1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for opening the doors of a railroad hopper car, and, in particular, to a novel apparatus for manually opening the hopper doors on a railroad car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common type of railroad freight car in use today is the freight car of the type wherein the load is discharged through hoppers in the underside of the body. Such cars are generally referred to as hopper cars and are used to haul coal, phosphate and other commodities.
After hopper cars are spotted over an unloading pit the doors of the hoppers are opened, allowing the material within the hopper to be emptied into the pit.
Hopper cars, which may be covered, are usually found with one of two hopper configurations: transverse, in which the doors closing the hoppers are oriented perpendicular to the center line of the car; or longitudinal, in which the doors closing the hoppers are oriented parallel to the center line of the car. An example of a hopper car with transverse doors is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,531, while an example of a hopper car with longitudinal doors is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,877.
Prior art references which teach operating mechanisms for opening and closing hopper doors include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,596,609; 4,741,274; 3,187,684; 3,611,947; 3,786,764; 3,815,514; 3,818,842; 3,949,681; 4,222,334; 4,366,757; 4,601,244; 5,823,118; and 5,249,531. There are several disadvantages to the hopper door operating mechanisms described in some of the aforementioned patents. One problem is that some of the prior art mechanisms are designed such that each actuating mechanism is connected to doors from two separate hoppers. Thus, if the mechanism fails, it effects the operation of two hoppers. Another disadvantage of some of the above described hopper door mechanisms is that the operating mechanisms limit the distance of the door motion, thus limiting the open area of the cars bottom. This arrangement slows the unloading process and causes additional costs and potential damage to the car due to increased periods in thaw sheds. A further disadvantage of some of the prior art hopper door mechanisms are that they are designed specifically for new railcar construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,158 is directed to a manual discharge door operating system for a hopper railcar. It includes a door actuation shaft coupled to the railcar extending across the width of the car. Rotation of the actuation shaft by the operator opens and closes the discharge door of the hopper railcar through linkage assemblies which are affixed to the center sill of the car. The linkage assemblies form an over-center latch to aid in maintaining the door in the closed position.
While the mechanism taught in the '658 patent works well, it must be mounted to the center sill of the railcar. In addition, it is designed to operate a door of a hopper chute having a certain fixed slope angle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a manual mechanism for actuating the discharge doors of a hopper car which can be used on cars with or without a center sill.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a manual actuating mechanism of simple design for hopper car doors which can be used in new car manufacturing as well as can be retrofitted to existing cars.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an actuating mechanism for a hopper car which can be adjusted to operate doors of hopper chutes of varying slope angles.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an actuating mechanism for hopper car doors in which each door assembly has a positive over-center locking feature to securely close the doors in addition to a second safety latch.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the descriptions and drawings which follow.
Referring now to
The mechanism of the present invention suited for use on railway hopper car 10 of
Also rigidly affixed to each of shafts 30a, 30b is a main actuating lever 50. Lever 50, which in the present embodiment is located between hoppers 12, contains at one end a pair of outwardly extending cylindrical extensions 52 each having a bore 54, and a bifurcated body section 56 connected to extensions 52, having sections 56a and 56b, which contains a pair of apertures 58 within sections 56a and 56b at its end opposite extensions 52. Actuating lever 50 also contains a pair of stops 60 which extend across bifurcated body section 56. Shafts 30a, 30b are fixed within bores 54 by welding or any similar process.
An opening lever 70 couples doors 16 to actuating lever 50. Lever 70 consists of a first section 72, which is rotatably coupled to actuating lever 50 between bifurcated sections 56a, 56b, a second section 74, which affixed to coupling bracket 22, and an intermediate section 76 which connects first section 72 and second section 74. First section 72 consists of an elongated flat portion 77 having a through hole 78 at one end and a cylindrical section 80 at its opposite end. Cylindrical section 80 includes a bore 82. Second section 74 consists of a flat section 84 having a through hole 86 at one end and a cylindrical section 88 at its opposite end. Cylindrical section 88 includes a bore 90. Intermediate section 76 consists of a tubular element which is rigidly affixed within bores 82, 90 of sections 72, 74 respectively.
Second section 74 is attached to coupling bracket 22 by a clevis 100. Clevis 100 consists of a pair of bifurcated arms 100a, 100b having through holes 101 at one end, and a threaded extension 102 at its opposite end. Clevis 100 is rotatably coupled to section 84 of opening lever 70 between bifurcated arms 100a, 100b by a pin 103 passing through holes 86 and 101, and is rigidly fixed to bracket 22 by a nut 104 which is threaded onto extension 102 of clevis 100. First section 72 is rotatably coupled between bifurcated sections 56a, 56b of body section 56 of lever 50 by a pin 106 passing through apertures 58.
