US3167222A

US3167222A - Hopper car

Info

Publication number: US3167222A
Application number: US192710A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence J Koranda
Original assignee: North American Car Corp
Current assignee: North American Car Corp
Priority date: 1962-05-07
Filing date: 1962-05-07
Publication date: 1965-01-26
Anticipated expiration: 1982-01-26

Description

1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR Filed May '7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 i) I k1 7i l F43 I I k I ll- 1\ a v q] ID I4 14 i4 23 fi m IN V EN TOR.

" ATTORNEYS Jan. 26, 1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR Filed May 7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 24 INVE N'TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 26, 1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NLay 7,

INVENTOR.

jrromvzys.

3,167,222 HGMER CAR Clarence J. Koranrla, Western Springs, 111., assignor to North American Car Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 7, 1962, Ser. No. 192,710 8 Claims. ((11. 222-512) This invention relates to hopper cars and more particularly to a discharge construction for a hopper car and to a closure therefor.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide discharge structures for hopper car compartments formed with a horizontally extending discharge tube through which dry material in the car can be discharged by air flow either under pressure or induced by vacuum. Several problems anddisadvantages have resulted from these known structures, one of which is the difiiculty of removing all of the material from the car and discharge structure. In transferring plastic pellets or granules, for example, retention of even as few as one or two pellets may contaminate an entire compartment full of material of a different color or character, and the relatively small pellets or granules are easily retained in any recesses or sharp angles in the compartment or the discharge structure.

Another problem is the providing of a closure for the discharge tube which seals securely and yet which can be opened easily. Closures as heretofore used are commonly secured in closed position by hand screws which are easily damaged in use and which are apt to be jammed by foreign material collecting in their threads. Such closures are usually connected to the car by a chain so that they will not be lost but can hang down when opened and are extremely apt to be damaged by any movement of the car when in this condition.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a hopper car having a discharge structure which presents a smooth, continuous surface with no pockets or sharp angles therein for easy and complete removal of material in the hopper compartment.

According to a feature of the invention, the discharge structure includes a trough whose side walls form a smooth continuation of' the lower sloping walls of the hopper compartment and having an arcuate bottom forming 'a continuation of the lower part of the discharge tube. This construction provides a relatively large discharge opening from the hopper compartment and easy, smooth flow of the material from the hopper compartment through the discharge tube and is easy to clean to remove the last particles of material.

Another object is to provide in a hopper car a closure which is permanently hinged to the discharge structure to swing between open and closed positions and which is supported in either position in such a way as to be protected against damage.

Still another object is to provide a hopper car in which the hinged discharge closure is securely and uniformly held in its closed position to seal the discharge opening tightly.

According to a feature of the invention, the closure is engaged by the free end of a pivoted arm which is re siliently supported on the discharge structure to press the closure tightly into its sealed position. The arm may engage a cam wedge surface on the closure to develop a high sealing force and may be secured against unauthorized removal by a sealing strip threaded through openings in the arm and in an eyelet on the closure.

The closure may also be latched closed according to another feature of the invention by a rotatable latch member which is turned by the arm and which engages the periphery of the closure opposite to its hinge mounting.

United States Patent Preferably the rotatable latch member is supported c0- axially with but independently of the arm so that in the event of breakage or other damage to the arm the rotatable latch member will still hold the closure in its closed position.

Accidental releasing of the rotatable latch member may also be prevented by a latch bar engaging a circumferential latch surface thereon. Preferably, the latch bar is slidable vertically between operable and release positions and is made of non-circular section so that it can be turned to prevent accidental sliding in a complementary non-circular socket.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a hopper car embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the closure in its closed position;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged sections on the lines 5--5 and 66 respectively of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial section at right angles to FIGS. 5 and 6 showing the rotatable latch construction;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial elevation on the line 83 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a disassembled perspective view of the rotatable latch construction.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a conventional hopper car indicated generally at 10 which is supported on trucks 11 for movement over standard railways rails 12. The hopper car is divided by internal walls indicated by dotted lines 13 into a plurality of compartments, each of which comprises a hopper having inwardly and downwardly sloping lower walls 14. The angle of the walls 14 is so selected that dry material in the car will slide freely down them to an enlarged generally rectangular outlet open-ing 15 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The walls 14 carry an outwardly extending flange 16 surrounding the opening 15 and to which a discharge structure embodying the invention may be mounted.

The discharge structure as shown comprises a horizontal trough 17 having inwardly and downwardly sloping side walls which form smooth continuations of opposite hopper walls 14 merging into an arcuate bottom portion 18 whose axis extends horizontally. The upper edges of the trough are formed with outwardly extending flanges mating with the flanges 16 and secured thereto by fastenings such as bolts 19 with a suitable sealing gasket therebetween.

