US2901783A - Refrigerator car door structure - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. C. SODDY REFRIGERATOR CAR DOOR STRUCTURE Sept. 1, 1959 Filed June 24, 1957 m Y. I||

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Sept. l, 1959 T. c. soDDY REFRIGERATOR CAR DooR STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1957 nited States Patent 2,901,783 REFRIGERATOR CAR 'Doon STRUCTURE Thomas C. Soddy, Chicago, Ul., assigner to Chicago Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, Ill., va corporation of Illinois Application June 24, 1951, serial N11-667,482 s claims. (C1. zii-zn The invention relates to railway house car `side door mounting structure and is particularly adapted, :but not limited, to relatively large heavy flush type doors movable into and out of an opening in the side wall, :suchas are in Vcommon use on refrigerator cars. The inventioncontemplates the swinging of a door outwardly from its closed position and then lengthwise of the car ,to a full open position, the door remaining parallel tothe -side Wall at all times. One example of such a door is described in Gardner et al. application Serial No. 416,170, filed March l5, 1954, now Patent No. 2,799,900, issued July 23, 1957.

The objects of the invention are to support the door solely lat the bottom lor at the top; to prevent tilting or canting of the door on its support; to reduce the cost .of a door mounting of the parallel swinging :arm support type; to avoid the likelihood of injury to the door mounting by transport trucks or their contents colliding With the side of the car; to minimize the cost of repairs :inthe event of such collision; and Vto provide added protection against door dropping due to 'failure of one hinge arm or its mounting.

These and other detail objects of the invention are at tained in the structure illustrated fin the accompanying drawings, in which:

lFigure l is a side view `of a portion ,of a railway house car including and adjacent to the door and door mounting structure.

Figure 2 ris a vertical `transverse .section on Aline 2 2 of Figure l, but :drawn to a larger scale, with a portion of the door broken away.

ure l.

Figure 4 -is a horizontal section on line 4-4 Vof Figure l, but showing the door halfway open.

Figure 5 is a detail View of the lower portion of a door embodying a modied mounting.

The car side wall, indicated at 1, is provided with a rectangular opening 3 for a pair or doors 5 and 7, door 5 being mounted by hinges 9 on .the side wall at one side of the opening in the usual manner, and held in closed position by shaft 11 and cranks 13 with pins 15 engageable in brackets 17 on the car side. The shaft is rotatable by handle 19 to lock and to release the door.

Door 7, which is larger and heavier than door 5, is suspended from overhead elongated horizontal arms 21, 23 each having a xed vertical axis hinge pinned to a corresponding hinge butt 25, 27 respectively secured to wall 1 by elements 29. The hinge butts are sp-aced apart lengthwise of the car wall and are secured to the car wall independently of each other. Trunnions 31, 33 are secured to and depend from the swinging ends of arms 21, 23 respectively. An externally threaded sleeve 35 is welded or otherwise secured to each trunnion. A nut 37 is threaded onto each sleeve 35 and supports a renewable bearing 39 which supports the lower end of a bracket 41 secured to the door. By means orf nut 37 the door support may be adjusted vertically to t the door into the Figure '3 is Va Ahorizontal section on line 3-'3 of Figice 2 opening and to compensate for any play or sag which may `,develop in the supporting arm or its mounting. A lock aint 43 is associated with each nut 37.

The above described parts comprise the essential mounting structure for fthe door. Right hand trunnion 33 is shown as terminating immediately below its threaded sleeve 35. l

Brackets 41 and the associated elements are spaced `equidistant from and at opposite sides of the vertical center line X of the door, thereby distributing the door weight .evenly to the lsupport arms and under normal conditions avoiding tilting of the door.

To alord greater stability and to avoid undue lateral stress .on vthe door supports, another elongated horizontal arm 45 is provided near the bottom of the door, and is similarly hinged .on a butt 47 secured to the car Wall. The outer, or swinging, end of arm 45 terminates in a sleeve journaling the lower end of trunnion 3l which is elongated to .extend the full height of the door. Arm 45 does not support/the door, but contributes to holding the door .against tilting relative to -arms 21, 23 and the car side.

The .door is provided with a locking shaft 49 with cranks 51 and pins 53 engageable with brackets 55 for locking and releasing the door to and from the car side, when .the door is in .closed position, `by manual manipulation of an operating handle 57. Handles 19 and 57 may be interconnected when lthe doors are locked in closed position, so that handle 19 must be operated before handle 57 may be operated, asdisclosed in the above mentioned co-pending patent application.

