US633820A - Refrigerator-car. - Google Patents

Description

Nu. 533,320. Y Patented sept. 26.1899;

E. T. a: e. c. EARL & .1. H. MILLER. nsrms'ianon c An. (Applc-:atiun M ed Hay 31, 1898.) (llo Nudel.) '2 Sheets-Shogi l.

l l l 0 Nujssazo. Patented-sept. 2s, |899. E. T..-&. G. C. EARL J. H. MILLER.

BEFRIGEBATUR CAR.

(Appuwion md any 31,1898.) (Ilo Model.) Zhnen-Sheet 2,

liv

lll I y (i4/ii f UNITED STATES'.

EDWIN T. EARL AND GUY c.A EARL, OF'OAKLAND, AND

PATENT @.O'rricn.

JOHN H. MILLER,

OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; SAID GUY C. EARL AND SAID MILLER ASSIGNORS-'TO SAID EDWIN T. EARL. f

REFRleER'AToR-CAR."

sPncrFIcAfr'mN forming eert er Letters Patent No. esaeedeatee september 26,1899.

Appuanonnefinaj 31,1893. serrano. 582,202. on man.)

- county of Alameda,

Be it known that we, DW'IN T. EARL and GUY C. EARL, residing` at Oakland, in the 4 Y and JOHN H. MILLER,

residing at lSan Francisco, inthe county of San Francisco,`State of California, citizens of the United States, have invented certain' new and useful Ir'nproveiuents in Refrigerator- Cars, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to refrigeratorfcars', and more particularly to the ice-tanks of such cars and to means for diminishing and in'- creasing` the capacity ofthe tanks in order to employ a ,smaller or larger quantityof ice. In 'Letters Patent granted to Edwin T. Earl June 1`, 1897, andnumbered 583,794, was described an ie-tankor such ya, car provided with an intermediate floor or false bottom adapted to llie across the tank as a door' or to be turned against the Wall of the tank in order to open the latter'to its full capacit-5i y The conditions under which refrigeratorcars are used, particularly in transporting perishable substances over long rentestand through varying climates and temperatures, make it desirableto use less ice at some partsl ofthe route and at certain seasons than at others. Thus" inl 4starting a .car loaded with fruit from a Warm climate Where ice. is expensive it is sometimes desirable toI use a small quantity ci i'cefin they upper part of the tank, provided that a comparatively short run will bring the car toa point Where ice is cheap and the" tanks can be illed. These 'conditions arepfound in transporting fruit from the Pacific coast to Eastern points, the run from the coast to the high Sierras, for instance, being made with a small quantity of ice upon the intermediate door or false` bottom and the tanks being lled to their `somewhat deeper than usual.

to provide means for removing the false bottom entirely 'fromv the main ice-tank' instead of leaving it Within'such tank after changing its position, auch,further,V to take advantage of certain features in the construction of the iceftanks tof provide receptacles for the false bottoms communicating with the tanks to receive these bottoms when removed from the tanks.

One form of our. invention isparticularly adapted to refrigerator-cars provided with end tanks, the upper part of which are eX- tended toward the middle .of the car, formingwhat is known as the 'ov'e'rhead part of the tank, beneath which is storage-space for the cargo, which is vloaded up against the main wall of the tank. The supplemenfloor or false bottom can be vplacedy about Y on a level with the bottom tank, and the overhead tank of theoverhead can be made kIt can thus be used as a receptacleV for the 'slidingfalse bot tom when .it'is desired to open' the tank to full capacity. At other times the false bottom will receive and hold the relatively small quantity of ice required. A. A

Another form of our invention provides for a pocket or'receptacle for'the false'bottom in a` Wall of the ice-tank, in lwhich f it can be placed andv 'from which it can. be withdrawn. We haveV illustrated our invention in the accompanyingI drawings, in which- Figure lfisalongitudinal section of lone end of a car, showing one ice-tank, the false bottom in the tank, land a receptacle provided for it wh'envithdr'awn. Figf 2 is a horizont-al section. showing the false bottomin'ade in two `parts independently movable by a sliding motion, one 'of such parts being. withdrawn andthe other lying as a floor across the tank. Fig.l 3 is a cross-sectionV trough the'ice-tank, looking toward the middle of thegarl Fig. 4 is a vertical section `slum/ing pocket arranged in a Wall ofthe tank. Fig. 5 isa horizontal section of the same. Fig. 6 is a detail section'of the iexible false bottoni shown in Fig. 5. f Fig. 7 shows a diEerent arrangement of mechanical means bottom.

A represents a refrigerator-car; B, an ice;-

for moving the false f f tank at one end; C, an ice-hole in the rool' provided with a hatch or cover I), and E the ordinary bottom of the tank, through which the cold air escapes to enter the interior or storage-space of the car.

