US2684642A - Ballasting car - Google Patents

Description

IG.B.DOREY BALLASTING CAR July 27, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 9, 1949 /NvE/\/ TOR qzakqe 5. DORE) M W /7 ATTORNEY G. B. DOREY BALLASTING CAR July 27, 1954' 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 9. 1949 llvvew T R eo/e495 3130/25) J y 2 1954 G. B. DOREY 2,684,642

' BALLASTING CAR Filed March 9, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 //v VEN T aR 550K 42 B. DARE? Y ff/s ATTORNEY weight.

Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BALLASTING CAR Application March 9, 1949, Serial No. 80,438

8 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved ballasting car and an object of the invention is to provide a car having dump doors so arranged that initial discharge of the load will operate to deposit ballast adjacent the rails and whereby the piles of ballast build u away from the rails as door openings are increased.

It is a particular object of my invention to accomplish the desired result by the use of V- shaped hoppers located directly above the rails and having each side of the hopper formed of doors respectively hinged at the top and bottom of the hopper and whereby the lower of said doors operates to shield the rails from the lading.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an improved door lifting and lowering link mechanism for coordinating the operation of the upper and lower doors whereby the swinging action of said doors is so adjusted that the upper door moves to closed position in advance of the lower door and is supported thereby in final closed position.

My invention further resides in certain details such as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter.

My invention is by way of an improvement on my former construction as shown in United States Patent No. 1,706,353 of March 19, 1929, wherein is shown a dump car having V-shaped hoppers each having double doors and particularly arranged for depositing a large hea of ballast between the rails with the initial discharge of lading operating to lay a pile of ballast centrally of the rails. In said previous type of car the construction necessitated the employment of hoppers disposed at a considerable elevation above the rails resulting in restricted load capacity and requiring large and heavy doors with baflie extensions thereon.

My improvements, as disclosed herein, overcome the disadvantages of my previous construction in that I place the V-shaped hoppers well down in the car structure and dispense with the use of supplementary bafliing extensions on the doors. My improved construction also provides for ease of operation in that the main door area is included in the upper vertically swinging doors. The lower doors, which must necessarily be lifted, are of comparatively small area and of light inforcement is localized adjacent the hinge axis of the door.

For further comprehension of my invention ref erence may be had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is. a transverse vertical sectional view The main weight of the lower door retaken through the lower portion of a ballasting car having my improvements.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through the lower portion of a hopper adjacent the end of a hopper showing an end view of the hopper structure.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end of the hopper shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical side elevational view of the lower portion of a hopper car showing as much of the car as necessary to show a complete hopper.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken through one of the hopper doors showing the doors as positioned when flow of lading commences.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 except that the lower door has assumed a position below a horizontal plane and in a position to dribble the lading.

Fig. 7 is another view similar to Fig. 6 showing the lower door inclined sufiiciently to allow lading to discharge freely over the edge of the lower door and the size of the discharge opening being controlled by the swinging edge of the upper door.

Fig. 8 .is another view similar to that shown in Figs. 5-7 inclusive showing the lower door in fully opened position and with the swinging edge of the upper door moved away from the edge of the lower door.

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale taken through a side door and on a line corresponding substantially to a line 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical side view of the end of the hopper.

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view taken through the hopper and corresponding substantially to Fig. 9 except that the flexible connection and mechanism links for the doors are shown in full as positioned with the flexible connection and link associated with the side door taut and the side door leading in advance of the lower door. Fig. 11 also illustrates in conventional dot and dash lines the position assumed by the links and connection in relation to the doors as the lower door is picked up.

Fig. 12 is a vertical elevational sectional view taken through the idler pulley and supporting brackets on a line i2-I2 of Fig. 11.

As shown in the drawings, AA denotes the side walls of the car, B-B the sloping end walls of the car, C the longitudinally extending center sill, D the transversely extending beam members spaced from each other lengthwise of the car,

. doors. sheet metal plate as, Fig. 9, flanged at its upper E the longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers disposed on the opposite sides of the center sill and including upper doors G and lower doors H, J the door operating mechanisms for the outer doors of the respective hoppers, K the door operating mechanisms for simultaneously operating the inner or center doors of the respective hoppers, L the wheels of the car, and M the rails on which the car rests.

Each side wall A includes a side sheet is and a lower marginal reinforcing angle i i. Each sloping end wall B includes a floor plate l2 which slopes longitudinally of the car and is divided into two sections by the center sill to direct lading to the respective longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers E. The longitudinally extending center sill C includes a pair of beam members I ii4 each having a lower outstanding marginal flange 16. The center sill C is formed with a surmounting cope l? and extending above the lower flange Hi to form load shedding planes are floor plates l8.

