US2034723A - Freight container - Google Patents

Description

Marci. 24, 1936.

B. F. FITCH FREIGHT CONTAINER 5 Sheets-'Sheet 1 I Filed June lO, 1931 FIG.;

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Q @mi 6MM anca/M4410 March 24, 1936. B. F. FITCH FREIGHT CONTAINER Filed June lO, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 75Min PatenterhMar.' 24, Y 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFI-ica marcar commen Benjamin'F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn., assigner to` Motor Terminals Company, Wilmingto A a corporation oi' Delaware Application June 10, 1931, Serial No. 543,280

2 Claims. (Cl. 98-87) danger of loss or breakage of package freight.

For such' purposes I have developed a veryeflicient demountable body, which forms the subject matter of my priorapplication Serial No. 500,160, filed December 5th, 1930.

Such demountable bodies may be employedfor the handling of perishable goods, fruits, etc., and

in such cases it is sometimes desired to provide means for continuously Ventilating the container while it is in transit. The present invention is concerned with very 'simple and effective means for causing suchrventilation. By employing hollow doors, which may be made of truss plate, instead of solid doors shown in my application referred to, and by making suitable openings through such doors, I arrange to insure a draft of air into the body, which receives its exit by means of spaces at the eaves. The lopenings through'the doors are so arranged that any access of waterto the interior through them is impossible. Furthermore, the position of the.

discharge into the container serves to direct the lincoming air over the top of the merchandise, rwhich carries away the .moisture arising therefrom, and prevents deleterious action.

. My ventilation provision in no way interferes with the present use of the body for ordinary package freight, but makes it more adaptable in case of perishable freight. However, I provide means whereby the draft may be shut oil, if it should be desired to avoid the same in any particular instance.

My invention is illustrated in the drawings hereof, and is hereinafter more fully explained in connection with these drawings.' and-the esf sential features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a railway flat car, carrying two of my demountable bodies, each having doors equipped with my ventilation provision. Fig. 2 is an end view of one 4.5 of the bodies, illustrating it as it is being lifted from or lowered onto the car. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through one of the end doors and adjacent parts of the container, as indicated by the line 3-3 on 2. Fig. 4 is avertical section of the 50 upper portion of one of the doors. 5 is a vertical section from the interior of the container looking toward the end doors. Fig. 6 is a. detail adjacent the eaves, being a verticalsection substantially on the line li-6 on Fig. 5. Fig. 'l -is a lrertical section from the interior of car lool;-

ing toward a pair of end doors of somewhat different construction. Figs.`8 and 9 are, respectively, a vertical section and a horizontal section through the doors of Fig'. '7, as indicated bythe corresponding lines thereon.l Fig. 10 is a view of 5 the upper portion of such door as shown in Fig. 7, but` illustrating a different form of draft control; Fig. 11 is a vertical section on the line II-II in` Fig. 10.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates a 10 suitable fiat car, equipped with positioning devices a, (shown as external corner' brackets, though projections adapted to engage sockets beneath the container floor might be used); B

'indicates a demountable body adapted to 'be 15 placed on the car and located by means of these positioning devices. The bodyB has a suitable base frame I0, coniposed of suitable structural shapes, this` base frame carrying a flooring II. Suitable side walls 20 I2 and end walls I3 rise from the base frame and carry a roof I5, formed of corrugated metal, ar-

ranged in an arch and with the serpentine lines thereof extending longitudinally, thus presenting. a succession of downwardly facing transverse 25- troughs terminating at the eaves; These roof Y sheets I5 are carried by suitable arched cross bars I6, secured to the'side walls. The top portion of -each side wall has an inwardly bent eave plate Il, lying beneath the corrugated roof, and thus 30 there are a series of ventilation spaces at the two eaves above the eave plate I 1 and leading to the outside of the container. Alongitudinal wooden protection strip I8 is mounted above the Aroof sheets in this region to prevent possible damage 35 to the edge portions of the roof sheets, or crush- Y ingof the corrugation, which might reduce the ventilation spaces.

The doors of my container designated 20, may

becomposed of a pair of sheets of metal 2| and 'i0 22, which are inwardly indented in isolated regions, the indentations being electrically welded or otherwise securedtogether at points where the indentations of one sheet come into contact with the facing indentations ofthe opposite sheet, thereby making what is known vas a truss plate. Around the margins of the doon-woodenfiller strips 25 are inserted between the two metal sheets, and such composite construction at the margin is -protected by a channel-shaped reinforcing metal member 26, which passes acrossv the outer edge of theA ller strip and the outer sides of the adjacent truss sheets. Suitable rivets 31, extending through the reinforcing member,

3l, secured to the outer face of the wall and then having an inwardly extending web, and ilnally a projecting flange, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The edges of the doors come close to the Z-bar webs, while the inner faces of the doors adjacent 'the edges substantially abut the Z-bar anges. Thus there is a substantially weathertight connectionbetween the doors and container walls.

