US3212459A

US3212459A - Alining and locking mechanism for load dividers

Info

Publication number: US3212459A
Application number: US305788A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Morris
Original assignee: Preco LLC
Current assignee: Preco LLC
Priority date: 1963-08-30
Filing date: 1963-08-30
Publication date: 1965-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1982-10-19

Description

Oct. 19, 1965 J. w. MoRRls 3,212,459

ALINING AND LOCKING MEGHANISM FOR LOAD DIVIDERS J. w. MORRIS 3,212,459

ALINING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR LOAD DIVIDERS Oct. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1965 CHN W Mame/.5;

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United States Patent O 3,212,459 ALINING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR LOAD DIVIDERS John W. Morris, Hackensack, NJ., assignor to Preco Incorporated, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Aug. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 305,788 6 Claims. (Cl. 10S- 376) The present invention relates to load dividers in the form -of movable gates or bulkheads for containers such as vans or freight cars, and concerns, among other things, improvements in alinement and locking of such gates. The improved alinement mechanism relates especially to gates that are mounted to swing about a vertical axis, and, more particularly, that are suspended from a transverse overhead rail or beam t-o swing about such vertical axis. The improved locking system here described is generally applicable to gates suspended for movement between working and idle positions in a compartment, and is particularly useful where a gate is suspended on a vertical axis from an overhead transverse beam `and is alined for locking relative to such a beam. That type of suspension is here shown in simple form `as typical and illustrative, but it will be understood that the improvements of the present invention are not necessarily limited to incorporation in the type of suspension shown.

The characteristics of the present invention will be best understood from the following description of typical and illustrative embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is an elevation showing the improvements of .the invention applied to the stated type of suspension and showing the gate locked in transverse position;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the gate locked in a posi- `tion against a car side-wall;

lFIGS. 3 and 4 are elevations taken as indicated by ,line 3-3 on FIG. l and showing the locking mech-a- ;nism in, respectively, locked and unlocked positions; and

FIG. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of FIG. l. The suspension as here illustratively shown is described as follows:

In the gate suspension here shown for illustration, the

gate structure 24 is pivotally mounted by means ofa -swivel pin 62 on a pair of rollers 60 which ride lower flanges 52 of a transverse beam element 40. That general form of gate support is shown, for example, in U.S.

Patent 1,522,784 to W. I. Latiey. In the present embodiment pin 62 has a lower head 64 seating a spring 66.

VA U-member 68 is carried on the spring and carries structure.

Each'rail 20, as here illustratively shown, has a lower horizontal flange 30 with one or more locking apertures `32, and a vertical web 34 with one or more apertures 36 jadapted to receive a supporting pin 37. Pin 37 supports a depending end element 38 of the beam struccture, "those elements being secured to the ends of and supportingthe transverse beam element 40. That trans- -verse'beam element may be semi-permanently mounted 4in a predetermined position across the car interior by engagement of supporting pins 37 in a single set of op- '3,212,459 Patented Oct. 19, 1965 lCe posite rail holes 36. On the other hand, there may be a longitudinally spaced series of such pin receiving holes 36, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and pins 37 may be retractible in end members 38 to be removed from one set of those holes and then projected into `another set after the beam has been moved longitudinally of the rails `to a different transverse position. To facilitate such 4beam movement it may be movably supported on the rails in any, Idesired manner, not shown here. In any case, whether there is a single pin receiving hole in each rail, or a longitudinal series of such holes, one or more locking apertures 32 are provided in the rail ange '30 in alined relation with each of the holes 36, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, so that when the gate supporting beam is located .at any set of pin receiving holes 36, the locking aperture or apertures 32 are in position to receive the locking pins 90 mounted on the gate.

-One of the reasons for suspending the beam below rails 20 is to provide clearance for such car equipment as an overhead duct, indicated at D; but as will be noted the fact that the beam i-s below the support axis of pins 37 is also useful in certain aspects of the invention.