Opposite to the inclined floor plate 53 the side floor sheets ac incline downwardly towards the longitudinal center sill C and terminate at an appreciable distance therefrom to form in cooperation with a marginal reinforcing bulb angle member 2%; one side of the discharge hopper E. The transversely extending beam members D, Figs. 2 and 3, are flanged outwardly at their upper and lower margins as indicated at 2! and 22 respectively, said flange 2! underlying the end sloping floors and being secured thereto by rivets.

Underlying each center sill flange it throughout the length of the hopper is a hopper frame member 23, Fig. l, which is formed with a downwardly inclined sealing plate section 2 and a downwardly disposed flange 25. The said frame member 23 is provided with hinge butts 25 for supporting the inner pair of upper doors G through the medium of pintles 27. The upper outer or side doors G are similarly pivotally supported at 2'? on hinge butts 28. The upper side and center doors are of similar construction and the description will be confined to one of such The door G is preferably formed of a end at 36 and slotted at 3i for the reception of hinge straps 32. A reinforcing angle shaped member 33 extends along the swinging edge of a the door and the straps 32 are bent and secured thereto at 34.

The door G is extended lengthwise to lie between the respective transverse beam members D and at each end is formed with a .Z shape deformation including a wall 35, Fig. 2, disposed substantially normal to the main plane of the door and another wall 38 disposed in angular relation with respect to the main body of the door and merging therewith adjacent the upper part of the door. As shown in Fig. 1, door G, when in closed position, assumes an inclined position and in such position projects slightly below the transverse beams D.

The lower doors H, which are all of similar construction, are hinged on a common pivotal axis being supported on a longitudinally extending rod 31. Each door H is formed of plate 38, Fig. 11, flanged downwardly at its outer margin at 39 and adjacent the hinge end is reinforced by a longitudinally extending beam member 49. Cooperating with said member 46 and mounted on rod 3'5 are loop hinges il which in cooperation with similar hinges on the companion door provide a continuous hinge. The plate 38 overhangs 4 the beam 40 an appreciable distance and reinforcing bracket plates 32 are disposed at all locations where overhanging bracing security is required, said brackets being preferably of plates welded into position. Each door H extends lengthwise beyond the associated upper door G and beneath the transverse beams D. The support for the lower doors at each end thereof preferably consists of a plate 43 bent to provide a flange M supported on the flange 22 of the transverse beam D. Cooperating with said plate 43 and the web of the transverse beam D are hinge brackets, Fig. 10, each of which includes a section 136 that seats on the flange 44 of the support and vertical sections t? and 48 respectively secured to the web of the beam D and to the depending plate 53 of the support. The plate 33 acts as a baffle to confine the lading at the ends of the hoppers and prevent excessive overflow.

The lower doors H cooperate with the upper doors G in controlling the flow of the lading and to this end the lower doors are arranged to overlap the upper doors and to support the same. The supporting locations are preferably disposed at each hinge strap and at this location bearing shoes 69, Fig. 11, are disposed adjacent the swinging edge of the doors G. Said shoes are preferably formed with a curved nose 56 to facilitate the riding of the upper door G on the face of the lower door H.

The adjacent lower doors H are movable downwardly to inclined positions to form a shedding ridge above the rail. They are supported in this position by means of a hanger 5|, Fig. 11, pivotally mounted on the door and extending through a slot 52 in the flange 22 of the transverse beam D. The hanger 5i is formed with a head 53 which contacts the upper surface of the flange 22 of the beam D.

The doors G and H are raised and lowered by means of mechanisms J for the side doors and K for the center doors. Said mechanisms are based on the use of operating shafts located outwardly beyond the hoppers E, there being an operating shaft 54 for each outer door of each hopper and a centrally disposed shaft 55 for simultaneously operating the center doors of the respective hoppers.

While the operating shafts E4 and 55 for the side and center doors are located in different relation to the hoppers E, the actual mechanism and operation of each mechanism is the same for each side of the hopper and the description and mode of operation will be confined to one side of a hopper such as shown in Figs. 9-12 inclusive.

The mechanisms J and K are mounted at the ends of the doors and are housed in a tunnel like structure formed by extending the sloping end floors beyond the beam D as at 55 and thence downwardly as at 5? at an appreciable distance from the beams. The edges of said end wall are reinforced by angle members 58 and the upwardly disposed Z-shaped reinforcement formed by walls 35 and 36 lies between said angle member 58 and the beam D. The shaft 54 is provided with a winding sheave 59 and extending therefrom to the upper and lower doors is a Y- shaped connection including a single branch 60 preferably in the form of a chain and pivotally united with pivoted rigid link elements 6| and 62 which in turn are respectively pivotally connected to the respective doors G and H. The operation of the center and side doors is effected in a similar manner except that the winding sheave associated with the center doors connects '5 with the pair of center discharging doors for simultaneous operation of said pair of doors.

