US2546133A - Sleeping car - Google Patents

Description

March 20, 1951 J. w. PATTON SLEEPING CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1945 FIG. 6

v INVENTOR John W Patton BY ATTORNEY March 20, 1951 Filed March 17, 1945 PICI-Q J. w. PATTON 2,546,133

SLEEPING CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR John WPatton fifuw ATTORNEY March 20, 1951 J. w. PATTON SLEEPING CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 17, 1945 M m mm mm @m m m 0 d n W Q mm m m m MN w mm a. W m. H T n M M m m 0 m V .z T O N a r 1 P fi A m O .U Y Rh m B SM M m we QUHHT March 20, 1951 SLEEPING CAR Filed March 17, 1945 wnlw twmaw i. I w

J. w. PATTON 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [702m W Patton BY/QQWM ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 20, 1951 SLEEPING CAR John W. Patton, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 17, 1945, Serial No. 583,259

The invention relates to railway cars and particularly to railway sleeping cars, such as those in which permanently separate and independent rooms are arranged on opposite sides of a center aisle, each room having complete toilet facilities, a seat and a bed foldable endwise longitudinally of the car against a partition separating it from an adjacent room,

It is a principal object of the invention to provide such a car with rooms having all the usual and other accommodations for the comfort and convenience of passengers and at the same time increase the revenue-producing capacity of the car by making it possible to accommodate a substantially greater number of rooms, all having a .fioor level common with the aisle floor level, in a given car length.

' This object is attained in large part by making the transverse vertically extending partitions separating the rooms relatively thin, such as a substantially singie sheet metal thickness, and this particularly in the central region and at the normal bed level and for some distance thereabove, and carrying but a few of the accessories, such as a mirror and lighting fixtures, which have relatively small thickness, so that the over-all partition thickness, particularly in the central vertical region indicated hereinbefore, is not materially increased by the addition of these accesseries, and locating those accessories which have relatively great thickness, such as the folding washbasin, medicine cabinet and wardrobe on the aisle wall, and this latter without materially affecting the width of the seat and bed. With this arrangement, it is made possible, without sacrifice of any of the usual appointments of the car and without detracting from the com- .fort. and convenience of the passengers, to add four (4) additional rooms at aisle floor level over and above the usual number, namely, eighteen (18),.heretofore so provided in a sleeping car of theusual length, say eighty-five (85) feet between .bumpers.

It is among the further objects of the invention to provide a construction which effects a saving in weight, facilitates the fabrication and servicing of the rooms and the. assembly of the rooms in the car structure.

These objectsare in large part attained by designing the vertical walls and, ceiling of the roomsso they can be readily formed for the most part by die stamping the panels entering into them 6 out of sheet metal, and in so forming the sheet ar etal panels with curvatures, and offsets that they are stiff and strong in. themselves and 13 Claims. (C1.,105 315).

2 1 require little, if any, supporting framing. A num ber of the accessories are so functionally related to the formed sheet metal panels that they also add materially to the stiffness and strength of the structure. A

These objects are furthered additionally, as well as the appearance of the rooms enhanced, .and their servicing, such as cleaning, facilitated, by making the corners where the vertical walls join each other and where they join the ceiling panel for the most part on well rounded curves of substantial radius.

Other and-further objects and advantage -and the manner in which they are attained will become apparent from the following detailedde-r scription when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional plan view through a, portion of'a railway car according to the invention. the section showing the rooms at the right-hand side'of the center aisle made up as sitting rooms and the rooms at the lefthand side made up as sleeping rooms;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view through the portion of the car shown in Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, the section being taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1, one of the rooms being shown entirely in section and parts of the adjoining rooms being also shown in section, with the folding bed shown extended in the right-hand one, and the view being taken looking from the aisle toward the outside wall of the car;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said portion of the car showing parts broken away and in section, the section being taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, one. of the rooms being shown entirely-in section and made up as a bedroom and the adjoiningrooms bein shown partly in section and made up as sitting rooms, the view'being taken looking from the outside wall of the car toward the aisle;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the right-hand half of the car, the section being taken substantially along the line 4- -4 of Fig. 1 looking rearwardly toward the seat end of the Fig. 5 is a similar view looking in the opposite direction as indicated by line 5,--5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, the seQ- tion taken substantially along the line 6-6 0 Fig. 2 looking toward the ceiling.

