US3371445A

US3371445A - Double sliding flush plug door gasket

Info

Publication number: US3371445A
Application number: US487405A
Authority: US
Inventors: Theodore Z Herr; Jr William Hoverman
Original assignee: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co; Youngstown Steel Door Co
Current assignee: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co; Youngstown Steel Door Co
Priority date: 1965-09-15
Filing date: 1965-09-15
Publication date: 1968-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 1985-03-05

Description

Maichs, 1968 HERR ET AL DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1965 a R R E THEODORE 2. H B\IILLIAM HOVERMAN, JR. 4m; 6% 444 ATTORNEYS March 5, 1968 -r HERR ET AL DOUBLE $LIDING.FLU$H PLUG DOOR GASKET 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 15, 1965 1 IlN VENTORS. THEODORE Zv HERR 8 B WILLIAM 'HOVERMANJR.

ATTORNEYS March 5, 1968 T z HERR ET AL 3,371,445

DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET Filed Sept. 15, 1965 v 6 SheetsSheet 3 FIG. 4

v FNVENTORS. THEODORE Z. HERR 8 BYWILLIAM' HOVERMAN, JR.

ATTORNEYS March 5, 1968 Filed Sept. 15, 1965 T. Z. HERR ET AL DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS March 5 1968 T. z. HERR ET AL 3,371,445

DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET Filed Sept. 15, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 5,

FIG. 8

INVENTORS. I5 26 THEODORE z. HERR a ATTORNEYS WILLIAM HOVERMAN,JR.

March 5, 1968 T. z. HERR ET AL DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 15, 1965 R N F2 0 TRM w mmmm V .V a W20 0 H .E mm a DM a mm H TW ATTORNEYS United States Patent Uflfice 3,371,445 DOUBLE SLIDING FLUSH PLUG DOOR GASKET Theodore Z. Herr, Highland Park, Ill., and William Hoverman, Jr., St. Marys, Ghio; said Herr assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, and said Hover-mar: assignor to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, both corporations of Ohio Filed Sept. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 437,405 7 Claims. (Cl. 4368) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Angle flap seals or gasket extensions capable of attachment to the top and bottom of the auxiliary door compression gasket of a railroad car. The compression gasket extensions are attached to the interior flange of the auxiliary door which is overlapped by the main door (when both doors are in closed position) by means of integral flap portions. The flap portions carry projection pads which are releasably received in mating apertures in the interior flange. The auxiliary door compression gasket extensions extend only a portion of the length of the interior flange of the auxiliary door and terminate in a feathered edge. The feathered edge provides a tight seal at the junction of the auxiliary door compression gasket extensions, the interior flange of the auxiliary door and the compression gasket of the main door.

This invention relates to double sliding flush plug doors and gaskets therefor which are useful in connection with railroad boxcars. There has always been a sealing problem heretofore with single sheathed door structures and the gasketing of such doors. The doors, of course, are normally of a very large size, and the car sides are usually of decreasing thicknesses, thereby making gasketing at the meeting of a pair of doors (main and auxiliary doors), a difficult operation.

It is customary for doors of this type to be provided with cranks for compressing the gaskets. The particular novelty in this invention is directed to a new type of gasket.

One of the gaskets employed in this combination is of ordinary construction, i.e., it is a four-sided gasket used on the top, bottom, right and left sides of the main door. The other door, however, is provided with a three-sided gasket at the top, bottom and outside of the door. A special gasket structure is also provided at the meeting edge where the doors come together.

This invention is particularly directed to a structure referred to as a sealing gasket which seals critical areas of a pair of sliding flush plug doors, and consists of a large gap, upwards of one-half inch, at the top and bottom at the junctions of the main and auxiliary doors where it hits a flange section which surrounds the door opening.

The particular structure resulting at this opening is a flange of some thickness which projects into the door opening at each of the flush plug doors and extends around the entire side. This flange has a compression gasket mounted thereagainst on four sides of the main door.

The auxiliary door has a compression gasket on three sides, as well as a short vertical member or extension which spans the opening between the edges of the flanges, both at the top and bottom. On the vertical mating side, the door is shortened and causes an interior flange because it cannot span the entire length since it does not provide Patented Mar. 5, 1968 the proper sealing arrangement as will be apparent from the drawings.

