Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
The invention relates to door structures, and particu-
larly to apparatus for unlocking, opening, closing and locking
plug doors of railway house cars.
According to the invention there is provided a wall
having a door opening, a plug door for said opening, means mount-
ing said door for movement transversely of the wall between
positions within and outside of said opening and longitudinally
of the wall out of and into longitudinal registry with said
opening, said mounting means including a track mounted on the
wall in parallel relation therewith, a carriage riding on said
track, an upright shaft rotatably journaled on the door and
having a crank pivotally mounted on said carriage and rotatable
betw~en a door closed position generally parallel to said wall
and a door open position inclined with respect to said wall,
operating means comprising a first bar and second parallel bar
mounted on said door for movement lengthwise thereof, said first
bar being selectively movable, means normally interconnecting
said bars to cause them to move in unison, a first lost-motion
link pivotally connec~ed to said first bar and to said shaft
for causing said shaft to rotate in a door closing direction
when said first bar is moved forwardly with respect to said
door a predetermined distance and for leaving said shaft motion-
less when æaid first bar is moved rearwardly with respect to
æaid door, a second lost-motion link pivotally connected to
said second bar and to said shaft for causing said shaft to
rotate in a door opening direction when said second bar is moved
forwardly with respect to the door and for leaving said shaft
motionless when said second bar is ved rearwardly, and means
responsive to rotation of said shaft to door-fully-open position
~ !
for disengaging said interconnecting means and thereby per-
mitting movement of said first bar to a predetermined door
closing poisition without causing corresponding forward move-
ment of said second bar and consequent further rotation of
said shaft, said operating means being engageable with said
shaft to move said door along said track between positions
in and out of longitudinal registry with said door opening
when æaid shaft is in the door-fully-open position.
In the accompanying drawings:
F~G. 1 is a partial æide elevational vlew of a
railway house car showing the door closed and door operating
mechanism embodying the invention in door-closed and locked
position.
FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along
line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 2A, i2B and 2C are enlarged horizontal sectional
views taken respectively along lines @a-2A, 2B-2B and 2C-2C of
FIG. 6.
FIGS. 3-5 respectively are inboard side elevation,
and bottom views of the cam lever taken along lines 3-3 and
4-4 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and a front end view of the cam taken
along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.
FIGS. 6-13 illustrate the door-opening sequence as
follows:
FIG. 6 iis an enlarged side elevational view of the
operating mechanism and adjacent portions of the door and car
wall showing the mechan~sm in the door-closed and locked posi-
tion corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2.
- 2 -
1 3 ~ ~A6
FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 ls an enlarged side elevational view of the
operating mechanism and adjacent portions of the car door and wall
showing the mechanism in the door-closed but unlocked position.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged side elevational view of the
mechanism and adjacent parts of the car door and side with the
rear door edge moved outwardly from the car side.
FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to
FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the mechanism
and adjacent parts of the door during rearward movement of the
door.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to FIG.
12.
FIGS.14-17 i~lustrate the door-closing sequence as
follows:
FIG. 14 is an enlarged side elevational view of the
mechanism during forward movement of the door toward closed
position.
FIG. 15 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to
FIG. 14.
FIG. 16 is an enla,r"ged side elevational view of the
mechanism and adjacent parts of the door during transverse move-
ment of the rear edge of the door into the opening.
FIG. 17 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to
FIG. 16.
16
The number 1 denotes a railway house car side wall
having a rectangular door opening 3 therein defined by rear and
front vertical edges 5 and 7 respec~ively and the car side plate
and threshold 9 and 11 respectively.
A door 13 is received in the door opening when closed,
with its outer surface flush with the outer surface of car side
wall 1.
A horizontal track 15 is secured to car side wall 1 be-
low the door opening with its front end portion 17 tapering out-
wardly from the car side wall and the remainder of the trackrearwardly thereof being unLformly spaced outwardly from the
car side wall in parallel relation therewith throughout its
length, and above the door opening a downwardly open channel-
shaped door retainer rail 19 is secured to the car side plate 9
and similarly tapered and spaced from the car side.
