway of the vertical width of the doors whereas the rests l I are mounted near the upper edges. The hooks ll have downwardly opening recesses l3 while the rests have upwardly opening recesses l4.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2 I show therein a pair of the implements, designated generally at l5 and I6, one operating upon the uppermost door C while the other is reversed and arranged in position for raising the lowermost door. Ordinarily the implements are not used in pairs at each end of the doors and this showing is made for convenience only. The implements l5 and I6 thus shown are of course identical in construction.

Implement 15 comprises a handle or handle member I! made up of spaced, longitudinally extending side bars l8 and I9 between which at one end is secured a wooden filler 20 to form a handy gripping end. The opposite or operating end 2| of the handle is provided with a pin 22 carrying pin 22, thus providing the maximum advantage and leverage in starting the door upward. As the handle approaches a more horizontal position, however, the links 29 and 3!] swing outward and the efiective leverage between the handle I1 and leg member 23 decreases, as the load decreases, while, at the same time the effective included angle between the handle and leg member will increase. The latter result perwhich -is riveted crosswise between -the rounded mits the operating ends 2! and 26 to be spread extremities of the side bars l8 and 19 and holds them in properly spaced relation. The implement further comprises a leg or arm member 23 which has a bifurcated operating end portion- -24- provided with a cross pin 25 similar to pin' 22. The

neath the hook it) on this door, while the leg .'.-member..-23. is turned downward and braced other end of the leg member 23 -has an'foffs'et head or knuckle 26 and pivoted rthereto at 21. and 28 respectively are long and short links '29 and 30. The long links 29 extend between the: side bars I 8 and I9 toward the gripping end of the rhan'dle. and are-longitudinally"slotted at 3|: to

engage a pin .32--secured-crosswise betweerr:said bars. The short :links- 3ii-extend -inea, generally i "opposite, direction :andare pivotallyattached at i'their'otherj :ends to apivot'pin- 33. i

" floating pivot for the leg member of the implementwhere the maximum in simplicity is re- "T Thelinks 29 and 30-form afioatingor shifting pivot connection between thexleg: member .2 3" and handle I11 and. permit the;leg:member to"swing freely from a positiontextendinglalmost straight outwardly orendwise from the handle, as seen inithe lower tool. in'Fig. 2,to. a folded or carrying -position in-which the leg me mber lies almost T flat against and toward the gripping end of-the handle. The leg member is-norm'ally urged-toward either of these positions by an expansion coil-spring 36 which is-coiled around an arm 35, pivoted at one end at 36 tothe head 26 eccentric to-both of the pivots 2'1 and 28, and at its other end longitudinally slotted at 31 (Fig. 3) to-play "over a pin 38 secured between'theflong links 29.

The spring is bracedbetween an'enlarged end -39 of the arm 35 and the pin 38yandnormally tends to urge point 36 to 'oneside or the other of the link pivot 28 and thus swing thelegmembBIftQ ,eitherposition described. The spring po-" sitioning of the. leg .member .thus prevents it from swinging about loosely and possibly injur- "ing the user.

In.use the implement is first engaged between the uppermost door and the one.next beneath. For this .purpose the. leg member 23 is-swung .oiutwardly from, normal carrying or folded. position to extend endwise beyond the. operating, end. 2|

of the handle I? and the respective .pin's .25.,and

1.22 will now justnicelyengage betweenthehook' .lflon'the upper door .and the rest H on.the.one beneath, the handler'oLthee implement hanging downwardly and. beingsupported. by..the rest .I l

.Now as the handle H is grasped-and.swung-upand. hook. it, respectlvelypthe. .upperdoorfneces- ;7

:sarily ,must move. upward with .respect to; the lower. Inlthe operation of swinging the-handle l'l upwardly .the.-leg.- member a 23 .first. oscillates .about a centerlocated substantially at thesame distance asthe pi1i'33iromthe end otthehandle on the doors may be endured.

pivoted upon the pivot pin 33. was" "toa maximum distance apart to raise the door :lovv ermost"d0or is removed whereupon the implement is reversed and the pin 22 engaged beagainst the car floor B. This is the position assumed by the implement IS in Fig. 2, and it will be apparent that downward swinging movement of-.;the handle H will now urge the lowermost doorv upwardly with'respect to the car floor. with thegsamc, effectiveness as the other doors are raised.

