Patent Publication Number: US-2007107624-A1

Title: Manual railroad hopper car door actuating mechanism

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/737,821, filed Nov. 17, 2006, which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for opening the doors of a railroad hopper car, and, in particular, to a novel apparatus for manually opening the hopper 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 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 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 cars bottom. This arrangement slows the unloading process and causes additional costs and potential damage to the car due to increased periods in thaw sheds. A further disadvantage of some of the prior art hopper door mechanisms are that they are designed specifically for new railcar construction.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,158 is directed to a manual discharge door operating system for a hopper railcar. It includes a door actuation shaft coupled to the railcar extending across the width of the car. Rotation of the actuation shaft by the operator opens and closes the discharge door of the hopper railcar through linkage assemblies which are affixed to the center sill of the car. The linkage assemblies form an over-center latch to aid in maintaining the door in the closed position.  
      While the mechanism taught in the &#39;158 patent works well, it must be mounted to the center sill of the railcar. In addition, it is designed to operate a door of a hopper chute having a certain fixed slope angle.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a manual mechanism for actuating the discharge doors of a hopper car which can be used on cars with or without a center sill.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a manual actuating mechanism of simple design 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 which can be adjusted to operate doors of hopper chutes of varying slope angles.  
      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 in addition to a second safety latch.  
      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  
       FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , taken together, show a plan view of the mechanism of the present invention;  
       FIGS. 4 and 5 , taken together, show a top view of the mechanism of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the mechanism of the present invention is mounted beneath the center sill by a pair of brackets  10  which support a shaft  12 . Shaft  12  extends across the width of the railroad car. On either end of shaft  12  is mounted a handle  14  having a pair of bosses  16  and a slotted section  18 . Fitted within slot  18  is a link  20  which is coupled to handle  14  by a pin  22  at one end and is coupled to a door pan  24  which covers a hopper  26  by a pin  28 . Pin  28  goes through a coupler  30  having a threaded end  31  which goes through a bracket  32  and is held in place by a nut  34 . Bracket  32  is coupled to the door spreader  36  which is mounted along the edge of door pan  24 . The other end of door pan  24  is attached to a bracket  38  which is pivoted by a pin  40 .  
      To open the doors  24  of the hopper  26 , a pry bar is placed between the bosses  16  of handle  14  and used to rotate shaft  12  counterclockwise. In the closed state, handle  14  forms an overcenter latch, as handle  14  is located  3  inches past the center line through shaft  12  and pin  22 . As shaft  12  rotates, handle  14  is moved through the overcenter condition, thus unlatching the door. Continued rotation of shaft  12  by bosses  16  causes handle  14  to rotate to position  50  and then to position  60 , where door pan is fully open. As shaft  12  continues across the car, the door can e opened rom either side. And for each hopper/door unit on the car, a separate mechanism is included. In addition, if the hopper door opens in the opposite direction, the mechanism can be reversed when installed on the car.  
      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 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.