US3394753A - Grain door installation for railway freight cars and nail shim therefor - Google Patents

Description

mm s U A NN 01Go S A E M RMI- R u mud. 4 6 N T 2 l ESD w 4 Wm T. R m /mw L F hMHIlI/'VWMI C E AYR Umm O M Rv, IROJ AE1 NR Y caws, vSOM2 UFMV. NWSM GILJ AMMMW MMNn Hmm? .SA Cm R O O D N T. A R G .July 30, 196s United States Patent 3,394,753 GRAIN DOOR INSTALLATION FOR RAIL- WAY FREIGHT CARS AND NAIL SHIM THEREFOR j Charles H. Magnuson, Minneapolis, Minn., and Edward J. Leonard, Wilmette, lll., assignors to Signode Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 28, 1966, Ser. No. 568,495

4 Claims. (Cl. 160-368) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE vA grain door installation embodying a nail shim which compensates for the widening of a door post slot under repeated use of the slot for nail-receiving purposes. The shim isof folded sheet metal construction and presents a fold which is tucked into the door post slot so as to decrease the effective width of the slot.

The present invention relates to temporary closure panel installations' for the door openings of railway freight cars, specifically freight cars having metal door posts at the sides of such openings.

It has long been the practice in connection with the side door opening of a railway freight car to seal the opening against the escape of granular materials such as salt, silica sand, lfertilizers and the like by nailing a flexible anddisposable closure panel to the door posts at the sides of the opening so that the panel extends across the opening on the inner side thereof and, in addition to its sealing function, prevents the contents of the freight car from hindering the normal operation of the regular outside sliding door of the car. Such flexible closure panels are ordinarily referred to as grain doors, and they will thus be referred to both in this specification and in the appended claims. Such grain doors are comprised of a sheet or panel which is formed of heavy kraft or corrugated paper, to one side of which there is affixed a plurality of steel straps having longitudinally spaced holes therein. These holes are adapted for selective reception of nails by means of which the panel may be nailed to the door posts. The straps thus reinforce and prevent tearing of the paper in the vicinity of nails and they also reinforce the panel as a whole against undue outward bulging thereof when the freight car is fully loaded and in transit.

Where the freight car is equipped with wooden door r posts, the nails are conveniently driven through the straps and directly into the posts. However, with modern allsteel freight cars where imperforate steel door posts are employed it has been the practice to drive the nails into the vertical crevice which exists alongside the door post between the latter and the adjacent portion of the freight car side panel. This practice has not proven altogether satisfactory due to the fact that repeated application of nails to and removal of the nails from the crevice during successive car loading and unloading operations causes the door posts to become sprung and the crevices to widen so that they no longer have the ability to securely retain nails which are driven thereinto.

The present invention is designed, to overcome the above-noted limitation that is attendant upon the application of grain doors to steel door posts and, toward this end, the invention contemplates .the provision of a grain door installation embodying a novel nail shim having a portion which is designed for insertion into the vertical void or crevice which exists between a door post and the adjacent portion of a railway boxcar side panel, the shim preferably extending substantially the full Ice height of the crevice or, at least, to an extent necessary to encompass all contemplated nail-insertions.

In the preferred form of the invention, the shim is in the form of a sheet metal stamping having a reentrant bend or fold therein and two laterally projecting wings which are coplanar and extend in opposite directions from the adjacent outer or distal edges of the fold, thus providing an elongated sheet metal structure which is generally T-shape in transverse cross section. The dual thickness T-leg is adapted to be inserted into the nailing crevice so as to be completely encompassed thereby with one lateral wing lying ush against the door post and the other wing lying flush against the boxcar side panel. When thus positioned at the side of the door opening, the shim is held in place by friction and the crevice which the shim itself establishes between the sides of the fold is then available for nail reception.

