US801446A - Trap-door-opening device. - Google Patents

Description

No. 801,446. PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905. 0. M, EDWARDS. TRAP DOOR OPENING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 1902.

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UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

TRAP-DOOR-OPENING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed February 11, 1902. Serial No. 93,629.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER M. EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trap-Door-Opening Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to a device or devices to be combined with the operating means of door-opening devicessuch, for instance, as are set forth in a pending application, Serial No. 77,302, filed October 2, 1901for preventing the unintentional operation of such means by passengers and others who may be near to such operating means; and it has for its main object the construction of a device or devices and the combination of the same with the operating means of a door-opening device of the general character set forth in said application to prevent the unintentional operation of such operating means.

My invention consists in combining with the platform of acar and the operating means of a door-opening device of the general character set forth in the above pending application, Serial No. 77,302, of a device or devices in such manner that passengers and others while standing on the platform of the car cannot unintentionally actuate the operating means of the door-opening device; and it also consists in certain other novel and useful combinations of parts, all of which will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims which form -a part of this specification.

Like letters of reference, wherever they occur, indicate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

Figure 1 shows in side elevation one form of the door-opening device set forth in said pending application with one form of pro: tecting device or attachment combined with the operating means of such opening device, the whole being mounted on a car, with all of the parts seen in their normal position or positions ready to be actuated. One of the timbers of the platform of the car and a part of the vestibule are seen in section, the platform itself, the trap-door and steps of the car being broken away, as shown, in order that the remaining parts may be shown on a larger scale than would be the case if all of these parts were shown. Fig. 2 shows in side elevation the enlarged portion of the plunger or foothold of the operating means seen in Fig. 1, with a modified form of the protecting device or attachment combined therewith, the movable portion of which covers agreater space than is opposite the enlarged portion or foothold of the operating means in the direction such means operatively move. Fig. 3 shows in side elevation and vertical section another modification of my protecting device or attachment, so far as concerns the movable portion of it adjacent to the operating means. Fig. 4 shows in side elevation still another modification of my protecting device, wherein the form of mounting of the movable part of the attachment relatively to the operating means is somewhat different from that seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows in side elevation a still further modification of my device or attachment, wherein there may be a somewhat different action of the parts than seen in Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and 7 show in side elevation and plan, respectively, still another modification of my protecting device or attachment wherein the device is fixed relatively to the foothold of the door opening device. Fig. 8 shows in side elevation still another modification of my protecting device or attachment. Figs. 9 and 10 show in side elevation and plan, respectively, another modification of the same device. Figs. 11 and 12 show in side elevation and plan, respectively, still another modification.

The door-opening device A, as here shown, consists generally of a lever a, pivotally mounted between its ends to a casing let into the platform of the car. The end a of this lever a is arranged underneath the front edge of the trap-door B, and the lever has some little movement on its axis before the end (0 contacts with the under edge of the door, and during this movement the elbow-lever b, pivotally mounted on the door B, is moved on its pivot by the end a of lever engaging therewith, and as the other end of lever b engages with the sliding catch-bolt 6 such.

bolt is moved out of its locking position in engagement with the platform of the car, and by the time end a of lever to engages with the under edge of the door B such door is free to move by the continued movement of the lever (0 until it is partially opened for the hand. of the operator to take .hold of a portion thereof to continue the opening operation, so as to expose the steps of the car for the use of passengers in entering or leaving IIO the car. The end a of lever a connects with the sliding bar or plunger (0", so that as such plunger moves downward that end of the lever is moved downwardly and the door is partially opened, as just stated. A spring 66 engages with the lever a and the platform of the car or other stationary portion, so that its stress tends to move or return the parts back into the positions shown after the force ceases which pressed the bar or plunger a downward and operatedlevera. The sliding bar or plunger (0 is provided with a head or enlargement a for the foot of the operator to rest on while forcing such bar downward to operate lever a whenever such head or foothold (4 is exposed for this purpose, all as is more fully set forth in said pending application.

The trap-door B is provided with suitable hinges, by which it may be controlled as it moves from the closed to the open position, and vice versa, and, as here shown, such hinges may take on the form wherein one hinge-pin or journal is hollow and through which a spring or springs may pass and engage with a stationary portion of the car, and such door may have a spring or springs, as just indicated, or not, as is desired---that is, the hinges may be of any form desired-and likewise springs of the above form and arrangement maybe used or not, or, if desired, the spring or springs may be omitted, as these things form no necessary part of my invention. Also any form of door-opening device may be used, so long as it has operating means of some kind adapted to be combined with devices of the character herein indicated, and serve the purpose of the combinations shown and described in substantially the same manner such purpose is served by said combinations.