Figure 3 illustrates how the right hand door 5 overlaps the adjacent edge of the left hand door 7 and cooperates with the 'left hand door locking shaft to hold the wider door 4tightly closed. This arrangement also provides for the .opening of the narrow door independently of the wider door, for inspection, or for the passage of va workman, `or a small portion of the contents of the car, the wider door being opened when larger quantities of the contents are being moved 'through the opening, or Afor'the passage of a Wheeled container through the ldoorway.

rFiigures ,3 .and 4 illustrate Vthe-.various positions -o'f the doors .as lthey are moved from closed to -open position, and vice versa. When the .doors are fully open, lthey ilie substantially diat against Vthe -outer face 'of -the -car A'side wall, and .there are lno Sinterventiing mounting mechanisms causing `the* doors to project yfrom the car Jsidewall substantially fantherthan the ythickness of `1the doors.y A

v iff a #transport trkuck is 'driven too .closely to vthe side -of the car and collides with and damages the lower portion of the door o-r arm 45, the injured parts may 'be repaired or replaced without requiring replacement of the overhead door mounting parts. Indeed, the door and car may remain in service, until the car may reach its intended destination or can be moved to a suitable repair shop, without removing the car from the train, and without injury to the lading because of Adelay in ship-ment while repairs are being made.

Another form of the invention is shown in Figurev 5 in which the lower hinge arm 61 corresponds to the hinge arm 45 shown in Figures 1 4, and the upper end of trunnion 63 is mounted on an upper arm (not shown) corresponding to that shown in Figure 1.

The third arm 65, corresponding in -function to arm 23 previously described, is mounted on the lower portion of the car side and door, thus providing a support beneath the door which may tend to stabilize the door even though the short trunnion 67 or its securing means should fail.

Other variations in the details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is intended that the detail structure described should be understood as being illustrative and not definitive of the terminology of the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway house car structure comprising a side wall having a door opening, elongated horizontal arms spaced apart lengthwise of the wall and each having an individual fixed axis on the wall above the level of the door opening and swinging horizontally on their hinges from a position in which their swinging ends are in vertical alignment with the door opening to a position in which their swinging ends are spaced lengthwise of the car from said opening, and a rigid door journaled on and supported from the swinging ends of both of said arms and movable by the swinging of said arms from a position in which the door lits within said opening to a position in which it extends alongside said Wall beyond an end of said opening.

2. A structure according to claim l in which the swinging ends of the arms are substantially equidistant from but at opposite sides of the vertical center line of the door and evenly distribute the door weight to said arms.

3. A railway house car structure comprising a side wall with an opening and a door therefor, and a door mounting comprising a pair of parallel horizontal arms above the door opening and spaced apart lengthwise of the wall, each arm having a fixed axis hinge butt at one end secured to the car wall, a similar arm below the door similarly mounted on the car wall lwith its hinge axis vertically aligned with the hinge axis of one of said first-mentioned arms, a vertical trunnion journaled on the door and connecting the swinging ends of two upper and lower arms having vertically aligned hinge butts, and a vertical trunnion on the swinging end of the other arm of said pair of arms and journaled on the door at a point spaced lengthwise of the door from the first trunnion.

4. In a railway house car, a side wall having a door opening, a door therefor, and a mounting for the door comprising an elongated horizontal arm having a vertical-axis hinge, a cooperating hinge butt with elements securing it to the wall above the level of the top of the door opening, a similar arm below the level of the door and having a vertical-axis hinge, a corresponding hinge butt with elements securing it to the wall, said hinge butts and their respective securing elements being separate from I I arm having a supporting trunnion connection to the door with its axis parallel to the other trunnion connections and spaced therefrom similarly to the spacing of said hinge butts.

5. A structure according to claim 4 in which the trunnion connections of the two supporting anrrs are substantially equidistant from but at opposite sides of the door Vertical center line of the door and evenly distribute the door Weight to said supporting arms.

6. In a railway house car, a side wall with a door opening, a door movable into said opening with its outer face rliush with the outer face of said side wall, 'door-mounting horizontal arms each having a hinge at one end fixed to the side wall and spaced from the other arm hinge lengthwise of the side wall and positioned above the level of the top edge of the door, the swinging ends of said arms having vertical-axis pivotal supports for the upper portion of the door and journaled thereon, whereby the arms may swing on said hinges relative to the side wall and the door may swing on said pivotal supports relative to the arms and may remain parallel to the side wall while moving to a position spaced `from said opening lengthwise of the side wall with the 'door inner facel opposing the side wall throughout the length of the door.

7. Structure according to claim 6 which includes a third horizontal arm having a hinge at one end fixed on the side wall independent of and spaced from the other arm hinges and positioned below the level of the bottom edge of the `door with its swinging end provided with a pivotal connection journaled on the lower portion of the door whereby the lower part of the door is held by the lowerhorizontal arm against tilting on its pivotal connections to the supporting arms above the door.

8. In a railway house car with a side wall and a door opening, arms each hinged at one end to the upper portion of the side wall above said opening to swing horizontally, la door having fixed axis connections to the swinging ends of said arms and movable, when said aims are swung on their hinges, to a position in -front of said opening and to another position clearing said opening, an arm hinged at one end to the lower portion of the car side wall to swing horizontally, elements pivotally engaging the door to the swinging end of the latter-mentioned arm, to stabilize the door against tilting on the first-mentioned arms.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 565,286 Le Gros Aug. 4, 1896 665,412 Dill Ian. 8, 1901 2,628,389 Madland Feb. 17, 1953

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