The trough 17 is provided with end plates 21 permanently secured thereto as by welding and which are formed with aligned circular openings therethrough. Horizontally extending discharge tubes 22 are secured in the openings as by welding and extend horizontally from opposite ends of the trough. As best seen in FIG. 3 the radius of curvature of the tubes 22 is the same as that of the lower arcuate bottom portion 18 of the trough so that the bottom surfaces of the tubes form smooth continuations of the bottom surfaces of the troughs.

Each of the tubes has secured thereto as by welding a mounting plate 23 which projects transversely beyond the outer wall of the tube. Preferably, a short tubular section 24 of larger diameter than the tubes 22 is secured to each of the mounting plates and extends outward therefrom coaxially with the end portions of the tubes 22 as shown. The tubes 22 may be of a size to receive a conventional 5" discharge coupling and the tubular sections 24 may be of a size to receive a conventional 6" discharge coupling so that standard discharge couplings of either size which are commonly encountered in use-of:

the cars may readily be attached-without requiring any special fittings or modification of the discharge structure. 1 One of-the discharge'tubes may bei'connectedtoa source of vacuum with the opposite discharge tube either remaining closed' or. connected vto azsourceofair under pressure: This type of; unloading operation forms no part of the present invention and will not lac-described further herein;

The dischargetubes, however, must be sealed during transport of. the car. to prevent "lossof the compartment contents by removable closures which may :be selectively opened to permit the coupling of discharge conduits thereto. For this purposea cup shaped closure or cover member 25 is provided .of a size; to fit over theextending end po'rtionsofthe conduits22 and24 andxto seal against the supporting plate 23. As best seen in FIG.. 55 the cover 25 is formed with an:outwardlytextendingl rim flange 26 carrying a resilient sealingring 27' formed or rubber or the like tov press sealingly against the face of the mounting plate 23. p I I i The .cover' is 'supported'by.avertical hinge at one side-of the discharge pipe for swinging movement in a" horizontal plane between: its open and-"closed positions. As shown, the hinge isformed by lugs 28 extending out-f wardly from the mounting plate 23 at: vertically'spaced points and having: elongated slots-29 formed'the'reinwith the length of the slots being normal to the mounting plate. Similar rlugs 31. securedto the cover are formed with openings registering. with'the'openings in the lugs.

28, and a pintle. suchas an elongated bolt 32v is passed through the openings. With this construction thefcove'r can be'swungto its closed positionas shown inl-FIGQS and in that position can float slightly. toenable uniform;

sealing pressure to be applied around the entire periphery of the sealing ring 27 to seal the cover securely. When the cover is opened it can 'be swung horizontally toone side of the discharge tube'and will be held by. the huge in that. position where it is extremely unlikely to bev damaged.

I For holding the cover in its closed position a J-shaped. arm33 is provided having its long end extending slidably' and rotatably through the mounting plat'e23 and urged terminating in an arcuateedge' and formed with a pcripheral'notch 43. Thelatch member iscut away opposite the portion 42 to a diameter which will clear the flange'26- of the closure. When the ,latch member is turned counterclockwise to theposition shown in FIG. 8,

the portion 42 will ride over the adjacent part of the flange 26 andwill hold it securely in its sealed position. It will be understood that the under surface of the portion 42 may be taperedto produce a wedging eifectas the latch member is turned. a V I The latch member is rotatably supported on a tubular pin 44 which'is secured in a bushing "45zwhich is inturn secured to the mounting. plate 23'. The latch member 41 -is rotatably supported on the tubular 'pin- 44 and engages the end :of the bushing '45 to be held' thereby spaced out- "wardly from the. mounting plate 23 the. proper'dist'ance to overlie and engage the flange 26 of the cover; The

. tubular pin 44 terminates in anendflange 46 which overlies the latch member 41 tohold it against 'axialmovd ment and which is formed with an inwardly extending ear 47 extending toward the mounting plateto 'lirnit rotation of thelatch member'41. j helockingarm 33 extends slidably and rotatably through the tubular pin 44 with the spring 34 abutting against a flangeon the bushing asseen inHFIG. 5. Further, the locking arm 33 carries an outwardlyiand axially projecting lug .48 which extends into thenotch 43 as seen in FIG. 'i solthat when "the locking arm-33 is turned the latchmember' 41' will be turned with it. It

will-be noted, however, thatin the event the locking arm 33 shouldxbecome' broken or totally disconnected from by a spring 34 toward the center ofthe'trough; Prefer ably the spring abuts against an adjustingplate 35. held' in adjusted position by a nut 36' threaded on tothe' end. of the arm by. means of which the spring pressure can be adjusted. vThe opposite end of thearmjs adapted to swing overthe central part of the coverwhen it is in itsclosed position to urge the cover yieldingly against the mounting plate 23 and into sealing engagement there-" with. For this purpose the outer surface of the cover" I is preferably offset to define a cam wedge surface 3'7 along which the end of the arm. 33 will ride when the arm is moved toward its locking position. .The. cam

wedge surfaceis preferably provided 'wtili a detentnotchj 38 in the center of the cover which will receive/the end of the arm andv hold it yieldingly against accidental removal.