~ or supporting door 13 on ~he car side so that during
opening movements it moves transversely out of opening 3 and
longitudinally rearwardly therefrom, a short vertical stub shaft
21 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 23 on the front portion of
the car door near its lower edge, and a roller carriage 25
rotatably mounts a pair of rollers 27 resting on track 15 and
has sides 29 depending below rollers 27 to guidably engage the
sides of ~rack 15,
Adjacent the top of door 13 is a similar upwardly extend-
ing stub shaft 31, rotatably mounted in a bearing 33 on door 13 in
axial alignment with shaft 21, mounts at its upper end a roller
35 engaging the inner surfaces of door retainer rail 19.
-- 4 --
16
Ad~acent the rear edge of the door and in longitudi-
nally spaced relation therewith the door mounts a pair of bear-
ings 37 and 39 near its bottom and top edges respectively and a
vertical shaft 41 is rotatably journaled in bearings 37 and 39
and projects therefrom below and above the door. Thrust collars
43 and 45 on shaft 41 underlyingly engage bearings 37 and 39
respectively.
At its lower end shaft 41 mounts rearwardly extending
bottom operating crank 47 which extends parallel to the car side
when the door is closed and is pivotally supported at 49 on a
roller carriage 51~ rotatably mounting rollers 53 resting on
track 15, the sides ~3 of carriage 51 dependlng below the top of
track 15 and guidably engaging the sides thereof.
At its upper end shaft 41 mounts rearwardly extending
top operating crank 55 on the outer end of which is journaled
roller 57, which is received between the inner vertical surfaces
of door retainer rail 19.
From the foregoing it will be evident that the door can
be opened by rotating shaft 41 counterclockwise 90, thereby
moving cEanks 47 and 55 from the closed-door position parallel
to the car side wall to an open-door position normal to the car
side wall and thus causing the rear end of the door to move
transversely out of the opening, and then moving the entire door
rearwardly. As front carriage 25 and front retainer roller
follow the outwardly tapered front end 17 of track 15 and the
similarly tapered front end of retainer rail 19, the front end
of the door moves outwardly until the door and car side are in
lQ3~1.6
parallel spaced relation with each other and thence along the
car side wall. A series of spacing rollers 57, journaled on
vertical axes in brackets mounted on the car wall rearwardly of
the door, are engageable with the inner surface of the door to
prevent frictional engagement between the door and car side wall
during opening and closing movements.
For effecting opening and closing movements of the door,
a downwardly facing horizontal rack 59 is secured to side wall 1
rearwardly of door opening 5 and a gear box 61 is slidably
mounted on top of rack 59. Gear box 61 rotatably mounts a
~ Eq~ ~7
handwheel 63 and contains reduction ~eEin~ drivingly connecting
handwheel 63 to rack-engaging driving pinion 69. An idler pinion
71 spaced longitudinally of the gear box from driving pinion 69
cooperates with the latter to stabilize the gear box against
tilting lengthwise of rack 59.
For transmitting movements of gear box 61 on rack 59
to door 13, the gear box mounts a forwardly extending link 73 and
a connecting link 75 is pivotally connected at its rear end at 77
to link 73 and at its front end at 74 to the rear end of elon-
gated lower travel bar 81 slidably mounted in spaced brackets 83and 85 on door 13 and forming the input element of the door
operating mechanism, the function of which is to rotate operating
shaft 41 in the desired direction, lock and unlock the door and
transmit longitudinal movements of gear box 61 directly to the
door.
Intermediate its ends, lower travel bar 81 is formed
with an elongated recess 87 to accommodate operating shaft 41 and
permit the portion of bar 81 narrowed thereby to pass between the
- 6 -
~ 9~6
rear of shaft 41 and the front surface of door 13.
An upper travel bar 89 i8 slidably mounted on top of
lower travel bar 81 and similarly extends through brackets 83
and 85 and is similarly formed with an elongated recess 91 to
permit the portion narrowed thereby to pass between shaft 41
and the door surface.
