US1018682A - Car-seal. - Google Patents

Description

A. C. ROSENBROOK. GAR SEAL;

APPLIGATIGN FILED MAR. 21, 1911.

1,018,682. Patnted Feb.27,1912.

Y intensa.

AUGUST CHARLES ROSENBROOK, F WALL, SGUTI-I DAKOTA.

can-snail.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

Application filed March 21, 1911. Serial No. 615,836.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST C. RosnN- BROOK, a citizen of the United States, re-

V siding at Wall, in the county of Pennington portions and State of South Dakota, have linvented new and useful Improvements in Car-Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in seals of the class used on freight cars, baggage, etc., and particularly to that type of seals which will indicate, upon mere inspection, whether the same has been tampered with.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap and efficient type of seal which locks automatically, in which the lock when closed, is entirely concealed, and in which it is impossible to tamper with the lock of the closed seal without visual evidence of that fact being given.

rlhe invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the closed seal. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof. Figs. 3 and a are transverse sections on the lines 3-3 and 1 -t of Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional plan view s on the` lines 5-5 and 6-6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a view of the housing sleeve partially spread open. Fig. 8 is a. view of the eX- tremities of the seal.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a blank or strip forming the body of the seal, and made of malleable tin or other suitable material, said strip being bent into loop form to provide arms 2 and 3, which, for convenience of description, will be termed upper and lower arms.

The upper arm 2 is provided with a backturned or looped extremity t having a T shaped slot formed with a longitudinal por- Ition 5 and a transverse portion 6 at the outer end of said longitudinal portion. The front wall 7 of the slot portion 6 is bent or deiiected laterally beyond one face of the strip to provide a bearing shoulder, while the 8 of the strip at the points of intersection of the portions of the slot are bent or deflected laterally beyond the other face of the strip to provide bearing lips. As shown, 'the arm 2 is provided with a downbent transverse rib or indentation 9 formed upon the upper or relatively free limb of the looped portion thereof above the locked lower limb of said looped portion and arranged to overlie the latter at a point slightly in advance of the slot portion 6 and between the same and the free edge 10 of said lower limb.

The arm 3 of the strip is provided at its extremity with a T-shaped slot having a longitudinal portion 11 and a portion l2. The outer edge or wall 13 of the slot portion 12 is bent or offset laterally beyond one face of the strip, while the portions of the strip at the points of intersection of the slot portions are bent or offset laterally beyond the other face of the strip to provide bearing lips 111.

An elongated iiattened housing sleeve or tube 15 is provided to receive the ends of the arms 2 and 3 and to interlock therewith to close the seal and conceal the lock in such manner that the lock can not be tampered with for the purpose of opening the seal without giving visual evidence of such fact. This sleeve is formed of an oblong rectangular piece of tin or other suitable material folded to form an upper wall 16 and a lower wall 17, the latter being composed of the free longitudinal edges of the stripv which are arranged in substantially abutting relation.

The sleeve is open at each end and is provided upon the interior thereof, adjacent its inner and outer ends, respectively with pairs of substantially triangular locking wings 18 and 19, having their longitudinal side edges respectively diverging inwardly from the proximate ends of the sleeve. The wings are integrally joined at their inner ends to the edges of the sections ofthe walls 17 by parallel upright flanges 18"1 and19EL and are bent laterally in an outward direction from said flanges so as to lie parallel with the walls 16 and 17.

In assembling the parts of the seal, the

end of the arm 2 is iirst inserted into the Y in the slot 5. When the extremity is inserted to its fullest extent, the inner end wall of the slot portion 5 will abut against the outer ends of said flanges, at which time the shoulder 7 will pass beyond and spring downward into interlocking engagement with the inner ends of the wings, by which the wings will be caused to lie above the inserted end of the arm 2 and to lock the same against possibility of withdrawal. After the end of the arm 2 has been inserted and locked in position, as above described, the said end 2 is passed from rear to front through the sleeve over the locking wings and the strip drawn out until taut, whereby the bight or loop 4 will be formed in the arm 2, the upper portion of which loop will lie between the locked extremity of the loop and the upper wall 1G of the sleeve, while the bight or closed end of said loop will fully close the `outer or rear end of the sleeve. The seal is then ready for use in the usual manner. To close the seal, the free end of the arm 3 is inserted within the inner or front end of the sleeve between the bottom wall of said sleeve and the upper arm and forced inward until its locking lip 13 engages the inner ends of the wings 18. In this operation, the lip 13 rides over the wings and the lips 14 beneath the wings, while the slot portion 11 receives the flanges 18a, the locking operation being the same as thatdescribed with respect to the wings 113 and free end of the arm 2, the ends of the strip being thus securely locked within the sleeve, whereby the lock is concealed in such manner and the parts so held against release that disconnection cannot be effected without mutilation of the seal, thus giving visual evidence of the fact that ithas been tampered with.

It will be observed that the rib or indentation 9 bears upon the inner ends of the wings 19 and holds the upper fold or limb of the inclosed portion of the arm 2 in contact with the wall 16, and at the same time presses the lower fold, limb or backturned portion 4L of said arm toward the wall 17, thus spacing said folds to permit the ex tremit-y of the arm 3 to pass freely between the same. By this construction the end of arm 3, after interlocking with the wings 18, will be snugly received in the space between said folds of the arm 2 at a point between sets of flanges and will abut against the rib 9, whereby the parts will be reinforced and compactly held within the housing sleeve.

The arms are provided with openings 2O with embossed or raised portions which are adapted to register and to occupy a position close to the sleeve when the seal is closed, such openings and bosses serving as indi- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the cators to show whether or not the device has been tampered with, that is, a part of the seal cut away and an effort made to hide or cover up such work. Any letters or configurations to be imposed upon the seal should have their starting point inwardly of said openings.

Having thus described the invention7 l claim 1. A car seal comprising a housing sleeve having spaced pairs of lianges provided with laterally extending tapered wings, and a strip having slotted end portions to respectively interlock with the pairs of flanges and wings.

2. A car seal comprising a. housing sleeve provided with laterally extending tapered wings at each end thereof connected by parallel flanges with said sleeve, and a strip provided with T-slotted end portions to respectively interlock with the pairs of wings and the flanges thereof.

3. A car seal comprising a housing sleeve having at each end thereof pairs of parallel iianges provided with laterally bent triangular wings, the side edges of the respective pairs of wings converging toward the adjacent end of the sleeve, and a strip provided with T-slotted end portions to respectively interlock with the pairs of wings and the fianges thereof.

4. A car seal comprising a housing sleeve having at each end thereof pairs of parallel fianges provided with laterally bent triangular wings, the side edges of the respective pairs of wings converging toward the adj acent ends of the sleeve, and a strip provided with T-slotted end portions to respectively interlock with the pairs of wings and the flanges thereof, the walls of the cross portions of each slot being deflected in opposite directions to respectively ride over and under the wings in the interlocking action.

5. A car seal comprising a housing sleeve having pairs of flanges adjacent the opposite ends thereof provided with locking wings, and a strip having T-slotted end portions to respectively interlock with the pairs of wings and the flanges thereof, one end of said strip being looped and extending through the sleeve and having the'relatively free limb of its looped portion provided with an offset to space it from the locked limb thereof to form a guide for the insertion of the opposite end of the strip.

In testimony whereof I affix my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST CHARLES ROSENBROOK.

Vitnesses S. E. SANDERS, J. W. ELLIS.

Commissioner of -Patents,

Washington, D. C.

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