US752265A - Latch for mine-car doors - Google Patents

Description

No. 752,265. PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904.

l C. H. SMITH.

LATCH FOR MINE GAR DOORS.

APPLI GKTION PILED'HOV. 2, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

'gvdvilgesses which the end of the latch engages.

. no. teases.

I'atented February 16, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN H. SMITH, OF TRAUGER, PENNSYLVANIA.

LATCH FOR MINE-CAR DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,265, dated February 16, 1904'.-

Application filed Novembe 2, 1903. Serial No. 179,617. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trauger, in the countyof VVestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Latch for Mine- Car Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to latches for minecar doors.

The principal object of this invention isto provide a simple, durable, inexpensive, and

useful latch for mine-car doors of such design that the weight of the load within the minecar may by pressing against the door assist in releasing the latch, so that the door may be'opened and permit the contents of the car tobe dumped. j

A further object'of the invention is to provide asirnple and inexpensive latch for minecar doors which will not be easily broken and which will be absolutely reliable in operation.

With the objects above mentioned and others in view, which will be readily seen as the invention is fully disclosed, the same consists inthe novel construction and combination of parts of a latch for mine-car doors hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings illustrative thereof, and having the novel features thereof specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is an end eleva tion of a mine-car having the improved latch applied thereto. Fig. 2 is adetail view of the keeper by which the latch-operating lever is secured in position. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the keeper on the bottom of the car with Fig. {i is a detail view of one of the clips in which the latch turns.

Referring to the drawings, in which corre sponding parts are designated by similar characters of reference, C designates a mine-car provided in the end with a dumping-door D. The door D is preferably provided at the top with a cross-bar 1, the ends of which project through bearings in the sides-of the car and afford journals for the support of the swinging door. The door may be of any ordinary or preferred construction, being shown in the present instance as comprising a plurality of upper end the bar 4 is slotted, as shown at 8,

and a bent lever 9 is pivotally secured in the slot 8, as best seen in Fig. 1. The lever forms the means for throwing the latch into operative position and is adapted for engagement with akeeper 10,attached to the mineecar door, as shownin Fig. 1. To limit the movement of the lever 9,'a chain 11 is secured at one end to the lever and has the other end secured to the door D of the car by a staple orother suitable fastening. The lateral projection 5 at the lower end of the latch-bar is adapted to engage with a keeper 12, rigidly fastened to the bottom of the car and having an upturned end 13 of the form shown in Fig. 1, with which the projection 5 engages when the latch is in operative position. The upturned end 13 of the keeper 12 rises above the bottom edge of the car-door, and in order to permit the car-door to swing outward when the latch isdisengaged a notch 1a is formed in the bottom of the 'door at such a point that when the latch is released the car-dOormay swing outward and the end 13 of the keeper pass through the notch. hen the latch is in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the lever 9 in engagement with the keeper 12, it will be seen that turning of the latch-bar 4 in its bearings is impossible and the vibration of the car in transit over the rails cannot dislodge the lever from the keeper. The pressure of the load within the car against the lower part of the door will of course force the lateral projection 5 of the latch-bar 1 into contact with the end 13 of the keeper 12, and the pressure exerted upon the latch will tend to rotate it in ist bearings and will so press the lever 9 forcibly against the keeper 12, thus preventing the lever from resting loose in the space behind the keeper. When it is desired to release the latch in order to dump the contents of the car, the lever 9 may be easily raised above the top of the keeper 12, and as soon as the lever is no longer in engagement with the keeper the pressure of the load in the car against the door Will suffice to turn the latch in its bearing-clips and permit the door to swing outward.

From the foregoing description and the drawings illustrative thereof it will be noted that the construction of the latch is extremely simple, that the amount of material used therein is small, and that the parts are so arranged and designed that suflicient strength is possessed by all the parts upon which the strain falls, so that the possibility of breakage is reduced to a minimum.

When it is desired to close the mine-car and secure it by means of the latch after the load has been dumped, the door must be swung inward until the bottom thereof has passed over the upturned end 13 of the keeper 12. The latch-bar 4 will then be turned in its bearings by means of the lever 9 until the lever can enter the space behind the keeper, when the lever will be forced down into engagement with the keeper and the latch secured in operative position.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in the preferred form of embodiment thereof, it is obvious that various changes in the form, proportions, and exact mode of assemblage of the elements may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and I do not limit myself to the exact form and arrangement of the elements shown and described.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a door, of a latchbar arranged for rotation on said do or and having a lateral projection, a keeper adapted for engagement by said lateral projection, alever on said latch-bar, and means mounted on the door for engagement by said lever to hold the latch in operative position.

2. The combination with ahorizontally-pivoted mine-car door, of a rotatable latch-bar I vertically arranged thereon and having a lateral projection, a keeper on the car adapted for engagement with said lateral projection, a lever attached to the latch-bar, and means on the car-door to engage with said lever and hold the latch in operative position.

3. The combination in a device of the clas described, of a rotatable latch-bar having a lateral projection on one side thereof and a lever arranged at the opposite side, a keeper for engagement with said lateral projection when the latch is in operative position, and means for engagement with the lever to hold the latch in operative position.-

4. The combination with a horizontally-pivoted mine-car door, of a rotatable latch-bar vertically arranged thereon and having a lateral projection at its lower end, a keeper mounted on the bottom of the car and adapted to be engaged by said lateral projection when the latch is in operative position, a lever attached to said latch-bar and extending therefrom on the side opposite said lateral projection, and a keeper on the door to secure said lever when the latch is in operative position.

5. The combination witha horizontally-pivoted mine-car door, of a rotatable latch-bar vertically mounted thereon, said latch-bar having a lateral projection at the lower end adapted to swing under the door, a keeper on the bottom of the car for engagement with said lateral projection when the latch is in operative position, a lever attached to said latch-bar,

and means for engagement with said lever to hold the latch in operative position.

6. The combination with a horizontal ly-pivoted mine-car door, of a rotatable latch-bar vertically disposed thereon and having a lateral projection, a keeper mounted on the car for engagement with said lateral projection when the latch is in operative position, apivoted lever mounted in the upper end of said latchbar, and a keeper on the car-door for engagement with said lever to hold the latch in operative position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN H. SMITH.

Witnesses:

M. L. FAUsoLD, L. T. SMITH.

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