For transmitting longitudinal movements from lower
travel bar 81 to upper travel bar 89 under most conditions, an
upstanding tubu3.ar guide 93 on upper travel bar 89, between
shaft 41 and bra~ket 83, slidably mounts a pin 95 extending doun-
wardly through aligned holes 94 and 96 in bars 81 and 89, the
head of pin 95 being formed as a cam 97 normally resting on the
top of guide 93. Cam 97 is rectangular in plan, with its top
surface curving gradually downwardly toward its outboard side
and toward its front end and with its bottom surface curving
upwardly toward its front end. ~or actuating cam 97 and thereby
raising pin 95 out of locking reception in hole 94 under certain
conditions, Q cam lever 98 is fulcrumed on a vertical axis pivot
member 100 between brackets 102 protruding from door 13 just
rearwardly of operating shaft 41. The front end of lever 98
extends between operating shaft 41 and the door surface and
terminates forwardly of operating shaft 41 which mounts a lever
actuating arm 104 engaging the outer surface of the front end
of cam lever 98 to hold the rear end of the cam lever, which is
outwardly narrowed, outward of the door surface a sufficient
distance to clear cam 97.
For loc1.cing the rear edge of the door in the door
opening, an L-shaped locking member is fixed to upper travel bar
~ ~39~16
89 by the base of its upstanding leg 99 and has a horizontal
leg lOl projecting rearwardly beyond the rear edge o the door
into a keeper 103 on slde wall 1 rearwardly of rear edge 5 of
the door opening.
For rotating shaft 41 counterclockwise so as to move
the rear portion of door 13 transverseiy out of the opening, a
door-opening actuating link 105a is positioned above upper
travel bar 89 and is connected pivotally at one end at 107a to
a collar lO9a on shaft 41 and at its other end to upper travel
bar 89 by a pivot member llla mounted on bar 89 and passing
through a lost-motion slot 113 in link 105a.
For rotating shaft 41 clockwise when the door is open
and thereby mov~ng the rear edge of the door into the door
recess, a door-closing actuating link 105b is positioned below
lower travel bar 81 and is connected at one end at 107b to a
collar lO9b on shaft 41 and at its other end to lower travel
bar 81 by a pivot member lllb mounted on lower travel bar 81 and
passing through a lost-motion slot 113b.
- From the foregoing it will be seen that if handwheel
; -. cl~ckwise,
A 20 63 is rotated ~e~w~+e? pinion 69 will rotate ~-e~derclockwise
causing gear box 61 to move forward on rack 59 and causing,
through links 73 and 75, a corresponding forward movement of
lower travel bar 81 from its position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and
7. Because of the engagement of pin 95 with aligned holes 94
and 96, the movement of lower travel bar 81 causes a correspond-
ing forward movement of upper travel bar 89 to the position
shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in which lock horizontal leg 101 has
16
been retracted from keeper 103 to a position substantially
flush with the rear edge of door 13, pin 95 and cam 97 have
moved forward until cam 97 is abreast of the rear end of, but
below the inner surface of lever 98 and the door surface, and
pivot connection llla on upper travel bar 89 has moved forward
to the front end of slot 113a in door-opening actuating link
105a.
Further clockwise movement of handwheel 63 causes
forward movement of both travel bars and pivot member ~la on
upper travel bar 89 to pull link 105a forwardly, causing counter-
clockwise movement of shaft 41 and similar movement of mounting
crank 47 and retaining crank 55 until both of the latter assume
a position substantially normal to the car side whereby the
rear edge of the door is shifted transversely outwardly. The
inner surface of cam lever 98 abreast of shaft 41 is for~ed with
a recess having an arcuate surface 115 and having shoulders 117
and 119 at its respective rear and front ends, and a second
lever actuating arm 121 on shaft 41 has a depending end portion
extending into the lever recess engageable with lever rear
shoulder 117 while the door is closed and movable about the
arcuate surface during initial rotation of shaft 41 toward door-
open position. During final rotation of shaft 41 to the position
of FIGS. 10 and 11, actuating arm 121 engages surface 115
causing lever 98 to swing counterclockwise toward the door
surface, with its bottom surface, which is formed near its rear
end with an inwardly open concavity 118, riding on the sloping
top surface of cam 97. To permit the rear end of cam lever 98
1(~3 ~
to rise sufficiently to override cam 97, its fulcrum pin hole
120 is widened lengthwise of the lever at top and bottom. At
the same time, forward movement of lower travel bar 81 causes
pivot mem~er lllb to move forward in lost-motion slot 113b and
hence caused no corresponding movement of shaft-closing actuating
link 105b.