When the arm is swung to its locking position as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, its end will rest in the detent notch 33 and the pressure produced by the spring34 will press the cover tightly and resiliently into sealing'engagement with the mounting plate securely to seal the discharge tube. It, will be seen that considerable sealing pressure can be developed because of the cam wedge surface 37,

itbeing necessary in some. cases to force the arm into its locking position by pounding it withga hammer or the like. Similarly, where extremely. high sealing pressures are involved,'it may be necessary to hammer the end of.

the arm out of the detent notch 38 to release it. p

The .coverisfurther latched in closed position by a rotatable latclimember 41 mounted for rotation on the mounting plate coaxially with the arm 33.!As best seen in FIG. 8, the latch member 41 has a latching portion 42 the assembly, the latch member. 41 will continue to hold the cover in closed position at the sideithereof opposite to thefhingeso thatthe contents of .thecompartment will not be lost; 1 I Y I aAs a further: safety. measure the rotatable latch member 41 is itself latched against accidental rotation. For

this purpose a tubular socket 49 having a non-circular rectangular opening therethrough is secured tothe mountving plate 23. above andslightlyto one side of the latch" structure mounting as'seen .best'in 1 1G858 and 9. .A vertically slidalble latch pin is slidable through the socket "and'is formed with an upper. rectangular portion 5-1 complementary to the rectangularopening in the socket and with a lower circular portion 52. Preferably, a stop bar 53 is.=welded to the lower end of the circular portion 52 to prevent the latch bar, from being pulled vertically through the socket and completely removed therefrom. At its upper end.the latch bar is formedwith an angularly extending finger piece 54 by which it may be operated. Y

Withithe'rot atable latch member 41 in 'latchingpov sition as shown in FIG. 8 theIatchbarmay be turned to the position shown in" FIGS. SI-and '9 so that it can ing clockwise out of vits latching positioni' This is the drop down to the illustrated position. In this position the pin '52 registers witha circumferential latching shoulder 55 onthe latch member 41 to'prevent it from turnnormalposition of the parts during transport of the car. When it is desiredto open the closure for unloading the car, the 'latch'bar may be raised until the circular portion 52 thereof lies; in the opening in the socket 49' the. cover and, at thesame time,. will move the-latch member 41 toits'released position. At this time the cover is free to b fswu'ngto its open' position and the unloading operation may proceed in the desired manner.

:It will be noted that withthe construction of the presentinvention the lower tapering side walls of the hopper compartment blend smoothly; into the discharge trough is c) which in turn blends smoothiy into the discharge tube so that there are no pockets or sharp angles in which material can collect and be retained. The car will therefore be completely emptied, and after emptying the discharge structure may easily be inspected visually and further swept out manually if necessary to insure that none of the material remains in it. Furthermore, the hopper compartment is securely sealed during operation and is secured against any accidental opening. This may be further insured by forming the free end of the locking arm 33 with an opening 56 therethrough. The cover may be formed with an eyelet 57 adjacent to its central position and a standard railway sealing strip as indicated in dotted lines at 58 may be threaded through the eyelet and the opening 56 to seal the locking arm against movement and to seal the car against unauthorized access.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a tubular discharge member having a discharge opening, a closure for the opening hinged at one side thereof for swinging from a closed position overlying the opening to an open position swung away from the opening, an arm pivotally mounted at one end at one side of the opening with its other end free to swing and with its free end movable centrally over the closure when it is in its closed position to engage the closure and hold it closed, and a rotatable latch member rotatably mounted at the side of the opening remote from the hinged connection of the closure thereto and connected to the arm to be turned thereby into latching engagement with the closure when the arm is moved over the closure.

2. In combination with a tubular discharge member having a discharge opening, a closure for the opening hinged at one side thereof for swinging from a closed position overlying the opening to an open position swung away from the opening, an arm pivotally mounted at one end at one side of the opening with its other end free to swing and with its free end movable over the closure when it is in its closed position to engage and hold it closed, a rotatable latch member connected to the arm to be turned thereby into latching engagement with the closure at the side thereof opposite to the hinged side thereof when the arm is moved over the closure, the latch member being formed with a peripheral latching surface, and a manually operable latching lug engageable with the latching surface to latch the arm and latch member against turning.

3. The construction of claim 2 in which the outer face of the closure is formed with a cam wedge surface engageable with the free end of the arm to cam the closure toward its closed position.