As previously set forth, the shim is intended for use in connection with a steel door post which, after repeated nailings, has become sprung and the crevice thus widened to such an extent that it will not tightly receive grain door attachment nails. Because the sheet metal shim is formed of a relatively soft metal, its presence in the crevice will not appreciably further widen the nail-receiving crevice when nails are driven into the latter. Initial widening of the crevice is predicated upon the wedging action incident to the driving of the relatively incompressible steel nail Shanks into direct contact with the side flanges of the crevice. Where a shim is in place within the crevice and the nail shanks are driven between the folds of the shim, these nail Shanks are self-reaming and `the side flanges of the fold yield to receive them so that no further and undue wedging action is exerted upon the door post tending to further spring the same and thus further widen the crevice. Thus, a new freight boxcar may be receptive to successful grain door nailing operations over a given period of time, after which successful nailings can be made only with the aid of shims of the present invention. However, once the use of shims has been resorted to, no further widening of the crevice will take place under ordinary circumstances for reasons outlined above and a single shim, if left in place, will serve its function successfully for many repeated nailings. Then, if after a period of time, the shim becomes worn or otherwise loses its effectiveness, it may readily be removed and replaced by a single fresh shim which will accommodate a similar number of repeated nailings.

A further advantageous feature of the present invention resides in the sealing function which is offered when the shim is inserted into the vertical crevice existing between the door post and the adjacent panelling. Heretofore objectionable infestation of material in and about the door posts of boxcars has presented a serious problem, this infestation arising by reason of infiltration of granular vegetable or other material which is subject to spoilage. Frequent cleaning of the vertical door post crevice is a troublesome matter even though special cleaning tools for this purpose have been developed. The presence of a nail shim within the crevice eliminates the possibility of grain or other infiltration directly into the crevice and any inltrated matter which may enter the auxiliary nail slot afforded by the shim may readily be removed by the simple expedient of withdrawing the shim manually, shaking out the excess or residual material, and .thereafter replacing the shim within the crevice.

The provision of a nail shim for grain door installations such as has briefly been outlined above and possessing the stated advantages constitutes the principal object of the present invention. Other objects and advantages, not at this time enumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the following description ensues.

isf-agarral l i a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective inside view of a grain door installation embodying two of the nail shims of the present invention;

FIG. 2. is an enlarged sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated by the line 2 2 of FIG. 1 and in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view illustrating schematically the manner of installation of the present nail shim in a grain door assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, a conventional grain door installation has been designated in its entirety at and is associated with an all-steel railway boxcar, a portion of which has been shown at 12. The boxcar 12 is provided with the usual floor or deck 14 and side panelling 16, the panelling on only one side of the boxcar being illustrated. A rectangular door frame including vertical door posts 18, a lower sill 20, and an upper sill (not shown) establishes a door Opening 22 which is adapted to be closed by the usual outside sliding door (likewise not shown). Each door post 18 is integrally formed with an adjacent side panel 16 as clearly shown in FIG. 2 although in certain door assemblies the door posts may be separately formed from the side panels. In either event, a narrow vertical crevice or slot 23 is invariably established in the region of juncture between the door post and its adjacent side panel 16 and this slot is ordinarily employed for direct reception of dual-headed nails 24 by means of which a conventional grain door assembly which has been designated in its entirety at 25 may be nailed across the door opening 22. As will be described in greater detail presently, repeated application of nails to the crevices or slots 23 tends to spring the door posts 18 and thus widen the crevices 23 so that the same no longer have the ability to seize the nail Shanks with sufficient gripping force to hold them in place so that they may withstand the pulling force of the grain door under the influence of the load. It is this fact which has given rise to the present invention which consists in the provision of a novel and efficient nail shim by means of which the nail-holding ability of the crevices or slots 23 is restored indefinitely. Such a nail shim has been designated in its entirety at 26 and the details thereof will be made clear presently.

