US1766856A - Gondola-car body - Google Patents

Description

June 24; 1930. w. E. VAN DORN 1,766,856

. GONDOLA CAR BODY Filed Nov. 12. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheat 1 HIUIIIW IIHII OOOOOOOOOOOvOOOOOO-OO Edi-711227" Wire/752757 2.707 72 June 24, 1930. w. E. VAN DORN 1,766,856

GONDOLA CAR sow Filed Nov 12. 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 2 June 24, 1930. I w, VAN DORN 1,766,856

GONDOLA CAR BODY Filed Nov. 12, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 24, 1930 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM E. VAN DOIRN, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA GONDOLA-CAR BODY Application filed November 12, 1928. Serial No. 318,848.

The present invention has for its object to produce a metal gondola car body that shall be comparatively light and yet be strong and rugged and which can be made at a lower cost than bodies of equal capacity as heretofore made.

In the ordinary steel gondola car the sides are usually made of fiat metal sheets having reinforcing braces or struts riveted thereto to give them the requisite stiffness to resist the lateral thrust of the load in the car. Thus each side consists of a considerable number of pieces that must be riveted together, thus making the cost of manufacture much greater than if no such riveting together of parts were necessary. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to make it possible to produce. a gondola car body side from a single plate or sheet, whether it be made in one piece or of a number of pieces arranged end to end, the material of the wall being simply folded to provide the necessary stiifening elements. I In carrying out my invention, as viewed in one of its aspects, the sides and ends of the body, are made of metal panelsin the form ofthin plates or heavy sheets that have been folded upon themselves so as to provide reinforcing ribs or webs, thus doing away with the need for separate braces or struts. The shaping of the panels may therefore be effected by a cold process and without stretchingthe metal to reduce its cross-section in the fashioning of the stiffening elements. The .endsof the side walls, for example, maybe flanged over and secured to the marginal portions of the end walls, thus completing the shell without the use of corner posts or framework. The bottom may be stiffened by means ofal lcornparatively light frame to which the lower marginal portions of the end and side walls arefastened, and upon which floor stringers may rest. Thebody is then completed by adding a rim or cap which overlies the upper edges of the side and end walls. V

The folds in the sidewalls are preferably so located as to produce strengthenmg ribs or webs extending diagonally from top to to the other.

bottom, adjacent ribs or webs being inclined in opposite. directions. In other words, by placing these ribs or webs so that the upper end of each is near the upper end of an ad jacent rib or web while the lower end is near the lower end of another adjacent rib or web, there will be an arrangement of ribs or webs zigzagging throughout the length of the sheet or side to give a truss-like effect.

Therefore, viewed in one of its aspects, the

"present invention may be said to have for its the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an end view of, a car body made n accordance with my invention Flg.

'2 is a transverse vertical section; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one end of the body;'Fig. 5

is a View of the body partly in top plan and partly in section, the section being on line 55 of Fig. 3; Fig. G is asection on line 6 6 of- Fig. 1; and Fig.7 is a section, on an enlarged scale, online 7-7 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, A and B represent the two end Walls and C and D the two side walls of a gondola car body "of any usual or preferred size and shape, These walls are made of light plates or heavy sheets and each may consistof one or more pieces, as desired. 'In the arrangement shown, each end wall is in the form of a single sheet or panel, bent or folded to produce three parallel trough-like ribs l extending from one end to the other. The side walls-are shown as taking the form of panels folded 011 diagonal lines zigzaging across the sheet or panel from one end of the car body The method of folding or bending adopted serves to divide the face inner and outer sections are arranged at right angles to the'plane'of the sh'eet'and zigzag across the side wall, from end to end, to transform the wall into a truss. i It will be seen that an entire side wall could be made of the single piece"whose"original' length would be equal to the final lengthlof the walljp lus an added length equalto the combined widths of the stiffening or reinforcing ribs.

Endand sidewalls arev connected together by "suitably Hanging them so that they will overlap and permit rivetedor other joints to b'e'made'. In'the arrangement shown, the side walls C 'and'D are provided at their ends witli'flanges 5 that extend over and en- 'g'age with comparatively narrow marginal portions along'the endsof' the end walls. Since the ribs in the end w'alls'do'not vanish atthe ends of such walls the'material betweentheends of the ribs may be gradually raised, as indicated at 6 in Figs. 5 and 7; thus forming with'the end portions ofthe ribs conti'nuous'surfaces against -which the flanges 5 bear.

