US787646A - Trap-door for car-vestibule floors. - Google Patents

Description

No.78'7,646. 'PATENTED APR.18,1905. y K. SOHLIEPMANN. I

TRAP DOOR FOR GAR VESTIBULE FLOORS;

AIPLIOATION FILED JAN. 3, 1905.

BX M

TTY's.

*UNITED STATES Patented. April 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

KARL SCHLIEPMANN, OF ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ST. LOUIS CAR COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION.

TRAP-DOOR FOR CAR-VEST'IBULE FLOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,646, dated April 18, 1905.

Application filed January 8, 1905. Serial No. 239,524.

To all whmn it may concern.-

full, clear, and exact description,- reference.

being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to trap-doors for closing the nicks in the floors of railway-cars above the steps leading into the vestibules of the car.

' Figure I is an elevation of the lower portion of a car at the location of the vestibule entrancesteps,the vestibule-door being shown closed and the trap-door being in lowered po sition. Fig. II is a similar View to Fig. I with the vestibule-door shown open and the trap-door shown raised. Fig. III is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line III III, Fig. I. Fig. IV is an enlarged vertical section illustrating in detail the retaining-latch by which the trap-door is held in closed condition.

A designates a portion of one of the side walls of a car; B, a portion of one of the vestibule side walls. In the vestibule side wall is a doorway that is controlled by a door C, hinged to one of the door-posts D, as seen atE, Fig. II.

F (see Figs. III and IV) is the vestibulefloor, in which is a nick at the location of the door C, the floor being rabbeted at G. (See Figs. II and IV.)

H designates steps suspended from the car at the side of the vestibule at the location of the nick in the vestibule-floor.

1 designates a trap-door that is swingingly mounted and is adapted to be lowered to close the nick in the vestibule-floor at the location of the steps H when the vestibule-door is closed and raised into vertical position when the vestibule-door is open.

2 designates bearing-straps secured to the under side of the vestibule-floor at the rear end of the trap-door.

3 is a rock-shaft rotatively mounted in the bearing-straps 2 to turn therein and provided with arms 4, that are bolted or otherwise secured to the trap-door. -The rock-shaft 3 is also provided with a stem 5, to which is fixed a pull-arm 6.

7 is a pull-rod pivoted to the pull-arm 6 and having mounted thereon a retractile spring 8, the rear end of which is fixed at 9 to said pullrod. The pull-rod 7 extends longitudinally beneath the trap-door from the rear end of the door to its forward end, and loosely mounted upon the pull-rod near its forward end is a sleeve 10, to which the forward end of the retractile spring 8 is connected.

11 is a yoke to which the sleeve 10 is rockingly connected by pivot pins or screws 12, so that said sleeve may partake of an oscillat ing motion in said yoke. The yoke 12 has a screw-threaded shank 13, that extends to and through a bracket 14:, mounted beneath one of the timbers of the car-vestibule, and upon said shank at opposite sides of the bracket are nuts 15, thatprovide for longitudinal adjustment of the yoke and its shank and the maintenance of'said shank in an adjusted posired tension in said spring, which is secured in the manner stated, due to the connection of the spring with the sleeve 10, which is fitted to the yoke 11.

16 designates a latch-tongue by which the trap-doorl is retained in lowered position and seated in the rabbet of the vestibule-floor, as seen in Figs. I, III, and IV. This latchtongue is mounted in a box 17, to which its upper end is fixed, while its lower end extends downwardly to the vestibule floor and is adapted to spring outwardly to engage the trap-door when lowered. The box 17 is provided with a vertical slot 18.

19 is a slide movably positioned in the box 17 and bearing against the latch- tongue 16, and 20 is a button projecting from said slide through the slot 18 to be engaged by the hand or foot of the operator to move the slide downwardly and press the latch-tongue rearwardly for the purpose of releasing its lower end from the trap-door when it is desired to open said door.

When my trap-door is in closed position and is to be opened, the latch-tongue 16 is freed from the door by pressing the slide 19 downwardly. The retractile spring 8, which is constantly under tension, then by virtue of its tendency to contract acts to move the pullrod 7 in a forward direction and the rod is reciprocated through the sleeve 10, in which it is loosely fitted. As the pull-rod moves forwardly it draws therewith the pull-arm 6, and as a consequence the rock-shaft 3 is rotated and the trap-door is raised into a vertical position, as seen in Fig. 11. When the trapdoor is again closed, the retractile spring is placed under tension, as before, and it is in condition to actuate the parts the next time that the trap-door is to be opened.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination witha trap-door for carvestibules, of a rock-shaft to which said door is attached, a pull-rod connected to said rockshaft, a sleeve in which said pull-rod is slidably fitted, a spring connecting said pull-rod and said sleeve, means for supporting said sleeve, and means whereby said sleeve-supporting means is adjusted longitudinally with respect to said pull-rod, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a trap-door for carvestibules, of a rock-shaft to which said door is attached, a pull-rod connected to said rockshaft, a sleeve in which said pull-rod is slidably fitted, a spring connecting said pull-rod and said sleeve, a yoke in which said sleeve is swingingly mounted, and means for adjusting said yoke longitudinally with respect to said pull-rod, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a trap car-vestibule door, of spring-controlled means for raising said door in elevated position, a latchtongue for engagement with said door to hold it in lowered position, a box in which said tongue is seated and a slide in said box for releasing said latch-tongue from said door, substantially as set forth.

KARL SOHLIEPMANN. In presence of H. J. NOGEL, M. H. MURPHY.

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