F is an extension or overhead tank projecting from the main tank under the car-roof and having a grating or screen frontf. This overhead tank is in Fig. l shown as somewhat deeper than ordinarilyy made. Beneath the overhead tank'is cargo-space for loading boxes, crates, dsc., up against the front partition or wall of the main tank, and an opening F is provided in the main tank just beneath the overhead extension, which is a direct escape for warm air into the ice-tank from the cargospace beneath the overhead tank.

G is a supplementary flooror false bottom, which may be formed in one, two, or more sections. Itis constructed as agrating to pass the cooled air and water through and downward. We have shown it as composed oftwo sections, which are convenient to handle and can be shifted without levers or otherk mechanical means, although such means can beemployed and have been illustrated in the drawings. When in position as a floor ,across the tank the bottom or its plurality ofsections is supported by cleats l l, secured to the front and rear walls of the tank, and we prefer to provide cleats 2 2 along the side walls of the tank tok guide the bottom in its bodily movement.

In Figs. l and Sthe extension or overhead tank is increased somewhat beyond its usual depth, so that its bottom 4 lies just below the false bottom. When so constructed,the false bottom can be pushed bodily and by a sliding movement into the overhead tank, which forms a receptacle for it. When the bottom is formed in a plurality of sections, the sections can be separately pushed into the overhead tank and pulled therefrom. lVhen the bottom is shifted by hand, the ice can all be transferred to one section, then Vthe cleared section pushed into the extension-tank, then all the ice discharged into the main tank, and the remainder of the false bottom pushed into the extension, and this course can be fol1owed,if desired,when means are provided for mechanically shifting the false bottom. IVe have illustrated in Fig. l certain means for this character-viz, a chain I-I, secured to the false bottom or each of its sections and extending into the extension-tank around guide- pulleys 3 and 3. The chain then passes to a point near one of the ice-holes, where its end may be caught and held in any suitable way. By means of this chain the false bottom can be pulled into the extension-tank before or after the ice has been shifted from it, the ice in the former case falling into the main tank below.

We prefer to provide the overhead extension-tank with special means to receive the false bottom in order that there may be no interference with its movements byice in that tank. For this purpose we have provided a pocket. (Shown in Fig. l.) The pocketK in Fig. lgis formed by a partition I, which may be a grating in the overhead tank in connection with the bottom of the tank, the mouth of the pocket being about opposite the edge of the false bottom Gr. 1

In Figs. 4t and 5 we have illustrated a modiiication of our invention, which, however,

veach of its sections ilexible and in as many parts jointed together as may be necessary. Ve have shown each section as composed of two parts M and M jointed together on a rod 6, so that the joints can break upwardly and Yallow the bottom to enter the hole in the wall of the tank and be turned downwardly into the pocket.

In case it should not be desired to have the extension or overhead tank as deep as shown in Fig. l, but tok provide it with a pocket for the false bottom, which would be above the level of such false bottom, it may be found convenient to use a flexible false bottom in connection with the pocket in the overhead tank. The use of such a flexible false bottom is therefore not necessarily conined to a construction in which the pocket is placed in the wall of the ice-tank.

In Fig. 7 we have shown another form of device for moving the false bottom, which is designed to act automatically. In this case a chain I-I is secured to the front edge of the false bottom or its sections, to the free end of which is secured a weight O. This chain is guided by a pulley 7 into the pocket ora guide in the wall of the tank, and the false bottom is held in position by some form of catch, such as 'that shown at S. The releasing of the catch permits the weight to fall, drawing the false bottom vhorizontally into the extension-tank.

Whether the pocket be formed in connection with the overhead tank or in a Wall of the main tank, the false bottom can be entirely removed from the main tank and safely stowed where it is conveniently accessible.

IVe do not limit ourselves to the exact constructions described and shown, as within the limits of the following claims modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a refrigerator-car, the combination with the ice-tank having an ice-hole, of a slid- ICO in g .false bottom for diminishing the capacity of the tank, a receptacle for receiving and stowing said false bottom to restore the ca-v pacity of the tank, and aconnection accessible through the ice-hole for mechanically Amoving said false bottom. y.

V2. In a refrigerator oar, the combination with the ice-tank having an ice-hole, of a sliding false bottom fondiminishing the capacity,

of the tank, a receptacle for receiving and stowng said false bottom to restore the oapacity of the tank, a connection for mechanically moving said false bottom; said connection being secured at one end of the false bottom, and having a free end accessible through the ice-hole for applying power thereto.

In testimony where-of Lthe saidvE. T. EARLE, Y

v JOHN H. MILLER.

Witnesses: Y

L. W. SEELY,

M. J. Dm'rz.

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