US2083178A - Means for use in loading and unloading container cars - Google Patents

Description

June 8, 1937.

c.- WOODRUFF MEANS FOR USE IN LOADING AND UNLOADING CONTAINER CARS Original Filed May 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 8, 1937. c w ob 2,083,178

MEANS FOR USE IN LOADING AND UNLOADING CONTAINER CARS Original Filed May 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR USE IN LOADING AND UN- LOADING CONTAINER CARS Graham 0. Woodruff, Bronxville, N. Y., assignor to The L. C. L. Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application May 27, 1935, Serial No. 23,798. Divided and this application April 7, 1936, Serial No. 73,163

1 Claim. (CI. 14-72) The present application is a division of my compartments 3 each adapted to receive a conprior application, Serial No. 23,798, filed May 2'7, tainer 4 of a type having supporting legs 5 to 35- rest upon and support it above the floor of its This invention relates to means for use in receiving compartment, each compartment being 5 loading and unloading container cars, and parprovided at its opposite sides with drop doors 5 ticularly in the transfer of leg-type containers 6 hinged at their lower edges and adapted toby means of power or manually operated liftswing outwardly and downwardly to a vertical type trucks between a loading platform and a position or to a substantially horizontal position, container car standing on a track alongside the in which latter position the doors may be utilO same and in the transfer of containers between lized toserve as gang planks to bridge the space 10 cars on adjacent parallel tracks, as well as the between the container compartment and a loadtransfer of containers between a container car ing platform. The bulkheads are provided at the and a loading platform across an intervening car, sides of the car with combined side posts and and vice versa. door stops I between which the doors close and The main object of the invention is to provide to which the doors may be fastened by bolts or 15 novel means in the form of removable and interother fastening means in closed position. changeable bridge planks or gang planks which In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have shown the are adapted to bridge across and connect concar I arranged on a track 8 for loading and untainer compartments of cars standing on adjaloading operations alongside a loading platform I cent tracks, so that containers may be conven- 9, which platform may be constructed of coniently shifted between such cars and so that crete, wood or any other suitable material or containers may be transported from a car to a combination of materials. This platform, in acloading platform through a compartment of an cordance with my invention, is provided along intervening car lying between the same and the its marginal edge adjacent the track with a deplatform, and vice versa. pressed portion or recess 10 providing a support- 25 A further object of the invention is to provide ing or abutment surface II and a vertical abuta novel construction of removable and interment shoulder l2. The recess It is of a suitchangeable bridge plank or gang plank for this able width to receive that portion of a door 6 purpose. which laps over upon the platform when the With these and other objects in view, the indoor is let down and is of a depth, in the region 30 vention consists of the features of construction, of the shoulder l2, at least, corresponding subcombination and arrangement of parts, hereinstantially to the thickness of the door, so that after fully described and claimed, reference being the upper surface of the letdown door will lie had to the accompanying drawings, in which: flush or substantially so with the upper surface 5 Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a loading of the body of the platform. When thus disposed platform and a container car arranged alongside the door of any car compartment facing the the same in position to be loaded or unloaded, platform will provide a gang plank bridging the with some of the drop doors of the car let down gap between the compartment and main surface and fitted in their receiving recess in the platof the platform over which a lift-type truck I3 form to serve as gang planks. of usual or suitable type may travel to dispose 40 Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through a part its lifting platform beneath the container for the of the loading platform and two container cars purpose of lifting said container and transferring arranged alongside one another on parallel it from the compartment to the loading plattracks and showing the use of a removable gang form. By the provision of this depression in i5 plank between the cars for the transfer of conthe platform it will be seen that the drop door tainers between the cars. will be braced and sustained in let down position Fig. 3 is a view showing a modified form of to adapt it to effectually stand the weight of the the depression in the loading platform. truck and container without injury, and that, as

Figs. 4 and 5 are top and bottom perspective the door lies flush with the upper surface of the views of the removable bridge plank or gang platform, the wheels of the truck may pass freely 50 plank. over the joint without subjecting the door to Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to injurious shocks or jars or without liability of 3, inclusive, of the drawings, l designates a coninjury to the free edge of the door by abutting tainer car of gondola type which is transversely contact therewith. The bottom of abutment divided by bulkheads 2 into container receiving surface I l of the recess may slope at an out- 55 ward and downward angle from the shoulder l2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or be stepped or otherwise constructed, as shown in Fig. 3, to provide an outer recess l4 beyond the door supporting surface l5, so that a deepened recess portion may be furnished to accommodate projecting looking or other fittings upon the face of the door.

In Figs. 2, 4 and 5 I have shown means in 'fit conveniently within the door openings of the container compartments of cars, and of a suitable length to extend between and rest upon the floors of transversely alined compartments of two container cars arranged side by side on parallel tracks. This bridge plate may be made in the form of a trough-shaped or channelshaped body of sheet steel, the upturned side Wallsior flanges I? of which have secured thereto angle metal stiffeners l8 forming therewith guard rails at the sides of the plank to prevent displacement of the wheels of the truck thereover, which stiffeners may be riveted or otherwise secured to the sides l1. Also secured to the underside of the body of this bridge plate or plank are channel-shaped stiffening members l9, which are of less length than the length of the plank and terminate at their ends a sufficient distance from the ends of the plank to allow the latter to lap over upon the floors of compartments of parallel cars varying to different degrees in their distance apart. Fig. 2 shows the use of such a bridge plank extended between transversely alined compartments of a car I arranged alongside a loading platform and between the same anda car la standing on a track adjacent to that on which the car I is arranged. In placing this bridge in position the drop doors at the adjacent sides of the compartments of the cars l and id to be connected are let down to a pendant vertical position and the bridge plank then disposed to extend across the gap between the open sides of the compartments and to rest on the floor of said compartments, the bridge when thus arranged forming a passageway over which a lift-type truck may travel between the com of the open doors to prevent the bridge plank from shifting out of position and dropping down between the cars under pressure of the wheels of the truck engaging the end edges of the bridge plank. By employing such a bridge plank it will be evident that'provision is made for the ready and convenient transfer of containers between parallel cars arranged on adjacent tracks and between such cars and a loading platform in a manner not possible heretofore without the use of hoisting apparatus, and. whereby time and labor may be saved and greater convenience and facility aiforded in loading and unloading cars in a yard or at a station.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the construction, mode of operation and advantages of my invention in the loading and unloading of cars will be readily understood by those versed in the art without a further and extended description. While the structural embodiments disclosed are preferred, it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:-

A bridge plank for bridging the space between cars arranged side by side for the transfer of lading over the intervening gap between said cars, said plank comprising a body adapted to bridge said gap and to be supported at its ends upon the floors of the cars, said body being U- shaped in cross-sectionand provided at its sides with integral upstanding flanges forming guard rails, means upon the underside of the body for reinforcing the same and acting as abutments to prevent undue shifting of the plank laterally of the cars, and L-shaped stiffeners having vertical webs extending along and to the guard rail flanges and horizontal webs extending laterally therefrom outwardly from said flanges and lying flush with the upper edges thereof.

GRAHAM C. WOODRUFF.

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