The flexible connection 60 leads over an idler pulley 63 which is mounted on a pintle 64 which in turn is mounted by means of brackets 65 and 66, the former being mounted to overlie the pulley and extended upwardly along the side of and above the idler pulley to present side and top guiding walls 6'5 and 68 for guiding the chain. The bracket 66 which is disposed on the opposite side of the beam D from bracket 65 is formed with a base portion 69 secured to the beam and a trunnion T for supporting the outer end of pintle 64.

The pivotal connection between the chain Gil and the rigid links is effected through the medium of a clevis H which straddles the respective links and allows for a free jack-knifing effect of the link assembly.

The link assembly preferably consists of a construction employing a heavy link sandwiched between a pair of relatively thin and lighter links and in this particular construction I find it desirable to employ double links 6! for the door G and the single link 52 for the door H. Said double pair of links 6i are located in the Z-shaped offset at the ends of the doors G and in order to provide a stable construction an ofiset bracket 72 is welded to the vertical flange 35 of the Eat-shaped offset and thus provides in combination with said flange 35 a pair of walls between which the links are disposed, said wall 35 and bracket 72 being apertured for the reception of a connecting pivot '53 which extends through a slot M.

The link 52 is extended through a slotted opening in the door plate 38 to lie between a pair of the reinforcing bracket walls 42 and a connecting pivot 14' extends through said link and walls 132 and also through adjacent similar walls and an end flange 75 of the door H for supporting the pivotal end of the door hanger The links 62 are limited in their outward swinging movement by the slotted openings in the door plates 38 and thus are prevented from knuckling over when the doors are open.

The operation of the doors and mechanism will be understood by reference to the various illustrations. Fig. 1 indicates in conventional dot and dash lines the maximum permissible door opening allowed by the links 6! and 62, it being understood that the downward sweep of the link 62 is limited by the slot in the plate 38 through which it extends or by the hanger 5|. The breaking of the knuckle joint between the respective links has the effect of releasing the upper door G and allowing the same to swing to a vertical position.

A continued upward pull on the chain 60 opcrates to straighten the line of pull between the chain and upper door G as will be best seen by full lines in Fig. 11 and further continued takeup movement of the chain pulls the upper door G inwardly to closed position, the lower door H meanwhile being retained in its fully opened position until such time as the said upper door has swung the position indicated by conventional dot and dash lines and the link 62 has swung over as likewise indicated to present a straight line pull with the flexible connection. Further take-up of the chain 60 now has the effect of rapidly efiecting upward swinging movement of the lower door H to overtake the upper door G as the doors approach closed position. The overtaking of the upper door G by the lower door H is accomplished as the doors approach closed position and the curved nose 50 of the shoes 69 is then engaged by the lower door and the connecting pin 13 then moves upwardly in the slotted apertures 14 of the links 6!. The entire load of both doors is now transmitted through the medium of links 62.

The opening action of the doors is a reversal of the above action in that the lower door H is the leading door and the upper door G the lagging door at the initial opening of the doors and it will be observed by reference to Fig. 58 inclusive that the lower door H swings through considerable range of swinging movement before there is any appreciable flow of lading.

It will be further noted that the initial discharge of lading operates to deposit ballast adjacent the rails thus avoiding the necessity of plowing the material from the center of the track in order to divert it to a position near the rails.

The operation of the shafts 54 and 55 is preferably by means of worm and gear mechanisms and cross-shafts, the said mechanism for the side doors being indicated at 75, Fig. l, and for the center doors at T6. The operating shafts are journalled in suitable bearings and the said shafts and their mechanisms are located back of the upper doors and out of the path of discharging ballast. These locations of the shafts 5' 5 and t5 enable the placement of the chains to above the upper side doors G and above the righthand upper center door G as shown in Figure 1.

My improved construction is highly desirable inasmuch as the load carrying capacity of the car is greatly increased due to the disposition of the V-shaped hoppers E at a low level and the doors G and H are quickly and easily operated on account of the light weight of door mass which has to be actually lifted.

With the center doors fully opened as indicated in Fig. 2 it will be noted that the ballast is deposited in two distinct heaps as shown by conventional dot and dash lines as indicated by lines it and i9 and the lading is free of the rails.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a railway ballasting car including a v-shaped discharge hopper disposed above the rail and having a side composed of two doors respectively pivoted at the upper and lower margins of the opening, said doors meeting adjacent the apex of the hopper in overlapping relation with the lower door supporting the upper door, means for moving and supporting the doors including an operating shaft and a Y connection from the shaft to the doors, said connection ineluding a chain connected to the shaft and forked branches pivotally united with said chain and with the respective doors, said forked branches including rigid link members, the link member connected to the upper door having a slotted connection whereby said upper door can be moved relative to said link member when said lower door is moved into supporting relation with the upper door.

