Abstract: A railroad hopper car discharge gate is assembled from unitary stacked frames that provide unimpeded flow of lading during discharge. A low-wear glide system minimizes friction between the gate panels and other components of the apparatus, and an improved sealing system protects lading from contaminants such as rain, dust and insect infestation and provides enhanced vacuum sealing for greater efficiency during vacuum discharge.

Abstract: A drive system for a railway hopper car discharge gate includes a door panel operated by a rack and pinion drive. The pinion teeth present a substantially cylindrical profile in a plane orthogonal to the axis of pinion rotation. The cylindrical tooth profile substantially prevents the pinion teeth from skipping or walking against the rack teeth when the spacing between the pinion and the door panel and associated rack fluctuates during operation of the discharge gate. Pinion torque is converted into a vertical force at the ends of travel of the door panel to prevent damage to the drive components. A bearing arrangement supports a drive shaft that is operated to rotate the pinions, and minimizes deflection of the shaft when under rotational load. An inertia brake is provided to engage the door panel and prevent it from opening upon a rapid stop of the hopper car as may occur upon impact with an adjacent railway car.

Abstract: A panel system includes a first skin, a second skin, a web core constructed from sheet material for securing the skins together in a spaced, sandwich relationship, and a connecting means for affixing the web core within the skins. The web core includes a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal members having longitudinally spaced projections extending therefrom and further having transversely aligned, longitudinally spaced slots therein. The web core further includes a plurality of spaced-apart, transverse cross members each having spaced slots therein receiving the longitudinal members at corresponding transversely aligned slots thereof to provide an interlocked grid between the first and second skins. The grid is connected to the skins utilizing the projections, which extend through slits in the skins to facilitate welding or otherwise bonding the components.

Abstract: A panel system includes a first skin, a second skin, a web core constructed from sheet material for securing the skins together in a spaced, sandwich relationship, and a connecting means for affixing the web core within the skins. The web core includes a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal members having longitudinally spaced projections extending therefrom and further having transversely aligned, longitudinally spaced slots therein. The web core further includes a plurality of spaced-apart, transverse cross members each having spaced slots therein receiving the longitudinal members at corresponding transversely aligned slots thereof to provide an interlocked grid work between the first and second skins. The grid is connected to the skins utilizing the projections, which extend through slits in the skins in one embodiment to facilitate welding or otherwise bonding the components. In a second embodiment the projections present mounting ears that receive fasteners that extend through the skins.

Abstract: A railroad car cover actuator automatically opens and closes the hatch covers of a railroad car. The actuator includes a camming device mounted to a railroad car along a longitudinal axis on which a car cover is hingedly mounted. A first inflatable hose for opening the railroad car cover is attached at one end to the cover and at another end to the car and extends partially around the camming device in a taut position when the car cover is closed. A second inflatable hose for closing the railroad car cover is also attached at one and to the cover and at another end to the car and extends from the cover in a relaxed position when the car cover is closed. Upon inflation of either the opening or closing hose, the diameter of the camming device effectively increases because the reach of the hose shortens to apply a lifting force to the cover causing it to open or close, respectively.

Abstract: An actuator automatically opens and closes the covers of a railroad hopper car as the car enters a loading/unloading station. The opening actuator includes a support frame disposed along a railroad track at the station that extends upwardly above the railroad car as it enters the station. An actuator bar is carried by the support frame and extends fore-and-aft of the railroad car adjacent the top thereof. The bar has an inclined unlatching segment for engagement by the latch arms of the covers to raise the arms and release the latches as the car passes thereunder, an intermediate substantially horizontally extending segment and a lifting segment for thereafter opening the covers as the car passes beneath the bar. The closing actuator includes a second support frame disposed along the track that extends upwardly above the car once unloaded. A closing bar is carried by the second frame and extends fore-and-aft of the empty car adjacent the top thereof.

Abstract: A vented hatch cover for a container having an opening defining a hatch and a coaming on the container's exterior surrounding the hatch opening. The cover has an outer shell and an inner shell, each shell having a main body and a flanged portion. The bodies are sized to fit over and enclose the hatch opening. The flanged portions are bonded together and extend radially outwardly from the corresponding bodies to fixedly couple and hold the bodies of the inner and outer shells in a spaced relationship to present an air chamber therebetween. Balsa reinforcement members are spaced apart and fixed between the shells in a radial pattern within the air chamber to provide support to the cover without interfering with the air flow. Air inlets are formed through the flange and body of the inner shell to allow air flow from the container's exterior into the container via the air chamber.

Abstract: A paneling system includes a first upper or outer plate having a plurality of outwardly extending tabs unitarily and integrally formed therewith and a second, lower plate spaced apart from the upper plate to present a void therebetween. The tabs span the void and join with the second plate to fixedly secure the plates together to form the panel construction. The free ends of the tabs may be welded within slots formed in the second plate to secure the plates together. Alternatively, the tabs may be L-shaped to present a flange in parallel relation to the plates. The flanges are welded to the second plate to secure the plates together. The tabs may present anchor holes in the first plate for securing a load in place. The first plate may include a raised portion at the periphery of the anchor holes to help prevent skidding.

Abstract: A handrail assembly for access walkways on railway hopper cars is movable between a retracted position, where the assembly is stored for transit, and an extended position where the posts and rails of the assembly are raised to provide a protective barrier. The posts and rails are pivotally interconnected to provide a parallel linkage, each of the posts swinging about an axis that is displaced from a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the walkway. Also, the posts are inclined from the vertical when the assembly is in its extended position. The combined effect of the displacement and the inclination maintains the components of the assembly within allowable clearances and precludes interference with the top surface of the car body. A counterweight arrangement allows the posts and rails to be easily raised manually from one end of the car, and a mechanical lock is provided to positively retain the assembly in either its extended or retracted position.

