US2028902A - Demountable body - Google Patents

Description

2g? 3935 E. if. FETCH DEMOUNTABLE BODY l3, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept.

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DEMOUNTABLE BODY Filed Sept. 13, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 2S, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 20 Claims.

'Ihis inventionv relates to a demountable automobileV body for transporting freight, the body being arranged to be lifted intact with its load form a highway truck to a railway car or vice versa. For efcient operation, such bodies should be'as large as can be conveniently carried' on highway trucks, bodies of such proportionsbeing Well adapted for mounting end to end on a railway car;

In order that such containers, which may carry large' articles, may be eiectively loaded and unloaded, itis very desirable that there be wide door openings in the ends of the containers. I-Iow- (ever, on account of the weight of the contents of the container, and the stresses to Whichit. is subjected in railway transportation, there is. frequently a very heavy impact against the end doors, particularly in the starting and stopping ofthe train. Accordingly, due to the size of the doors andthe force of such impact, it is importantv that the doors be thoroughly braced at their hinges and free edges and preferably intermediately.

On` account of the large end doorway, doors of substantially half the widthV of the doorway, and carried'by hinges at their outer edges, are troublesome in that they project unduly beyond the sides of the container when opened, or interfere with the loading and unloading if allowed to extend longitudinally. I avoid this diiiculty by makingeach door offa wide and a narrow panel, hinged' together, the narrow panel being hinged adjacent its outer edge to the narrow end wall of the container at. the side ofthe doorway, and the hinges foldingin such direction that the narrow panel may be swung to lie substantially against the end wall and the wide panel be swung against theV side of the container. This is one of the features of my invention.

The articulated construction above outlined provides excellently forl holding the doors out ofthe way, when they are opened, but presents a problem in effectively supporting the door at itsv intermediate hinge against impact from the nterior of the container.. It is important that provision be madeto prevent the access of. water tothe interior at the various hinge lines or at theV meeting edges. of the doors or the top thereof. And finally, it is desirable that thedoors, while very strongand stili, shall be light in weight.

Means for. meeting the above indicated requirementsv are comprised within, my invention, which includes special construction of. the door panels, special arrangement. ofv the hinges,` special. bracing' means in the region of the hinges, and special (Cl. 18S-46) waterproong 'at such hinges and elsewhere, all of. whichV is more fully hereinafter described in connection with the embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a demountable body or container equipped with the articulated end doors of this invention, showing one of the end doors having a panel folded onto the side of the container; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the container with the doors open; Fig. 3 is an end elevation with the doors closed; Figs. 4 and 5` are horizontal sections on the correspondingly numbered lines on Figs. 3 and 2 respectively, showing the doors in closed position and in open position; Figs. 6 and 7 are horizontal sections on a larger scale through portions of the doors, as indicated by the correspondingly numberedlines on Fig. 3; Figs. 8 and 9 are vertical sections through one of the end doors, as indicated by the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 3; Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the upper portion of Fig. 8; Fig. 11 is a detail illustrating the brace, its retainer and the waterproofing features adjacent the upper end of the. door, being a section on the line II-II on Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation on the line I2-I2 on Fig. 8, showing the keeper mechanism at the lower end of the door; Fig. 13 is a horizontal section on the line I 3-I3 on Fig. 3, but broken away intermediately, showing the vertical door braces in place; Figs 14 and 15 are fragmentary front elevations of the keeper mechanism at the lower end of the vertical brace, showing such mechanism in locked and unlocked position respectively; Fig. 16 is a detail of the keeper mechanism, being a horizontal section on the line ,I6- I6 of Fig. 14.

The demountable body illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, comprises a oor frame I0, side walls II and end walls I2, connected at the cornersv by vertical angle bars I3, and a roof I4. Suitable liftingdevices are attached to the side walls; they are shown as straps I5 terminating in hooks I6. Diagonal brace bars Il attached to the side walls brace the hook straps adjacent their upper ends, and suitable roof beams (not shown) brace them laterally. 'The body is equipped with side doors I8 which may be of any suitable construction. It is also equipped with end doors, which, together with their carrying and bracing means, constitute the subject matter of this invention.