2. In a railway ballasting car including beams of appreciable depth extending transversely of the car and spaced apart lengthwise of the car, longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers disposed between said beams, each hopper being located substantially in line with and over the rails and each side of the hopper including upper and lower doors for discharging to the sides of the rails, said upper doors, being hinged adiacent the upper part of the hopper and of a width to extend beyond the transverse beams when the doors are in closed position, and said lower doors being hinged adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged to underlie the extended portion of the upper doors in closed position, said lower doors being extended to project beyond the upper doors and beneath the transverse beams and arranged to open to provide an inclined shedding apex above the rails to divert lading away therefrom, and stop means cooperating with said beams and the projecting portions of the lower doors to support the same in opened position, said stop means including headed hangers pivotally associated with the doors and stops on the beam for engaging with the headed portions of the hangers.

3. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers having their apexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of said hopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopper and a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged to underlie and support the upper door in closed position, the upper door being wider than the lower door, and a link mechanism for operating said doors including a pair of rigid link members pivoted together at one end and at opposite ends pivoted to said doors adjacent their swinging edges, the link member pivoted to said upper door being shorter than the other link member and having a slotted connection to said upper door to cause differential movement of said doors.

4. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers having their apexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of said hopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopper and a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged to underlie and support the upper door in closed position, the upper door being wider than the lower door, a link mechanism for operating said doors including a pair of rigid link members pivoted together at one end and at opposite ends pivoted to said doors adjacent their swinging edges, the link member pivoted to said upper door being shorter than the other link member and having a slotted connection to said upper door to cause differential movement of said doors, and a chain connected to said link members at their uniting pivotal axis for controlling the opening and closing of said doors.

5. In a railwa ballasting car including transversely extending beams spaced apart lengthwise of the car, longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers between said transverse beams having their apexes located substantially in line with and over the rails, each of said hoppers having side walls each including an upper door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopper and a lower door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper, said lower doors being arranged to overlap said upper doors adjacent the apex of the hopper, said lower doors being extended lengthwise of the hopper beyond the upper doors and movable to downwardly inclined positions to form shedding planes for diverting lading away from the rails, lift means for raising said doors, and a hanger separate and distinct from said lift means mounted on each lower door and cooperating with the beam individual thereto for supporting each door in opened position independently of said upper doors.

6. In a railway ballasting car including transversely extending beams of appreciable depth and spaced apart lengthwise of the car, longitudinally extending V-shaped hoppers between said transverse beams, said hoppers being located substantially in line with and over the rails and each side including upper and lower doors for discharging to the sides of the rails, said upper doors being hinged adjacent the upper part of the hopper and of a width to extend beyond the transverse beams when the doors are in closed position, said lower doors being hinged adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged to underlie the extended portion of the upper doors and arranged to open to provide a diverting apex above the rails, said lower doors being extended lengthwise beyond the upper doors and beneath the transverse beams, lift means for raising said doors, and hangers separate and distinct from said lift means mounted on the extended portions of said lower doors and cooperating with said beams for supporting said lower doors in opened position independently of said upper doors.

*1. In a ballasting car including V-shaped discharge hoppers having their apexes extending longitudinally above the rails, each side of said hopper including a door pivoted adjacent the upper part of the hopper and a door pivoted adjacent the apex of the hopper and arranged to underlie and support the upper door in closed position, a shaft, and connections from the shaft to the doors for operating said doors, said conneotion being in the form of a Y including a chain connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, and a pair of elongated rigid links pivoted together and connected to said chain at one end, one of said links being longer than the other and pivotally connected to the lower door to cause differential movement of said doors, and a lost motion connection interconnecting said other link and said upper door.

In a ballasting car including a V-shaped discharge hopper, said hopper including in one of its sides a door hinged to the upper part of the hopper and a door hinged adjacent the apex of the hopper, said doors being arranged to meet adjacent the lower portion of the hopper with the lower door supporting the upper door, shaft and link mechanism for supporting the doors, said link mechanism including rigid link members pivoted together at one end and at the opposite ends connected to the doors, one or" said rigid link members being longer than the other and pivotally connecetd to the lower door to cause difierential movement of said doors, a pin and slot connection interconnecting said other link and said upper door, and a chain connected at one end to said shaft and at the opposite end to said link members at their uniting pivotal axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 648,884 Schoen et al May 1, 1900 1,064,448 Daniels June 10, 1913 1,066,103 Gilman July 1, 1913 1,423,752 Burford et al July 25, 1922 1,706,353 Dorey Mar. 19, 1929 1,809,643 Small June 9, 1931

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