Improvements in Dumping Car Operating Mechanism.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1897-Accepted, 2nd Oct., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Dumping Car Operating Mechanism.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of 23 Southampton Buildings in the
County of London, Patent Agent; do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
(a communication to me from William McMahon, residing at Rahway in the
County of Union and State of New Jersey -in the United States of America,
Inventor) 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 mechanism employed for opening and closing the door
or gate of the hopper of a dumping car..
The object of these improvements is mainly to simplify the construction of such
mechanism and to reduce both its cost and weight as well as to increase the efficiency
thereof, while at the same time locating said mechanism entirely outside of the hopper
of the car and beneath the car body.
In carrying out this invention, a form of hopper is employed in which the gate
or door is almost, if not quite, perpendicularly suspended when in the. closed
position, abutting against the oppositely inclined wall of the hopper, and which door
serves as one wall of the hopper. The mechanism for opening, closing and retaining
the door closed is also located outside of the car body, whereby less effort is required
to open
the door than where the mechanism is located' within the car body, as the
operator is not opposed by the material within the car and the mechanism is not
subject to the strain and wear and tear of the freight or load carried by the car when
being discharged.
13.
In former dumping car operating mechanism invented by the communicator, there
is a hopper closed at the bottom by doors substantially parallel with the bottom of
the car body, and the mechanism is located entirely within the car body. These
doors, because of the broad surface presented by them to the freight or load within
the car, carry a very considerable weight, and the mechanism supports this weight
from the shaft which runs transversely of the hopper, within the same, such weight
being imposed upon the shaft by an in-set on the operating levers connected with
the doors and moved by a crank arm carried by the said shaft, which crank arm lifts
the said levers so as to bring the in-set upon the shaft, the upper edge of the in-set
resting upon the shaft and standing the strain of the weight of the doors and the load'
above them.
11
::
In the present, apparatus, by the use of a gate or door, which is practically
perpendicular, the said door or gate is relieved from the greater portion of the weight
which was carried by the horizontal gates, and hence the strain upon the mechanism
is very much lighter, and by employing such form of door or gate, the mechanism can
be located outside of the car body; and the strain of the load upon the gate or door
need not be carried by the shaft nor by the levers operating the door, although in a
measure the strain may be carried by the shaft or levers; it is preferable, however,
to employ a supplemental locking device which, either above or conjointly with the
device for distributing the strain upon the levers and shaft, will lock the operating
parts without imposing undue strain upon the same.

page_text: In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Fig. 1 is a side
elevation of part of a car embodying the invention, with certain of the parts broken
away for clearness; and Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of one of the hoppers shown in
Fig. 1 in the closed position.
A represents the car body, which may be of any ordinary or usual construction
B, B¹ represent two hoppers, the car shown being a double hopper car. These hoppers
are formed with inclined walls C C and D, D¹, together with the side walls E, E¹
supported from the bottom of the car body in any suitable manner. The walls D, D¹,
which are nearly perpendicular to the bottom of the car, also serve as gates or doors,
and will be hereinafter referred to as such, they being hinged to one of the timbers
of the car body at xx as shown, and serving, when in the closed position shown in
the hopper B¹ of Fig. 1, to close the hopper, and when in the open position shown
in hopper B of Fig. 1 to leave the hopper open so that the contents of the car may
be discharged.
The mechanism for opening and closing the said door will now be described.
Beneath the car and outside of the hopper extends, transversely to the length of
the car, a shaft F supported in suitable brackets G, which brackets may depend from
the inclined wall C of the hopper or be supported in any other suitable way from the
car body. This shaft at one end extends almost to or perhaps beyond the side of
the car body, and is squared, as shown in Figure 2, for a portion of its length for
purposes hereinafter to be stated. The other end of the shaft need not extend so far
toward the side of the car. Carried by this shaft is a crank H to which is pivoted
at y a long lever I, which in turn is pivoted at z to a pin or bolt projecting from the
door or gate D, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. A dog K is pivotally suspended
from some portion of the car, as, for instance, from the inclined wall of the hopper,
as shown in Fig. 1, the function of which is to lock the operating mechanism in the
closed position, as shown in the hopper illustrated to the right of Fig. 1. When it
is desired to open the gate or door, the locking device or dog K is thrown up on
the pin or projection L, and thereby held out of the way. As will be observed, when
the locking device is in the position shown in the illustration of the closed hopper, it
will be impossible to move the lever and crank, and therefore the door will remain
closed. Upon this arm I is preferably also located a shoulder J, formed as shown in
the drawings, the purpose of the said shoulder being to abut against the squared
portion of the shaft F when the hopper is closed and the mechanism therefore in a
closed position, and thereby to aid in preventing the accidental opening of the door.
The operation of this device is as follows:
"
Referring to the hopper B¹ of Fig. 1, upon applying a wrench or other suitable
device to the squared end of the shaft F, which as that end extends near to or
beyond the side of the car may readily be done, and thereby rotating the shaft
and its connected crank in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 1), the parts, as will
readily be seen, will take the position shown at the hopper B (Fig. 1), where the
door or gate D is shown as open. Of course it will be understood that the dog K has
first been lifted out of the path of the moving parts and held by the pin L out of
such position during the operation of such parts. To close the gate, the reverse
operation is carried out, and the gate brought to the closed position shown
at the hopper B¹ with the shoulder J', if that is used, abutting against the squared
portion of the shaft F. The dog K is now dropped into its position, and the gate
is securely locked against accidental opening.
It will be observed from the foregoing that the parts are simple in operation,
comparatively light in weight, economical in first cost, unlikely, because of their
simplicity, to get out of order, and of high efficiency. As the parts are wholly
without the hopper, it will be seen that they are not likely to be injured or affected by
the contact of the goods or material in the act of unloading, and hence their
durability is prolonged, nor is there any likelihood of the jarring of the car opening
the gates partially and thereby allowing a portion of the load to be lost...
Having now particularly
now
described › and ascertained the nature of the said.

page_text: invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination with a hopper having a door or gate hung so as to approach ·
the perpendicular, of a lever attached to said door and a crank for operating the
same, and a locking device for locking said lever and crank in the closed position,
substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with a hopper and its door or gate, of mechanism located
outside of the car body comprising a lever and its operating crank, a shaft upon
which said crank is carried, and a shoulder upon said lever located so as to abut
against said shaft, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with a hopper and its door or gate, of mechanism located
outside of the car body comprising a lever and its operating crank, a shaft upon
which said crank is carried, a shoulder upon said lever located so as to abut against
said shaft, and a locking device, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 7th day of July 1897.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.