US712139A

US712139A - Grain-car door.

Info

Publication number: US712139A
Application number: US8771301A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert C Johnson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1901-12-30
Filing date: 1901-12-30
Publication date: 1902-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 1919-10-28

Description

No. V7|21%9. Patented noms, |902.

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(Appucatin med Dee. so, 1991.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

Jy@ A a I 0%@ WM@ UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ROBERT CJOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 712,139, dated October 28, 1902. Application filed December 30, 1901. Serial No. 87,713. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. JOHNSON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chi.

cago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Grain-Oar Doors; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains'to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates in general to car-doors, and more particularly to doors for grain-cars.

It is desirable that the doors of grain-cars should securely` close the door-opening, so as to prevent the grain from falling out of the car and so as to protect the grain by rendering the carwaterproof. `It is also desirable that the doors should readily open outward by the weight of the grain when the car is to be unloaded, thereby minimizing the f orce required to open the doors, and should when the grain has been unloaded swing within the car out of danger of injury.

The object of` my invention is to provide a grain-car door comprising upper and lower swinging sections, so that the lower portion may swing outwardly to permit the unloading of the grain independently of the upper section, while the upper section may be swung within the car independently of the lower section.

A further object of my invention is to provide a grain-car with doors capable of opening outwardly to permitthe unloading of a car and normally swinging within the car, against the sides thereofrwhen the car is empty.

A further object is to provide a sectional sheet-metal grain-car door hinged to the sides of the door-opening by bending the sheet metal around vertical rods so secured to the-doorjambs as to permit the doors to swing both outwardly and inwardly.

A still furtherobject of my invention is to provide a grain-car door which will besinlple in construction, durable in use, and efficient in operation. j

My invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference to the accompanymore clearly show the inclination of the door? supporting rod; Fig. 6, a vertical section looking from the right in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 a sectional view looking downwardly with respect toFigs. 5 and 6.

The same reference characters are used to designate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings. 3

Reference-letter A indicates one of the side sills of the car upon which the flooring is supported.

o' and a2 indicate portions of one side'of the `car adjacent to the opening for the door.

A and A2 indicate vertical posts resting' upon the side sills A and supporting the horizontal beam A3, upon which the roof of the car is secured. A series of eyebolts E- are fixed to the post A', through which they pass in a diagonal direction, with the eyes thereof extending Within the car and beyond lthe adjacent vertical surfaces of the post. Nuts e ande2 are screwed upon the threaded portionA of the eyebolts at the points where each bolt passes into and out of the post. is preferably provided' with recesses Within which the nuts e and e2 are located. A series of eyebolts E2, similar to the eyebolts E',

are secured to the post A2at the opposite side of the door-opening of the car in a manner similarl to that in which the eyebolts E are secured to the post A. Vertical rods D' and D2 pass through the series of eyebolts E and E2,- respectively. The rods D and lD2 are preferably so located as to slightly incline away from the posts A' and A2 at their upper ends. 'lhe degree of such inclination may The post A" be Varied by projecting the eyebolts in the series to a greater or less extent within the car. The rods D and D2 serve assupports for the IOC doors by means of portions of the doors, which are preferably formed of sheet metal, surrounding such rods.

The door comprises upper sections B and B2, which are provided with curved portions b' and b2, surrounding the rods D and D2 between the two upper eyebolts in each of the series E and E2. The upper door-sections are consequently not only arranged to swing about the rods D and D2, but are also supported in proper relation to the lower sections of the door through the engagement of the curved portions b and b2 with the eyebolts. A vertically-swinging bar B3 is pivoted to one of the door-sections-forinstance,section B2- and engages when in a horizontal position with keepers b3 b2, secured to the respective upper sections of the door. When it is desired to open the upper sections of the door, the bar B3 is swung to a vertical position. If desired, one of the upper sections of the door may be provided with an opening closed by a sliding cover B4, through which the interior of the car may be inspected. The lower portion of the door-opening is closed by swinging sections C and C2, which are preferably each formed in two parts, as clearly indicated in Fig. l of the drawings. The lower doorsections C and C2 are also preferably made of sheet metal, which is bent around the vertical rods D' and D2, as indicated at c and c2, thereby hinging the lower door-sections to the car and also, through the engagement of such bent portions c' and c2 with the series of eyebolts, maintaining the door-sections in proper elevation to readily swing from one position to another'. The two sections C and C3 are secured together by hinges so as to permit the sections to fold located upon each other, with their line of contact projecting outwardly with respect to the dooropening. The sections C2 and C4 are similarly connected by hinges,as indicated in Fig. l. A vertically-swinging bar C5 is pivotally secured to the door-section G4 and engages keepers c5 c5, opening in opposite directions and secured to the adjoining sections (Fand C4. The ends of the bar C5 preferably extend beyond the sections C3 and C4 and overlap the sections C' and C2. A link C is pivotally connected to the bar C5 at one side of its pivot and is operatively connected at its lower end with a vertically-sliding bolt c6, adapted to engage an opening formed in the door-sill, the latter being preferably provided with a metal plate a. A vertically-swinging bar C7 is pivoted to one of the door-sections C' or C3 and engages keepers secured to both of such sections. A bolt c7 is operatively connected to the bar C7 and is reciprocated by it into and out of engagement with an opening in the metal plate a. A verticallyswinging bar C8 is also preferably pivoted to one of the sections C2 or C'l and engages keepers secured to both of such sections. A bolt es may be operatively connected with the bar CS and operated by it to reciprocate into and out of engagement with an opening in the metal plate a.

c3 and c4 indicate turn-buttons to connect the upper and lower door-sections together.

