Patent ID: 6412421
Filing Date: 2002-07-02
Classification: B61D

Abstract:
A railroad hopper car having an enclosure for holding and transporting materials and a discharge opening through which the material in said enclosure is discharged from said hopper car, and a gate assembly for controlling the discharge of material from said hopper car, said gate assembly comprising:a rigid frame disposed about said discharge opening; an open top pan assembly having a pneumatic outlet port, said pan assembly being slidably mounted on said frame for movement between a first discharge position beneath said discharge opening and a second position removed from said discharge opening; a door operably mounted on said frame between said discharge opening and said pan assembly for sliding movement between a closed position beneath said discharge opening and an open position away from said discharge opening; an apparatus for moving either said pan assembly from said first discharge position to said second position or said door from said closed position to said open position such that said gate assembly can be selectively conditioned for either gravitational or pneumatic discharge of materials, and wherein said apparatus is lost motion connected to said door thereby allowing a predetermined range of free rotation of said operating shaft prior to said door being moved toward an open position, and with said lost motion connection allowing said pan assembly to move a greater distance between open and closed positions than does said door when said door moves between open and closed positions; and a single operating shaft carried on said frame for rotation about a fixed axis and arranged in operable combination with said apparatus for imparting independent sliding movements in opposed directions to said pan assembly and said door.