In the figure the suspended gate 24 is shown as a half-width gate adapted to extend transversely from a car side wall 26 t-o approximately the car center designated CL in the ligure. Consequently the right hand rail 20 in FIG. 1 is located close to that center line, and the structure here shown would be duplicated at the other side of CL. It will be understood however that such right hand rail can be mounted under the ceiling near the opposite side wall and that -gate 24 and the suspension beam can be correspondingly increased in their transverse dimensions to make gate 24 -one of full width. Two gate alining members are mounted on either the gate or the lbeam and a single alining member 82 on the other. As here shown, the upper edge of the gate carries two upstanding stop members 80 which, as seen, in plan in FIG. 5, are flaringly cup-shaped, comprising two angularly rel-ated stop faces 83 with vertical Vertex. Beam member 40 carries a depending stop pin 82. On

Swingin-g the gate in either direction about the vertical axis of the swivel pin, one or the other stop member 80 cornes up against pin 82 if the swivel pin is at all near a central location on the beam member. The ilare of 80, as it moves onto pin 82, causes the gate to move longitudinally of the beam until 82 occupies a position in 80, as in FIG. 5, engaging both stop faces 83 and positioned thereby at the vertex of the flare. In that position the gate is directly alined in the plane of the transverse beam and also is centered transversely with relation to the locking r-ails 20. Hence the gate is in a position where the locking pins 90, v92 are alined longitudinally with each other and transversely with the rail perforations 32, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

In the particular illustrative form of the suspension beam structure here shown, the gate weight suspended from member 40 -below the axis of supporting pins 37 tends to keep 40 directly below that axis and tends to keep suspension pin 62 vertical. As will be noted below, suspension spring 66 normally supports a portion of the gate weight, typically about one-half or less; but Whenever the lower locking pins 92 are disengaged from the floor rails, as to swing the gate about the vertical suspension axis, the whole gate weight is carried by beam member 40. The form of stop members 80 `and 82 is such that their delining action is independent of small vertical movement of the gate relative to beam 40, described below.

The improved locking arrangements of the present invention are, in general, similar to a locking system previously developed. The following describes that locking arrangement with the present improvements.

Below the left hand upper longitudinal ceiling rail la longitudinal floor rail 100 is secured to the car fioor structure 102; and below the central pair of longitudinal ceiling rails 20 a double longitudinal fioor rail 104 is also secured to the floor structure 192. Each lower rail has in its flange a set of locking perforations or a series of longitudinally spaced sets of locking perforations 108, Ialined with the locking perforations I32 of the upper rails. FIGS. 3 andv 4 show how the several locking pins cooperate with the central -upper and lower rails, and FIG. 2 shows their cooperation with one pair of the vertically corresponding side rails.

Gate 24 carries a manually `operable handle 120 mounted on and swinging about the axis of a shaft 122 that extends horizontally through the .gate from one vertical edge to the other. At its ends shaft 122 carries two double throw crank members 124 to each of which one end of two

linkages

126 and 128 are pivotally connected. The details of the linkages at both side edges of the gate are similar, and 'are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Linkage 128 extends down from its crank connection 130, with a length adjustment at 132, to connect at 134 with a vertically guided sliding foot pin 92 mounted on the gate. Linkage 126 extends up from its crank connection 138 to connect with vertically guided sliding upper locking pin 90 mounted on the gate. That linkage, with a length adjustment at 142, has a lost motion connection with upper locking pin 90. In the present improvement that lost moti-on is illustrated as including a head 148 on the linkage, that head being free to move up from foot 150 of locking pin 90 (FIGS. 2 and 3). After some free movement downwardly from that position, the head engages foot 150 to pull locking pin 90 positively down (FIG. 4). Each

locking pin

90 and 92 has at its rail engaging end preferably two perforation entering prongs or fingers 152 spaced to enter two adjacent rail perforations in the gate position of FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, and, in the gate position of FIG. 2, to enter one perforation with the other finger inside the inside edge of the rail flange. Between the two fingers each pin has a footing surface at 154 adapted to seat on the respective rail flange between perforations, or, in the position of FIG. 2, inside the entered perforation.

