US1271347A - Grain-car door. - Google Patents

Description

I R. a. MOFFITT.

GRAIN CAR DOOR. APPLICATION F-ILED Amzo, 19w.

Patented July. 2, 1918.

FL r5 E Fn3 l INVENTOR WITNESSES y WWW ATTORNEY GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1918.

Application filed April 20, 1917. Serial No. 163,481.

' of which the following is, a specification.

This invention relates to grain car doors.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a door of the character stated of simple construction and operation which may be produced at relatively small cost. A further object is to provide a door which may be used with either a steel car or a wooden car and, when used with a wooden car will not necessitate damaging the latter by driving of nails or other securing elements into the door frame. A further object is to provide a door which may be quickly and easily applied without necessia tating any extensive alterations inthe construction of the door frame, and may, for this reason, be readily used in connection with cars of standard construction. A still further object is to provide a door which may be readily raised so as to permit the escape of grain when unloading the car. Further objects will appear from the de-' tailed description.

In the drawings i 7 Figurel is a. central sectional view taken through a door constructed in accordance with my invention as applied;

Fig. 2 is a front View of the door as applied;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the bottom plate of the door;

Fig. l is a similar view of the securing strap for the door post and the upper end portion of the post showing the cotiperating slot and finger of the clamp and post for preventing end play of the latter.

The car A is provided with the usual door-Way or opening B which is surrounded by the door frame G of standard construe tion. A socket l is secured in the floor D of the car at the transverse center of the door opening. This socket receives the lower end of a vertical door post Qthe upper end. of which fits snugly in the hook 3' of a securing strap 4 which is provided with the integral shank 5 disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of the hook and secured to the top beam E of the door frame by screws 6. As will be noted from Fig. 4 of the drawings, the free end of hook 3 is turned in substantially at right angles to provide a finger for engagement into a recess or slot formedin the upper portion of post 2 so as to .prevent rotary movement of the post when in operative position. By this means, the door post may be quickly and easily secured'in position so as to 6X- tend across the door opening at the transverse center thereof, and when desired, may be readily removed by forcing the upper end of the post inward so as to force it 'out of the hook 3, whichis open and resilient for this purpose, the socket 1 being slightly larger in interior diameter than the exterior diameter of the post 2 to permit inward movement of the upper end of the post, or the securing hook 4 may be removed from door beam E. p

This post serves to support the door 7 and to prevent inward movement of the same. Door 7 is composed of a plurality, in this case three, of plates 8, 9, and 10. These plates may be formed by rolling out of sheet metal of suitable thickness, and are of such length as to extend across the door opening, the ends of the plates projecting a short distance inside of the side beams of the door frame, as in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Plate 8 is turned inward at right. angles at its lower edge, as at 8 and is then bent down at right angles toprovide a depending flange 8 this flange being set in from the body of the plate a distance corresponding tothe thickness of the plate. This depending inset flange 8 forms a recess at the bottom of plate 8 extending the full length thereof which snugly receives the upper edge portion of plate 9. The lower edge portion of plate 9 is similarly bent to provide a depending flange 9 which forms a longitudinally extending recess to receive the upper edge portion of bottom plate 10. By this means, the plates may be secured in interlocking engagement so as to produce practically a unitary structure which is comparatively light but very strong and rigid, the flanges 8 and 9" also serving to provide tight closures between the plates of the body of the door so as to effectually eliminate all danger of leakage of the grain.

The bottom plate 10 is provided with two apertures 11 and 12 which are disposed equidistant from the longitudinal center of the plate and in substantially the plane of the transverse center of the plate. These apertures receive the inner ends of the arm of a orrio.

U-clip 13. This clip fits snugly about post 2 with its arms extending through the apertures 11 and 12 so as to project beyondthe inner face of the plate, each arm of the clip being threaded to receive a securing nut 14. By this means the plate is detachably secured 'to the post 2, the outer face of the plate fitting tightly against :the inner face of the side beam of the door frame, the post 2 being so positioned as .to have its innermost face in the same :plane as the inner facesof the side beams of the :door frame. The center plate 9 is similarlysecured to the post 2 by a "U-clip 15, the'top plate '8 being secured to #the post by a clip 16. The clips 13, 15, and :16, While serving "to effectually prevent inward movement of the'door, permit the door to be raised vertically by means of a suitable instrument inserted under the same.

The bottom plate 10 has its lower edge portion bent at right angles to provide the horizontal shoulder 17 and then turned downward at rightangles to formthedepending flange '18. This fiange'is provided-with two recesses or pockets 19 positioneda short distance from each end of the plate and equidistantfrom the longitudinal center thereof. When it is desired to *raisethedoor, a suitable instrument, such as apinch-bar may be inserted into the pockets 19 and the door may be readily raised by this means. When the grain has been removed from the car the doormay be quicklyand easily-removed, as a unit,-b v removingthe post 2 in the'manner previously described or, if'desired, each plate of the door maybe removed separately from the post, after whichthe post may be removed.

By bending the plates so as to produce the depending flange at the lower edge of each plate, and the intermediate horizontal arm or shoulder connecting this flange to the body of the plate, I produce, in effect, an angle "iron construction at the lower edge of .each plate which renders it possible to construct the plates of comparatively light material. As the door plates are mounted in interlocking or overlapping relation, they serve to reinforce each other thus producing adoor of light weight .well able to withstand ithepressure to which it is subjected by the :graincontained within the car.

hat is claimed is The combination witha car body having a door opening-and a frameextending about the sameyof a socket secured in the floor of said body, an open resilient :hook secured to the top beam of the frame in vertical-alimement with .said :socket and provided at its freeend with an integral inwardly extendingdinger, alpost having its lower end seat-,

ed in said socketand its upper endmounted in the book so as to be detachably secured thereby v to the top beam of the door frame, said post being provided in its upper end with a slot to receive said finger so as to secure the :post against rotary movement and a plurality-of superposed plates secured to the post and extending across the door opening .-and having their ends projecting beyond the sideibeams of the door frame adjacentthe inner face thereof.

Intestimony whereof :I affix my-signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT R. MOFFITT.

Witnesses JAMES GIBSON, KAY SWADLEY.

maples oiithiapatent maybe obtained forifive cents each, by addressingrthe Commissipuerot Patents.

Washington, 1L0.

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