Inner Door for Railway boxcars (Patent No: 856527)

Inventor: Bakken, Maynard M.

Location: Calgary

Comments: N/A

Description: The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An inner door for railway boxcar comprising:
(a) a flexible framework including a plurality of rigid slats of greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway, and of sufficient strength to withstand without breakage or significant deflection the pressure exerted by the commodity in the boxcar when loaded, the slats being held in a spaced relationship by attachment to flexible means extending transversely of said slats, the framework being freely suspended in the boxcar doorway so that the ends of the slats project beyond the sides of the doorway on the inside thereof, the said framework extending from the floor of the boxcar to a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded; and
(b) a diaphragm covering the suspended framework on the inside of the boxcar from the floor of the boxcar to a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded, extending beyond the sides of the boxcar doorway on the inside thereof, and extending a short distance onto the floor of the boxcar, the diaphragm being attached to the inside of the frame of the boxcar doorway and to the floor of the boxcar.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein one end of the framework is permanently attached to the boxcar in the vicinity of the upper part of the boxcar doorway.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein suspension means is provided in the upper part of the boxcar doorway and the flexible framework is freely suspended from the said means.

4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the suspension means is an elongated rigid member of somewhat greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway, said member being attached horizontally to the inside of the frame of the doorway at a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded.

5. The invention defined in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said flexible means comprises at least two transverse flexible linear members, and wherein said slats are held in generally parallel spaced relationship.

6. An inner door for a railway boxcar comprising
(a) a flexible framework including a plurality of rigid slats of greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway, and of sufficient strength to withstand without breakage or significant deflection the pressure exerted by the commodity in the boxcar when loaded, the slats being held in a spaced relationship by attachment to flexible means extending transversely of said slats, said flexible means comprising at least two transverse flexible linear members, said slats being held in a generally parallel spaced relationship, the framework being freely suspended in the boxcar doorway so that the ends of the slats project beyond the sides of the doorway on the inside thereof, the said framework extending from the floor of the boxcar to a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded; and
(b) a diaphragm covering the suspended framework on the inside of the boxcar from the floor of the boxcar to a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded, extending beyond the sides of the boxcar doorway on the inside thereof, and extending a short distance on to the floor of the boxcar, the diaphragm being attached to the inside of the frame of the boxcar doorway and to the floor of the boxcar, the diaphragm being composed of one or more sheets of semi-rigid rupturable material and being of somewhat greater width than the length of the slats of the flexible framework.
7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein the elongated rigid member is a wooden board, each of the flexible linear members bears at one end a hook which is engaged with the wooden board, and the diaphragm comprises one or more sheets of cardboard, the diaphragm being stapled to the inside of the frame of the boxcar doorway and to the floor of the boxcar.

8. A method of sealing finely divided bulk materials in a railway boxcar by means of an inner door, comprising:
(a) providing suspension means in the upper part of the boxcar doorway at a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded;
(b) suspending from the suspension means a flexible framework of rigid slats of greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway and of sufficient strength to withstand breakage or significant deflection the pressure exerted by the commodity in a loaded boxcar so that the framework hangs on the inside of the boxcar doorway and the ends of the slats project beyond the sides of the doorway, the said framework extending from the said suspension means to the floor of the boxcar;
(c) holding the slats in spaced relationship by attaching the slats to flexible means extending transversely thereof;
(d) placing over the framework on the inside thereof a diaphragm covering the framework to a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded, extending beyond the sides of the boxcar doorway on the inside thereof, and extending a short distance onto the floor of the boxcar; and
(e) attaching the diaphragm to the inside of the frame of the boxcar doorway and to the floor of the boxcar.

9. The invention defined in claim 8 wherein:
(a) suspension means is provided by attaching an elongated rigid member of somewhat greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway in a horizontal position to the inside of the frame of the boxcar doorway at a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded;
(b) the step holding the slats in a spaced relS10nship further comprising attaching the slats, in generally parallel spaced relationship, to at least two transverse flexible linear members adapted at one end for engagement with the elongated rigid member, and
(c) the step of suspending comprising suspending the framework from the elongated rigid member.

10. The invention defined in claim 9 wherein:
(a) the step of holding the slats in generally parallel relationship comprises holding the slats so that the spacing between adjacent slats is least at the lowest end of the framework and increases continuously toward the upper end thereof; and wherein
(b) the step of attaching the diaphragm to the inside of the doorway and to the floor of the boxcar is accomplished by stapling it thereto.
11. An inner door for railway boxcars, comprising
(a) a rigid horizontal suspension member of somewhat greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway, the horizontal member being attached to the inside of the doorway frame at a height equal to or above that to which the boxcar is to be loaded;
(b) a framework comprising a plurality of rigid slats of somewhat greater length than the width of the boxcar doorway and of sufficient strength to withstand without breakage or significant deflection the pressure exerted by the commodity in a loaded boxcar, the slats being held in a parallel spaced relationship by attachment to
two or more transverse flexible linear members, each of which bears at one end a hook adapted for engagement with the rigid horizontal member, the framework being suspended by means of the hooks from the suspension member so that the slats extend beyond the sides of the doorway on the inside thereof; and
(c) a diaphragm composed of one or more sheets of rupturable semi-rigid material, the diaphragm being of somewhat greater width than the length of the slats and sufficient length to cover the fully extended framework of slats and to extend a short distance onto the floor of the boxcar, the diaphragm being placed over the inside of the framework and lightly secured to the horizontal suspension member, to the inner sides of the doorway frame and to the floor of the boxcar.

12. The invention defined in claim 11 wherein the horizontal suspension member is a wooden board.

13. The invention of claim 11 or 12 wherein the diaphragm is composed of one or more sheets of cardboard and is attached to the structure of the boxcar by means or a sufficient number of staples to hold the diaphragm in position until the boxcar is loaded.

14. The invention of claim 11 or 12 wherein the framework is hung in such a manner that the flexible linear members depend from the horizontal suspension member on the outside thereof and on the outside of the slats.

15. The invention defined in claim 11 or 12 wherein the flexible linear members are chains.

16. The invention of claim 11 or 12 wherein the spacing between adjacent rigid slats is least at the lower end of the framework and increases toward the upper end thereof.