US978203A

US978203A - Vehicle.

Info

Publication number: US978203A
Application number: US49446009A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herman C Priebe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1909-05-06
Filing date: 1909-05-06
Publication date: 1910-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 1927-12-13

Description

H. C. PRIEBE.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

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H. C. PRIEBE.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED KAY 6, 1909. 978.2013, Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

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. ov 0 l v" f5 Q o o o o o o o o o o o HERMAN C. PRIEBE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

Application filed Ivay 6, 1909. Serial No. 494,460.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN C. Pnnnna, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to vehicles in which swinging floor sections are provided, whereby the vehicle contents may readily be discharged.

The invention finds its most wide application in connection with railway dump cars, though I do not wish to be limited to this application of my invent-ion in all embodiments thereof. Inasmuch as the invention finds its most general application to railway vehicles, I will describe one embodiment thereof by reference to a railway vehicle constructed in accordance therewith.

In practicing my invention, I employ mechanism for opposing the descent of the floor sections, and, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, including a spring portion which is subject. to winding action when an associate floor section is being lowered, whereby energy .is stored in said spring portion that may be of service in restoring the floor section when the load has been discharged.

I have adapted my invention to the type of vehicle illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 439,509, tiled June Q0, 1908, many of the structural characteristics shown in my present application forming the subject matter of claims in my said eopending application, the claims in my present application-being addressed to my more recently invented mechanism that is associated with the floor sections for the purpose of resisting the opening action of the floor sections, for closing thc floor sections, and for other purposes which will appear.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred embodiment thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a part of a gondola car constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, some of the structural details of the car being omitted, as they are not essential to an understanding of the invention. Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, some of the parts being omitted. Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of some of the parts illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. /1 is a view upon a larger scale, of a locking device as employed to retain a floor section in its depressed position.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the different figures.

In accordance with American practice, I have shown a gondola car l which is of conside 'able length, as is well known, on which account the floor is subdivided into a plurality of swinging sections 2, a number of these sections being disposed upon each side of the car, though I do not wish to be limited in all embodiments of my invention to a plurality of floor sections. The inner end of each floor section is hinged to a center sill, there being illustrated two center sills 3 3, each of which is provided with hinge pintlesupporting blocks l 4 that project laterally from the center sills and form a part of the means whereby lthe swinging sections are hinged to the center sills. I-intle rods 5 5 are provided in association with each center sill 3 and are received within cavities in the pintle-supporting blocks fi. The floor sections are preferably made of sheet metal and are deflected downwardly at their inner and outer ends, the inner marginal side portions of the floor sections thus formed cooperating with the top portions of the floor sections to constitute a seat for the pintle rod 5 which finds lodgment in the corners formed of the top and inner side portions of the floor sections, all as set forth in my said co-pending application. The downturned marginal portions of the sheet metal forming the swinging floor sections serve to counteract the end thrusts that might be imposed upon the floor sections by sudden impact.

Upon the outside marvinal portions of each floor section, I provide attachments 10, there being,l desirably two such attachments to each floor section, one near each transverse edge of each `floor section. The attachments 10 include short pintles or shafts 11 about which are journaled the lower ends of links 101 that are in the nature of pitman connections, the upper ends of the pitman connections 101 being journaled upon the eccentric portions or rods 13 of cranks that are journaled to rotate at 14.

By reference particularly to Fig. 2, it will so that there is no tendency for the crank element 13, when properly positioned, to work outwardly, but, on the other hand, there is a tendency for the said shaft element 13 to press against the side of the car, when properly positioned, and a load upon the associate floor section actually forces the element 13 against the side of the car so that said floor section is maintained in a closed position, all as is set forth in my co-pending application. However, in order to guard against accidents, I provide supplemental means for normally preventing' the crank elements 13 from moving away from the sides of the car, preferably comprising attachments 15 secured upon the sides of the car and provided with pockets or recesses for receiving locking pins 16 chained to the blocks 15, thel crank elements 13 being received between the locking pins 16 and the sides of the car, whereby the crank elements 13 are positively prevented from moving outwardly. The blocks 15 are desirably so constructed that they take part in supporting the swinging iioor sections, the construction being such that the crank elements 13 snugly engage the blocks 15. 4The journals 14 and the blocks 15 thus share between them the performance of the function of maintaining the outer ends of the swinging floor sections elevated.