A secondary locking mechanism 110 is pivotally mounted on the underside of car 10 to add a positive locking safety to the actuating mechanism of the present invention. Locking mechanism 110 consists of an elongated member 112 having a hook-like protrusion 114 at one end, and a lever 116 fixed to its opposite end. Protrusion 114 is shaped to engage first section 72 of opening lever 70 when the actuating mechanism is in the closed position. To operate locking mechanism 110, lever 116 is shifted in the direction shown by arrow A, causing member 112 to rotate about a pivot pin 118, forcing protrusion 114 away from and out of engagement with section 72. Locking mechanism 110 may be spring biased to keep protrusion 14 in the locked position unless lever 116 is shifted in the direction shown by arrow A.
When door 16 is in the closed position covering hopper 12, operating lever 70 is located between bifurcated sections 56a, 56b of body section 56 such that it contacts the underside of stops 60 of actuating lever 50. In this position, pin 106 which couples levers 50 and 70 together is located above the horizontal plane through the center of shafts 30a, 30b, maintaining an over-center closed configuration for the mechanism. In the current embodiment, pin 106 is 3 degrees over center in the closed position. Stops 60 act to prevent lever 50 from travelling too far over center.
The operation of the door actuating mechanism of the present invention will now be described as follows. Referring again to
As handle 32 continues to rotate, main actuating lever 50, which is rigidly affixed to handles 32 and shafts 30a, 30b, also rotates, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 6. This rotation causes pin 106 to pass through the horizontal plane through the center of shafts 30a, 30b releasing the over-center latch feature of the mechanism. Continued rotation of handle 32 causes lever 70 to exert a force on door 16, as lever 70 is coupled for rotation to actuating lever 50 by pin 106. Further rotation of handle 32 causes gradual rotation of door 16 about hinge 18 as shown in
To close door 16, handle 32 is rotated in the opposite direction. As pin 106 crosses the horizontal plane through the center of shafts 30a, 30b, the positive over-center latching action of the mechanism is accomplished. In addition, as pin 106 contacts protrusion 114 of locking mechanism 110, elongated member 112 is cammed away from lever 50. Further travel of pin 106 causes hook-like protrusion 114 to engage pin 106 in the locked position of door 16, adding an additional safety measure for the actuating mechanism.
As the mechanism of the present invention has a handle on either side of car 10, it can be operated from either side of the car by a single operator. In addition, as this mechanism is mounted to the hopper frame as opposed to the center sill, like prior art mechanisms; thus, this invention may be installed on cars with center sills, cars without center sills, cars with cz center sills, cars with csc center sills, and cars with full closed (tube) center sills. The mechanism can also be installed on cars with bottom mounted brake rigging without moving the brake rigging. In addition, if the doors of the railcar open in the opposite direction than the door shown in
The mechanism of the present invention is easily adaptable to hopper chutes of different angles. Referring now to
To adjust opening lever 70′ for a different slope angle for the hopper, intermediate section 76′ is removed and a different section 76′ is fitted between sections 72′ and 74′ to accommodate the distance between coupling bracket 22 and pin 106. When the appropriate length of intermediate section 76′ is selected, nut 104 is tightened onto threaded section 102 of clevis 100 to properly tension opening lever 70′ for operating the actuating mechanism.
An alternate embodiment for opening lever 70′ can also be used for different chute angles. In this embodiment, bore 82′ of section 72′ and bore 90′ of section 74′ contain internal threads, while intermediate section 76′ includes externally threaded sections at each end. To adjust lever 70′ for different slope angles for the hopper, it is only necessary to adjust the length of intermediate section 76′ by adjusting the threaded bores 82′, 90′ onto section 76′ to achieve the proper length, and then tightening nut 104 onto threaded section 102 of clevis 100 to the proper tension.
In the above description, and in the claims which follow, the use of such words as “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “distal”, “proximal”, “forward”, “rearward”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and the like is in conjunction with the drawings for purposes of clarity. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, the mechanisms will operate on hopper doors which open in opposite directions, and thus will use opposite terminology.
While the invention has been shown and described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that this invention is not limited to this particular embodiment and that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/444,598, filed Feb. 3, 2003, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040149163 A1 | Aug 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60444598 | Feb 2003 | US |