As shown in Fig. 1, suitable brackets are mounted on the end of the vestibule at one end of the car, in which the movable bar or rod-O is movably mounted, so as to move up and down in a vertical direction. This movable bar 0 is provided at its upper end with a knob c, which rests upon the upper face of the upper bracket secured to the car when the parts are in their normal positions, as shown, and at its lower end with a disk 0 or enlarged portion, which for convenience I will term a foot portion,which is to be of such a size as to adapt it to cover over such a portion of the head or foothold a of sliding bar or plunger 66 0f the door-opening device A (which foothold and bar, as shown,forrn the operating means of such opening device) as to prevent a persons foot engaging with such head or foothold sufficiently to press the bar and head clownwardl y when such foothold is pressed upon, as it naturally would be by one not intending to operate such opening device, but simply trying to get a rest for his foot, while standing on the platform, and within convenient reach of the head or foothold of such bar. This foot portion 0 is to be placed sufiiciently close to the upper surface of the foothold a as to render it difiicult or inconvenient for one to reach the upper surface of the foothold (6 by his foot without moving the foot portion 0' away from such surface to admit of access thereto. Of course if the foot portion 0 rested upon heada" at the same time that knob 0 rested upon the upper bracket there would be no access to the upper surface of such head. without first lifting such foot portion sulficiently for a persons foot to enter between such upper surface of the foothold and the foot portion 0. Again, it is possible to have the foot portion some little distance from the foothold without access being given to the upper surface of head (0 The foot portions in Figs. 2 and 4 are designated 0 and 0, respectively, the bar and head or foothold of the operating means in each case being designated a and a, respectively.

In Fig. 2 the disk 0 or foot portion of the movable bar C is of considerably greater size than the head or hold at" of the operating means, and, as shown, the two are about centrally arranged relatively to each other. As here shown, the bar 0 is provided with a small collar 0, which rests on the uppersurface of the lower of the two brackets by which such bar is mov'ably mounted on the car, and the contact of this collar 0 with the upper surface of this lower bracket prevents the foot portion 0 from going below the position where seen; but it, with the bar (1 can move upward to make room for the foot of the operator between this foot portion and the foothold a To raise or lift up this foot portion 0 and bar C place the toe of the foot, if desired, underneath the edge of this foot portion which extends beyond the head or foothold a and move the foot upward until there is room between the foot portion and foothold to slip the foot into position to push the head and operating means down to operate the lever a, as before explained.

In Fig. 1 the knob c is the means by which the bar C is operated in one direction by the hand of the operator to give access to the foothold or head (6 while in Fig. 2 the foot portion 0 by reason of any convenient portion of the same being beyond the head a, may form corresponding means for this same purpose, gravity in each case returning the bar and foot portion to their normal positions. The foot portion 0 of Fig. 2 is shown in position to cover the foothold or head a" and at the same time prevent the head being operated if one should unintentionally or otherwise rest his foot upon its upper and projecting surface, as the collar 0 prevents the downward movement of bar C. In this respect the result of downward pressure on the upper surface of o is the same as 1n case of corresponding pressure on 0' of Fig. 1, although in the latter case the foot would more easily slip off of 0 than it would ofi of 0 but this is immaterial.

In Fig. 3 the foot portion 0 is made to embrace the side portions of this foothold a; but

the only difierence is that such portion and the bar C to which it is attached, have to move a greater distance to make room for the foot on top of the foothold or head a otherwise the operation is the same as in preceding figures.

In Fig. 4 the bar 0* and foot portion 0* are somewhat differently formed than is the case in preceding figures. The foot portion extends outwardly from the bar (1*, so that while the foothold a is substantially covered or protected from the unintentional placing of ones foot thereon the bar (1* may be placed nearer to the end or side of the vestibule than would otherwise be the case. This may sometimes be an advantage where it is desired that the brackets in which the bar or rod 0* is movably mounted shall not extend out from the car, as is the case in preceding figures. The operation is the same as in Fig. 1, the foot portion being of sufficient dimensions to properly serve its intended purpose.

