Hopper car with automatic discharge door mechanism

• US 4,843,974 A
• Filed: 02/09/1988
• Issued: 07/04/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thrall Car Manufacturing Co. (Trinity Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Thrall Car Manufacturing Co. (Trinity Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hallam, Keith J., Ritter, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pedder, Dennis H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Jr., Frank
• Application Number:
  US07/154,090
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 105/240, 105/286, 105/287, 105/288, 105/289, 105/290, 105/291, 105/310, 105/311.1, 105/311.2, 105/313, 49/291, 49/292, 92/14
• US Class Current: 105/240
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 7/28 hydraulic or pneumatic

Abstract

A railroad hopper car having bottom discharge doors, an elongated beam assembly along the bottom of the car, door operating levers to open and close the doors connected to the beam assembly and doors, and lost motion timing connections in the beam assembly which permits displacement of beam sections to open and close pairs or sets of doors in a sequential but substantially simultaneous and automatic order so ast to permit reduction of air pressure required to open the doors, or permit use of smaller diameter air cylinder, a pneumatic drive to move the beam in opposite directions to open and close the doors, and a secondary lock to maintain the beam stationary unless pneumatic pressure intentionally operates the pneumatic drive, with the lock being positioned to be readily seen when locked and safely operated if necessary from the wayside.

Claims

1. A railroad car having a plurality of bottom doors which are opened and closed by a drive mechanism powered by a pneumatic system which includes an air cylinder mounted on the car body and a double acting piston in the air cylinder having a connecting rod extending out of the cylinder:

a vertical drive lever, for operating the drive mechanism, pivotally mounted at the bottom of the car body;

means connecting a first end of the drive lever to the connecting rod and a second end of the drive lever being pivotally connected to the drive mechanism;

a secondary lock which when locked prevents outward movement of the connecting rod other than by pneumatic pressure applied to the piston;

the secondary lock including a hook pivotally mounted to the first end of the drive lever above the connecting rod and having a hook nose at an end facing the air cylinder;

a substantially stationary latch lockably engageable with the hook when the doors are closed;

the means connecting the first end of the drive lever to the connecting rod including a pin and an inclined slot through which the pin extends laterally, with one of the pin and slot being in the connecting rod and the other of the pin and slot being in the drive lever; and

means supporting the hook on the connecting rod when the hook and latch are in locking engagement;

whereby when the connecting rod moves outwardly from a locked position with the latch engaged by the hook, the connecting rod first moves outwardly and pivotally upwardly and pivotally rotates the hook upwardly to lift the hook out of engagement with the latch before the drive lever effectively operates the drive mechanism to open the door.

2. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which the slot is inclined at an angle of about 120°

to 160°

with respect to the connecting rod axis when the hook lockably engages the latch.

3. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which the cylinder is mounted on the car body to pivot about a horizontal axis lateral to the car body.

4. A railroad car according to claim 1 in which the slot is in the drive lever and the pin is in the connecting rod and is stationary relative to the connecting rod.

5. A railroad car according to claim 4 in which the slot has a length such that when the pin is in a lower portion of the slot the hook locks with the latch and when the pin reaches an upper portion of the slot the hook disengages from the latch.

6. A railroad hopper car comprising:

an elongated car body having a plurality of laterally pivoted bottom discharged doors;

a door opening and closing elongated beam assembly positioned longitudinal of and along the bottom portion of the car;

a plurality of spaced apart door operating levers mounted on pivot means lateral to the car body along and to the bottom of the car;

each door operating lever having at least first and second outwardly extending arm portions;

a bar link pivotally connected to a first end to each door operating lever first arm portion and pivotally connected at a second end to one of the doors;

the second arm portion of each door operating lever being pivotally connected to the elongated beam assembly;

the second arm portions of the various levers being pivotally connected to the elongated beam assembly in spaced apart consecutive arrangement thereby defining beam sections between such pivotally connected lever arm portions;