4Each upper locking pin 90 is spring loaded upwardly by the loading spring 156. In the present improvement spring 156 seats at its lower end on a washer-like plate 157. That seat plate is supported on linkage head 148 when that hea-d is at or near the upper end of its travel (FIGS. 2 `and 3), 'but when head 148 moves downward (FIG. 4) seat plate 157 is suported on footings 158 which are fixedly mounted in the gate framing. In a preferred construction the seat plate 157 and its footings 158 are used only for one of the loading springs, the other loading spring being .seated directly on the linkage, as on head 148. In either case the spring footing may be said to press down on the gate and consequently press down on lower locking pins 92 which are connected to the gate via 128, 124, 122. In the position of FIG. 4 the spring footing on 157 seated on 158 presses directly on the gate. In the posi-tion of FIG. 3, the footing of spring 156 on 157 presses down on linkage 126 which is connected to the

gate vita

124, 122.

Operation is as follows. In the locked position of Vthe gate, s'hown in FIGS. l, 2 and 3, handle 120 is up and recessed in the gate, wehre it is held by a lat-ch mechanism, not shown. Cranks 124 are then in the relative position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, holding lower linkages 128 down 4and upper linkages 126 up. As the operating mechanism is moved to that position, the lower foot pins 92 are forced down ,relative to the gate, their prongs entering perforations in the -lower rails, and their seating surfaces 154 seating on th-ose rails to raise the gate to the relative position shown in those figures. In that raised position of .the gate, suspension spring 66 is partially expanded, as in FIG. 1. Carrying a part of the gate weight, it reduces the manual effort required to throw handle 120 to the gate raising and locking position. The spring, placing a part of the gate weight on the `suspension beam structure, keeps that structure from chattering. In the half-width gates here illustratively shown the expanded spring need only carry 15% to 20% of the gate weight to reduce the manual lever forces sufiiciently. On `a full width gate the expanded spring may carry a larger fraction of the gate weight.

At the same time, linkage 126 moves toward its upper position, allowing upper locking pins to be moved up 'by loading springs 156 until their prongs enter the upper rail perforations and their seating surfaces 154 have seated upwardly on the upper rail flanges. Then, further upward movement of linkage 126 moves the lost motion head 148 up off

foot

150, 157 off seats 158, so thatin the finally locked position of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, upper locking pins 90 are pressed up only by springs 156. The upward movement of linkage 126- also raises spring seat 157 off footing 158, compressing the spring and increasing its force. That spring action pressing up on the upper seated locking pins and pressing down on the gate via linkage 126, takes care of variations in vertical `distance between upper and lower rails, land holds the gate itself between the upper and lower rails, avoiding looseness that might allow gate deterioration by chatter.

When handle is released from 4its latch and lowered to throw cranks 124 to the position of FIG. 4, lower linkage 128 is pulled up relative to t-he gate. That first allows .the gate to move down to a position such as shown in FIG. 4, where suspension .spring 66 is closed or nearly so, with the gate weight then wholly and effectively positively supported on beam member 40. Further movement of handle 120 and cranks 124 then pulls lower foot pins 92 up to the position of FIG. 4, clear-ing the lower rails. Crank 124 also pulls down upper linkage 126, closing the lost motion at 14-8, 150, and pulling the upper locking pins d-own to the positions of FIG. 4, clear of the upper rails. During that movement, seat plate 157 of loading .spring 156 becomes seated on fixed footings y158. The unlocked gate is then free for swinging movement about the vertical axis of the suspension and gate or for translational movement along the beam; and the cross beam may then 'be moved to .another position longitudinally of the car, where the gate may again be locked in transverse position.

During the first part of the movement of linkage 126 from the pin projecting position of FIG. 3 to the pin withdrawing position of FIG. 4, spring seat plate 157 moves down onto fixed footings 158 as the lost motion between head 148 and foot 150 is taken up. During the remainder of that pin withdrawing movement, loading spring 156 remains seated in effect on the gate frame and tends to push the locking pin up with relation to the gate. That force is transmitted from locking pin 90 through the closed lost motion to crank 124, and opposes the handle swing during the remainder of the handle movemnet from vertical.