In the, drawings, the car body to which the invention is applied is generally represented by I.

This carbody has a central longitudinal aisle 2 defined by lateral Walls or partitions 3, a floor 4, and a ceiling 5. lhe ceiling is disposed some distance below the car roof to provide space for a main air conditioning duct l. Between the aisle walls 3 and the respective side walls 8 of the car are arranged the rooms, convertible, alternatively, into sitting or sleeping rooms, and designated generally by 9, but three adjoining ones of which are shown in the drawings of these only the central one being shown for its full length.

The rooms are similar in construction and appointments, and each room has a floor it, an outside longitudinal wall it forming part of the side wall 8 of the car, an inside longitudinal wall formed by the adjacent aisle wall 3 and spaced transverse partitions l2 interconnecting the outside wall H and the aisle wall 3 and forming the ends of the room as well as separating it from adjacent rooms. All said walls H, 3 and i2 are extended from the floor In to the ceiling it, the walls being suitably secured together in their adjacent margins and to the ceiling in their u per margins.

It will be noted that the ceiling is disposed some distance below the car roof 6, see Figs. 4. and 5, at about the line where the car side 3 curves inwardly ra idly to form the side of the roof. The space above the ceiling may be utilized to accommodate the air conditioning duct branches l4 leading to the various rooms and for other purposes.

It will be noted that the ceiling panel i2; is transversely arched and merges through curves of generous radius into the aisle, the outside and the transverse wall panels, and that the end transverse wall I 2 and the aisle and outside walls also in great part merge into each other 'through such curves and the general structure is such as to facilitate the formation of the wall and ceiling panels out of sheet metal stam i s which can be readily joined together, as by welding, into an integral rigid structure, the curved corners and arched ceiling contributing materially to the stiffness and strength of the structure without additional framing. The arrangement also facilitates the assembly of the various vertical Walls and ceiling of the room in subas- 'semblies which can be readily brought into the car and secured in place in final assembly.

As shown, the car side longitudinal wall H of each room is provided with a large window opening l5 centrally located when the room is made up for use as a sitting room and into which opening the window frame I6 and preassembled window glass and curtain may be inserted as a unit and secured in place.

This outer side wall may also conveniently carry various accessories, as the ash tray [1, table sockets i3 and toilet paper holder 19 below the window opening. A towel basket 20 is disposed on the transverse wall l2 adjacent the rounded corner between the outside wall and the adjacent transverse partition I2.

area. From the point 2| to the floor, the partition is formed with an offset portion 23 having an inclined top which forms a recess designed to receive heater pipes 24 and a blower 25. The

recess is closed by a vertical panel 26 extending to the floor in line with the main body of the partition, this panel being provided with a grille 27 for the passage of heated air to floor area of the adjoining room.

Above the point 22 the transverse panel is formed with a slight offset in the same direction as oifset forming a shallow recess 28 which is adapted to receive a mirror 29 secured therein. At the bottom of this recess, the panel is reinforced by a box-section formation 30 and at the sides it receives the mirror lighting fixtures 3|.

Above the mirror recess 28 the transverse partition I2 is formed with a-central offset portion 32 extending to the ceiling and forming a recess 33, Figs. 2 and 6, adapted to receive a portion of the luggage rack 3 Figs. 3 and 5, extending through the width of the room. This offset in addition to stiffening the panel in this region provides a wide luggage rack portion, at least in the central region of the partition, and avoids the projection of the luggage rack an undue distance into the room.

Additional appurtenances mounted on the mirror side of the transverse wall may comprise a towel rod 35 and a shaver socket 36.