It should be distinctly understood that the door post and side panelling installation shown herein is merely illustrative of a typical installation requiring the use of the present nail shim. The door post and panelling installations associated with the boxcars of different manufacturers may vary widely .in their details of construction and assembly. In some installations the door posts and panelling may be separately formed and joined together by welding, riveting or the like. Regardless of the particular installation involved, the only prerequisite to application of the present door shim in the installatin resides in the provision somewhere in the vicinity of the door post of a vertical crevice or slot such as the slot 22 Within which the shim may be installed. Specifically, in the illustrated form of door post 18, the slot 23 is defined between a flange 27 on the door post and an opposing adjacent flange 28 which extends laterally from the adjacent side panel 16. The two flanges 27 and 28 are joined by a reentrant fold or bend 29 which constitutes the bottom edge of the slot 23.

The grain door 25 may be of any conventional type but for illustrative purposes it is shown as consisting of a heavy kraft paper sheet or panel 32, to one side of which there are aflixed a plurality of steel straps 34 having longitudinally spaced holes 36 formed in the end regions thereof (see also FIG. 3). These holes 36 are provided for the purpose of receiving the door-fastening nails 24, plural holes being provided to' accommodate door openings of varying width. The straps are affixed to the outer side of the sheet -32 so that they prevent the paper from bowing outwardly under the outward thrust of the granular or other load undergoing shipment. The straps also reinforce the paper material in the immediate vicinity of the nails 24 and prevent tearing or ripping of the paper sheet when tension is applied thereto under the influence of the load. The upper and lower edge portions of the papersheet may be reinforced with wooden backing strips 38L and 40 respectively, these strips being nailed in position across the opening 22 in a manner similar to the nailing of the grain door proper. The upper strip 38 preferably is disposed on the inner side of the grain door while the lower strip 40 is disposed on the outside of the door. A narrow bottom flap 41 projects laterally and inwardly from the main body portion of the sheet and closely overlies the adjacent portion of the deck 14. This flap 41 may be nailed to the deck 14 by driving nails 24 through the flap and into the narrow crevices or slots 42 existing between adjacent deck panels 43.

The nail shim 26 is comprised of an elongated strip of sheet metal stock bent to generally T-shape configuration in transverse cross-section so as to provide a dual-thickness leg consisting of side flanges 44 Which oppose each other in substantial face-to-face contiguity, and side wings 46 which extend laterally in opposite directions from the distal edges of the side flanges 44. The two side flanges 44 establish therebetween an auxiliary nail receiving slot 48 and the bottom of this slot is defined by the reentrant bend or fold 49 by means of which the side flanges 44 are joined together. Preferably the juncture regions between the side flanges 44 and their respective side wings 46 are rounded as at 50 in order to guide the pointed ends 52 of the shank portions of the nails 24 into the slot 48 during installation thereof and thus avoid possible puncturing and misdirection of the nails when they are struck by the driving impact tool.

The length of each shim, i.e., its vertical height in the door installation, is preferably at least as great as the vertical height of the grain door 30 so that only a single shim 26 is required in association with each door post 18.

The shims 26 are installed in the slots 23 at the opposite sides of the door opening 22 by the simple expedient of forcing the dual-thickness legs 44 forwardly into these slots so that the side flanges form, in effect, inner linings for the side walls 27 and 28. This may be accomplished manually if the slots 23 have become .sufficiently wide as to accommodate such manual application. If appreciable resistance to entry of a shim into the slot is encountered, a series of light blows or taps by an impact tool such as a hammer appropriately directed against the side wings 46 will serve to force the shim into the slot 23 to its completely installed position wherein the two side Wings 46 lie flush against the inside faces of the door post 18 and panelling 16 respectively.

The sheet metal from which each shim 26 is formed is preferably relatively soft, ordinary commercial galvanized iron sheet metal being suitable for the purposes. Because of the relative softness of the metal, after a given installation of a shim has been effected, the nail Shanks which are driven int-o the slot 48 will rea'm their way, so to speak, lbetween the two side flanges 44 of the shim and thus displace adjacent metal portions las shown Iat 54 in FIG. 4 so that there will be no further springing of the door post and consequent widening of the slot 22 existing between the door post 18 and panelling 16. Whereas an initial grain door installation, in the absence of a shim within the slot 23, may have a widening effect on the slot because of the spreading or wedging action of the steel nail Shanks against the steel sides of the slot, such is not the case when a shim has been installed in the slot due to yielding of the soft metal of the shim as previously set forth.

It will be understood, of course, that application of a shim 26 to either or both of the slot-s 23 on opposite sides of the door opening 22 will not basically alter the mode of application of the grain door 25 to the opening. In either instance, the nail shanks will be directed through appropriately selected nail holes 36 in the steel straps 34 associated with the grain door 30, and thereafter these holes and nails shanks will be aligned with the adjacent vertical crevices or slots 23 and the nails -driven into position directly into the slot 23 in the absence of a shim, or into the auxiliary slot 48 which is established when a shim is `present in the slot 23.

It is contemplated that a single shim 26 will suffice for a large number of repetitive grain door install-ations inasmuch as there is no further widening of the slot 23 incident to such in-stallations. However, under certain circumstances the repeated application of nails to a given shim may dictate that the shim be replaced with Ia fresh one and, in such an instance, it ils a comparatively easy matter to remove the old shim, utilizing a pulling tool such as pliers or the like whi-ch may be applied to either or both :side wings 46 for pulling purposes.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim a-nd desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a grain door install-ation, the combination with a freight vehicle of the all-steel type and having a side wall including a pair of spaced apart vertical steel door posts defining therebetween a door opening, coplanar steel side wall panel sections coextensive in vertical height with :said door posts and extending forwardly and rearwalrdly therefrom longitudinally of the vehicle, each door post and its adjacent panel section defining therebetween a narrow nail-receiving slot having opposed side walls between which nail shanks are adapted to be driven in wedging relationship, a flexible grain door closure extend- 'ing across said door opening in overlapping relation-ship with respect to said door posts and including spaced apart horizontal reinforcing straps having nail openings in the opposite end regions thereof, nails projecting through said nail hole's and having the-ir shank portions projecting into said nail-receiving slots, and a nail shim for each slot, common to the nail shanks therein, said nail shim being in the form of a vertically elongated flat strip of sheet material folded upon itself longitudinally to provide a pair of contiguous side flanges which establish therebetween an auxiliary nail-receiving slot, said shim projecting into the slot so that the side flanges thereof lie flush against lthe respective side walls of said slot, said shank portions of the nails projecting Ibetween said side flanges in wedging relationship with respect thereto and serving to spread the side flanges outwardly against said side walls.

2. In a grain door "installation, the combination set forth in claim 1, wherein eachy shim is formed of sheet material which is of less hardness than that of the nail Shanks, and wherein the side flanges of the shim in the immediate vicinity of the nail sh'anks are deformed under the influence of outward pressure exerted by the nail shanks.

3. Ina grain door installation, the combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the distal edges of each shim are provided with laterally turned side wings which are coplanar and which are interposed between the grain door closure and the adjacent faces of the door post and side wall panel respectively.

4. Ina grain door installation, the combination set forth in clai-m 3, wherein the juncture regions between the si-de wings and their adjacent side flanges are rounded to facilitate dmiving of said nail Shanks Ibetween the side flanges during installation of the grain door across said opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,804,452 5/ 1931 Barton 52-377 2,457,250 12/ 1948 Macomber 52-364 X 3,052,292 9/1962 Bruning 160-368 3,068,967 12/1962 Oakley 52-377 3,200,550 8/1965 Doughty 52-377 3,218,766 11/1965 Bruning 160-368 3,335,522 8/1967 Bruning 160-368 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

PHILIP C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner.

Images