In order to provide for normal tolerances, a gap results between the auxiliary door interior flange and header of the door opening which is upwards of one-half inch at both the top and bottom of the doors. The invention described and shown herein provides for a sealing flap, sealing angle or gasket extension attached to the auxiliary door compression gasket and to the interior flange of the auxiliary door and seals the corners of the auxiliary door in a satisfactory manner. There is, of course, a corresponding seal at the bottom corner. The particular advantages of this type of seal will be explained as well as the manner in which said seal is adapted to fit and seal the large openings at the points mentioned.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved gasket sealing means for double sliding flush plug doors, and, in particular, to seal the junction of a pair of doors with a reinforced angle flap seal or extension at the top and bottom of one of the doors.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved structure for sealing double sliding flush plug doors characterized by compression gaskets around all of the door sides and a type of flap gasket extension or seal at the meeting edge of a pair of doors.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved retaining device on the flap seal at the top and bottom corners where the compression gaskets meet to provide for a tight seal and securely hold the flap seal to one of the doors.

it is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved flap seal at the corner junctions between a four-sided compression gasket on the main door and a three-sided compression gasket on the auxiliary door of a double sliding flush plug door railway car structure. Such doors traditionally have leaked at this junction and this invention provides a flap seal or extension of reinforced construction attached to one of the compression gaskets, preferably the one on the auxiliary door, along the horizontal surface thereof and to the door along its vertical mating surface. The purpose of this construction is to provide a cover for the gap at the junctions of the doors Where the door and the jamb meet at the header and threshold corners.

Thus, this invention is directed to an angle flap seal or gasket extension capable of attachment to the threesided compression gasket which generally surrounds the auxiliary door of a railway car having a double flush plug door construction. The flap seal or extension is releasably attached to the auxiliary door compression gasket and the interior flange of the auxiliary door. The angle flap seal extends only a portion of the length of the interior flange of the auxiliary door and terminates with a feathered edge. The feathered edge provides a tight waterproof seal at the junction of the angle flap seal or gasket extension, the interior flange of the auxiliary door and the main door compression gasket.

To accomplish the foregoing and related ends, said invention then consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail one approved means of carrying out the invention, such disclosed means, however, constituting but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be used.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, fragmentary side elevation of a double sliding flush plug door, showing the novel gasket in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the main door structure shown from the inside;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of the auxiliary door structure;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the main door shown from the outside;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing the auxiliary door;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing the cooperation of the doors with their gaskets;

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 6, showing the main door gasket in compression against the car header and the flap seal attachment of the auxiliary door gasket;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing the main door partially retracted;

FIG. 10 is a section on line 10-10 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary plan view on line 11-11 of FIGS. 1 and 6;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, showing the doors retracted from the header, with parts broken away;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section showing a modification, and;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13, showing the door closed against the jamb of the car opening.

By way of background, it should be stated that double sliding flush plug doors have been well known in the prior art. The prior developments illustrate that doors have been spanned for great distances, sometimes exceeding widths of twenty feet and heights of thirteen feet. Naturally a pair of such doors provides for large openings or ready access to chambers and whatever commodities are contained therein. Doors have been known to be equipped with cranks and/or other means for exerting substantial force upwards of 500 pounds on a door, but there has always been a problem in securing gaskets in a door. Gaskets, of course, are not new, and compression gaskets are recited in the following patents: Weaver, No. 2,528,705; Swaneck, No. 3,038,218; Herman, No. 2,963,754; Read, No. 2,896,276; and Herman, No. 3,025,576. Compression gaskets have been employed on a flanged jamb, as disclosed in the Weaver patent mentioned above. Flap gaskets have been used for covering the junction of a door and a jamb, as for example in Pat. No. 690,648. Pat. No. 1,888,299 discloses the extension around the corner. The problem of two meeting doors occurs in connection with refrigerator car doors, and the compression gasket has been known to expand laterally to cover a gap between doors, as exemplified in Patent Nos. 2,575,094, 2,767,040 and 2,737,781. The Amana Pat. No. 2,811,406 illustrates a combined compression gasket on three sides with a type of flap on the meeting edge of two doors.

The present invention, however, is particularly characterized by an angle flap seal or sealing flap that carries the compression gasket between the horizontal top and bottom compression gasket surfaces of the main door, and then carries the compression gaskets over to the vertical surface so that a single compression gasket covering that seam can be extended from its shortened vertical length to cover the full flange and to span the gap between the door and the flange at the header and threshold area.

FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of boxcar doors in a boxcar side. The doors are of double sliding flush plug construction. In this view the main door is shown at 10 While the auxiliary door is shown at 11. Each door has a suitable camming means and rolling means to make the door slide across the opening and to fit therein with a plug fit.

This invention is particularly directed to the sealing means for a door and consists of an angle flap seal or gasket extension which is particularly shown in FIG. 3

and covers the opening between the pair of doors at the header and threshold portions. The main door, FIG. 2, is of standard construction with an exterior flange portion 12, a top or header flange 13 and a side flange or jarnb 14. The inside flange or jamb portion is shown at 15 with a retainer channel member 16 which has a special corner retainer 17 for holding the compression gasket, which is generally shown at 18. The cross section of the gasket is similar on the main door around its periphery on all four sides except for the special corner section.

