US755551A - Folding door. - Google Patents

Description

No. 755,551. I PATENTED MAR. 22, 1904;

-- W. RICHARDSON.

FOLDING DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1903. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 29 A7 la" /4 I 15 gm 1 1 l .I i

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No. 755,551. PATENTED MAR. 22, 1904.

W. RICHARDSON. FOLDING DOOR.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1903. N0 MODEL. Q

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- 7 79 I A6 l3 PATENTBD MAR. 22, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

0 w s m fir ll all W h 1 1 :Pa 1 9 9 UNITED STATES Patented March. 22, 1904.

PATENT FFICE.

I WHEELER RICHARDSON, OF ELIZABETHTON, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF.

TlVO-THIRDS TO NAPOLEON L. MURRELL AND EDWIN C. ALEXAN- DER, OF ELIZABETHTON, TENNESSEE.

FOLDING DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,551, dated. March 22, 1904:.

Application filed July 27,1903. Serial No- 167,184. on) model.)

To all w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, WHEELER RICHARDSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elizabethton, in the county of Carter and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to folding doors intended for use wherever this class of doors might be found desirable, and the invention is particularly adapted for use upon railwaycars.

Among the objects in view is to provide a construction of folding door adapted to be readily operated and which is of simple and inexpensive construction; and the invention consists in bination of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a railway-car, showing my invention combined therewith, the door being in its closed position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the door partly open. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 1 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4C is a plan View of the parts when in the position seen in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is arear elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a front elevation showing the door in its fully-opened position. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the parts seen in Fig. 6.

1 indicates a supporting structure with which my invention is intended to be used. In the present instance I show this structure as being a portion of a railway-car, the same being provided with an opening 2, within which the sections of the folding door forming the subject of the present invention are adapted to be fitted.

My improved door comprisesfour sections or panels 3, 4, 5, and 6, the combined width of the sections 8, 4, and 5 being equal to that of the section 6. The section 3 is hinged at 7 to the side of the car and also hinged to the section L at 8, while the section 6 is hinged at 9 to the section 5. The sections 4: and 5 are spaced apart slightly to form a recess 10, and

said sectionst and 5 are connected rigidly together by cleats 11, secured to the rear faces of said sections.

Secured to the outer face ofthe panel 6, near the upper right-hand corner thereof, is a bracket or hanger 12, between the arms of which is mounted a grooved roller 13 which is adapted to travel upon the rod 14:, secured at its ends to the sides of the car above the opening 2 therein. This rod is adapted to serve as a guide for the roller to run upon when the door is opened or closed, and it is also adapted to serve as a supporting means for the door, the weight of the latter to a considerable extent coming upon the said rod, which thus relieves the hinges of the doorsections and enables the door to be more readily opened and closed.

The supporting and guide rod is of the shape seen more clearly in Figs. 2 and 7 and is so arranged that the right-hand end is in very close proximity to the side of the car, while its opposite end is somewhat more removed from the side of the car. This arrangement of the rod is necessary, because when the door is being opened the panel 3 will swing upon its hinges 7, thus causing its edge adjacent to the section 4 to swing in the arc of a circle, thus carrying outwardly with it the sections 4 and 5 and the hinged edge of the section 6, and these movements of the door-sections necessarily cause the roller to travel farther and farther away from the side of the car while the door is moving from its closed to open position. The hanger for the roller is swiveled to enable it to turn during the opening and closing movements of the door to thereby maintain the roller. in its proper rolling position upon the rod. When in the closed position, the sections of the door are prevented from being pushed inwardly by locating a block or abutment 15, secured to the car at the upper edge of the opening 2, this block being positioned so that when the door is closed and the panels L and 5 rest against said block the various sections of the door will lie flush with the side of the car.

For preventing accidental opening of the door from the interior of the car I provide a locking device adapted to lock the door in its closed position. This locking device in the present instance comprises a rod 16, confined within the recess by metal straps 17 se: cured to the outer face of the sections 4 and 5, and the ends of the rod 16 are bent rearwardly to form hooks 18, which are adapted to engage with loops or staples 19, secured within the recess 20 in the side of the car at the upper and lower sides of the opening 2. The rod 16 is adapted to be operated by means i of a handle 21, secured thereto about midway of its length. The operating-handle is adapted to be received within a recess 23, formed in the section 5 when the rod is in its locking position that is to say, with the hooks thereof engaging the loops or staples 19. When it is desired to release the sections of the door to permit them to be opened, the handle is thrown to the left sufficiently to cause the hooks thereof to be disengaged from the loops or staples, and said handle is adapted to be received within a recess 25, formed in the section 4, when the rod is in its unlocked position. I 26 indicates metal ears or lugs secured to the section 5 at either side of the recess therein, and provided with apertures through which a pin or bolt 27 may be inserted to prevent the operating-handle being accidentally operated to free the sections of the door. This pin or bolt is provided at one end with an eye 29 to adapt a holding-chain, for instance, to be attached thereto. The pin or bolt may be suspended from the section 6 by means of a chain 30, as shown.

