US2183250A - Railway car vestibule diaphragm - Google Patents

Description

Dec. l2, v1939. E, E WFH-[MORE 2,183,250

RAILWAY CAR VESTIBULE DIAPHRAGM Filed April y25, 1937 2 sheets-sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1939.

E. E. wl-n'l-MORE RAILWAY CAR VESTIBULE DIAPHRAGM Filed April 25, 1937 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J M E m m Patented Dec'. l2, 1939 PATENT-ferries r RAILwAYGAR VESTIBULE .DIAPHRAGM r EdwarfdE.y Whitmore,Clcago, Ill., asrsigno'rfto I The, A'dlake Company,

" tion of'Illirnos Chicago, Ill., a corpora' Application April 23, 1937, seal No. v`138,612

f 14 claims. (c1. 19t-1s) The present invention has to do1with railway car vestibule di'aphragms of the ltypev in Vwhich the sides of the diaphragm aremade of flexible material and are, arranged inone or more yac- 5 c'ordon-like pleats. .When adiaphragm of this type is used between adjoining railwayv cars,

openings will ordinarily be `formed betweenthe lower edges of the vpleated sides of the dia` phragm yand thewends ofthe overlapping 'foot 10, plates, which openingsfare'continually changing y their size and shape-'with the Weaving andturn- 'ing movements of `the `cars. These openings sometimes become'quite large, particularly when the cars are traveling arounda curve, and it is Ientirely possible for a person inpassing from one car to the ,other-to fall and allow a leg, foot or hand to slipv momentarily into y one' of these scissors-like openings, with likelihood of serious consequences. 4

The principalobject` of this invention is to provide a foot plate enclosure boot `on the inner surface of each side of a diaphragm, which boot will eiectively shield the oor opening'v at that side of the passageway without interfering in any way with the movements of either the foot plates vor the diaphragm.v

While the foregoing statement is indicative in a general way ofthe nature of the invention, other more specic objects and advantages will be'apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction, arrangement and operation of thenew enclosure boot.

Two different embodiments of the invention are presented herein for the purpose of exem-v pliication-one for a single. pleat diaphragm andl the other fora double pleat diaphragm-but it j will of course be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of embodiment inl other struc-- turally modiedforms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

n Fig. l is an end view of a single pleat diaphragm, with the inner lsurfaces of the sides thereof equipped with the boots which form the subject matter o f this invention.;

Fig. 2 isy a side View of the diaphragm;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the lower end of one' of the sides of the diaphragm, taken on the line 3 3 'of Fig. 2, showing both the regular foot and the extra foot or boot;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal rsection through one side of the diaphragm, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l, showing that side ofthe diaphragm expanded; i y

Fig. 5 is a similar enlargedsection, `showing the same'side of the diaphragm contracted; and

Figs. 6, 7, Sand 9 are views, corresponding f5' respectively to Figs.- l, 2, 4 and 5, showing the invention incorporated ina double pleat diaphragm. `l l The diaphragm shown in Figs. l tov 5 inclusiveais made of'fany :suitable flexible material, 15(7)'r such as heavy 'belting canvas. One end ofthe diaphragm is attached to one end yIIJ of the car, about ythe archedr passageway therein, and the other .end is attached Ito -a Vface plate I I. The top.I2 of the' diaphragm/andi the'sides I3 there- 15 of are arranged'in a singlepleat whichpermits contraction fand expansion of f the diaphragm upon vmovement of; the Vfaceplate :toward and away from the end ofthe car. The lower ends of the sides I3 of the diaphragm terminate in 20 feet I4,vpreferably made of a softer material, such as chrome leather, which may be trimmed off flush with the foot plates I5 and IS which are secured respectively to the-end I8 of the car and the face plate II.

Secured to the inner'surfaces ofthe lower ends of the sides ,I3v of the diaphragm, above the regular feet ILareA closure boots Il which terminate at their lower edges in supplemental feet I8. ranged at an inclination tothe sides I3 of the diaphragmand merge upwardly into the latter, with the feet I8 spaced inwardly from the feet I4 at rall times regardless oi whether the diaphragm is contracted or expanded. The eX- panded position is lshown in Fig. 4, while the contracted position is shown in Fig. 5. It will be .observed in these views that the boots I1, with their feet I8, are bowed or pleated at all times in conformity with the sides i3 of the dia- 40 phragm, with the center bendsy in the feet I8 projecting far enough into the passageway to overlie the openings I9 which develop between the edges of the foot plates.` The upper edges of the boots I'lvare stitched or otherwise se- 45 curely attached, preferably along horizontal lines 2D, to the inner surfaces of the sides I3 of the diaphragm. The lower edges of the feet I8,

like the feet I4, are preferably cut off flush with the foot plates.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusivea diaphragm` is shown which has two pleats 2| and 22. kThe foot plate closure boots 23 used withthis type of diaphragm-are different in that.l they are mounted in the crevices 55 The 4boots II, with their feet I8, are ar- 30` tance above the bottom of the diaphragm, at 30,

which increases the ilexibility of the sides of the diaphragm near the bottom thereof and facilitates the application and expansion and contraction of the gusset-like boots 24'.

I claim:

i. A diaphragm for application to a railway car vestibule having a passageway with overlapping foot plates and openings at the side edges of the plates, which diaphragm is of the type in which the sides are made of flexible material and are vertically pleated in one or moreffnlds to permit of an accordion-like expansion and contraction, said diaphragm. being provided on the inner surfaces of the lower ends of the sides with supplemental feet, which. feet are set inwardly from the regular feet on the lower edges of the sides, whereby to provide closures for said foot plate openings.

2. A diaphragm for application to a railway car vestibule having a passageway with overlapping foot plates and openings at the side edges of the plates, which diaphragm is of the type in which the sides are made of exible material and are vertically pleated in one, or more folds to permit of an accordion-like expansion and contraction, said diaphragm being provided on the inner surfaces of the lower ends of the sides with supplemental feet which are set inwardly from the regular feet on the lower ends of the sides and merge upwardly into the sides above such regular feet, whereby to provide closures for said foot plate openings.

3. A diaphragm for application to a railway car vestibule having a passageway with overlapping foot plates and openings at the side edges oi the plates, which diaphragm is of the type in which the sides' are made of iiexible material v,and are vertically pleated in one or more folds to permit of an accordion-like expansion and contraction, said diaphragm being of the pleated type, provided on the inner surfaces of the lower ends of the sides with supplemental gusset-like feet which are set inwardly from the regular feet on the lower ends of the sides and merge upwardly into the sides above such regular feet, with the supplemental feet pleated in conformity with the sides, whereby to provide closures for said foot plate openings.

4f. A diaphragm for application to a railway car vestibule having a passageway with overlapping foot plates and openings at the side edges of the plates, which diaphragm is of the type in which the sides are made of flexible material and are vertically pleated in one or more folds to permit of an accordion-like expansion and contraction, said `diaphragm being provided with inwardly protruding boots of flexible material attached to the `lower portions of the pleated sides of the diaphragm, with the center portions of the' boots bowed inwardly away from the opposedA portions of the sides of the diaphragm in both the expanded and contracted positions of thel sides, whereby to fully cover said foot plate openings'.

EDWARD E. WHITMORE

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