Patent Publication Number: US-2006000384-A1

Title: Actuating system for automatic operation of hopper doors of a railroad car

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/582,048, filed Jun. 22, 2004, which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. 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 without the use of cylinders or valves.  
      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. 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 car&#39;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 INVENTION  
      It 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 without the use of cylinders or valves.  
      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 either transverse doors or 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  
       FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a standard three pocket hopper car having a single transverse door associated with each hopper which is capable of using the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an elevational view of hopper car having a longitudinal door set which is capable of using the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is an elevational view of a standard four pocket hopper car having transverse doors which is capable of using the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is an elevational view of a section of the system of the present invention which is mounted on the ground;  
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the section shown in  FIG. 4 ;  
      FIGS.  6 A-C, taken together, show a fragmentary elevational view, partly in phantom, of a section of the system of the present invention which is mounted on the railcar; and  
      FIGS.  7 A-C, taken together, show a fragmentary top view of the system shown in FIGS.  6 A-C. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       FIGS. 1-3  display three different major types of hopper cars.  FIGS. 1 and 3  show hopper cars using transverse doors, while  FIG. 2  shows a car using longitudinal doors.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a typical three pocket railway hopper car, generally designated at  2 , which may be equipped with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Car  2  is provided with a plurality of hopper units  4 , a plurality of wheels  5 , and a longitudinally extending center sill  6 . Wheels  5  are mounted on a series of truck axles  7 . Each hopper unit  4  is provided with a door  9  which is moveable to open and close each hopper unit  4 . An actuating system for this type of car is taught in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/863,887, filed Jun. 8, 2004, which application is incorporated herein by reference.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a typical hopper railcar, generally indicated at  10 , having longitudinal doors which may be equipped with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Car  10  is provided with a longitudinal door set  12 , a plurality of wheels  14 , and a longitudinally extending center sill  16 . An operating system for this type of hopper car is taught in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/977,008, filed Oct. 29, 2004, which application is incorporated herein by reference. Although the system taught in this application teaches the operation of a single pair of doors, the mechanism can be used to open multiple sets of longitudinal doors.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a typical four pocket hopper car, generally designated at  20 , which may be equipped with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Car  20  is provided with a plurality of hopper units  22 , a plurality of wheels  23 , and a longitudinally extending center sill  24 . Each of hopper units  22  are covered by a pair of doors  26   a  and  26   b . The actuating mechanism for this type of car is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,501, which issued Oct. 5, 1993, which patent is incorporated herein by reference.  
      The actuating device of the present invention can be most clearly seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an actuating device support, indicated at  40 , contains an upstanding member  42  having a beam  44  connected thereto for strengthening support  40 . A channel  46  is coupled to member  42  perpendicular to the plane of member  42 . An actuator arm  48  is slidably located within channel  46 . Actuator arm  48  is preferably tubular shaped, and contains a handle  50  extending from actuator arm  48  away from channel  46  such that actuator arm  48  can be shifted in the directions shown by arrow A, which places arm  48  in its engaged position, and arrow B, which places arm  48  in its disengaged position. ( FIG. 5 ). Handle  50  can be rotated into slots within channel  46  to lock support  40  in its engaged or disengaged position, similar to the manner in which a deadbolt lock operates. Actuator arm  48  contains a rotatable idler wheel  52  at its end opposite handle  50 . Idler  52  contacts the levers on the railcar to operate the mechanism of the present invention. Support  40  is preferably affixed to a level surface outside of a set of rails  54  at a distance from a railcar traveling on rails  54 .  
      Referring now to FIGS.  6 A-C, the operating mechanism of the present invention which is mounted on the railcar can be clearly seen. A pair of levers  60  are rigidly affixed on a shaft  62  on each side of the railcar. Shaft  62  is rotatably mounted within a support  64  which is fixed on a center sill  66 . A lever  68  is rigidly affixed on shaft  62  at one end at the same angular orientation as lever  60 , while the other end of lever  68  is rotatably coupled between a pair of linkages  70  by a pin  72 . The opposite ends of linkage  70  are coupled to an extension  74  of an actuating beam  76  by a pin  78 . Actuating beam  76  is slidably coupled within center sill  66  by a series of supports  80 .  
      At the opposite end of actuating beam  76 , an extension  84  is rigidly affixed to beam  76  and extends upwardly above center sill  66 . A pair of linkages  86  are rotatably coupled at the opposite end of extension  84  by a pin  90 . The opposite ends of linkages  86  are rotatably coupled on either side of a lever  92  by a pin  94 . Lever  92  is rigidly affixed on a shaft  96  which is rotatably mounted within a pair of supports  98 . Shaft  96  extends across the width of the railcar and contains a pair of levers  100  rigidly affixed on each end of shaft  96  on each side of the railcar. Lever  92  is rigidly affixed on shaft  96  at an angular orientation of about 180° from lever  96 .  
      The operation of the system of the present invention will now be described. Actuating device support  40  is positioned on the surface alongside railroad tracks  54 . Support  40  may be permanently fixed to the surface, or may be removably positioned in the proper location; however, its installation must be stable so that it can adequately operate the system.  
      Support  40  is positioned such that when idler  52  is in its engaged position, it contacts levers  60  and  100  such that said levers will rotate upon contact when the railcar is set in motion past support  40 , thus rotating shafts  62  and  90  to operate the system. Note that as levers  60  and  100  are located on both sides of the railcar, support  40  can be located on either side of tracks  54 .  
      As the railcar travels in the direction indicated by arrow C in  FIGS. 6C and 7C , and actuator arm  48  has been shifted to its engagement position as shown by arrow A in  FIG. 5 , idler  52  contacts lever  60  and rotates it clockwise in the direction indicated by arrow D in  FIG. 6C . This action causes lever  68  to also rotate, as it is fixed on shaft  62 . This rotation causes linkages  70  to shift extension  74  and actuating beam  76  to the right in the direction indicated by arrow E in  FIG. 6C . The movement of actuating beam  76  causes the doors covering the hoppers of the railcar to shift to the open position, as the door actuating system is coupled to actuating beam  76 . The door actuating mechanism may be of the type taught in any of the patents and patent applications described with respect to  FIGS. 1-3 , or it may be any door opening mechanism known to one of ordinary skill in the art in which operation is controlled by the actuating beam.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 6A , the movement of actuating beam  76  has caused levers  92  and  100  to move to the positions indicated in phantom at  92 ′ and  100 ′ by virtue of the connections to extension  84  and linkages  86 .  
      Continued movement of the railcar will cause idler  52  to contact lever  100  at the position shown at  100 ′, causing lever  100  to rotate clockwise in the direction shown by arrow F. This rotation shifts actuating beam  76  in the direction shown by arrow G, closing all of the hopper doors which had been opened, while returning lever  60  to its original unactivated position shown in  FIG. 6C .  
      By using the present invention, the doors of a hopper car can be opened and closed without the need for a power cylinder and the associated valving, thus allowing automatic operation without the expense of extra operating equipment. The present invention can be installed with new car construction, and can also be retrofitted on many existing cars which presently need an air cylinder for automatic operation. In addition, as the actuating device can be made portable, the system can be moved from track to track, and can be installed on either side of the railcar.  
      In the above description, and in the claims which follow, the use of such words as “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “distal”, “proximal”, “forward”, “outward”, “rearward”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and the like is in conjunction with the drawings for purposes of clarity.  
      While the invention has been shown and described in terms of a 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.