A folding bed 31 hinged at 38 folds vertically against the opposite side of partition l2 so that the offset 23 is vertically below the lower end of the bed when folded. The bed may be moved from horizontal to vertical position or vice versa by an electric motor and reduction gear unit 39 secured to the bottom end of the bed projecting beyond the hinge 33. This unit serves to partially counterbalance the weight of the bed but additional counterbalancing means, such as the springs 40, may also be employed.

To prevent the bed clothes from slipping down between the bed and partition, or to catch small articles left on the bed, a curtain 4| of the width of the bed is provided, see Figs. 2 and 3. The free end of the curtain is secured to the adjacent end of the bed and the opposite end is wound on a tensioned roller 42 secured through a bracket or brackets to the partition 12. A guard extends from the partition over the top of the roller. A night reading lamp d3 is secured to the partition on the side opposite the mirror recess 28.

The bottom of the bed is arched transversely to give additional lngth to the room when folded and to provide a pleasing effect to the room when the side of the folded bed merges through the rounded corners with the longitudinal side walls of the room. When extended into the room, the bed extends substantially from partition to partition, and since the partitions are relatively thin, substantially the car length is made available for use in the rooms themslves.

In advance of the folded bed and hiding the bed operating mechanism, is fixedly mounted in the room a comfortable adjustable and foldabl'e chair 44, the seat 45 and back 55 of which can be adjusted, and the back is provided with fold-- able arm rests 41, Fig. 4. The back :26 of me chair is convexly curved transversely and nests with the concave'bottom of the bed, see Fig. 1, against which it normally rests. This nested arrangement provides a chair and bed combination of minimum overall longitudinal dimension, leaving more standing room available between the chair and the transverse wall opposite it. When the bed is lowered to the horizontal position, the back of the chair, since it folds in the same direction as the bed, is automatically folded down under the bed as shown in Fig. 3. Of course, it may be folded by hand, if desired, before the bed is extended.

room. 'the Wardrobe extend substantially from the ceiling to the floor, but its inner wall toward the *chair is cut off at the bottom along an incline -54, Fig. 3, terminating above the room floor but below the chair seat.

The wardrobe is left bottomless so that no dirt "structures formed in the regions where it merges with the transverse partitions l2. A doorway opening 58 opens through it into the room, and a longitudinal pocketv or recess 5a is formed in the wall to extend from the doorway to the transverse partition l2 against which the bed folds, this recess being adapted to receive a slid- "able door 49 when the door is moved to open position. A pair of curtains 52 indicated in Figs.

I and 2 may be used to close the doorway and still insure privacy even when the door &9 is

open. On this same. side of the dooris built into the wall 3 a vertically extending wardrobe 5! -made accessible by a door 53 opening past the seat in all operative positions thereof when the room is made up as a sitting room and pastthe bed, when the room is made up as a sleeping In vertical extent, the vertical walls of or articles falling therein are collected by the bottom, but all such articles fall through to. the

room floor H! where they are readily recovered or removed. When the bed is folded, its side wall parallels a widened inner portion 55 of the wardrobe, closing oil the space inwardly of the wardrobe toward the adjacent transverse partition l2 and the concave curved bottom of the bed merges through a rounded corner into the inner side of the aisle wall formed by the wardrobe wall 54 and its upward extension to. the ceiling l3.

This closed off space may provide a recess 5&

whose bottom forms a shelf or table 52- accessible for night use when the bed is in extended. position and adapted to carry an ash tray disposed below the level of the shelf. At the side of the recess may be provided a pocket 58 for valuables, see Fig. 3'.

On the transverse wall 59, Fig. 4, of the thick ened aisle wall may conveniently be arranged -a bed operating mechanism control Eli and a conditioned air damper control 8!. The bottom :of the bed may also be provided with a manual latch control and operating handle .59" therefor.

On the opposite side of the doorway, the hopper 62 is mounted in the corner between the aisle .Wall 3 and the adjacent transverse. partition 52, "the hopper having a. folding seat; 53 closing it, and foldable. against the aisle. wall about the hinge. line. 64;, see Fig.