I provide a wide door-way in each end of the container and accordingly the end wall comprises only the horizontal portion aboveV the doorway and narrow vertical portions between the doorway and the sides of the container. These narrow vertical end walls, however, are important features, and they are braced in a peculiar manner to coact with the doors and not only make a tight junction with the door when it is closed, but receive the impact on the doors independently of the hinges. Thus the hinges need be made only heavy enough to carry the weight of the doors and resist the resulting leverage.

As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 13, in addition to the Voutside end wall l2, there is an inner sheet parrear face of the flange of the sheet 2l) and then lies alongside of the web 22 of the sheet 2Q and is finally welded to that sheet at 28. This makes a very stiff lip flange projecting across the doorway and serving as an abutment for the door, as hereinafter described.

Each end door comprises two panels 3@ and 3l hinged togetherat their proximate edges, this hinging being preferably by continuous succession of alternate leaves and a continuous pin 32 to produce a hinge commensurate in height with the doors, such hinge being commonly referred `to as a piano hinge. The outer panel 3l has secured to it a hinge strap di! which mates with a hinge strap il on the end.. wall of the container, being shown as riveted by the rivets 26 already mentioned and additional rivets 43 engaging the sheet 25. The hinge pin l5 connecting the straps it and fil stands in front of the abutment lip, made by the projecting portions 23 and 2l of the bent plates 26 and 25, and the door panel 3i carried by the hinge extends behind such lip to make a tight connection therewith when the door is closed. It results from this construction that im pact against the inner face of the door panel 3l is received at the outer edge by a very rigid portion of the body itself, rather than by the hinges, so that there is no danger of the hinges being distorted, even though they are comparatively light in construction.

The doors themselves are constructed in a peculiar manner. They comprise light internal material having compressive strength, as for instance laminated cork 33 compressed under heavy pressure, steel facing sheets 3d and 35 andreinforcing lchannel- shaped boundary members 36 and 37 embracing vertical edges and similar members at the top and bottom. All of these boundary channels Yare welded to the two sheets 3d and 35.

Due to the very heavy pressure employed. in compressing thek cork layer (I have used to advantage a 15G-ton press for this purpose) the elasticity of the cork is substantially eliminated, so that the layer'acts as a compression member between the inner and outer facing sheets of the door. Accordingly, stresses against either facing tending to bend the same are transmitted `by means of the cork layer to the other sheet, so that both these sheets are efective in resisting binding stress acting on the door.

Each vertical boundary channel as 3h and 3l has its outer portion flanged outwardly as illustrated at 38 and 3S in Fig. 6. Theflange S8 is adapted-to form a close rubbing connection with the doubled portion 2'! of the end plate 25. Ac-

cordingly, when the door is closed, not only is there engagement between the outer face portion of the boundary member 35 and the doubled plate 25, but the latter is further engaged the flange 3S which rubs against the rounded portion of such plate. This makes a very tight waterproof connection between the door and end wall of the body, preventing access of moisture to the interior in this region.

The boundary member 3i on the door panel mates with a corresponding boundary member 50 on the door panel 30. Each of these boundary members has its intermediate portion off-set in substantially semi-cylindrical form away from the door which carries the boundary member, to provide spaced ears l, the ears of one member extending through notches 52 on the other, to provide the continuous aligned hinge ears connected by the continuous pintle 32. This enables the panels to be hinged together throughout their height. At the same time, a very tight junction is made when the panels are in alignment, as the two intermediate portions of the boundary members 3l andi!) are then in face engagement, as shown in Fig. 6.

lF-.Then the doors are closed and the two panels 3i? and 3l are in alignment, the outer face of the boundary members 3l and 5B, together with their anges 39 and Et provide a continuous upright outwardly facing channel across the junction of the door-panels. In use, a suitable vertical brace, hereinafter described, occupies this channel and prevents any outward bowing of the door panels in this region, and also any inward passage of moisture at the hinge ears.