A light'floor -supporting frame may be arranged in the 'bottonfof the shell formed by the'end' and sidewalls. In the arrangementshown, there is'a' frame 7 of angle iron {the frame having vertical flanges flying-against "the inner faces of the end-and side walls'fand riveted or otherwise secured to such 'w'alls, and" having also inwardlydirected "horizontahflanges. Y Suit-able fioor stringers 8 extend longitudinally of the body 'and are-si1pported on the horizontal flanges of 'theframe 7. "Suitable'fiooring boards 9 "are laidon't'he stringers.

Around the top of-the car body is a cap or rim'flO' in the form of an inverted trough or channel having one'widesidewall and one "narrow'si'de wall. The long side wall fits "against the'innerfaces of the end and side jwalls of the body and isriveted or other- "wise'sec'ured tosuch walls. The corners of th'e'cap or' rim-may be reinforced by means 'of'sho'rt auxiliarycap sections 11 overlying thesame. v

If desired, the upper portions of the side "wall sections that lie outwardly from an'd parallel with the" normal plane of the sheet may be gradually bent inward, as indicated at 12, sothat a 'substantially continuous rivetedjoint may be madebetween each side wall andithe'overlying cap or rim.

f It will be'seenthat the outer'triangula'r side wall sections 3, with the corresponding webs 4, form posts increasing in width from the bottom toward the top. If the lower ends of these posts can be rigidly held they will prevent any portion of the side walls from swinging out at the top. I have therefore provicled.n1eans for rigidly anchoring the lowerendsof these posts to the cross beams on which the car body rests. These "beamsfof which two are shown at 13, are so ;pla'ced'th'at-eachfliesw below the lower ends a simple and novelgo'ndola car body from aifewli'ght and simple but extremely stifi panels, that is light metaljplates or metal sheets; making it possible'to dispense with separatereinforcing means in the form of struts or the like. Therefore such a body, although strong and rugged, will be lightvin weight and may be manufactured at a low cost.

\Vhile I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I donot desire to'be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements'which come within the definitions'of my invention constituting the appended claims.

' 'I'c1aim:-

' 1. A framel-ess gondola car body-comprising end and side walls'of a single thick- "ness composed of metali panels shaped to overlap at the four corners, and the overlapping portions ofthe panels being secured together, the'endpanels being folded upon themselves to produce stiifening*ribs,"' the side" panels being folded to produce therein vertical stiffening ribs, stirrup's fixed tofthe lower ends of said vertical ribsfandtransverse ffi'oor beams extending between jand secured'to corresponding stirrups on-oppo site sides 'of thetbody.

" 2. A 'framel'ess .gon'dola car body comprisingend and sidewalls of a singleithickness' com-posed of 1 metal panels shaped to overlap at the four corners, and the .overlapping portions of the panels being secured together, the end panels being folded upon themselves toiproduce horizontal stiffening ribs, the side panels. being folded to produce vertical stiffening ribs, and said ribbed ipanels' being stiff enou'gh'to give to the car body "the required stiffness.

.cation.

3. A side wall of a gondola car body made of sheet metal folded upon itself to produce diagonal stiffening webs extending from the top to the bottom, adjacent webs being inclined in opposite directions to give a truss efiect to the wall.

4. A gondola car body having metal side walls folded to produce sections generally triangular in shape lying in parallel inner and outer planes spaced apart from each other and connected together by webs transverse to said planes, said sections being so disposed that sections with the narrow ends at the top alternate with sections having their narrow ends at the bottom, transverse beams underneath the body in registration with the latter narrow ends, and stirrups fixed to said beams and each embracing and fixed to the adjacent webs and intervening flat portion of the corresponding side wall.

5. A frameless gondola car body comprising end and side walls of a single thickness composed of metal panels, means for securing said panels together at the four corners, the end panels being folded upon themselves to produce horizontal stiffening ribs, and the metal of the panels forming the side walls being folded to produce diagonal stiffening webs extending from the top to the bottom, adjacent webs being inclined in opposite directions to give a truss effect to the side walls.

6. A frameless gondola car body comprising end and side walls of a single thickness composed of metal panels shaped to overlap at the four corners, and the overlapping portions of the panels being secured together, the end panels being folded upon themselves to produce horizontal stiffness and the side panels being folded to produce vertical stiffness.

7 A frameless gondola car body having end and side walls made of metal panels folded to produce stiffening means therein transverse to their respective planes, the ends of the side walls at each corner being secured to the marginal portions of the adjacent end walls.

8. A frameless gondola car bod comprising end and side walls composed of metal panels shaped to overlap and be secured together at the four corners, the end panels being folded upon themselves to produce horizontal stiffening means, the side panels being folded to produce vertical stiffening means, stirrups fixed to the lower ends of said vertical stiffening means, and transverse fioor beams extending between and secured to corresponding stirrups on opposite sides of the body.

In testimony whereof I sign this specifi- WILLIAM E. VAN DORN.

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