As soon as the mechanism has reached the position
shown in FIGS. 10 and ll, in which the rear edge of the door
is fully displaced transversely outwardly of the adjacent edge
n,t~,l cl~'lse
A lo of the car side, handwheel 63 is reversed and rotated 6~ K~,
causing gear box 61 and links 73 and 75 to move rearwardly and
pulling travel bars 81 and 89, coupled by pin 95~ rearwardly
without initially causing any rearward movement of the door
until the shoulders forming the front ends of recesses 87 and
91 in travel bars 81 and 89 abut the forward side of shaft 41.
The rearward movement of the travel bars causes cam 98 to move
rearwardly from under lever 97, which drops to its normal level
and causes pivot elements llla and lllb to move rearwardly in
lost-motion slots 113a and 113b in the respective shaft actua-
ting links 105a and 105b without moving either of the shaft
; actuating links or changing the position of shaft 41. Continued
counterclockwise movement of handwheel 63 causes gear box 61 to
move rearwardly along rack 59, pulling travel bars 81 and 89
rearwardly and, through their abutting engagement with the for-
wardly facing surface of shaft 61, pulling the entire door 13
along track 15, the front edge of the door following the bent
portion of track 15 and top retainer l9 out of the recess until
- 10 -
l Q~
the entire door i8 parallel with the car side and thereafter
until the door is completely clear of the door opening.
The elements of the mechanism remain in the position
shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 as long as the door remains fully open.
When it is desired to close the door, handwheel 63 is
rotated ~ c~clockwise causing forward movement of gear box
61 and thereby causing links 73 and 75 to push on lower travel
bar 81 and initially move it and upper travel bar B9 forward
relative to the door until the travel bars reach the position
shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 wherein the top surface of the rear end
of cam lever 98 which tapers downwardly has engaged the underside
of locking pin cam 97, lifting the latter and the attached
locking pin out of hole 94 in lower travel bar 81, and permitting
continued forward movement of the lower travel bar relative to
the door until the shoulder defining the rear end of lower travel
bar recess 87 engages shaft 41 without causing further forward
movement of the upper travel bar. Further forward movement of
lower travel bar 81 causes corresponding forward movement of the
door toward door opening 3 in the car side wall. Movement of
both bars to this point did not affect the longitudinal posi-
tions of links 105a and 105b because corresponding movement of
pivot elements llla and lllb has taken place in lost-motion
slots 113a and 113b in the respective shaft actuating links
105a and 105b.
Continued ~}i~clockwise movement of handwheel 63
after the front edge of the door enters the door opening and
engages front edge 7 thereof causes lower travel bar 81 to move
1(~3~
to the position shown in FlGS. 16 and 17, wherein pivot element
lllb has engaged the front end of lost-motion slot 113b in door-
closing actuating link 105b, causing link 105b to move forwardly
and through pivot element 107b and collar 109b rotate shaft 41
clockwise, thereby swinging bottom and top cranks ~7 and 55 to a
position of parallelism w~th the car side, and thus causing the
rear edge of the door to move transversely of the car side into
the door opening. Meanwhile, as shaft 41 rotated clockwise, cam
lever actuating arm 104 engaged the outer surface of the front
end of lever 9~, causing it to move clockwise, with its rear end
swinging outwardly from the car side away from its underlying
engage~ent with locking pin cam 97. By then rotating handwheel
63 clockwise, lower travel bar 81 is pulled rearward until its
locking pin hole 94 is in registry with locking pin 95, which,
unrestricted by lever 98, drops into hole 94, so that continued
rearward movement of lower tra~l bar 81 causes similar rearward
movement of upper travel bar 89 and of locking member 99, 101
with horizontal arm 101 thereof entering into locking engagement
with keeper 103 on the car side until rearward movement ceases,
with the parts in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7.
Operation of the device is as follows: With the door
in closed and locked position as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7 to
open the door, handwheel 63 is initially manually rotated clock-
wise, causing forward movement of gear box 61 and, through
links 73 and 75, corresponding forward movement of lower travel
bar 81 and, through pin 95, of upper travel bar 89 through
brackets 83 and 85 on the car door without moving the car door.