' Above the hopper is arranged, order, the

tion. This latohmay be operated manuallyto -release the basin by gripping the handle 68 on the basin, or in the event the basin is left extended when the bed is being extended, by the engagcment oi the bed with a trip (not shown) pmijectinginto the path of the bed. I

' Should the hopper seat be left; open. against-the aisle wall when the bed is. being extend d. a similar trip means 69 engageable by the bed is provided to operate a transversely movable plunger 10, through bell crank lever H and linkage. 12, the plunger in its actuation by the trip giving an impulse to the seat 63 to swing it to closed position. A spring '73 returns the parts to normal position after the bed passes the trip, see Figs. 3 and 5.

On the aisle side of the aisle wall opposite the location of the hopper and washbasin is provided a removable panel 14 affording ready access to all the plumbing associated with the Washbasin and hopper without encroaching upon the interior of the room. A hinged door 15 is provided in the lower portion of this panel to make certain parts of said plumbing even more readily accessible and without removing the removable panel 14.

On the. transverse face of the aisle wall adjacent the hopper side of the door opening may be arranged various control instrumentalities. As shown in Fig. 5, and going from top to bottom, there are shown provided on this face a thermostat 16 and a switch panel ll carrying such control devices as a porterbuzzer switch, a mirror light switch, a ceiling light switch and a heat control.

Adjacent the bottom of this hollow wall face is provided a register TI for entrance of air from the room for recirculation over the heater pipes 24 and adjacent the floor is provided in the wall a shoe box I3 closed on the room side by a door 19 extended around the corner between. said face and the inner panel of the aisle wall. The usual access door 80, Fig. 2, is provided to the shoe box from the aisle.

By reference to the drawings, it will be seen in Figs. 1 and 6 that the lateral portions of the transverse partitions it to the transverse panel mirror recess are further reinforced and stiffened by the box-section structures 8! and 82, the former adjacent the aisle wall and the latter adjacent the outside wall.

Centrally of the ceiling over the seat and at the seat end of the room is arranged a combined lighting and ventilating fixture 83 through which the conditioned air is admitted into the room from the associated air duct M. The details of this fixture need not be further described herein since they constitute an independent invention. Air may be discharged from the room through an outlet 84, Fig. 3, provided between the bottom of the door and the door IQ. A night light 85 may loo provided on the aisle wall above the door openng.

With the arrangement shown and describe herein in detail, the objects of the invention are attained in highest degree but. it will, of course, be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in this art without departing from the main features of the invention, and such changes and modifications are intended to be covered in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Inv a railway sleeping car, a series of rooms disposed between a side wall and a center aisle wall of the car and separated from each other by thin upright partitions extending transversely between said walls, the aisle wall carrying relatively thickaccessories, such as a folding wash basin for each room, which render its overall thickness realtively great as compared with said thin upright partitions, said rooms having a common floor level, and abed in each room-movable, for daytime use of the room, to an upright position againstone of said partitions and, for night-time use, to a substantially horizontal position extending longitudinally, at substantially the same level as similarly arranged beds in the other rooms of the series, between the transverse partitions defining the room, said bed in horizontal position occupying substantially the entire dis-- tance between the last-named partitions, the

overall length of said series of rooms being determined substantially wholly, by reason of the thinness of said partitions, by the aggregate lengths of the beds therein.

2. In a railway sleeping car, a series of rooms disposed between a side wall and a center aisle I wall of the car and separated from each other by upright partitions extending transversely between said walls, said rooms having a common floor level, and a bed in each room movable for daytime use of the room to an upright position against one of said partitions and for night-time use to a substantially horizontal position extending longitudinally, at substantially the same level as similarly arranged beds in the other rooms of the series, between the transverse partitions defining the room, the transverse partitions for at least bed width and in at least the horizontal plane of the use position of the beds being relatively thin as compared with the overall thickness of the aisle wa'il including relatively thick accessories, such as a folding wash basin for each room,

carried thereby, and the bed in horizontal positio-n occupying substantially the entire distance between the last-named partitions, whereby the 'overall length of said series of rooms is deter mined substantially wholly, by reason of the thinness of said partitions, by the aggregate lengths of the beds therein. 1

3. A railway sleeping car comprising a room I having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, said transverse walls being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of a full length bed, a doorway in said aisle wall, and a wardrobe and folding toilet facilities arranged on opposite sides of said doorway opening on the aisle wall.

