Patent ID: 7234401

Claim:
A discharge gate assembly for a railroad hopper car defining a discharge outlet, said gate assembly comprising: frame structure configured to be disposed about said discharge outlet and having a predetermined width; a gate disposed for longitudinal sliding movements along a predetermined path of travel beneath said discharge opening and relative to said frame structure; a drive mechanism for positively moving said gate between open and closed positions relative to said discharge opening, said drive mechanism defining an axis; and a lock assembly including a locking member mounted for movement between locking and unlocking conditions, with at least a portion of said locking member extending into the path of travel of said gate when in said locking condition thereby operably preventing inadvertent longitudinal movement of said gate from said closed position toward said open position, and with said locking member being selectively movable into said unlocking condition whereby allowing said gate to be longitudinally moved toward the open position from said closed position, and wherein said lock assembly further includes a spring biased latch mechanism for releasably maintaining said locking member in said unlocking condition until after said gate moves a predetermined distance from the closed position toward the open position, and wherein said latch mechanism is located beyond longitudinal parameters of said gate at all positions of said gate.