Improvements in the Discharging Apparatus of Waggons, Vessels or Bins, and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd May, 1898
i
Date of Application, 3rd May, 1898
Complete Specification Left, 1st Feb., 1899 --Accepted, 25th Mar., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Discharging Apparatus of Waggons, Vessels or
Bins, and the like.
I, JOIN MARSTON GOODWIN, of 361, Broadway, in the City of New York, Borough
of Manhattan, in the County and State of New York, United States of America,
Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
This invention relates to the discharging apparatus of waggons, vessels, or bins,
and the like, which are hopper-shaped and have bottom delivery valves, and it
will be described with reference to a railway waggon or truck.
The centre valves are mounted to swing on a central longitudinal shaft and on
their under sides are supporting struts respectively held up by detents on rotary
shafts, the struts being provided with rollers that rest on the detents. The centre
valves respectively form portions of the oppositely inclined halves of the bottom
of the hopper-shaped body, the remainder of which is formed by side valves pivoted
by links to side brackets on the body so as to swing downwards towards the sides
of the body and when the parts are in the normal or carrying position the lower
portion of the side valves will rest upon the centre valves. The side valves are
raised and held in position by means of hooks attached to chains which are wound
on a winding shaft. These hooks at their inner ends are provided with rollers
and the jaw portions of the hooks engage with sliding staples adapted to project
upwardly through apertures in the side valves, so that the staples may be drawn
upwards to be engaged by the hooks. When however the staples are released
from the hooks the said staples will drop, so that their upper ends are flush with
the side valves; therefore the discharge of material will not be obstructed by the
staples.
I will now describe a means for easily lowering the centre valves. This means
is located on one end of the vehicle, and may be operated manually, by steam or
air pressure, or by electricity. It comprises a vertical stationary screw-threaded
sleeve through which passes the upwardly projecting stem of the piston terminat-
ing in a crosshead working in longitudinal slots in the sleeve and adapted to be
raised by the hub of a hand wheel screwing on the sleeve. The piston operates
in a cylinder and has a downwardly extending rod and has a pin and slot connection
with lever arms on the detent shafts above referred to. The cylinder may be
supplied with steam, air, or similar medium for raising the piston or it may be
provided at its upper end with a solenoid through which an electric current may
be sent to operate the piston as a core. The electric current may be supplied from
a battery controlled by a switch on a switch board.
It will be understood that when the piston is operated by any other means than
manually, the hand wheel would be screwed down to the lower end of the sleeve.
In case the electric device is used to raise the piston or core the piston or core will
fall by gravity to its normal position upon de-energizing the solenoid. The lever
arms for operating the detent shafts are detachably secured to said shafts so that

page_text: one may be fast and the other loose, thus operating but one of the valves according
to the direction in which it is desired to discharge the material from the vehicle.
I provide means however whereby the levers may be locked to the shafts. The
detent shafts are adapted to be engaged by dogs or retaining pawls mounted within
a casing at the end of the vehicle and when so engaged the detents are held in
position to keep the centre valves closed. These dogs have counterbalancing
weights and their upwardly extending portions are designed to be engaged by
wedge-shaped lugs projecting inwards from the doors hinged to the front of the
boxing. The doors will be closed only when the centre valves are closed and the
wedge-shaped lugs will then engage with the weighted dogs and hold them in
engagement with the detent shafts.
To deliver the load from one side the door of the casing corresponding to the
centre valve at that side will be open whereby the wedge-shaped lug will be dis-
engaged from the dog and the counterweight will disengage the dog from the
detent shaft. Then the operating lever may be locked to the detent shaft so that
by raising the piston the detent shaft will be rotated to disengage the detent from
the supporting bracket of the valve so that the latter may open. As the operating
lever is not locked to the other detent shaft the latter will not be rotated. If
however it should be desired to discharge the load from both sides of the vehicle,
both levers will be locked to the detent shafts. Before lowering the centre valve
the corresponding side valve will be released from the supporting hook, by unwind-
ing the chains. As the hook is lowered its rollers will bear upon the central valve
and allow the hook to move downward out of engagement with the staple. When
the centre valve is opened the weight of the discharging load will swing the side
valve outward but if desired the said side valve may be retained in its elevated
position so that the discharge opening will be restricted to the width of the centre
valve or it may be lowered sufficiently to reduce the discharge opening as required.
Dated this 3rd day of May 1898
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
Improvements in the Discharging Apparatus of Waggons, Vessels or
Bins, and the like.
I, JOHN MARSTON GOODWIN, of 361, Broadway, in the City of New York, Borough
of Manhattan, in the County and State of New York, United States of America,
Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to the discharging apparatus of waggons, vessels, or bins,
and the like, which are hopper-shaped and have bottom delivery valves and it will
be described with reference to a railway waggon or truck.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the views.
Figure 1 is a partial elevation and partial section of a releasing mechanism
employed;
Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;
Figure 3 is a front elevation partially in section.