The boundary member S at the free edge of the panel 3] is constructed in the same manner as the boundary member E16 and thus embraces ythe edge of the door and is secured to the side sheets 3@ and 35 and has the outward flange 6I. To allow the doors to swing freely, they are arranged to have a space between their extreme edges when closed, as shown in Fig. '7. In use, this space is closed by a removable locking post, which is to be hereinafter described, which occupies the outwardly facing vertical channel provided by the face of the boundary members and en-:l flanges 6i. This post and the braces heretofore mentioned at the piano hinges make tight connections with the door, receiving the thrust in such regions and preventing access of moisture in such regions, all as hereinafter described.

As shown in the drawings, the outer panels'BI of the doors are narrower than'the inner panels 3d, these outer panels being only slightly greater in width than the width of the end wall of the body. The piano hinge is substantially in line with the outer face of the two panels 3i] and 3l. The result is that when the door is swung open, the narrow panel 3i may stand parallel with the end wall of the container, while the panel 3D may be swung into position parallel with the side wall il, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. This is a Very advantageous construction, since it provides for a wide door opening, for convenlent loading and unloadin while enabling the doors to be conveniently carried out of the Lway at such time and thereafterbe readily swung into closed position.

The floor frame lo of the body carries at the base of the doorway a jamb 70 (Figs. 8 and 9) which extends upwardly above the floor frame proper, then again inwardly and again upwardly. The floor frame supports a double layer of flooring- 1|, of which the lower layer rests on the floor frame and extends beneath the horizontal web of the Z-bar 10, while the upper layer rests on the outward web and abuts the extreme end of the- Z-bar. This feature, however, is claimed in my copendng application, No. 500,160, led December 5, 1930.

A construction somewhat similar to that just described is employed at the upper end of the doorway, where a Z-bar 15 is secured to the top end sheet 16 and braced by an internal transverse beam 11.

The two Z- bars 10 and 15 provide seats for the upper and lower ends of the door panels, limiting the inward movements thereof and enabling a comparatively tight connection above and below. The upward flange of the lower Z- bar 10 prevents any moisture working into the body under the door. At the upper end of the door I provide a weather strip to engage the top boundary member of the door and prevent access of moisture in that. region. This protection comprises a strip- 80 Figs. 10 and 11, preferably of metal, riveted to the top Z-bar 15 on the outer face thereof and bent inwardly beneath it and then bowing down at to engage the top of the door. The strip extends continuously from oneend of this top door jamb to the other and thus engages the tops of all the panels, insuring a tight connection.

As. heretofore mentioned, removable vertical brace bars are placed in the vertical channels in front of the piano hinges. Such brace bars may readily be in the form of railroad rails 90 Figs. 3,v 8 and 13. The webs 9| of the rails are reduced at the upper and lower ends and the base flange 92 and heads 93 of the rails bent toward each other in that region as shown in Fig. 8. The upper end of this brace bar is designed to pass behind a structural retaining ilange shown as comprising a Z-bar |00 riveted to the top end sheet 16 and also the top flange of the Z-bar 15l and to the internal brace bar 11. This not only provides an eifective keeper for the upper end ofthe brace bars 00, but forms a very stiff cross bem across the top of the doorway.

The lower end of the brace bar 90 seats in a keeper H0 secured to the floor frame. Details of the preferred construction of this keeper appear in Figs. 12 to 16, inclusive. As there shown, the'keeper has a lower flange secured to the floor frame, an outward web H 2, an upwardly extending web H3 and a final horizontal flange H4 secured to the iioor frame. A central notch H5 is cut in the vertical web I |3 and the top flange H4 to enable the passage of the lower end of the brace bar 90, this brace bar having its base flange 92 narrowed adjacent its ends.