On reverse movement of the handle from the position of FIG. 4 to that of FIG. 3 to raise the gate and project the lock-ing pins, spring 156 is seated on the frame supported washer plate 157 during the first part of that movement, and exerts its force through the linkages to help in lifting the gate weight. As the operating parts approach the final position of FIG. 3 seat plate 157 is lifted off its frame-fixed 'footings 158 and no longer has the effect above described. But at that time the crank connections and 138 of the linkages are aproaching or on are dead center and the manual effort necessary at handle 120 is comparatively small.

Finally it is noted that in the unlocked position of FIG. 4, with the loading spring or springs 156 seated via 157, 15S on the gate and compressing that spring, the spring or springs then urge the parts back toward the lo-cked position of FIG. 3. Thus, if a careless operator leaves the gate unlocked to the rails, the spring or springs urge the locking pins and the handle toward the locked position of FIG. 3 and engage the locking pins with the upper and lower rails. The parts are preferably so dimensioned that the locking pins fully engage apertures 32 before that action of spring 156 upon the operating mechanism is terminated by contact of linkage head 148 with the underside of seat plate 157, or is rendered inetfective to pr-oduce further movement by seating of low-er pin surface 154 on the rail. Hence whenever handle 12@ is rele-ased the gate is reliably restrained from accidental loose motion which might damage it or the car.

Iclaim:

1. In -a movable load dividing .structure for transport vehicles and the like, the combination of gate structure adapted to form a partition in a cornpartment,

means for supporting the gate structure for movement between operating and idle position, said supporting means permitting limited vertical movement of the gate structure,

upper and lower l-ocking formations adapted to be mounted in fixed relation to the compartment,

locking means carried by the gate structure and including at least one pair of upwardly and downwardly projecti'ble locking pins adapted to be projected into locking engagements with respective locking formations,

said locking pins having shoulders adapted respectively to seat upwardly on one locking formation and to seat downwardly on the other locking formation,

pin operating means carried by the gate structure and movable between gate locking and gate releasing positions,

a linkage acting between said operating means and the downwardly projectible locking pin to force said pin Idownwardly and to retract said pin upwardly with relation to the gate structure in response t-o the respective movements to locking and releasing positions of the operating means,

a loading spring tending to move said upwardly projectible locking pin upwardly into locking and seated engagement with said other locking formation,

seating means for said loa-ding spring normally in seated relation to the gate stru-cture and liftable therefrom,

a second linkage connected with said operating means `and movable in resp-onse to movement to gate releasing position thereof to positively retract said upwardly projectible locking pin in opopsition to said spring,

said second linkage including a part movable in response to movement to gate locking position of the operating means to engage said spring seating means and lift the same to c-ompress the spring.

2. In a movable load dividing structure for transport vehicles and the like, the combination of gate structure adapted to form a partition in a compartment,

means for supporting the gate structure for movement between operating and idle positions, said supporting means permitting limited vertical movement of the gate structure,

upper and lower locking formations adapted to be mounted in fixed relation to the compartment,

locking means carried by the gate structure and including at least one pair of upwardly and downwardly projectible locking pins adapted to be projected into locking engagements with respective locking formations,

said locking pins having shoulders adapted respectively to seat upwardly on one locking formation and to seat downwardly on the other locking formation, movable pin operating means carried by the gate structure,

a linkage acting between said operating means and the downwardly projectible locking pin to force said pin downwardly and to retract said pin upwardly with relation to the gate structure in response to movements to different positions of the operating means,

a loading spring tending to move said upwardly projectible locking pin upwardly int-o locking and seated engagement with said other locking formation,

seating means for said loading spring normally seated Ion a part fixed with relation t-o the gate structure and upwardly movable therefrom,

a second linkage connected with said operating means and movable vertically thereby,

a lost motion connecting said linkage with the upwardly projecting pin,

said second linkage including a part that on upward movement opens said lost motion and a part that engages said spring seating means to raise the same ofI its seat to compress the spring.

3. The combination dened in claim 2 and in which said gate supporting means includes a spring carrying at least a part of the weight of the gate structure and allowing limited vertical movement thereof.

