US2967599A

US2967599A - Tie plate chute

Info

Publication number: US2967599A
Application number: US694998A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bartley P Mousseau
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-11-07
Filing date: 1957-11-07
Publication date: 1961-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1978-01-10

Description

Jan. 10, 1961 o ss I 2,967,599

TIE PLATE CHUTE Filed NOV. 7, 1957 United States Patent TIE PLATE cmrrn Filed Nov. '1, 1951, Ser. No. 694,998 3 Claims. (Cl. 193-5 This invention relates generally to chutes, and in particular to a portable chute adapted to be detachably secured to the side of a gondola railway car, or similar vehicle, for the purpose of unloading tie plates therefrom on to a railway track with a minimum of effort, and in a more elficient manner than is prevalent at the present time.

The method of unloading tie plates in common use at present is for a crew of men to throw the tie plates from a gondola on to the shoulder of railroad bed, and then for a second crew to follow after, and throw them up between the rails, and it is an object of this invention to improve on this method by placing the plates between the rails in one operation, thus effecting a great saving in time and labour, and reduction in construction costs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable chute, adapted to be detachably secured to the outside of a railway construction car, and formed to accommodate a tie plate in such manner that the plate will be discharged on to the road bed between the rails.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a tie plate chute having detachable means for supporting said chute on a construction car, said chute having adjustable means to allow for variations in height or size of the car.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings as illustrated by way of example, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation view of a pair of tie plate chutes attached to the side of a gondola construction car,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a chute showing attachment details.

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of a chute taken at right angles to Figure l, and

Figure 4 is a detail showing a wearing plate liner adapted to be inserted in a chute at the lower, or discharge end thereof.

Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral 1 represents a gondola railway construction car, having vertical side walls 2, floor 3, supported on wheels 4, shown in broken lines, rails 5 and railway tie 6.

Detachably secured to each side wall of the car are a plurality of tie plate chutes 7, and as the chutes are all identical, one only will be described.

Chute 7 is formed of metal, preferably aluminum for lightness in handling, having a rectangular box construction for the main part of its length, and adapted to be detachably secured to the outside of the vertical wall 2 of the gondola, the lower, or discharge end 8 of the chute being curved inwardly to a point inside the rails, and being supported at a suflicient height to clear the rails. The lower portion 8 of the chute is constructed having a base and two side walls, and open on the upper side to prevent jamming of the tie plates when being discharged.

, 2,957,599 Patented Jan. 10, .1961

The upper extremity 9 of the chute is bevelled in such manner that tie plates may be thrown into the chute from a distance with little fear of missing. Hanger brackets 10 are provided for detachably hanging the chute on a side wall of the gondola. The brackets are formed of flat strap metal, and are assembled in pairs, and connected together by hinges 11 atthe rear of the chute, and having hooks 12 to engage a flange 13 on the upper portion of the gondola side wall.

Holes 14 are formed in the brackets to accommodate pairs of dowel pins 15 which are formed'on the side walls of the chute, and are adapted to project through the said holes. The brackets are retained tightly in position on the chute by means of a spring hook 16. 4

The chute is provided with a plurality of dowel pins 15 at varying distances to allow for required adjustment in height. Spring hooks 17 are provided in the vicinity of the curved portion of the chute to engage the lower portion of the gondola side wall to retain the chute in engagement with the said side wall.

A' spacing bracket, or bumper 18 is secured to the chute and adapted to bear against the outside of the gondola side wall to align said chute therewith. In order to eliminate wear on the chute at its discharge end, a liner 19 is provided shaped to follow the contour of the chute, having its lower extremity 20 bent over in a return bend to engage the chute, the upper end of said liner formed to extend up inside the chute as far as the spacing bracket, the upper extremity of said liner being bent outwardly at right angles forming a flange 21. Slots 22 are formed in the rear wall of said chute, and said spacing bracket, and a lip 23 is formed on said spacing bracket, said slots and lip being formed to accommodate said flange 21 on said liner, said flange 21 being adapted to project through said slots, and to be secured to said lip 23 by bolts 24.

In operation, a plurality of chutes 7 are detachably secured to the side walls 2 of a gondola by the hanger brackets 10 and held in position by the spring books 17, a chute being so constructed that tie plates will be discharged underneath the floor of the gondola on the road bed between the rails.

As many as four chutes could be placed on each side of a gondola, the chutes being made of a suflicient size to receive tie plates without jamming, and in this connection, I have found that a box section 13 inches by 3 inches is the most suitable size.

While one arrangement only of attaching means for the chute has been described and disclosed in the drawings (i.e.) the attaching means for a gondola car, it will be readily seen that by the exercise of expected mechanical skill, my improved chute attaching means could be modified to include attaching means for the door frames of a box car, or for the stakes, or stake brackets of a flat car.

Without further detailed description, it will be seen that I have provided a tie plate chute of sturdy yet simple construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, having few parts to get out of order, and which are readily replaceable if damaged or worn, the chute also being eflicient in operation.

Other changes and modifications in the form and relative parts, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A portable chute for railway cars comprising a tubular chute for mounting on the side wall of the railway car having its lower end curved inwardly and extending beneath the bottom of the car, brackets attached to the sides of the chute adjacent its upper end and projecting adapted to engage over the upper edge of the side wall of the railway car, and coil springs having one end attached to the sides of said chute and their opposite ends to the lower edge of, the side wall of the railway car yieldably holding said hooks in engagement with the wall of the railway car and the chute invertical position.

2. A portable chute of the character described in claim 1 including, a spacing bracket at-tachedto the sides of the chute intermediate its length and projecting laterally from the chute for contact engagement with the side wall of the railway car.

3. A portable chute for railway cars comprising a tubular chute for mounting on the side wall of the railway car having its lower end curved inwardly and extending beneath the bottom of the car, the curved end of said chute being open at the top, means at the upper end of said chute for suspending the chute from the upper edge of the side wall of the railway car, and a liner strip for covering the bottom wall of the curved end of said chute having one end reversely bent to provide a hook for engagement over the free end of the bottom wall, said strip extending upwardly in the chute and having its upper end bent at an angle for engagement in a slot formed in the wall of the chute whereby the liner is removably held in position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 195,989 Culver Oct. 9, 1877 511,332 Harris Dec. 26, 1893 854,249 Spurlin May 21, 1907 990,555 Hitchcock Apr. 25, 1911 1,177,371 Watts Mar. 28, 1916 1,747,752 Brandt Feb. 18, 1930 2,705,144 Ridgway Mar. 29, 1955