US271684A - Seal-lock - Google Patents

Description

C. CLARKE-, SEAL 1.00K.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 6, 1883'.

.. WRR) CvAN N. FTERS. PHD10-LilMgmphGn wathinginn. D. C.,

iiivrrnn STATES CHARLEs CLARKE, or ovID, AssIGNoR E ONEHALE To THCMAs TANDY,

' or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,684, dated February 6, 1883.

Application tiled July l2, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES CLARKE, of Ovid, in the county of Clinton and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Seal-Locks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which` form a part of this specilicatiou.

The nature of this invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in thatclass of seal-locks usuallyemployed in securing railway-car doors. It is usual to do this by means of lead seals of various descriptions, such seals being adapted, in the process of locking, to receive an impress of some symbol or ligure, by means of which the starting-point ot' the car or other information is obtained.

My improvement consists, in combinati-on with a proper seal-shackle, of a plain, straight,

vand thin barot' lead,which is designed to pass through proper slots, one in each leg of the shackle, and immediately opposite each other, and adapted to receive the impress of a series of iinpressions,one after the otl1er,'as the circumstances of the case may require. For instance, a car is loaded at Omaha for Boston 'um Detroit, and in its transit mustl pass over the Chicago & Northwestern, the Michigan Central, the Great Western, the New York Central, and Boston di Albany railroads, and pass the customs officers on entering and leaving Canada. At Omaha the car is locked by inserting the shackle of my device in the staple of the car which holds the car-hasp in position. Then the sealer inserts the thin straight bar of lead through the slots in each leg of the shackle, and with his hand-press he imprints at one end of the bar the initial or other symbol that is required, and in such imprinting he tlattens the bar so that it cannot be drawn through the slots. This forms, so to speak, a head to the bar, such head being utilized to exhibit one of the whole number of seals to be employed. Then the press is again used to enlarge the bar outside the opposite leg of the shackle, and in doing this imprints the date of loading the car or any other desired information that it may be desirable to convey. The projecting end of the bar is folded back upon itself and outside the shackle. On the arrival of the car at Chicago the sealer unfolds the bar, and with his hand-seal press other desired symbol. When the car is received by the Michigan Central roadits sealer inV like manner imprints the date of such receipt of the car upon the bar, just below the last before-made seal. When the car passe-s into Canada from the last-named road the Canadian customs officer will use his press-'to indicate the date, and the same thing is done again as the car passes out of Canada and is delivered to the New York Central road, and the latter' again seals when it delivers the car successive sealings being scrz'atm, one beside the other ou the bar, so that upon the arrival ofthe car at Boston the bar contains a perfect history of its Vcourse and whereabouts since leaving its point of departure. After each successive sealing the bar is folded upon itself, as originally described.

ple with the shackle and sealing-bar in position. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line .c fr, Fig. l. l

ln the accom panying drawings, A represents the staple, and B the hasp, of an ordinary carfastening; and C represents my sealing-bar, and D is the shackle in which it is secured.A

Upon the arrival of the car at its destination the sealing-bar can be readily removed to unlock the car by cutting off the head which has been made by the first impress of the hand-press,as hereinbefore described. As the sealing-bar is more than twice as long as the distance from outside to outside between the legs of the hasp, it will be seen that in many instances the entire sealing-bar would not be impressed with successive seals as would be the case in long trips such as have been described, and it would not be necessary when one part of the bar has been thus impressed tO-throw the Whole away, as the impressed part may be cut off and the balance employed for sealing cars upon shorter trips, where a less number of seals is required to give the history of its travel.

The shackle D may be provided with a joint,

imprints the date of the arrival of the car or to the Boston Albany road, each of these Figure l is a front view of a hasp and staas shown at a, by means of which the legs thereof may be spread, thereby giving room for successive sealing-s in the bar between the legs, if desired, for locnl limitless, while the sealings at the ends of' the bar will prevent the latter from being accidentally Withdrawn or the shackle may be made without thejoint, if preferred.

VVhnt I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with a suitable fastening device, ot' a two-pronged seal-shackle and a sealing-bar, one of the prongs ofthe shackle being constructed to be passed through the fastening, and each prong having an aperture

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