Slidable in the space between the verticalweb |f| 3 of the keeper H0 and the vertical face of the door jamb Z-bar is a locking bolt |20 in the form of an angle bar having a base iiange |2| resting on the horizontal web H2 of the keeper and having an upright ange |22 bearing against the inner face of the upright web H3 of that keeper. When the brace bar 90 is to be installed, the locking bolt is pulled away from thev notch H5, that is, toward the left in Fig. 15, thus leaving the notch unobstructed; then, after the brace bar has entered the notch, the bolt is returned to bring its vertical ange in front of the brace bar and across the notch as shown in Fig. 16, thus locking the brace bar within. the keeper. Since the base iiange 92 of the brace bar in this position seats throughoutr its length between the channel flanges 39 and 50 in front of the piano hinge, any lateral or swinging movement of the brace bar is prevented.

To provide ready means for operating the locking bolt and also retain it permanently within the keeper H0, I turn outwardly the free end of the bolt as at |23 to provide a handle by which it may be readily shoved or driven onto or out of locking position. I also provide a low upward boss |24 on the base flange |2| of the bolt which may engage the side of the brace bar, and I form on the body of the container a suitable stop adapted to be engaged by such boss to.

prevent the bolt moving out of the keeper in that direction. This stop is shown as comprising a small plate |25 secured by a screw |26 to the Z-bar 10 and the lower layer of floor planking..

The operation of the device just described isA as follows: When the brace-bar is to be inserted, its upper end is shoved behind the top keeper |00 in the region of one of the. outwardly facing door channels and the lower end of the bar is swung toward the door so that it passes through the notch H5 of the keeper, the bolt |20 at this time being in the left-hand position shown in Fig. 15. Then, before the brace bar is lowered, the bolt |20 is brought back to the position shown in Figs. 14 and 16, the boss |24 passing beneath the lower end of the elevated brace bar. Then the brace bar is dropped down so that it rests on the horizontal ange |2| of the bolt. The brace bar is thus effectively boxed in the keeper.

To remove the brace bar, it is only necessary to elevate it within the clearance allowed by the upper keeper |00 so that it stands above the top plane of the boss |24; then the bolt is shoved to the left, freeing the notch H5, and allowing the removal of the brace bar.

Brace bars similar to the bars 90 may be employed if desired, to brace the intermediate regions of the wide door panels 30. Such bars are shown in Fig. 3 and designated |30. They are similar in all respects to the bars 90 and seat-at their upper ends in the continuous keeper |00 andV at their lower ends in keepers |3| corresponding to the keepers H0. To prevent lateral movement of these additional brace bars, I may secure to the outer side of the door panels 30, channel bars in which the brace bars seat, such channel bars being indicated at |32 in Fig. 13 where the channel bar is shown as welded to the outer sheet 35 of the door. same dimensions at the channel provided by the boundary members 31 and 50 which the braces 90 seat. but comprise a single member.

Reference is made to my copending application No. 668,514, filed April 29, 1933, for claims on the feature of the removable brace bar extending across an intermediate region of the door and secured to the body above and below the door.

The center locking post, which extends vertically and cooperates with the boundary members 60 at the free edges of the two doors, if of the form shown in Fig. '7, is made in accordance with my application No. 689,231, led September 13, 1933, and reference is made to that application for claims on such locking post. Briefly, as shown. the locking post comprises two angle bars |40 secured together, back to back; two additional angle bars 4| secured to the outer sides of the main angle bars and two |40 to provide box-like ing bolts housings. A pair of lockare slidably mounted in these housings. These. bolts have integrallyturned ends"l These channels have theangle plates |42 weldedy in place behind the aligned flanges of the bars- 4 |46 Fig. 9 above the housings, by which they may be raised or shoved down, as may be 'de-V behind the keeper |90. The lower end of the post' is then swung over a centrally located keeper M8 which is secured to the oor frame and has an upwardly extending cavity and the bolts 45 are shoved downwardly into this cavity. In this position the rear faces of the angle bars. itil bear against the front face of the boundary'members 6B while the edges of such angle bars lie snugly between the flanges 6 i. This makes a tight bracing connection. The flanges prevent lateral shifting or swinging of the post vand the construction prevents access of water to the interior in the region of the post. Extra depth is provided for the post by inward extensions of the angle bars ist! so that the post has sufficient depth to give it the necessary stiffness to resist any outward pressure on the doors adjacent the central region of the. container.