The manner of using my improved car-door is as follows: It is customary to fill a car with grain to a depth ordinarily not exceeding three-fourths of the height of the body of the car, and hence the upper portion of the dooropening need not be closed to prevent the grain from falling from the car. If it is desired for the purpose of ventilation or for other reasons to open the upper portion of the door-space, the bar B3 is swung into a vertical position and the upper door-sections B and B2 swung inwardly against the side of the car. When the upper as well as the lower sections of the door are closed, a tight joint is formed between such sections by overlapping the adjoining edges of the sections, as indicated in Fig. 4. By extending the tops of the lower sections on the outside of the upper sections both sections may be swung together inwardly against the sides of the car when the latter is empty, and at the same time the upper sections may be swung inwardly independently of the lower sections when the car is loaded. When the car has been loaded and it is desired to unload the grain into an elevator-pit,the bar C5 is swung into an upright position,thereby disengaging the same from the keepers c5 and also removing the bolt c6 from engagement with the doorsill. The smallerbars C7 and CS are in a similar manner swung into vertical positions, thereby disengaging the bolts c7 and o8 from the door-sill. The weight of the grain forces the lower door-sections outwardly, which bend along the lines of the hinges between the sections G and C2 and C2 and C4. The width of each of the lower sections is such as to permit them to swing outwardly without extending the distance usually allowed between the car and the elevator. The inclination of the rods D and D2, due to their upper ends being located farther within the car than their lower ends, causes the doors to swing inwardly when the car is unloaded, and the doors are disconnected from each other and the door sill. The doors when the car is empty will therefore be held by gravity Within the car, although they may be swung outwardly into positions at right angle with the plane of the door-opening and alsomay be swung inwardly against the interior sides of the car When desired.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have devised an improved graincar door whereby the upper portions of the door may be closed or opened independently of the closing or opening of the lower portions of the door and whereby the lower portions of the door may be readily opened outwardly to unload the grain without opening the upper portions of the door. It will be also observed that I have provided means for hinging the doors whereby they will be held within the IOO IZO

car when the car is unloaded and whereby the doors may be swung outwardly to unload the grain.

While I have described more or less precisely the details of construction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedientwithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a car,of doors comprising pairs of upper and lower verticallyswinging sections, and engaging meanspbetween said upper and lower sections whereby the upper sections may swing inwardly independently of the lower sections and the lower sections may swing outwardly independently of the upper sections, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a car, of swinging sheet-metal doors, Vertical rods secured to the posts at either side of the door-opening and projecting beyond the adjacent vertical faces of the posts,and curved portions of sheet metal integral with the doors loosely surrounding said rods whereby the doors may swing inwardly or outwardly with respect to the car, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a car, of swinging sheet-metal doors comprising upper and lower sections, eyebolts secured to the posts at either side of the door-opening, vertical rods passing through said eyebolts, curved portions of sheet metal integral with said doors loosely surrounding said rods betweenthe eyebolts whereby the desired vertical relation between the upper and lower sections of the doors is maintained, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a car, of swinging doors, vertical rods secured to the posts at either side of the door-opening and located beyond the adjacent vertical faces of the posts, and hinges rigidly secured to the doors and surrounding said rods whereby the doors may swing outwardly through the door-opening or inwardly within the car against the sides thereof, substantially as described.

5. The combination with acar, of inwardly and outwardly swinging doors, vertical rods at either side of the door-opening, the upper ends of which extend farther within the car than the lower ends, hinges rigidly secured rods tend to swing within the car, substantially as described.

6 The combination with a grain-car, of sheet-metal doors, comprising pairs of upper and lower sections overlapping at their meeting edges with the tops of the lower sections outside of the bottoms of the upper sections, each of said lower sections being formed in two parts folding upon each other, eyebolts secured to the posts at either side of the dooropening, vertical rods passing through said eyebolts, curved portions of sheet' metal integral with said doors loosely surrounding said rods between the eyebolts whereby the desired vertical relation between the upper y and lower sections of the'doors is maintained,

substantially as described.

7. The combination with a grain-car, of sheet-metal doors, comprising pairs of upper and lower sections overlapping at their meeting edges with the tops of the lower sections outside of the bottoms of the upper sections, each of said lower sections being formed in two parts folding upon each other, a vertically-swinging beam pivoted to one of the central parts of the lower sections and overlapping the side parts thereof, keepers secured to said central parts of the lower sections adapted to be engaged by said beam, eyebolts secured to the posts at either side of the door -opening, vertical rods passing through said eyebolts, curved portions of sheet metal integral with said doors loosely surrounding said rods between the eyebolts whereby the desired Verticalrelation between the upper and lower sections of the doors is maintained, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a car,of verticallyswinging doors, inclined rods supported at either side of the door-opening having their upper ends extending farther within the car than their lower ends, means rigid with said doors pivotally supporting the same upon said rods so as to permit the doors to swing inwardly or outwardly, the inclination of said.`

rods tending to swing the doors within the car.

In testimony whereof Isign this speciiication in the presence of two witnesses.

' ROBERT O. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

GEO. L. WILKINSON, CLARA O. CUNNINGHAM.-

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