4. The combination delined in claim 2 and in which said gate supporting means includes a horizontal beam,

a vertical swivel pin depending from said beam,

and a spring carried by the swivel pin and resiliently supporting the gate structure for limited vertical movement thereof relative to the beam.

5. The combination detined in claim 4 and including stop means carried by the gate 4structure and said beam engageable to position the gate structure in the vertical plane of the beam.

`6. In a movable load dividing structure for transport vehicle (and the like, the combination of a horizontal beam structure extending its length transversely of a wall of a vehicle compartment,

support means movable in translation longitudinally of the transversely extending beam,

a single swivel depending from the support means on a vertical axis,

gate structure suspended on the swivel, said gate structure being swingable in a horizontal plane about the swivel axis and translationally movable lengthwise of the beam by virtue of said movement of the support means,

and means acting to position the gate structure longitudinally of the beam 4structure and also in a plane parallel to the length of the beam structure,

said means comprising stop two formations one of which is mounted on one of said structures and cornprises two angularly related stop faces meeting in a vertical vertex, said stop faces positioned to make opposite horizontal acute angles with the length of the beam structure,

the other Vof which stop formations is mounted on the other of said structures and is adapted, by gate swinging, to engage either or both said stop faces,

all whereby the gate structure is definitely positioned longitudinally of the beam structure and in a plane parallel to the length of that structure by inte-rengagement of the two stop formations.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 659,513 10/00 Dubus 33-191 X 3,018,741 1/62 Loomis etal 10S-376 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A MOVABLE LOAD DIVIDING STRUCTURE FOR TRANSPORT VEHICLES AND THE LIKE, THE COMBINATION OF GATE STRUCTURE ADAPTED TO FORM A PARTITION IN A COMPARTMENT, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE GATE STRUCTURE FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPERATING AND IDLE POSITION, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS PERMITTING LIMITED VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THE GATE STRUCTURE, UPPER AND LOWER LOCKING FORMATIONS ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED IN FIXED RELATION TO THE COMPARTMENT, LOCKING MEANS CARRIED BY THE GATE STRUCTURE AND INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY PROJECTIBLE LOCKING PINS ADAPTED TO BE PROJECTED INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENTS WITH RESPECTIVE LOCKING FORMATIONS, SAID LOCKING PINS HAVING SHOULDERS ADAPTED RESPECTIVELY TO SEAT UPWARDLY ON ONE LOCKING FORMATION AND TO SEAT DOWNWARDLY ON THE OTHER LOCKING FORMATION, PIN OPERATING MEANS CARRIED BY THE GATE STRUCTURE AND MOVABLE BETWEEN GATE LOCKING AND GATE RELEASING POSITIONS, A LINKAGE ACTING BETWEEN SAID OPERATING MEANS AND THE DOWNWARDLY PROJECTIBLE LOCKING PIN TO FORCE SAID PIN DOWNWARDLY AND TO RETRACT SAID PIN UPWARDLY WITH RELATION TO THE GATE STRUCTURE IN RESPONSE TO THE RESPECTIVE MOVEMENTS TO LOCKING AND RELEASING POSITIONS OF THE OPERATING MEANS, A LOADING SPRING TENDING TO MOVE SAID UPWARDLY PROJECTIBLE LOCKING PIN UPWARDLY INTO LOCKING AND SEATED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OTHER LOCKING FORMATION, SEATING MEANS FOR SAID LOADING SPRING NORMALLY IN SEATED RELATION TO THE GATE STRUCTURE AND LIFTABLE THEREFROM, A SECOND LINKAGE CONNECTED WITH SAID OPERATING MEANS AND MOVEABLE IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT TO GATE RELEASING POSITION THEREOF TO POSITIVELY RETRACT SAID UPWARDLY PROJECTIBLE LOCKING PIN IN OPPOSITION TO SAID SPRING, SAID SECOND LINKAGE INCLUDING A PART MOVABLE IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT TO GATE LOCKING POSITION OF THE OPERATING MEANS TO ENGAGE SAID SPRING SEATING MEANS AND LIFT THE SAME TO COMPRESS THE SPRING.