The auxiliary door, FIG. 3, has a header flange 20 at the header portion, a side flange 21 and a flat metal side or interior flange 22 at the meeting edge between said auxiliary and main doors. In addition, the auxiliary door has a cut-out portion which is indicated generally at 23 which teiminates at the flat metal side interior flange 22 as at 24, short of the header flange 20. Likewise, the header flange 20 terminates where it meets the flat metal side 22 at the side portion 26. The compression gasket for the auxiliary door is shown generally at 27. It has a header portion 28 as well as an outside portion 29.

This invention is particularly directed to the angle flap seal or gasket extension which is generally indicated at 30, FIG. 3, It has a second flat portion 31, which is of generally rectangular construction, a first flat portion 32 at right angles thereto and connected by means of a fillet 33. The first portion is connected to the compression gasket 27 by means of a tenon projection 34, that mates with a corresponding mortise 35 in the compression gasket 27. This secures the gasket extension to the compression gasket. The second portion of said gasket extension has on the rear side thereof a substantially rectangular flap 37 which has an outward or first leg 38 and a downward or second leg 39, as well as an inwardly projecting pad 40. The flap 37 projects over the flat metal side or interior flange 22, and the pad 40 projects into an aperture 42 defined by flange 22.

Compression gasket 18 for the main door and gasket 27 for the auxiliary door are moved into and out of contact with each other by means of cam surfaces on the door as at 44 and by longitudinal bars 45 with special locking means 46, FIGS. 1 and 7. The doors are roller operated, a typical roller 47 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 7; in this Way the doors are moved from one sliding position to another to expose and close the door opening.

FIG. 4 is an exploded rear view of the main door and gasket 18, and illustrates the door 10 with its header flange 13 and meeting or inside jamb flange 15. The retainer channel for the gasket is shown at 16. In the rear portion of the gasket are apertures 49 for the molding of the gaskets. A detailed structure of the corner formation 50 is shown in this view. This structure helps retain the corner in position under operating conditions.

FIG. 5 gives further details of the angle flap or gasket extension seal as well as the manner in which it is fastened in the retaining channel 16 and the fiat metal side or interior flange 22 of the auxiliary door. The angle flap seal 30 is held against interior flange 22 by its 118.1) 37 (visible in FIG. 3). Pad 40 projects through the aperture 42 in the flat metal side or interior flange 22 to support the angle flap seal 30 in position and enable it to fill the corner that has been cut out of the auxiliary door. This corner cut-out is shown at 23 is FIGS. 3 and 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operating relationship of the compression gaskets from the inside of the door. The main door gasket 18 extends across the header portion and down the vertical meeting edge and may be seen behind the auxiliary flap seal or gasket extension 30 as at 52. The auxiliary door gasket 27 has a header portion 28 with a mortised slot 35 (not shown), and the angle flap seal 30 has a tenon projection as at 34 (not shown) that fits therein to hold the angle flap seal against the auxiliary door and gasket 27, thereby securing the first portion 32 to the door. The second portion 31 is substantially rectangular with a retaining flap 37 that fits over the fiat metal side or interior flange 22 and has pad 40 which projects into aperture 42 in the flat metal side. The front edge of the gasket is feathered to a line as at 53 so that the vertical portion of the main door gasket 18 will gradually compress and form a tight seal against the angle flap seal 30 and against the flat metal side or interior flange 22 along the meeting edge of the main and auxiliary doors.

FIG. 7 shows a typical vertical cross section through the auxiliary door 11 as well as the external flange 20, together with the auxiliary compression gasket 27. The header portion of the car side is shown at 54. The camming means is generally shown at 44 to cam the door 11 into a flush plug door in the car side. The roller means for moving said door is shown at 47.

FIGS. 8. and 9 give the sequence of operations, and are taken along line 8 8 of FIG. 6. The horizontal compression gasket 18 held in retaining channel member 16 is compressed against the header portion 54. Also shown is the angle flap seal or gasket extension 30 with its retaining flap 37 and pad 40. The first portion 32 of the angle flap seal 30 is shown at its feathered edge 53.

In FIG. 9, where the main door is shown retracted away from the header poltion 54, the full end view of the first portion 32 is seen therein as well as the way in which it forms a right angle with the second portion 31. This provides for a very good connection to the door by means of the flat metal side or interior flange 22, and it is fitted against the side of the door as at 26 and held to the compression gasket, as noted in connection with FIG. 5, so that it is firmly positioned.