4. For use with a hopper car comprising a compartment tapering inwardly and downwardly at its opposite sides to an elongated rectangular discharge opening and a trough member secured to the compartment under the opening having inwardly and downwardly tapering sides defining smooth continuations of the opposite sides of the compartment and merging into an arcuate section bottom, a circular discharge tube at at least one end of the trough whose bottom portion forms an elongation of the bottom portion of the trough, a cover for the discharge tube hinged to the tube at one side thereof for swinging from an open position beside the tube to a closed position overlying the end of the tube, an arm pivoted at one end on an axis parallel to and at one side of the tube with its other end free for swinging centrally over the outer face of the cover when the cover is in its closed position, a cam surface on the outer face of the cover engageable with the free end of the arm, a spring acting on the arm urging its free end toward the discharge tube thereby to press the cover resiliently toward its closed position, and a rotatable latch member connected to the arm to be turned thereby into latching engagement with the cover when the arm is moved over the cover for engagement with the cam surface.

5. In combination with a discharge tube having a discharge opening, a plate secured to the tube adjacent to its free end and projecting laterally beyond the tube, a cover hinged on vertical axis to the plate at one side of the tube to swing from an open position beside the tube to a closed position overlying the end of the tube, a latching arm pivoted at one end in the plate at the other side of the tube and having its other end ofiset to overlie the outer face of the cover when it is in its closed position and a rotatable latch member mounted coaxially with the arm and connected thereto to be rotated thereby into latching engagement with the periphery of the cover when the arm is turned to latching position with its free end overlying the cover.

6. The construction of claim 5 in which the rotatable latch member is mounted on the plate by a tubular shaft through which the arm extends slidably and rotatably whereby breakage or removal of the arm will not affect the rotatable latch member.

7. In combination with a discharge tube having a discharge opening, a plate secured to the tube adjacent to its free end and projecting laterally beyond the tube, a cover hinged on a vertical axis to the plate at one side of the tube to swing from an open position beside the tube to a closed position overlying the end of the tube, a latching arm pivoted in the plate at the other side of the tube and having its free end oiiset to overlie the outer face of the cover when it is in its closed position, a rotatable latch member mounted coaxially with the arm and connected thereto to be rotated thereby into latching engagement with the periphery of the cover when the arm is turned to latchin position with its free end overlying the cover, the latch member being cut away through a portion of its periphery to leave a circumferential latching surface, and a manually operable latching bar engageable with said latching surface to hold the latch member against turning out of latching engagement with the cover.

8. The construction of claim 7 in which the latching bar includes a non-circular shank portion slidable vertically downward through a socket of complementary section to its latching position, the latching bar being turnable when it is raised to its inoperative position with said shank portion above the socket to engage the top of the socket and hold the latching bar against downward movement.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 891,887 Wallace June so, 1903 1,199,865 Brewer Oct. 3, 1916 2,157,693 Ernolf May 9, 1939 2,323,458 Dunn July 6, 1943 2,650,726 Ailer et al. Sept. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,102,953 France Oct. 27, 1955

Claims

4. FOR USE WITH A HOPPER CAR COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT TAPERING INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY AT ITS OPPOSITE SIDES TO AN ELONGATED RECTANGULAR DISCHARGE OPENING AND A TROUGH MEMBER SECURED TO THE COMPARTMENT UNDER THE OPENING HAVING INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY TAPERING SIDES DEFINING SMOOTH CONTINUATIONS OF THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COMPARTMENT AND MERGING INTO AN ARCUATE SECTION BOTTOM, A CIRCULAR DISCHARGE TUBE AT AT LEAST ONE END OF THE TROUGH WHOSE BOTTOM PORTION FORMS AN ELONGATION OF THE BOTTOM PORTION OF THE TROUGH, A COVER FOR THE DISCHARGE TUBE HINGED TO THE TUBE AT ONE SIDE THEREOF FOR SWINGING FROM AN OPEN POSITION BESIDE THE TUBE TO A CLOSED POSITION OVERLYING THE END OF THE TUBE, AN ARM PIVOTED AT ONE END ON AN AXIS PARALLEL TO AND AT ONE SIDE OF THE TUBE WITH ITS OTHER END FREE FOR SWINGING CENTRALLY OVER THE OUTER FACE OF THE COVER WHEN THE COVER IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, A CAM SURFACE ON THE OUTER FACE OF THE COVER ENGAGEABLE WITH THE FREE END OF THE ARM, A SPRING ACTING ON THE ARM URGING ITS FREE END TOWARD THE DISCHARGE TUBE THEREBY TO PRESS THE COVER RESILIENTLY TOWARD ITS CLOSED POSITION, AND A ROTATABLE LATCH MEMBER CONNECTED TO THE ARM TO BE TURNED THEREBY INTO LATCHIONG ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COVER WHEN THE ARM IS MOVED OVER THE COVER FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CAM SURFACE.