Abstract: A double hinge locking system mounts and secures a series of two-way opening covers or similar members. Each hinge/lock component of the system provides a combination hinge pivot and associated lock that operate on a common axis, and includes a locking device in which fixed and rotary locking parts are presented by fixed and movable saddles coaxial with the hinge axis and relatively rotatable about such axis between locked and unlocked conditions. An interlock mechanism interconnects locking devices on opposite sides of the hinged member to prevent double unlocking. Additionally, a passive safety lock is provided by the cooperating saddles to prevent separation of the member from its mounts in the event that double unlocking inadvertently occurs.

Abstract: A hatch cover assembly for railcars. The assembly includes a series of hatch covers aligned end to end to cover an opening in a railcar. Each of the hatch covers has an overlapping end section which seats upon an adjacent cover to provide a seal. The end of each hatch cover having this overlap is common such that the covers may be opened sequentially from one end of the railcar to the other without requiring the operator to backtrack. The overlapping section may be formed as a separate element mounted upon the cover. The overlapping element can be mounted for movement between a closed position in which it overlaps the adjacent cover, and an open position in which it is spaced from the adjacent cover. The covers may additionally or alternatively be connected together such that the opening of a cover assists in the opening of an adjacent cover.

Abstract: A hatch cover system for a railroad car employs a longitudinally extending series of end-to-end main hatch covers wherein each adjacent pair of covers has proximate, concave ends defining a circular port that permits access to the interior of the car when the covers are in their closed positions. A relatively small, circular cover is provided for each port and, in its closed and locked position over the associated port, also serves as a batten to hold the adjacent main covers closed. For operations not requiring that the entire hatch be open, the ports provide easy access to the interior of the car without the need to raise the heavy main covers and swing them to their open positions. The number of hinges required by the cover system is significantly reduced by the use of a special hinge device adjacent each port that serves as a mount for the associated port cover and both of the adjacent main covers.

Abstract: A battenless hatch cover assembly for railcars. The assembly includes a series of hatch covers aligned end to end to cover an opening in a railcar. Each of the hatch covers is hinged along one side to the railcar, with this one side being common among the hatch covers. In an alternative embodiment, appropriate mechanisms could be used to selectively hinge the covers along both sides. The typical cover includes one longitudinal end having a male portion in the form of an upstanding lateral lip. The other longitudinal end is provided with a female portion in the form of a laterally extending downward directed channel. This female portion is adapted to overlie the male portions in a substantially mating configuration. A seal material is provided on the underside of the female portion to engage the male portion and provide an effective seal, and the female portion is sufficiently rugged to apply a sealing pressure upon the male portion.

Abstract: A door for railroad boxcars has a balsa core sandwich construction in which a balsa core is sandwiched between thin fiberglass skins and reinforced at the perimeter by steel tubes to provide an economical and lightweight door that exhibits the requisite structural strength. The door has a concavo-convex configuration that prevents thermally induced warpage from deforming the door in a manner to cause significant interference in its opening and closing movement.

Abstract: A waste container cover which can be vertically raised and lowered to open and close the container and rolled to either side from the open position. The cover has special tracks which ride on rollers to allow side to side movement of the cover. When the cover is above the opening, notches in the tracks are in registration with the rollers. A sliding plate in each track can be slid until inclined slots in the plate register with the notch and allow the cover to lower onto the container to tightly seal it closed. Crank and screw mechanisms operate the sliding plates. The cover can be tipped alongside either side of the container and is then supported in a vertical position by hook shaped levers which bear on pins on the container top.

Abstract: Apparatus for enclosing open end portions of railway hopper cars in order to reduce the aerodynamic drag. Each corner area of each end is provided with a shroud which includes a side plate and an end plate. The side plate covers the open side area at the end of the car and also covers the first vertical rib on the car side. The end plate covers the part of the end of the car adjacent the corner. Each shroud is shaped in an aerodynamically efficient configuration to minimize air resistance.

Abstract: A process for two layer gold integrated circuit metallization is disclosed. The process includes electrodeposition of a first metal layer, preferably of gold, atop a barrier layer, followed by electrodeposition of a second metal layer or cap, atop the gold to form a first metallization layer. The cap is corrosion-resistant metal having a rigidity at annealing temperature greater than that of gold. Following annealing, a dielectric interlayer is deposited so as to fill the regions adjacent sidewalls of the first metallization layer. Vias are formed in the interlayer dielectric, a second barrier layer is deposited and photoresist is applied and patterned for electrodeposition of a second, gold metallization layer. During annealing, the rhodium cap retains the as-deposited shape of the gold in the first metallization layer to facilitate insulative spacing between the first and second metallizations and to insure complete filling of interlayer dielectric on the lower edges of the first metallization.

Abstract: A hatch cover system for a railroad car employs a longitudinally extending series or end-to-end main hatch covers wherein each adjacent pair of covers has proximate, concave ends defining a circular port that permits access to the interior of the car when the covers are in their closed positions. A relatively small, circular cover is provided for each port and, in its closed and locked position over the associated port, also serves as a batten to hold the adjacent main covers closed. For operations not requiring that the entire hatch be open, the ports provide easy access to the interior of the car without the need to raise the heavy main covers and swing them to their open positions. The number of hinges required by the cover system is significantly reduced by the use of a special hinge device adjacent each port that serves as a mount for the associated port cover and both or the adjacent main covers.