Railroad hopper car door actuating mechanism
An actuating system for operating the doors of a railroad hopper car. The mechanism includes an air cylinder which is coupled to a first lever that is fixed on a shaft. The shaft is coupled to a second shaft through a pair of levers. Supplying air to the cylinder causes the first lever to rotate the shaft which causes the second shaft to rotate. The doors of the hopper are coupled to the two shafts, such that when the shafts rotate, the doors open from the hopper.
This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/646,938, filed Jan. 25, 2005, and 60/652,601, filed Feb. 14, 2005, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to a device for opening the hopper doors of a railroad car, and, in particular, to a system for automatically opening and closing the hopper doors of a railroad car.
2. Description of the Related 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. No. 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 car's bottom. This arrangement slows the unloading process and causes additional costs and potential damage to the car due to increased periods in thaw sheds. However, many of these systems usually require automatic operation of the doors, which requires an operating cylinder and valving.
Finally, it is often desirable to empty the contents of a railcar while the car is in motion, thus allowing the car to be emptied quicker. This method of operation also normally requires the use of expensive air cylinders and valving.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an actuating mechanism which allows the discharge doors of a hopper car to open and close automatically.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple automatic mechanism for actuating the discharge doors of a hopper car which can quickly empty the contents.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an actuating mechanism for a hopper car which can be used on longitudinal doors.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the descriptions and drawings which follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Claims
1) A railroad hopper car of the type having a pair of doors closing each hopper, comprising:
- a body containing at least one hopper;
- a pair of door covering said hopper;
- a pair of rotatable shafts each connected to one of said doors;
- a pair of levers rotatably coupled together, with the other ends fixed to said shafts;
- a drive lever, fixed on one end to one of said shafts;
- and an air cylinder, coupled to the other end of said drive lever;
- such that when said air cylinder is actuated, said drive lever rotates said shaft, causing said doors to rotate from the closed position to the open position.
2) The car of claim 1, wherein the doors are coupled together by a stabilizer bar.
3) The car of claim 2, wherein said stabilizer bar is adjustable.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 25, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 24, 2006
Inventor: Fred Taylor (Burlington, KY)
Application Number: 11/339,140
International Classification: B61D 3/00 (20060101);