page_text: therein;
Figure 5 is a plan view thereof;
Figure 6 is a cross section of a portion of a cargo box showing the hinged centre
valves and supporting struts.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of a portion of a centre valve and its supports.
Figure 8 is a top view of a hoisting hook, a side view of which is shown in
Figure 6;
Figure 9 is a front elevation of a hoisting staple and its supports; and
Figure 10 is an end view of a car embodying my invention.
Referring to the drawings A, A' designate the centre valves mounted to swing
on a shaft J extended longitudinally of the vehicle. On the under sides of the
valves A, A' are secured supporting struts M and M', designed to be respectively
held up by detents C, C, attached to rotary shafts c, c', and to reduce friction
between the struts and the detents I provide the struts with rollers L, L' designed
to rest upon the detents, said rollers being pivoted at N, N' at the lower ends of
the struts.
Gdesignates a side valve having pivotal connection with a link B, which swings
on brackets & attached to the sides of the rail of the vehicle, and when the parts
are in normal or carrying position, the lower portion of the side valve will rest
upon the centre valve, as clearly indicated in Figure 6. It is to be understood that
there will be a side valve at each side of the vehicle, but it is not deemed necessary
to show the complete construction in Figure 6.
The valves G are raised and held in position by means of hooks R attached to
chains r, which extend around rollers v, el (Fig. 10) and connect with a winding
shaft V, which may be revolved by a suitable crank. These hooks R at their inner
ends are provided with rollers r (Fig. 8) and the jaw portions of the hooks are
designed to engage with sliding staples g having slot openings in their shank
portions through which pass pins g' projecting from plates secured to brackets
depending from the lower side of the side valves. The side valves are provided
with openings so that the staples g may be drawn upward to be engaged by the
hooks. When, however, the staples are released from the hooks the said staples
will drop downward by gravity so that their upper ends will be substantially on
a plane with the upper surface of the side valves G; therefore the discharge of
material will not be obstructed or retarded by the staples.
I will now describe a means for easily lowering the centre valves A, A'. This
means is located on one end of the vehicle X', as shown in Figure 10, and is so
constructed that it may be operated manually, by steam or air pressure, or by
electricity. It comprises a vertical screw threaded sleeve T extending upward
from the metal casing I, and through which passes the upwardly projecting stem
of a piston P. Mounted to slide on the sleeve T is a collar p c (Fig. 3) and to this
collar is secured a key Z, which passes through an opening in the upper end of the
stem P and is designed to move upward and downward through slot openings S
in the sleeve T, as shown in Fig. 1. The collar pc rests upon the upper side of
the hub of a hand wheel W, the said hub h being provided with a thread to
engage with the thread of the sleeve T.
The piston P operates in a cylinder supported by brackets i, and from the lower
end of the piston P a stem p² extends downward through an opening in the lower
wall of the cylinder 1, and has connection with a link D-which has connection
with lever arms K, K' on the detent shafts c and c¹. The cylinder may be pro-
vided with an opening for the inlet of steam, air or similar medium for raising
the piston P, or as shewn in the drawings, it may be provided at its upper end
with a solenoid n, through which an electric current may be sent to operate the
piston as a core. The electric current may be supplied from a battery U controlled
by a switch a on a switch board Q. To protect the solenoid it
may have a suitable
casing, and the cylinder / may have a casing O.
.

page_text: It will be understood that when the piston is operated by any other means than
manually, the hand wheel W would be screwed down to the lower end of the
sleeve T, but the piston may be raised, as is quite evident in the drawings by rotat-
ing the hand wheel W in one direction, and allowed to fall by gravity when the
said hand wheel is rotated in the opposite direction. In case the electric device
is used to raise the piston or core, the piston or core will fall by gravity to its
normal position upon de-energizing the solenoid.
The lever arms and K' are loosely mounted on the detent shafts c and c¹, so
that one or both may be operated without imparting rotary motion to the shafts
thus operating but one of the valves A or A¹ according to the direction in which
it is. desired to discharge the material from the vehicle. I provide means however,
whereby the levers may be locked to the shafts. This means as here shown, con-
sists of lugs and ¹, rigidly attached to the shafts c, c', and having perforations
through which keys Y, Y', may pass out of tapped holes X in the levers.
The shafts c, e within the boxing at the end of the car have bearings in lugs, el
and the lugs.k, kare arranged on the shafts at right angles to the detents C, C¹,
so that when said lugs k, kare in a substantially horizontal position, the
detents C, C are in a substantially vertical position, as indicated at in Figure 6.
The hubs of the lugs k, k¹ are provided with notches, which are designed to be
engaged by dogs F, F1 pivoted on brackets b, b', within the boxing E, E¹. These
dogs F, have counterbalancing weights f, f¹, and their upwardly extended
portions are designed to be engaged with wedge-shaped lugs w projecting inward
from doors e, el, having hinged connection with the front of the boxing E, E.
The lug wis omitted from the door e¹ to more clearly show other parts.