To provide for the draft through such a container as described, without danger of damage from water, I form a set of openings through the outer door sheet 2 I, in its lower region and a set of openings 4| through the inner vdoor sheet 22 in its upper region, so that the air may pass into the lower portion of the hollow door, up-

wardly in the door and then from the upper portion of the door intothe container, and thence out through the eave spaces I3, provided by the corrugated roof. The inwardly discharging openings 4| are arranged on lthe upper portion of the door so that the draft is across the top of the perishable goods within the container,- where the draft is most eiective in7 preventing deterioration.

To prevent accumulation, within the door, of water which might pass through the openings 40, I form draining openings l5 through the bottom ller strip 25 and the bottom, channel member 26.

When a car carrying the bodies, having doors as described, is in motion, there will be considerable draft into the openings 40 of the end doors, which will be discharged into the body through the openings 4l and thence pass out at the sides through the eaves. 'I'here likewise will b some draft ordinarily into the side doors on one or the other side of the container, which will enter the body and pass out through fthe eaves, and.

the air thus moving willprovideeifective ventilation for perishable goods without any chance of goods being damaged by entrance of water.

As it is sometimes desired, particularly in cold weather, to cl'ose the Ventilating openingsin the doors, I provide each ventilated door with a suitable closure mechanism operable at will. 'I'his/closure-mechanism varies according to the door construction; three forms of it are shown in the drawings, which will now be described.

In the doors illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and `5, I provide within each door a closure slide 50, which stands within the door behind the discharge openings Il and has a set of 'openings 5I which may register with the openings 4I. By shoving the slide longitudinally, the openings of the slide are carried out of registration with the door openings 4|, so that the latter are closed. The slide may be readilyoperated by c means of a suitable knob 53, which has a'shank passing through a slot 52 `in the door, the Ainner end of the shank being secured to the slide.

To prevent inadvertent 'displacement of the slide, I form the slot 52 with downward extensions at each end, as Shown in Fig. 5. When the slide stands with the holes in registration, the shank occupies one of the downward extensions, and the slide remains in this position notwithstanding the movement .of the container until the knobis elevated and moved longitudinally andv replaced in the other downward extension of .the slot. In the latter position the holes are out of registration and the ventilation openings are thereby closed. The slide is loosely carried by suiab e clips 56, 51, secured to the inner face of the n ide door sheet, these clips holding the slide gainst the door sheet and guiding it, but with suicient freedom to allow it to be raised sufliciently to Icarry the knob shank out of the slot depressions.

'I'he door of Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive. differs Yfrom that shown in the preceding figures specically in thatthe depressions are staggered in successive vertical rows, clearly shown in Fig. 7.

.The proximity of the depressions accordingly prevents the employment of such a controlling slide as shown in Fig. 5. In such case, I may accomplish the control, 'and *also stiien the door, by omitting the depressions in the central region of the door, and mounting therein a transverse bar 60 secured to the opposite door panels and also to the vertical edge members 26, by Suitable rivets indicated at 6|. I make a series of holes 62 vertically? through this stiiening bar. and I mount on tcp of the bar a sliding plate 6l which has openings which may register with the openings 62. 'A suitable handle 65,l secured to the slide 64 and extending through a slot 66 in the inner door plate, furnishes means for shifting the slide lengthwise thereof, the slide being locked in either extreme position by means of the handle engaging the depression at the correspending end of the slot 66. Y A

The. construction :lust described makes the door stier and stronger, while adding very little to its weight,- and, at the sametime, provides an eiective closure operable at will from the inner face of the door.

Where it is desired to employ a truss plate door with the depressions overlapping, as in Fig. 7,. wlthout the central internal draft c ontroller, I may control the draft by means of ,a plate 1l (Figs. 10 and 11) secured to the external face of the inner door plate near the top. This plate 10 has openings 1I adapted to register with the openings-` 4| and it may be clamped against the door with the openings in registration, or out of registration, as desired. The 'plate could be fastened ineither position by screws, but, toenable ready adjustment lwithout the removal of any part, I may make vertical slots 12 in the plate through which pass studs 'I5 carried by the door and ha'ving threaded ends on which' are mounted wing nuts 16.l Normally, the plate 10 stands as shown in Fig. 11, with the openings in registration, but, by loosening the wing nuts, it may be raised into the position shown in the dotted lines and clamped in that location by the tightening of the nuts.

It will be seen that whichever mounting of the controlling slide is employed, I have readily controllable openings through the door allowing the entrance of airinto the lower portion of the door and its escape from the upper portion of the door into the container.- The slide, being controlled in the inner side of v the door, cannot be disturbed after the door is closed.

My controlled ventilated-door accordingly renders the' container suitable for summer and winter use and for the carrying of perishable lower portion of the outer plate to the interior of the door, an opening from the upper portion of the interior of the door, a cross brace within the door between the regions of the lower and upper openings, said cross brace having an opening, a slide within the door for controlling the latter opening, and means for operating the slide.

2. A door comprising a pair of metal plates 10 spaced apart, iler strips between-the plates ad- 2,os4,vas e 3 jacent the margins, binding strips on the outer sides of the plates and across the outer edge of the illler strips whereby an enclosed chamber is made within the door, ventilation openings in one face of the door adjacent the lower edge, ventilation openings in the other face of the door adjacent the upper edge, and a draining passageway through the bottom ller strip and binding strip.

BENJAMIN F. I 1o

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