In Fig. 5 a conically-formed portion on the lower end of bar O is shown, which serves the functions of the disk 0 in Fig. 1that is, it is of such shape that it will not offer a support for the footby which the bar and head a can be pressed downward and lever a be operated by any unintentional placing of ones foot upon such conically-formed foot portion 0 In this respect the construction of foot portion 0 serves the same functions in preventing the unintentional actuation of the lever a as is performed by the foot portions in preceding figures, notwithstanding the differences in the shapes of the several foot portions. By reason of the conical shape of this foot portion 0 it is difiicult to place much force in a downward direction upon such portion, and consequently the bar C need not be so rigidly held against downward movement when its normal position is reached, as is the case in some other of the constructions seen in preceding figures. Owing to this fact, this bar (1 can be made, if desired, by unusual effort-that is, more eifort than may be necessary to unintentionally move such bar downward from the position seen in Fig. 5- to move downward from that position by overcoming the stress or tension of spring 0' on bar C, and between the lower part of knob 0 and the upper surface of the upper bracket, in which such bar is movably mounted. This spring a" is of sufficient strength to resist any ordinary force that would naturally be placed on knob 50 and yet be made to yield by any considerable force greater than would unintentionally be placed thereon by a passenger or similar person in the ordinary use of the platform. This spring c does not in any way interfere with the lifting of this bar C away from the head a to give room for the foot of the operator in ordinary use. This spring gives a somewhat yielding abutment for the knob 00 in place of-a rigid one, which may under some circumstances be advantageous.

The construction seen in Figs. 6 and 7 differs from the preceding constructions in that the foot portion 0 is fixed in relation to the foothold or enlarged head a of the operating means of the door-opening device instead of being movable, as shown in preceding figures. This foot portion 0 is in the form of a right-angle projecting plate fixedly secured to the vestibule or car, as shown, and, if desired. it may be used to rest the foot upon if for any reason this should be desirable. This protecting device 0 is so arranged relatively to the foothold or head a of the operating means that the toe of the foot of the operator can be placed underneath the projecting plate 0 upon the foothold a and actuate the same. This foothold a is preferably made as shown, and when so made'its shape aids in shoving the toe of the foot between the under surface of 0 and the upper surface of a, and yet such foothold is covered over and fully protected from unintentional movement by passengers and others.

The construction shown in Fig. 8 differs from that of Figs. 6 and 7 in that it has a supplemental piece or sliding bar 0 having head or foothold portion 7L arranged as shown, having the shape indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 10 or any other shape desired and adapting it to receive pressure from the foot or otherwise and also having the stationary projecting lip or step 0 arranged relatively to the part It, with a greater space between the two than seen in preceding figures. The sliding bar U is preferably made as shown-that is, separate from the plunger or sliding bar a and its slightly-enlarged head as0 that there will not be any tendency for it to cramp in its bearings, which are separate and distinct from the bearings in which (0 slide or move, which would exist if bar a of the door-opening device were mounted in a bracket or other supporting and guiding part attached to the car near the point where the upper of the two brackets which supportand guide the sliding bar C The length of this bar portion C may-be such as to be in position to be conveniently reached by the foot of a personstanding on the floor of the vestibule of the car or other place where the device is to be used. The projecting stationary part 0 may be of such dimensions as will conveniently cover and protect from unintentional actuation the sliding bar U and consequently the sliding bar a of the door-opening device, as is the case in preceding figures. -VVhen the protecting device 0 projects sufficiently, the part It may be some little distance below the under side of 0 as shown, and the foot IIO hold /L be readily accessible for the foot of the operator. These parts will be arranged relatively to each other in practice as thought most convenient and yet protect the part it from unintentional movement by passengers and others. This device a may be used for a step if made suificiently strong to receive the weight of a person, and the door-opening device and combined parts may be placed in such relation to the trap-door to be opened and the vestibule of the car as to make the part a conveniently serve as a step when wishing to reach something near the roof of the car as, for instance, some portion of the signal apparatus for use by the employees on the car.

The construction shown in Figs. 9 and 10 differs, among other things, from the construction shown in Fig. 8 in that the rightangled plate or fixed part c is hinged to the car, so that it may be turned up and away more or less from the head a", as indicated in partial dotted lines, or, as desired, instead of being fixedly attached in position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8. The head a may be attached directly to the operating means of the door-opening device, as in Figs. 1 and 2, or it may be a part of a supplemental sliding bar, as in Fig. 8, as desired. This protecting device may have the part 0 kept in the position shown in Fig. 9 by gravity or otherwise, and whenever it is desired to actuate a the part c" is lifted by the toe of the foot or otherwise, as desired, and access is thus given to head a, as in some of, the preceding constructions. If desired, the construction of this protecting device may be made of sufficient strength to bear the weight of a person, so that it,'like the construction seen in Figs. 6 and 8, may be used as a step, if desired. The part 0" may be arranged relatively to the head a, as shown, or otherwise, as desired, so long as 0 is so arranged as to protect head ct" from unintentional actuation, as before explained.