As shown in Fig. 4 I may dispense with the quired, or where a reduction in the effective lift Here the leg member is designated at 23 and has two diverging'side members 40 and 4! which enter between the side bars l8 and IQ of the handle I! and are An expansion coil spring 42 is coiled on pin 33 between the pivoted ends of the side members 39 and 4| and urges them outward into frictional or braking engagement with inner sides of the bars I8 and I9. Thus the leg member 23 will be prevented from flopping freely about and pinching or striking the user. Otherwise the construction of this implement is identical to that described hereinbefore, the handle I? having a cross pin 22 and the leg member a cross pin 25 as clearly shown.

fully disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

.1. Animplement for raising grain car doors, comprising in combination, a handle having an operating end, a pin in said operating end, a leg member, means pivotally connecting the leg member to the handle, the said leg member having an'operating end swingable about said connection Withrespect to the operating end of the handle and said operating end of the leg memher. also having a pin, each door having a hook member in which one of the said pins'may be releasably engaged, and rest means on each door for engagement by the other pin whereby spreading movements of the operating endsof the handle and leg members carrying said pins will urge the doors apart.

2. An implement for raising grain car' doors each having a rest member and a hook member mounted in vertically spaced relation, comprising in combination, a handle having an operating end, a cross pin on said operating end, a leg .member having an operating end, means forming a pivotal connection between the other .end of vthe leg member and the handle and permitting swinging and spreading movements of the operating-end of the leg member toward and away from the operating end of the handle in response to manipulation of the handle, a cross pin on the operating end of the leg member, the said cross pins being releasably engageable with a hook member on one door and a rest member on the door next beneath whereby the spreading of the operating ends of the handle and leg member will urge one door upwardly with respect to the other, and the said leg member being also operative to brace against the car floor with the pin in the operating end of the handle engaging the hook member on the lower door for raising the lower door with respect to said floor.

3. An implement for raising grain car doors each having a rest member and a hook member mounted in vertically spaced relation, comprising in combination, a handle having an operating end, a cross pin in said operating end, a leg member having an operating end, means forming a movable connection between the other end of the leg member and the handle permitting swinging and spreading movements of the respective operating ends of the handle and leg member in response to manipulation of the handle, a cross pin in the operating end of the leg member, the said ClOSs pins being releasably engageable with the hook and rest members in the doors for exerting vertical spreading movements between the doors, and the said connection between the leg member and the handle being spring set to hold the leg member in adjusted positions with respect to the handle.

4. An implement for raising grain car doors 7 each having a rest member and a hook member mounted in vertically spaced relation, comprising in combination, a handle having an operating end, a cross pin in said operating end, a leg member having an operating end, means forming a swingable connection between the other end of the leg member and the handle permitting relative swinging and spreading movements of the respective operating ends of the handle and leg member in response to manipulation of the handle, a cross pin in the operating end of the leg member, the said cross pins being releasably engageable with the hook and rest members in the doors for exerting vertical spreading movements between the doors and the said connection between the leg member, and the handle including links pivotally connected to the leg member and handle and movable with respect to the latter forming a shifting pivot connection between the leg member and handle.

5. An implement for raising grain car doors each having a rest member and a hook member mounted in vertically spaced relation, comprising in combination, a handle having an operating end, a pin in said operating end, a leg member having an operating end and a pin therein and said member having a pivotal connection between its other end and the handle and permitting swinging and spreading movements of its operating end toward and away from the operating end of the handle in response to manipulation of the handle, the said pins being releasably en ageable with the hook and rest members in the doors for exerting vertical spreading movements between the doors, the said leg member including a bifurcated portion, and spring means for urging said bifurcated portion of the leg member into frictional engagement with the handle to hold the leg member in adjusted positions with respect to the handle.

6. An implement for lifting grain car doors *of the type which are arranged edgewise one above the other to close the grain car doorway from the car floor upwardly, comprisin a handle member, a leg member, means swingably connecting the handle and leg members whereby corresponding ends thereof may be swung toward and spread away from each other, each of the said doors having a rest member and a hook member secured thereto in vertically spaced relation, and means on the said ends of the handle and leg member for engaging the rest member on one door and the hook member on the next door next above whereby manipulation of the handle to cause spreading movements of the handle and leg member will pry the upper door upward.

7. An implement for raising grain car doors of the type which are arranged edgewise one above the other upon the floor of the car, said doors each having a rest member and a hook member secured thereto, a handle member having an end adapted to rest upon the rest member of any selected door, and a leg member connected to the handle member and adapted to project upwardly therefrom and engage at its upper end with the hook member on the door next above whereby lifting movements of the handle will force the door engaged by the leg member in an upward direction.

CORNELL FLAGSTAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 174,269 Martin Feb. 29, 1876 569,056 Regan Oct. 6, 1896 733,517 Swenson July 14, 1903 833,331 Michaelis Oct. 16, 1906 882,066 Keeler Mar. 17, 1908 976,357 Goodwin Nov, 22, 1910 1,332,404 Manning Mar. 2, 1920 1,496,401 Alfrey June 3, 1924 1,690,262 Westling Nov. 6, 1928

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