It is often desirable to cause all of a group of swinging Hoor sections upon each side of the car to be lowered simultaneously, to which end I employ rotating a shaft 17 eX- tending lengthwise of the car, this shaft 17 being provided with fingers 18 whose outer ends are adapted to engage the crank elements 13 when said crank elements lie close to the car sides. Zhen it is desired simultaneously to lower all of a group of swinging floor sections upon a side of the car, the shaft 17 is rotated, the locking pin 16 having previously been removed, whereby all of the crank elements 13 belonging to a group of floor sections are mo-ved sufiiciently away from the car to permit the portion of the load carried upon the corresponding swinging floor sections to cause said :floor sections to descend. I desirably provide an operating handle 19 in fixed relation with the rod 17, whereby said rod 17 may be turned for the purpose stated.

I will now describe the mechanism whichmay be employed automatically to effect tion after the lower portion carried thereby spring' mechanism being desirably mounted upon the side of the car. The spring mechanism desirably includes a helical spring 20, whose free ends 211 bear against the sides of the car and whose intermediate portion is formed into an elongated U QQthat projects toward the associate crank element so as to be within the range of rotation of said crank element. is desirably coincident with the axis of rotation of the associate crank element 13 which is afforded said crank element by the mountings 14, vthe spring ZO being maintained in alinement with the journals 14 by means of the rod 23 that is coaxial with the journaled ends of the associate crank element 13, bearings 24 being provided for the rod 23. TWhen a crank element 13 is moved downwardly in order that the associate floor section may be lowered, said crank element works againstthe U-shaped port-ion 22 of the spring, so that as the crank 13 is lowered, the spring 2O has its tension increased, the tension being greatest when the crank element 13 is in its lowermost position, that is, when the floor section associated with said crank is in its lowermost po-Y tion, the spring mechanism, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, beingV sufficiently strong substantially completely to restore the floor section to its closed position, though I do not wish to be limited to this characteristic, the spring preferablypushing upon the Hoor section to close it.

In order to prevent the premature elevation of the iioor section, I provide restraining mechanism that is brought into operative relation with the spring mechanism when the floor section has been lowered, and which serves to prevent the spring mechanism from raising the floor section, it being necessary to dissociate the restraining mechanism from the spring mechanism in order to permit the spring mechanism to elevate the Hoor section. This restraining mechanism desirably resides in an arrow-headed detent Q5, past the lateral projections of which the U-shaped portion 22 of the spring is adapted to pass, the element 25 spreading the sides of the U apart until thefsides of the U reach the neck portion of the arrowheaded structure 25, which occurs when the associate floor section has been completely has been discharged therefrom, and which] lowered. This arrow-headed detent 25, by

The axis of t-he spring 20 thus engaging the portion Q2 ot' the spring, holds the spring to prevent it from prematurely raising the associate floor section, it being necessary to use manual effort to disengage the U-shaped portion QQ from the. rest-raining device 25, in order that the spring mechanism may perform this Jfunction of elevating the floor section when said floor section is unloaded.

Reference may be had to my co-peinling application Serial No. 439,509, filed June 20, 1908.

vWhile I have herein shown and particularly described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown, as changes may readily be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following:-

1. A vehicle having a swinging lloor section, crank mechanism provided upon the vehicle, link mechanism intervening between the crank mechanism and the swinging floor section, whereby the crank mechanism serves to swing the ioor section, and spring mechanism engaged by the crank portion of the mechanism when said crank mechanism is operated to permit the floor section to descend, and pushing upon the crank mechanism to exert elevating action upon the floor section.