- 12 -
1~3~3~l16
Such movement to the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 first
retracts lock 99, 101 from keeper 103, and during retraction of
the lock move~ pivot member llla on upper travel bar 89 to the
front end of lost-motion slot 113a in shaft opening actuating
link 105a without rotating shaft 41 until lock 99, 101 has
cleared keeper 103. Simul~aneously pinhead cam 97 has moved
forward the same amount, but remains unelevated by passing to
the inner side of cam lever 98 which is held in outward position
by arm 104 on shaft 41.
Further forward movement of the gear box and of travel
bars 81 and 89, which are still locked together by pin 95,
causes pivot member llla to pull link 105a forward to the posi-
tion shown in FI~S. 10 and 11 in which link 105a has rotated
shaft 41 and cranks 47 and 55 about 90 counterclockwise,
thereby movlng the rear edge of door 13 out of the door opening
5, 7, 9, 11 and, through engagement of bracket 121 with the rear
surface of the front end of lever 98, the rear end of the latter
is swung inwardly to overlie the sloping upper surface of cam
97. During the forward movement of bars 81 and 89, the bottom
travel bar caused no movement of shaft closing actuating link
105b because pivoted connector lllb moved initial.ly from the
rear end of lost-motion slot 113b to a point intermediate the
ends of the slot, and during counterclockwise rotation of shaft
41, shaft 105b followed the movement of the shaft as slot 113b
moved on connector lllb until the latter reached the front end
of theslot 113b as seen in FIGS. 10 and 11. Further forward
movement of the travel bars 81 and 89, and corresponding cloek-
wise movement of handwheel 63, is prevented by the engagement
llt;~9J ~.~
of the rear end of recess 9l in upper travel bar 89 with shaft
41.
Handwheel 63 is then rotated counterclockwise until
the parts assume the position shown in FIGS. 1~ and 13 to pull
travel bars 81 and 89 (still locked together by pin 95~ rear-
wardly with the front ends of recesses 87 and 91 in both travel
bars engaging shaft 41, such movement being accomplished with-
out further rotation of shaft 41 because of lost-motion slots
113a and 113b in the respective shaft opening and closing
actuating links 105a and 105b. After the parts reach the posi-
tion shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, cou~terclockwise rotation of the
handwheel is continued, pulling bar 81 and with it door 13 rear-
wardly until the door is fully cl~ar of the opening in the car
wall.
The parts remain in the position shown in FIGS. 12
and 13 until closing movement is initiated, by rotating hand-
wheel 63 clockwise. Initial clockwise rotation of the handwheel
pushes both travel bars 81 and 89 forward until lock 99, 101 is
fully retracted and locking pinhead cam 97.reaches the end of
inwardly positioned cam lever 98, which the sloping bottom sur-
face of cam 97 overrides as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, lifting
pin 95 out of hole 94 in bottom travel bar 81 and permitting the
latter to travel forward without further forward movement of
upper travel bar 89.
Clockwise rotation of handwheel 63 is continued,
causing lower travei bar 81 to continue its forward movement,
causing forward movement of the door until the front edge of
the door enters the door open ~ ts front edge 7 thereof,
whereupon further clockwise rotation of the handwheel causes
further forward movement of lower travel bar 81 relative to the
door and causes pivoted connector lllb to engage the front end
of lost-~otion slot 113b in closing actuating link 105b, thereby
pulling link 105b forward and causing it to rotate shaft 41
clockwise until cranlcs 47 and 55 are parallel to the car side
and the rear margin of the door is flush with the car side wall
and causing bracket 104 on the shaft to push the front end of
cam lever 98 inwardly and thereby move the rear end of the cam
lever outwardly sufficient to free pinhead cam 97.
Handwheel 63 is then rotated counterclockwise, pulling
bar 81 rearwardly until hole 94 is in registry with locking pin
97, freed from cam lever 98 as described above. When this
occurs, locking pin 97 drops into hole 94 in lower travel bar 81,
so that further rearward movement of lower travel bar 81 causes
corresponding vem~nt of upper travel bar 89 and projection of
lock 99, 101 into its keeper 103 on the car side wall adjacent
the rear edge 5 of the door opening,
- 15 -
