US3240166A - Railway hopper car door locking mechanism - Google Patents

Description

March 15, 1966 w. FLOEHR RAILWAY HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Inventor: Walter L. Floehr 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 By Mm Filed Sept. 17, 1962 his Attorney March 15, 1966 w. 1.. FLOEHR 3,240,156

RAILWAY HOPPER CAR DOOR LQCKING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 17, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor:

Walter L. Floehr his Attorney United States Patent 3,240,166 RAILWAY HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Walter L. Floehr, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Unitcast Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 224,021 9 Claims. (Cl. 105308) This invention relates to locking mechanisms for railway hopper doors and is an improvement on the mechanisms of my copending applications Serial Nos. 130,812, filed August 11, 1961, and 150,775, filed November 7, 1961.

In the mechanisms disclosed in those applications, a pair of lock cams or latches are pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the door on a shaft riding in slots in brackets fixed to the door. As the door is swung toward closed position, the cams engage and automatically interlock with a pair of hooks or catches fixed at opposite sides of the discharge opening to the frame bounding that opening, to hold the door in a partly closed position. Leverage applied by an operating bar to one of the cams then causes both of the cams to turn in the hooks and by applying a carnming action thereto, force the door to closed position against the frame.

The mechanisms of the copending applications ordinarily operate in the above manner. However, the tolerance between the cams and the mounting brackets is such that the shaft at the automatic interlocking stage, may hang in the upper portion of the slot in one or the other of the brackets and prevent the cam from dropping into its seat in the related book. If the unseated cam is that to which the operating bar is applied, no harm is done, since, seeing the condition, the operator can correct it by a downward push on the bar. But, if the unseated cam is the other cam at the far side of the door, the condition can go unnoticed, with the result that on turning, that cam will slide over rather than in its hook and at the end of the operation, the door, instead of being locked at both sides, will be locked at but one.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in a hopper door locking mechanism of the character described, whereby the mechanism is rendered proof against the above condition and, when locked in closed position, is always locked at both sides.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a hopper door locking mechanism of the character described, means whereby, it the cam at the far side of door does not seat initially, it will automatically be cammed or otherwise forced into its seat as force is applied through the operating bar to move the door to closed position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a typical hopper door and associated structure to which a preferred embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention has been applied;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the side of the structure of FIGURE 1 from which the mechanism is operated;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view on an enlarged scale of the opposite or far side of the structure of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is sectional view taken along lines 44 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved hopper door locking mechanism of the present invention in general is similar to the mechanism disclosed in my above-mentioned applications. In the illustrated embodiice ment, the improved mechanism, designated as 1, is applied to a typical drop bottom hopper door 2 swingably mounted at the top on a frame 3 fixed to a hopper 4 of arailway hopper car for closing a discharge opening 5 boundedby the frame.

The mechanism 1 is comprised of a pair of generally L-shaped lock cams or latches, one 6, at the near, outer or operating side of the door 2 and the other, 7, at the doors other, inner or far side. The latches 6 and 7, While pivotably mountable on the frame 3, preferably are so mounted on a shaft 8 mounted for rotation and sliding or shifting parallel to the front or outer face 9 of the door in a pair of suitably slotted brackets 10 and 11, fixed, as by riveting, to that face, respectively adjacent its near and far sides. The fixed catches or keepers 12 for the preferred doormounted latches 6 and 7 necessarily are mounted on the frame 3 rather than the door 2. In the preferred form, the catches 12 are a pair of hooks fixed to or rigid with the sides of the frame 3 at opposite sides of the discharge opening 5 and each positioned to be engaged by and coact with one of the latches when the door 2 is swung toward closed position.