4. A railway s eeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls,

said transverse walls being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of a full length bed, a doorway in said aisle wall, a door slidable into said aisle wall at one side of said doorway opening, a wardrobe arranged on the aisle wall on said one side of the doorway opening, and folding toilet facilities on the aisle Wall on the opposite side of said doorway opening.

5. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a bed foldable against one of said transverse walls and when extended reaching substantially to the opposite transverse wall, and a wardrobe and folding toilet facilities arranged on a wall flanking the side of the extended bed and substantially contiguous to the path of movement of said foldable bed, the arrangement being such as to freely permit the movement of said bed from folded to extended position and vice versa.

6. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls,

a bed foldable against one of said transverse walls it extends substantially from one to the other of said transverse walls, a doorway opening in said aisle wall, and a wardrobe on said aisle wall between said doorway opening and said one of the transverse walls.

'7. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a bed foldable against one of said transverse walls and extendible to horizontal use position in which it extends substantially from one to the other of said transverse walls, a doorway opening in said aisle wall, a recess in said aisle wall extending from said doorway opening toward said one of the transverse walls, a door normally closing said opening and movable into said recess to open position, and toilet accommodations adjoining the aisle wall on the opposite side of the doorway opening.

8. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls connected by spaced transverse walls extending between a fioor and a ceiling of the room, said transver'e walls being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of a full length bed, one of said transverse walls having a longitudinal offset forming a recess opening into the room adjacent the ceiling, the recess providing depth for luggage accommodations without causing the luggage to project unduly into the room.

9. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a bed foldable against one of said walls extendible to horizontal use position in which it extends from one to the other of said transverse walls, and when folded having its bottom spaced from the floor, and a heater recess in said wall extending into said room but located at a level below the bottom of said bed.

10. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by relatively thin transverse walls separating said room from adjoining rooms, and a fixed length bed foldable against one of said transverse walls and extendible to horizontal use position in which it extends substantially from one to the other of said transverse walls, the opposite transverse wall having an offset portion intermediate its top and bottom forming a shallow recess, not materially deeper than the thickness of said wall, opening into the room, stiffening said wall and adapted to receiv therein a mirror.

11. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by relatively thin metal transverse walls separating said room from adjoining rooms, and a fixed length bed foldable against one of said transverse walls and extendible to horizontal use position in which it extends substantially from one to the other of said transverse walls, the opporite transverse wall having an offset portion forming a shallow recess, not materially deeper than the thickness of said wall, opening into the room, stiffening said wall and adapted to receive a mirror therein, marginal portions of said recess being reinforced by means forming a box-section or sections.

12. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls, a bed foldable against one of said walls and extendible to horizontal use position in which it extends substantially from one to the other of said transverse walls, a recess in an adjacent wall normally closed by said folded bed but open when the bed is extended, said recess providing space for accessories accessible when the bed is in extended position.

13. A railway sleeping car comprising a room having fixed longitudinal car side and center aisle walls interconnected by spaced transverse walls,

a bed foldable against one of said walls, and exi.

tensible into the room in substantially horizontal use position extending from transverse wall to transverse wall, an accessory in the room having a part movable into and out of the path of movement of the bed, and means associated with the movable part of said accessory, projecting into the path of movement of the bed and operable thereby, in the movement of the bed toward its horizontal use position, to effect the retraction of said accessory part out of said path of movement of the bed.

JOHN W. PATTON.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,011,952 Hansen Dec. 19, 1911 1,224,625 Flagg May 1, 1917 1,647,534 Rossman Nov. 1, 1927 2,000,550 Woodward May 7, 1935 2,147,011 Crawford Feb. 14, 1939 2,312,847 Parke Mar. 2, 1943 2,316,710 Parke Apr. 13, 1943 2,323,069 McKinnon June 29, 1943 2,383,162 Ragsdale Aug. 21, 1945

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