It will be seen, from the description given, that I have provided a container with the doors so constructed to allow a very wide doorway into the container, and I have so arranged such doors that they will be out of the way during the loading or unloading operation. The door panels are individually strong andY stiff, and, notwithstanding each door is intermediately hinged in itself, I have provided effective means to brace the hinge junction. The free edges of the .doors are braced by the locking post, and the outer edges braced by the body itself. Accordingly, the end of the container, when the doors are closed, is amply able. to resist the internal impact even though the load may shift violently, due to a sudden jerk or sudden stopping of the railway car carrying the container. Finally, in accomplishing these results, I have weather-proofed the various hinged regions, and also at the top of the doors, so that the contents are not affected by external water or snow. The construction is comparatively simple. and at the same time is efficient in producing the results desired.

I claim:-

1. The combination of a container having a wall with a doorway through it, a hinge con-Y necting the wall and door with the hinge axis on the outer side of the wall and door, and a flange on the outer face of the door projecting at an angle to such outer face, the location of the flange and the hinge axis being such that when the door is closed the flange will abut a stationary edge on the container.

2. Thel combination of a container having a wall with a doorway through it, said wall having a -Yange projecting cros'swise of the doorway, a door adapted to extend behind the flange, a hinge connecting the wall and door with the hinge axis on the outer side of the plane of the flange, and a flange on the door projecting at an angle to its outer face and adapted to abut the edge of the body flange when the door is closed.

3. The combination of a container having an end wall with a doorway through it,4 the end wall at its vertical edge having a ange projecting from its outer portion crosswise of the doorway, a door adapted to extend at its outer edge behind said flange, said door having on its outer yedge a marginal reinforcing portion which extends onto the outer face of the door in position to engage the rear face of the body flange and have. its end flanged outwardly to engage the edge of the body flange, and means for so hinging the door to the container that the reinforcing member may abut the rear face and edge of the body flange whenrthe door is closed.

'-i. A container having a wall with a doorway through it, said wall comprising an outer and inner member, the inner member being spaced from the outer member and then bent toward it and flanged to lie against it and the outer member Vbent over said flange to provide a projectinglipof three thicknesses of metal, a door adapted to extend behind said lip, and mutually pivoted hinge straps connected to the door and to said outer wall member with the hinge axis in such position that the door swings Vaway from the walllip as the door is being opened.

5. A container having a doorway, an articu-V lated door hinged to the container and adapted to be closed in the doorway or swung open with reference thereto and folded on itself, andY a brace extending parallel with'the folding axis and connected with opposite portions of the doorway for retaininglrigid the folding axis of the doory when the door is closed.

6. The combination of a container having a wide doorway in its end with narrow end walls between the doorway and sides of the container,

a pair of folding doors each hinged to the end Wall on respectively opposite sides of the doorway and adapted to have their free edges adjacent when closed, each folding door comprising a comparatively narrow panel which is hinged to the container and a comparatively wide panel hinged to the narrow panel, the narrow panel being at least as wide as the end wall between the doorway and side of the container, whereby the wide panel of the door may be folded onto the side of the container. Y

7. The combination of means having a doorway, a folding door adapted to be closed within said doorway or swung open and fold on itself, a vertical brace adapted to outwardly overlie the hinge joining the two panels of the door when the door is closed, and means above and below the doorway for so holding the brace bar.

8. The combination of a container having a. doorway, a door formed of two panels hinged tocontainer, a vertical-brace adapted to stand adjacent the hinge between the two panels on the outside of the door when the door is closed, and means on the container for holding the upper and lower end of the brace, whereby the panel hinged to the container is held in closed position independently of its articulating hinge.

