US807231A - Safety-bridge for cars. - Google Patents

Description

No. 807,231. PATENTBD DBG.12, 1905.

' H. ALSOP.

SAFETY BRIDGE FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1905.

IIVVENTOR HENRY ALsoP I ATTORNEYS HENRY ALSOP, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY-BRIDGE FOR CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed June 12, 1905- Serial NO. 264,845.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRYALSOP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety-Bridges for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in safety bridges and guards for cars, more particularly stock-cars, and has for its object to provide a simple, cheap, and efficient device aforloading and unloading stock and other cars and one which can be readily applied to cars now in use as well as to new cars.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts,as will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a car with my invention applied. Fig.2 is a vertical section of a side of car, showing my improvement applied. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bridge removed. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective showing latch.

In the drawings, -1 represents the upright jambs of the door-opening of a stock-car.

2 is the safety-bridge, which is provided with hinge-eyes 3, secured to said bridge at suitable points. The inner face of the bridge has secured to it or is provided with the cleats 4 and to prevent slipping of stock when going into or out of the car.

5 represents the ordinary door used in stockcars, which is suspended by hangers 6 from the track 7.

8 represents rods bent at their upper ends, said bent upper ends being driven into or through the door-jambs 11 and fastened by nuts. The lower ends of the rods 8 pass through the bottom sill of the doorway and have their lower ends threaded to receive a nut-9, or the said lower ends may be headed in the same manner as a bolt.

10 is a horizontal rod having eyes 11 11 at each end, said eyes fitting around and sliding on the rods 8 8. Said rod 10 also passes through the hinge-eyes 3 3, so that the bridge may swing on said rod 10.

12 represents latches for holding the bridge 2 in a vertical position. Said latches are made of a bar of iron or other suitable material and are substantially U:shaped. The side arms of the lat-ch pass on the inner and outer sides of the jamb 1 1, being pivotally secured to the edge'of said jambs by staples or eyes 13. The latches are prevented from dropping too far downwardly by the stop pins or lugs 14, projecting from faces of thejambs. These stop pins or lugs do not project far enough beyond the outer face of the jambs to interfere with the free-sliding movement of the car-door when it is desired to close the door-opening. As shown in Fig. 4, the side arms of thelatches project far enough beyond the inner edges of the jambs to maintain the bridge in its vertical position.

When it is desired to load or unload the car, the latches are swung upwardly, whereupon the bridge will swing on the rod 10 until the free end of said bridge rests on the adjacent platform orthe chute from or into which the car is to be loaded or unloaded. The vertical rods 8 form guides by means of which the bridge may be adjusted for vary ing heights of platforms or chutes. The safety-bridge when in its vertical position also forms a guard to prevent stock in the car when crowded against the same from being pressed against the car-door and interfering with its free movement, as very often happens in crowded cars.

It will be seen that I provide an extremely simple and cheap device for quickly loading or unloading stock-cars, one which is always attached to the car, and one which can be readily adjusted for varying heights of platforms or chutes and one which will prevent the stock from falling between the car and platform. It will be further noted that my invention can be quickly and readily applied to old cars as well as new ones.

Having thus described my invention, what 'I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a car having an opening or doorway, vertical guide-rods within said opening at each side thereof, of abridge hinged at its lower end to a transverse bar, said bar having eyes at each end sliding on the Vertical guide -rods, and verticallyswinging latches secured to the car at one side of the door-opening, said latches adapted to be swung into the path of the bridge to secure it against outward movement.

2. The combination with a car having an opening or doorway, vertical guides secured within the opening at each side, of a horizontal rod mounted at its ends on said guides and adapted to slide thereon, a bridge pivotally secured to said horizontal rod, and U-shaped IO secured to said horizontal rod, U-shaped latches pivotally secured adjacent to the opening at each side thereof, the side arms of said latches adapted to be swung into the opening to hold the bridge in its vertical position, and

stops mounted on the car to limit the down- 5 Ward swing of the latches.

HENRY ALSOP. Witnesses:

W. B. CUNNINGHAM,

THOMAS CASEY.

Images