The doors e, e will be closed only when the car is in a carrying position, that
is, with the valves A, A' closed. When thus closed, the wedge-shaped lugs w
will engage with the outer surface of the upwardly extended portions of the dogs,
and hold the toothed portions of the dogs against the wall of the notches formed in
the hub portions of the parts k, k¹.
The operation of dumping a car may be described as follows;-
-
Assuming that the load is to be dumped from the side occupied by the valve A¹,
the door e will be opened, and when opened the wedge-shaped lug w will be dis-
engaged from the dog F¹, and the counterweight f¹ will rock the dog out of engage-
ment with the lug k. The lug may be then locked to the lever K¹ by means of
the key then by raising the piston P, the shaft c¹ will be rotated to carry the
detent C out of engagement with the roller L', so that the valve A¹ may fall by
gravity. At this time as the lever K is not locked to the shaft c, it is obvious that
said shaft c will not be rotated. If however, it should be desired to discharge the
load from both sides of the vehicle, both levers K will be locked to the detent
shafts by means of a pin passing through the openings X, Y. Before lowering
the centre valve its side valve will be released from the hook R, by rotating the
shaft or wheel to which the chain r is attached, and as the hook is lowered the
rollers will bear upon the central valve and allow the hook to move downward
out of engagement with the staple 2, when the staple will fall by gravity. When
the centre valve is opened, the weight of the discharging load will swing the side
valve outward, but if desired, the said side valve may be retained in its elevated
position so that the discharge opening will be restricted to the width of the centre
valve, or it may be lowered sufficiently to reduce the discharge opening as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;-
1. A dumping vehicle, comprising a valve in its bottom portion, a shaft upon
which said valve is mounted to swing, struts on the lower side of said valve, rotary
shafts below the valve, detents on said shafts to engage with the struts and sup-
port the valve, a lever loosely mounted on said shaft, means for locking the lever

page_text: to the shaft, a vertically movable pistou, a cylinder in which the piston operates,
and a connection between said piston and the lever, substantially as specified.
2. A dumping vehicle, comprising valves in its bottom portion, the said valves
being mounted to swing, one independently of the other, shafts arranged below the
valves, detents on said shafts, struts on the valves having rollers to engage with
said detents, levers loosely mounted on the shafts, means for locking the levers
to the shafts, means for locking the shafts from rotation, a cylinder, a piston
operating in said cylinder, and a connection between the piston and levers, sub-
stantially as specified.
3
3. A mechanism for operating the valves of a dumping vehicle, comprising
cylinder, a piston operating in said cylinder, a connection between said piston and
devices for supporting the valves, a stem extended upward from the piston, an
exteriorly screw threaded sleeve provided with opposite longitudinal slots, a collar
movable on the sleeve and having connection with the stem, and a hand wheel
having an interiorly threaded hub engaging with the thread of the sleeve, substan-
tially as specified.
4. A dumping vehicle having valves in its bottom, shafts extended longitudinally
of the vehicle below the valves, struts on the valves, detents on the shafts for
engaging with said struts, levers loosely mounted on the shafts, means for locking
the levers to the shafts, pivoted dogs for locking the shafts from rotation, swing-
ing doors on the casing in which said levers and dogs are located, lugs on the doors
for holding the dogs in their locking position, and means for moving the levers
vertically, substantially as specified.
5. A dumping vehicle having swinging valves in its bottom, shafts arranged
longitudinally of the vehicle below the valves, detents carried by the shafts, struts
on the lower sides of the valves having rollers for engaging with said detents,
levers mounted to swing on the shafts, lugs on the shafts, means for locking the
lugs to the levers, and means for raising and lowering the levers, substantially
as specified.
6. A dumping vehicle having swinging valves in its bottom, struts on said valves,
shafts extended longitudinally of the vehicle below the valves, detents on the
shafts for engaging with the struts and supporting the valves, levers loosely
mounted on the shafts, lugs rigidly secured to the shafts, means for locking the
lugs to the levers, pivoted dogs for engaging with the lugs and locking the shafts
from rotation, and means for raising and lowering the levers, substantially as
specified.
7. A dumping vehicle having swinging valves in its bottom, struts on said valves,
shafts extended longitudinally of the vehicle, detents on the shafts for engaging
with the struts to support the valves, a cylinder, a piston operating in the cylinder,
electrical connections whereby the piston may be operated in the cylinder, and
connections between said piston and the shafts, whereby the valves may be lowered,
substantially as specified.
8. In a dumping vehicle, the combination with centre valves, of swinging side
valves, staples movable in said side valves, hooks for engaging with said staples,
rollers on the hooks, and means for raising and lowering the hooks with the said
side valves, substantially as specified.
9. In a dumping vehicle, a valve mounted to swing in its lower portion, struts
on the lower side of the said valve, a rotary shaft below the valve, detents on said
shaft to engage with the struts and support the valve, a lever loosely mounted on
the shaft, means for locking the lever to the shaft, and means for raising said lever
to rock the shaft, substantially as specified.
TX
0111000
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.