9. The combination of a container having a doorway, an articulated doorhinged to the container and adapted to seat in the doorway with two panels of the door in alignment, Va vertical brace adapted to be secured' to the container above and below the doorway and extend longitudinally over the hinge axis, and flanges on the door panels for preventing the lateral shifting of the brace. Y

10. The combination of a folding door comprising two panels hinged together, each panel having a reinforcing member whichV lies along the outer face of the panel adjacent the edge and then turns outwardly, whereby when the panels are in alignment a vertical recess is providedin front of the hinge axis, a vertical brace bar adapted to occupy such recess, and means for holding the brace bar in place.

11. The combination of a door comprising two panels hinged together by an axis adjacent one face of the panels whereby the panels may be folded on such axis, each panel having a channel-shaped reinforcing marginal member on its edge, each marginal member having its intermediate web interruptedly bowed away from the panel to provide a succession of hinge bars and intermediate recesses and a hinge rod occupying the opening presented by the alternate ears of the adjacent panels.

12. The combination of a container having a doorway and a flange projecting across the doorway at its outer edge, a door hingedly carried by the container and adapted to extend behind the iiange when the door is closed, said door having an outward projection to abut the end of the container flange to prevent access of water to the interior at the hinged region.

13. The combination of a container having an articulated door, comprising two panels hinged together, one of the panels being hinged also to the container, each of said panels having an outward iiange extending from its face adjacent the mutual hinge of the panels, and a longitudinal brace bar adapted to occupy and substantially fill the space between the said two projections and thus overlie the mutual hinge of the panels and prevent access of water thereto.

14. The combination of a container having a doorway in its end, and narrow end walls between the doorway and sides of the container, a pair of doors hinged respectively to said end walls and adapted to be folded into 'alignment to substantially close the doorway, each door comprising a narrow panel hinged to the container and a wide panel hinged to the narrower panel, and a series of vertical braces adapted to be secured to the container above and below the doorway and extend adjacent the hinges connecting the wider and narrower panels and intermediately across the wider panels and above the free edges of the two doors, whereby all of the panels are eiectively held closed and prevented from outward distortion.

15. A container having a doorway, a door jamb for the doorway having an inwardly extending web with a downwardly extending ange at the top of the doorway, a water-prooiing strip secured to the outer face of the wall above the doorway and then bent beneath the horizontal web of the door jamb and in such region bowed downwardly to engage the top o1" the door, combined with a door adapted to seat in the door jamb with the top of the door engaging the waterprooiing strip.

16. The combination of a container having a doorway, an articulated door hinged to the container adapted to swing onto the doorway, means on the two mutually hinged panels of the door to provide a channel-shaped seat on the outer side of the door, a vertical brace having base flanges adapted to stand in such channel-shaped seat, means for holding the upper end of the brace to the container above the door, a keeper below the door for receiving the lower end of the door, and a sliding bolt in the keeper to lock the brace therein.

17. A door panel comprising a layer of cork compressed to substantially eliminate its elasticity, facing sheets of metal on opposite sides thereof, and channel-shaped metal members at the edges of the panel having end flanges extending over the outer sheets and secured thereto.

18. The combination of a container having a doorway, a folding door for said doorway, said door having one panel hinged to the container wall and having the other panel hinged to the rst mentioned panel by a continuous hinge eX- tending substantially throughout the height of the doors and having its axis located substantially in the outer plane of the panels and acting to maintain the crack between the panels closed, and bracing means disposed outside the door and cooperably associable with the container walls in substantial alignment with the said hinge axis to hold the hinge elements in crack closing position.

19. An articulated door comprising two panels and channel-shaped metal members embracing the edges of the respective panels, the web portions of said embracing members being formed to provide hinge ears, and cooperating means passing through said ears for joining the two panels together.

20. 'Ihe combination of a container having a. doorway, a door mounted on the container and adapted to close the doorway, a vertically extending channel-shaped seat mounted on the outer side of the door, the channel facing in a direction normal to the plane of the door, a vertical brace having a base portion adapted to stand in and be positioned by such channel-shaped seat, said bar being independent of and removably associated with the door, and means on the body above and below the doorway for demountably holding the ends of the brace when seated in said channel.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

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