The sections 3 and 6 of the door are provided with bails 31 and 32, respectively, adapted to serve as handles for causing the sections to be operated in the opening and closing movements of the door. The bail 31 should be countersunk within the section 3 in order that when the door is in the partially-open, or fully-open position seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 7 the said bail will not interfere with the section 3 lying flat against the side of the car. The bail '32 may or may not be countersunk, as desired. As will be seen in Fig.2, the door-sections may be operated to only partially uncover the opening 2 in the carthat is to say, with the section 3 lying flat against the side of the car, the sections 4 and 5 lying against the section 3, and the section 6 uncovering onehalf of the opening 2 in the car. If, however, it should be desiredto fully uncover the opening 2, the bail 32 is pulled upon to cause the sections 4 and 5 to lie flush against the side of the car and the section 6 lying then against the said sections 4 and 5 and the section 3, as seen in Fig. 7, and in order to temporarily retain the door in the folded position seen in Fig. 7 with the opening 2 fully uncovered I provide a swinging latch pivoted upon a block 36, secured to the side of the car. This latch has one. end heavier than the other, so that it gaged in rear by a cleat 38, secured to the side of the car at the edge of the opening 2 to make a clear joint, and 1 preferably provide the car upon its inner side with a somewhat similar cleat 39 for the edge of the section 6 to rest against when in its closed position.

It will be readily understood that the arrangement of the parts might be reversed, so that the door instead of opening from the right toward the left might be made to open from the left toward the right.

One ofthe advantages of the door is that it closes evenly with the car, while a further advantage is that it may be only partially opened, as seen in Fig. 2, when it is not desired to uncover more than one-half of the opening 2 in the car, or it may be fully opened, as seen in Fig. 6, to expose or 'uncover the opening 2 entirely.

What Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a supporting structure, of a folding door comprising sections or panels 3, 4, 5, 6, the combined width of the sections 3, 4, 5, being equal to that of section 6, the section 3 being hinged to the side of the supporting structure and to the section 4, the section 5 being hinged to the section 6, and said sections 4 and 5 being secured rigidly together, a roller carried by the section 6, and a rod 14 shaped as described and secured to said supporting structure, and upon which rod the said roller is adapted to travel in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with a supporting structure, of a folding door comprising sections or panels 3, 4, 5, 6, the combined width of the sections 3, 4, 5, being equal to that of section 6, the section 3 being hinged to the said supporting structure and to the section 4, the sec tion 5 being hinged to the section 6, and said sections 4 and 5 being secured rigidly together, a roller carried by the section 6, a rod 14 shaped as described and secured to the said supporting structure, and upon which rod the said roller is adapted to travel, and means adapted to lock the sections when in their extended position against folding movement.

3. The combination with a supporting struc- I ture, of a folding door comprising sections 3, 4, 5, 6, the combined width of the sections 3, 4, 5, being equal to that of section 6, the section 3 being hinged to the side of said supporting structure and to the section 4, and

section 5 being hinged to the section 6, and said sections 4 and 5 being secured rigidly together, but spaced apart so as to form a recess between them, a roller carried by section 6, a rod 14 shaped as described and secured to .said supporting structure, and upon which rod the said roller is adapted to travel, alockingrod rotatably mounted in the recess between the sections 4 and 5 and provided with hooked ends, and loops or staples secured to the said supporting structure adapted to be engaged by said hooked ends.

4:. The combination with a supporting structure, of afolding door comprising sections 3, 4,, 5, 6, the combined width of sections 3, 4:, 5, being equal to that of section 6, the section 3 being hinged to the said supporting structure and to the section 4, the section 5 being hinged to the section 6, and said sections 4 and 5 being rigidly secured together and being spaced apart to form a recess between them, a roller carried by section 6, a rod 14 shaped as described and secured to said supporting structure and upon which rod the said roller is adapted to travel, a locking-rod rotatably arranged within the recess between the sections 4: and 5 and having hooked ends, loops or staples secured to the supporting structure and adapted to be engaged by said hooked ends, and an operating-handle secured to the locking-rod and adapted to seat within the recess between the sections 4 and 5.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WHEELER RICHARDSON. Witnesses:

J. N. EDEN, J. R. FAIR.

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