The latches 6 and 7 are not just cams but counterweighted cams, the normally or in locked position lower portions or feet 13 of which are the cams proper and the legs 14 of which are the counterweights. With their feet 13 and legs 14 disposed substantially normal or at right angles to each other, the latches or lock cams 6 and 7, in the unlocked or free condition of the door 2, are supported on positioning flanges 15 on their brackets 10 and 11 in a ready position in which the toes or distal portions 16 of the feet point toward the frame 3 and the legs 14 are turned down and back of the toes. So positioned, the toes, as the door is swung toward closed position, engage and ride upwardly on the upwardly and rearwardly sloping front faces 17 of the hooks 12 until they reach the tips or points 18 of the hooks, at which point, if the shaft 8 is free, they will automatically drop into the concave seats or pockets 19 in the hooks and by interlocking with the latter, hold the door in a preliminary or partly closed position.

Assuming the latches and hooks at the above point to be in the intended interlocking relation, rotation of the hooks, as viewed in FIGURE 2, in a counterclockwise direction, as by a lever or actuating bar (notshown) inserted in a slot 13a in the near hook 6, will cause the toes 16 of the cams to turn in and against the seats 19 and in process cam or force the door to closed position. However, as mentioned earlier, this assumption is not always sound. As indicated in FIGURE 3, the latch-mounting shaft 8 slides or moves longitudinally of the slots 20 in the brackets 10 and 11 and is in the upper reaches or limits of the slots at the point at which the toes 16 of the cams 6 and 7 are positioned to drop into the seats 19 in the hooks 12. Thus, if at that moment the shaft 8 for any reason should hang or bind in either slot, the related cam 6 or 7 would not seat in the hook and on subsequently being turned, ostensibly to cam the door closed, would ride instead on the sloping face 17 of the related hook. It is this eventuality that the improved mechanism of the present invention effectively prevents.

While the aboveeventuality might apply to either cam 6 and 7, it is readily observable and correctable by the operator if it is the near or outside cam 6 that is affected. However, since positioned, the while, at the operating side of the door, the operator can neither readily observe nor easily correct failure of the inner cam 7 to seat because of hanging of the shaft 8 in the slot 20 in the adjoining bracket 11. It therefore is the inner cam 7 that is of primary concern and that has been used as exemplary of the invention in the illustrated embodiment.

The improved mechanism of this invention makes use of the force or leverage applied by the operating bar when the door is in partly closed position for turning the locking cams 6 and 7 relative to the hooks 12 and thereby camming the door 2 to closed position, to exert a force for positively seating, driving, or forcing one or either cam into its seat 19. This it accomplishes by having cooperable or coactable means on the door and the cam which are so arranged and constructed as to contact or engage each other if, in turning of the cam relative to the hook, the shaft 8 is hung in the adjoining bracket, and, thereupon, by the reaction of the means on the cam against the means on the door, transform part of the applied force into a downward increment of force on the cam and thus the shaft. The reactance on the door might be a striker plate or other means suitable to jar the shaft loose when contacted by the cooperating means on the cam. However, since the turning force on the cam is not abrupt but progressive in its application, the seating force should correspond. It therefore is preferred that the reactance itself be a cam for progressively driving rather than jarring or kicking the locking cam into its seat in the related hook.

In the illustrated embodiment in which the inner or far cam 7 is adapted to be positively seated, the preferred seating cam 21, instead of being a separate member individually attached to the door 2, conveniently is integral or rigid with the inner door bracket 11 and formed as a flange or projection 21 extending or outstanding from the upper portion of the brackets base 22 and thus from the front face 9 of the door 2 to which the base is affixed. The flange 21 as a whole or at least its underface is curved downwardly toward its outer end to provide on its underface a downwardly facing, arcuately concave cam face or surface 23 which, in a direction parallel to the plane of the doors front face 9, is disposed above the longitudinally elongated slot 20 in the bracket in which the shaft 8 rides.