2. A vehicle having a swinging floor section, crank mechanism provided upon the vehicle, link mechanism intervening between the crank mechanism and the swinging floor section, whereby the crank mechanism serves to swing the floor section, spring mechanism engaged by the crank portion of the mechanism when said crank mechanism is operated to permit the fioor section to descend, and operating upon the c ank mechanism to exert elevating action upon the floor section, and restraining means brought into restraining engagement with the spring mechanism when the floor section is lowered to prevent the spring mechanism from prematurely exerting elevating action upon the floor section.

3. A vehicle having a swinging loor section, crank mechanism provided upon the vehicle, link mechanism intervening between the crank mechanism and the swinging floor section, whereby the crank mechanism serves to swing the floor section, and spring mechanism mounted upon the car body independently of the swinging floor section and engaged by the crank portion of the mechanism when said crank mechanism is operated to perinit the floor section to descend, and operating upon the crank mechanism to exert elevating action upon the oor section, said spring mechanism including a. spring whose ends are held against rotation and whose central portion is extended to be within the range of movement of the crank.

1l. A vehicle having a swinging floor scction. crank mechanism provided upon the vehicle, link mechanism intervening between the crank mechanism and the swinging floor section. whereby the crank mechanism serves to swingl the tloor section, spring mechanism mounted upon the car body independently of the swiixging floor section and engaged by the crank portion ot the mechanism when said crank mechanism is operated to permit the floor section to descend, and operating upon the crank mechanism to exert elevating action upon the Hoor section, and restraining means brought into restraining engagement with the spring mechanism when the floor section is lowered to prevent the spring mechanism from prematurely exerting elevating action upon the floor section, said spring mechanism including a spring whose ends are held against rotation and whose central portion is extended to be within the range of movement of the crank.

5. A vehicle having a. swinging floor section, crank mechanism provided upon the vehicle, link mechanism intervening between the crank mechanism and the swinging ioor section, whereby the crank mechanism serves to swing the Hoor section, spring mechanism mounted upon the car body independently ofthe swinging floor section and engaged by the crank portion of the mechanism when said crank mechanism is operated to permit the floor section to descend, and operating upon the crank mechanism to exert elevating action upon the floor section, said spring mechanism including a spring whose ends are held against rotation and whose central portion is extended to be within the range of movement of the crank, and a detent engaged by the spring portion that is pro- ]ected to lie within the path of movement of the crank when said crank has operated the said projected portion in lowering the associate floor section, whereby the spring mechanism is restrained from elevating the floor section until the projected portion ot' the spring mechanism is disengaged from the detent.

0. A vehicle having a swinging ioor section, spring lnechanism operated upon by the floor section when descending to have power stored therein, whereby said spring mechanism may take part in elevating the floor section, and restraining means adaptedto engage the spring mechanism when the floor section is loweredv to prevent the spring mechanism from prematurely exerting elevating action upon the floor section.

7. A vehicle having a swinging floor section, spring mechanism operated upon by the floor section when descending to have power stored therein, whereby said spring mechanism may take part in elevating the floor section7 and restraining means adapted to prevent the spring mechanism from prematurelyexerting elevating action upon the floor section.

8. A vehicle having a swinging floor section, and spring mechanism operated upon by the floor section When descending to have power stored therein, said spring mechanism, when released, pushing upon said floor section to exert elevating influence thereupon.

9. A vehicle having a swinging floor section, spring mechanism operated upon by the floor section when descending to have power stored thereing said spring mechanism, when released7 operating upon said floor section to exert elevating y iniuence thereupon, and means for holding the oor section when lowered tokprevent the spring mechanism from prematurely raising said Hoor section.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 4th day of May, A. D. 1909.

HERMAN C. PRIEBE. lVitnesses L. G. STROH, G. L. CRAGG.