Patent ID: 7806057

Claim:
A hopper car gate for discharging cargo from a hopper car, said car comprising a hopper having an opening and a rim surrounding said opening, said gate comprising: opposed generally upright side walls; opposed generally upright end walls joined to said side walls, wherein said joined walls present a top opening and a bottom opening; a flange joined with said side and end walls adjacent said top opening and adapted to be joined to the rim of the car; a rail extending between opposite walls adjacent said bottom opening; first and second doors supported on said rail, said doors horizontally slideable on said rail in opposite directions between a closed position which blocks said bottom opening and an open position which allows the cargo to exit through said bottom opening, wherein each of said doors presents top and bottom surfaces; first and second racks, each of which is mounted on said bottom surface of one of said doors, each of said racks extending in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said doors and presenting multiple rack teeth; first and second drive shafts, each of which extends between opposite walls in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said doors; first and second gears, each of which is mounted on one of said drive shafts for rotation thereby, each of said gears having a plurality of gear teeth successively engageable with said rack teeth on one of said racks; and first and second sockets, each of which is coupled with one of said first and second drive shafts, wherein said first and second doors move when said first and second sockets, respectively, are rotated.