The remaining operative positions are shown in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 shows a crosssectional view of FIG. 1 as Well as of FIG. 6. The main and auxiliary doors and 11 respectively are shown with the compression gasket 27 of the auxiliary door 11 compressed against the header portion 54. The angle flap seal or gasket extension 30 is shown filling the gap between the header portion 54 and the main door. Angle flap seal 30 is secured to the auxiliary door compression gasket 27 by means of the tenon connection 34 in mating mortise 35. The angle flap seal has the second portion 31 and the first portion 32 mutually supported by fillet 33, making a seal against which the compression gasket 18 may fit. On the inside and below the header is the retaining flap 37.

FIG. 12 further brings out the position of the gasket members when they are away from the door and separated one from another. Note carefully how in the non-compressed state, the auxiliary door gasket 27 is tapered as at 55 so that it overlaps the angle flap seal 30 as at 56.

The other figures, particularly FIG. 10, show the main door 10 and auxiliary door 11 together with the main door gasket 18 which is fitted against the flat metal side or interior flange 22 on the auxiliary door. This view (FIG. 10) is the cross section taken in the middle of the door where the angle flap seal does not show.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an arrangement of another type of gasket 60, which generally has a bulbous portion 61 and a preformed flap 62 which is secured by means of a retaining metal strip 63 and fastened to the flange of the door as at 64. The compressed condition, FIG. 14, is shown at 66 making a tight seal with the door. The operative relationships would be substantially the same for this type of gasket.

It will be seen that this angle flap seal or gasket extension is an eflicient way of making a tight connection that will span the gap in a pair of sliding flush plug doors.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the invention may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art, and, therefore, the embodiments illustrated are not meant to be restrictive with all modifications and changes apparent to those having skill in the art comprehended within this invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a railway car having double sliding flush plug doors;

said car having a side with a door opening therein defined by header, threshold, and side interior flanges;

one of said doors being a main door and having exterior flanges about its periphery extending substantially parallel to the car side and spaced therefrom;

a compression gasket on the interior side of said main door exterior flanges adapted to fit, engage and seal said header, threshold and one of two side flanges defining said door opening;

the other of said doors being an auxiliary door having exterior flanges about its top, bottom, and door opening engaging side;

said flanges extending substantially parallel to the car side and spaced therefrom;

said auxiliary door further having an interior flange extending substantially parallel to the car side between the top and bottom flanges of said auxiliary door on the side thereof opposite said door opening engaging side whereby said interior flange of said auxiliary door is overlapped by the adjacent exterior flange and compression gasket of said main door;

said auxiliary door having a compression gasket extending along the interior sides of its exterior flanges;

wherein the improvement comprises said auxiliary door compression gasket having extensions above and below said interior flange having a first portion substantially perpendicular to the planes of said flanges and a second portion integral with said first portion posi tioned against only portions of the exterior side of said interior flange of said auxiliary door adjacent the header and the threshold;

said auxiliary door compression gasket extensions further having flap portions extending a short distance over the top edge and a short distance under the bottom edge of the interior surface of the interior flange of said auxiliary door to complete the seal between the header flange, the threshold flange and the main and auxiliary doors.

2. The improvement of claim 1 in which said flap portions have a first leg extending inwardly of said auxiliary door;

said first leg being adapted to extend over the top edge and bottom edge of said interior flange of said auxiliary door;

a second leg extending transversely from said first leg;

said second leg having a pad connected thereto;

said pad projecting toward said auxiliary door interior flange;

said auxiliary door interior flange having an aperture at the top and bottom thereof;

said apertures being adapted to releasably receive said pad and therefore releasably secure said fla-p portion and extension of said auxiliary door compression gasket to said auxiliary door.

3. The improvement of claim 1 in which means are provided for releasably securing said extensions to the auxiliary door compression gasket mounted on the exterior flange about its top, bottom and door opening engaging side.

4. The improvement of claim 3 in which said means are tenons carried by said extensions adapted to be releasably secured complementally shaped mortises in said auxiliary door compression gasket.

5. The improvement of claim 2 in which means are provided for releasably securing said extensions to the auxiliary door compression gasket mounted on the exterior flange about its top, bottom and door opening engaging side.

6. The improvement of claim 2 in which said means are tenons carried by said extensions adapted to be releasably secured in complementally shaped mortises in said auxiliary door compression gasket.

7. The improvement of claim 2 in which a portion of said extensions are feathered to provide a tight seal at the junction of said auxiliary door compression gasket extensions, said interior flange of said auxiliary door and said main door compression gasket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Gautschi 49-488 Tremblay et al. 49475 Madland 49--426 X OConnor 49-495 X Bertolini 49483 X Butler 49-485 X Landis 49483 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner.