Adjustable fluid actuated horizontal bulkhead

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adjustable bulkhead for preventing the movement of lading within a lading carrying vehicle, such as a railway car, and more particularly, relates to a mechanical bulkhead having a structural frame member adapted to be mounted in a stationary position, with one or more expandable panels connected to said frame member by clevis linkages which are operated by one or more hydraulic cylinders. By the use of an air-operated hydraulic pump fed by a constant volume air reservoir of a size chosen so that as the bulkhead expands the pressure of the air supplied to the hydraulic pump, and thus, the oil pressure in the hydraulic cylinder, will decrease as the natural mechanical advantage of the clevis type linkage comes into play, a substantially uniform force can be kept on the lading regardless of the amount of the expansion of the bulkhead. The use of the hydraulic cylinder permits a near instant response to the movement of the lading, either in the horizontal or vertical directions with substantially instantaneous expansion of the movable bulkhead panels to take up slack and to prevent the development of voids that were present with the old air bag bulkhead systems, such voids being primarily responsible for cargo damage. The provision of a check valve in the hydraulic line also prevents any backward movement of the panels, and thus, the present invention provides a bulkhead which can initially expand to compress a lading, will maintain a uniform force on the lading, either in a horizontal or vertical direction and will quickly take up any slack which develops in the lading, but which will not retract until the operator desires it to, and thus, substantially eliminates the possibility of any damage to the lading being carried from having voids develop in the lading due to quick starts and stops or bumps of the vehicle, into which cargo can fall and be crushed by further motion of the vehicle.