1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for opening the rotating doors of a railroad hopper car, and, in particular, to a novel apparatus capable of opening transverse 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 covered 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 affects 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 car's bottom. This arrangement slows the unloading process and causes additional costs and potential damage to the car due to increased period in thaw sheds. A further disadvantage of some of the prior art hopper door mechanisms are that they are designed for new railcar construction.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automatic mechanism for actuating the discharge doors of a hopper car which can quickly empty the contents.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an actuating mechanism 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 with transverse doors that can simultaneously open all of the doors regardless of the direction of opening.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an operating mechanism for hopper car doors using a single cylinder which can be mounted at either end of the railcar.
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.
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 a railway hopper car such as shown in
The ends of operating member 22 opposite the end containing shafts 24 each contain an aperture 58 and are each rotatably coupled to a connecting shaft 60 (
Clevis 76 is rotatably coupled to door spreader 74 of each door 9 such that the door actuating mechanism can open each hopper unit 4. Each door 9 has a door spreader 74 affixed thereto by welding or any similar attachment means known in the art. Clevis 76 is coupled to spreader 74 of door 9 by inserting threaded section 78 through an aperture 82 of a bracket 84 attached to door spreader 74 and fastening them together with a nut 88, as can be seen clearly in
The operation of the door actuating mechanism of the present invention can now be described as follows. Cylinder 8 is coupled to operating beam 36 by lever 34. When cylinder 8 is activated, beam 36 is shifted to the left as shown in
As beam 36 continues to move, the rotation of member 22 about shafts 24 causes shaft 60, which is coupled to door 9, to move to the left as shown in
The device of the present invention creates an over center latch for each door, adding a positive safety to the design. Referring now to
Referring now to
The reversing mechanism of the present invention for actuating doors which operate in the opposite direction as the door shown in
The operation of the reversing mechanism of the present invention can now be described. When the mechanism is activated by applying power to cylinder 8, operating beam 36, which is coupled to cylinder 8, is shifted from the closed position to open position, in the direction shown by arrow A in FIGS. 5A–B and 6A–B to shift door 9 from its closed position. Fulcrum 140 shifts to the left in
The device of the present invention can be used in both new car construction and also in retrofitting existing cars. For cars having transverse doors, preferably one mechanism is used for each door. As at least one door opens in the opposite direction, as shown in
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 Application Ser. No. 60/476,940, filed Jun. 9, 2003, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3187684 | Ortner | Jun 1965 | A |
3596609 | Ortner et al. | Aug 1971 | A |
3611947 | Nagy | Oct 1971 | A |
3786764 | Beers, Jr. et al. | Jan 1974 | A |
3815514 | Heap | Jun 1974 | A |
3818842 | Heap | Jun 1974 | A |
3949681 | Miller | Apr 1976 | A |
4222334 | Peterson | Sep 1980 | A |
4224877 | Stark et al. | Sep 1980 | A |
4366757 | Funk | Jan 1983 | A |
4601244 | Fischer | Jul 1986 | A |
4628825 | Taylor et al. | Dec 1986 | A |
4741274 | Ferris et al. | May 1988 | A |
4766820 | Ritter et al. | Aug 1988 | A |
5249531 | Taylor | Oct 1993 | A |
5823118 | Manstrom | Oct 1998 | A |
6019049 | Gaydos et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
6405658 | Taylor | Jun 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040244638 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60476940 | Jun 2003 | US |