each beam section including a longitudinal lost motion timing means which permits displacement of the beam section for a short distance before it can apply a force in either direction to an adjacent beam section so that it can thereby apply sequential movement and force to the beam section in one direction in tension and in the opposite direction in compression;

power means mounted on the car to drive the elongated beam in longitudinally opposite directions;

means to drive the beam in opposite directions to fully open and fully close all of the doors substantially simultaneously;

the drive means including an air cylinder mounted on the car body;

a double acting piston in the air cylinder having a connecting rod extending out of the cylinder;

a drive lever pivotally mounted at the bottom of the car body; and

a first end of the drive lever being pivotally connected to the connecting rod and a second end of the drive lever being pivotally connected to the elongated beam; and

a secondary lock having a hook means pivotally mounted to the first end of the drive lever and having a hook at an end facing the air cylinder; and

a hook latch on the cylinder lockably engageable with the hook when the elongated beam is displaced so that the doors are closed.

7. A car according to claim 6 including:

disengaging means cooperatively and operatively positioned on the hook means and connecting rod which disengages the hook from the latch upon movement of the connecting rod outwardly from the cylinder before the drive lever moves.

8. A car according to claim 7 in which the disengaging means includes a cam and follower roller combination which lifts the hook out of the locking engagement with the hook latch.

9. A railroad car according to claim 8 in which the cam is a raised portion on the connecting rod and the follower roller is on the hook means and positioned to roll on the cam.

10. A car according to claim 7 in which the connecting rod exterior of the cylinder includes a lost motion means whereby displacement of the connecting rod outwardly of the cylinder disengages the hook from the latch before applying driving force to the drive lever to move the beam to the open doors.

11. In a railroad car having a plurality of bottom doors which are opened and closed by a drive lever powered by a pneumatic system which includes an air cylinder mounted on the car body and a double acting piston in the air cylinder having a connecting rod extending out of the cylinder and connected to the drive lever, the improvement comprising:

a vertical lateral bolster web on one end of the car separating the drive lever from the air cylinder;

an opening in the bolster web through which the connecting rod can extend;

a secondary lock which when locked prevents outward movement of the connecting rod from the cylinder other than by pneumatic pressure applied to the piston;

the secondary lock including a hook pivotally mounted to the first end of the drive lever and having a hook nose at an end facing the air cylinder;

a hook latch on the cylinder lockably engageable with the hook when the doors are closed; and

when the doors are closed the hook projects through the bolster web opening and lockably engages the hook latch and the locking engagement of the hook and hook latch is observable from the outside of the car by a trainman alongside the car.

12. A railroad car having a plurality of bottom doors which are opened and closed by a drive mechanism powered by a pneumatic system which includes an air cylinder mounted on the car body and a double acting piston in the air cylinder having a connecting rod extending out of the cylinder;

a vertical drive lever, for operating the drive mechanism, pivotally mounted at the bottom of the car body;

means connecting a first end of the drive lever to the connecting rod and a second end of the drive lever being pivotally connected to the drive mechanism;

a secondary lock which when locked prevents outward movement of the connecting rod other than by pneumatic pressure applied to the piston;

the secondary lock including a hook pivotally mounted to the first end of the drive lever and having a hook nose at an end facing the air cylinder;

a substantially stationary latch lockably engageable with the hook when the doors are closed;

the means connecting the first end of the drive lever to the connecting rod including a pin and an inclined slot through which the pin extends laterally, with one of the pin and slot being in the connecting rod and the other of the pin and slot being in the drive lever;

means supporting the hook on the connecting rod when the hook and latch are in locking engagement; and

whereby when the connecting rod moves outwardly from a locked position with the latch engaged by the hook, the connecting rod first moves outwardly and pivotally upwardly and pivotally rotates the hook upwardly to lift the hook out of engagement with the latch before the drive lever effectively operates the drive mechanism to open the door.

13. A railroad car according to claim 12 in which spring means biases the hook downwardly.

14. A railroad car according to claim 12 in which when the doors are closed the hook lockably engages the hook latch and the hook and hook latch are observable from outside of the car by a trainman alongside the car.