The construction shown in Figs. 11 and 12 differs from that seen in Figs. 9 and 10 in that the head or knob w is substantially like knob in Fig. 5 and may, if desired, be pressed down by the hand as well as by the foot, and the protecting device partially surrounds or incloses the knob (11, as shown. The part o is hinged, as is the part c in Figs. 9 and 10, and it is lifted more or less to uncover and give access to head or knob 01, as

vice of Figs. 11 and 12, like those hereinbefore described, is such that any pressure which would naturally be exerted upon it by a per son leaning thereon would not break the same, and therefore it protects the knob w and sliding bar C from unintentional actuation, as is the case in former constructions which have been described.

Each form of protecting device herein shown and described has a portion arranged near to but out of the path of movement of the head of the operating device or means, and means are provided which oppose the movement of such portion into such paththat is, the portion which sufficiently covers and protects the operating device from being unintentionally actuated does not when made movable move into the path of movement of the head of the operating device to obstruct or prevent its movement, and thereby prevent the operating device being operated. In each case a portion of the protecting device is arranged so as to normally cover more or less of the head of the operating device, and the means provided in connection therewith are adapted to oppose the movement of such portion toward such head from a point where a person would naturally place his foot or other portion of his body to obtain a resting-place therefor when on the platform near the head of the operating means.

The operating means of the door-opening device may consist of any kind of a piece or pieces which when moved in one direction partially open a door or actuate another part or parts and do this work and when moved in the other direction permit the door to be closed. Such operating means may be adapted to receive the foot of the operator to actuate the same, as shown, or they may be adapted to be actuated by the hand also, as shown, as desired, and the portion with which contact is made to actuate such means may be of any desired shape and dimensions, and such portion is termed in the claims and many times elsewhere in the specification as the head, and this term is to be understood as referring to such portion, whether it is ofany one of the shapes and sizes shown orif it be of some other shape or size, as such shape, size, or dimensions are no necessary part of my invention.

The terms foot portion ant part have been used in describing that portion of the protecting device next adjacent to and which covers more or less of the head of the operating means of the door-opening device, and wherever the term foot portion may occur in the claims it is to be understood as referring to this part or portion of the protecting device, whether it be called in the descriptive part of the specification foot portion, part, or otherwise.

The term car-platform is to be understood as referring to any platform where similar devices to those here shown would be useful in connection with door-opening devices.

I have shown and described different forms and arrangements of parts by which the unintentional operating of the door-openingdevice shown may be prevented; but I do not wish to be limited to the forms and arrangements set forth herein nor to the use of my protecting devices in connection with the specific form of door-opening devices here shown and wish to include all others that are within the spirit of my invention.

hat I claim as new is 1. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a protecting device having a foot portion arranged out of the path of movement of the head of the operating device.

2. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a protecting device having a portion arranged between the head of the operating device and a point where force would be applied to actuate the operating device.

3. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, -of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, a device a portion of which is arranged substantially in line with the path of movement of the head and adjacent thereto, and means adapted to oppose the movement of such portion toward such head.

4. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a protecting device, a portion of which normally covers the head of the operating device.

5. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a protecting device having a portion movable relatively to and arranged to normally cover the head of the operating device.

6. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening de vice, an operating device provided with a head, and a protecting device, a portion of which and the head is movable, one relatively to the other, without obstructing the movement of the operating device.

7. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a movable protecting device movable in one direction to give access to the head and movable in another direction to actuate the head upon the application of a greater force than would unintentionally be applied thereto, whereby the head of the operating device is protected from unintentional movement until the movable protecting device is moved.

8. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head and a movable protecting device provided with a foot portion, as 0 movable in one direction to give access to the head and movable in the other direction to actuate the head upon the application of a greater force than would unintentionally be applied thereto, whereby the head of the operating device is protected from unintentional movement until the movable protecting device is moved.

9. In a car-platform the combination, substantially as set forth, of a door-opening device, an operating device provided with a head, and a movable protecting device partially inclosing the head of the operating device, whereby the head is protected from unintentional movement until the movable protecting device is moved to give access to the head.

. OLIVER M. EDWARDS. Witnesses:

CHARLES M. HANRAHAN, JAMES R. MURPHY.

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