The cam face 23 is adapted to be engaged by a cam follower 24 on, connected to or carried by the counterweighting leg 14 of the inner or related latch 7 and is of a length, in a direction normal to the doors front face 9, suflicient to include the range of movement of the cam follower in the same direction. The cam face also is of such curvature and so disposed relative to the cam follower 24 as to be adapted to engage the latter when the shaft hangs at some point in the adjoining bracket 11 and apply through the follower to the cam 7 and the shaft 8 an increment of force which, while obliq ue, is downward in a direction longitudinally of the slot or parallel to the doors front face. Thus, whether the shaft hangs in the top or other part of the slot 20 in the adjoining bracket 11, the seating cam 21 is efiective positively to dislodge the shaft and force or drive the toe 16 of the inner latch 7 downwardly into its seat 19 in the related coacting hook 12 and so ensure the interengagement between the latch and the hook upon which the mechanism is dependent at that side for camming the door to closed position.

I Since it is substantially at the start of the turning of the latches 6 and 7 that the toe 16 of the inner latch 7 must be driven or forced into its seat 19, if the action of the mechanism in camming or swinging the door 2 to closed position is to proceed smoothly, the curvature of the cam face 23 preferably is sharpest toward its outer end and progressively decreases therefrom toward its inner end and, to make maximum use of its camming action, altogether isof such contour as substantially to follow the path of and maintain contact with the follower not only initially but throughout the range of movement of the locking cam to the locked position shown in FIG- URE 3 in which the cam follower 24 is stopped by an abutment 11a on the bracket 11 at the back of the cam face 23. It also is preferred that engagement of the cam follower 24 with the cam face 23 be facilitated by providing the seating flange with a convex entry lip 26 leading to the cam face. To withstand the not inconsiderable forces to which it may be exposed in service, the seating cam or flange 21 may be reinforced at or adjacent its inner or inboard side away from the leg 14 of the latch or locking cam 7 by a rib or web 25 readily formed as an extension of the web containing the shaft-seating slot 20.

The position of the cam face 23 transversely of the doors front face 9 relative to foot and leg, 13 and 14, respectively, forming the main part of the latch, will depend cn whether the cam follower 24 is the outer or distal end of the leg or otherwise formed. However, to ensure against possible interference of the seating cam with other parts of the locking mechanism, it ordinarily will be preferred to inset the cam inwardly or inboardly of the door relative to the related latch 7 and to have the cam follower 24 fixed or connected to the leg and projecting or extending transversely therefrom, inwardly or inboardly of the door, substantially parallel to the shaft 8, with the projection of the follower suflicient to bring it well within the transverse confines of the cam face 23.

The cam follower 24 may be of any suitable form and positioned anywhere intermediate the longitudinal extremities of the leg 14, so long as the disposition and curvature of the cam face 23 relative to the follower are such that a line drawn through the point of initial contact of the follower and the center of the shaft 8, with the latter in its uppermost position in the slot 20 in the bracket 11, will slope downwardly toward the doors front face 9 relative to a normal to that face passing through the axis of the shaft in the same position and so provide the required downward increment of force on the locking cam. However, the follower is entirely effective if, as in the illustrated embodiment, it is an arcuately convex lug formed integrally with the latch and disposed at or adjacent the outer end of the leg 4, the follower in such position, having the advantage of enhancing rather than detracting from the counterweighting action of the leg.

As will be observed from FIGURE 3, the seating cam will not be contacted by the cam follower 24 on the latch 7 if the shaft does not hang or bind in the related bracket 11. In such case the seating cam, while overlying, will be clear or out of the way of the follower and playno part in the operation of the locking mechanism, but the presence of the seating cam and the action of which it is capable, when occasion demands, make the difference between a mechanism which usually will operate as intended and one that cannot but operate in that manner.

From the above-detailed description it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved door locking mechanism wherein interference with the desired action of the mechanism by the hanging of its shaft in a door bracket is prevented by providing for a positive drive of the latch into its seat in the related hook in such event. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car,

comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, shaft means mounted on said other member for radial shifting substantially parallel to a face thereof, latch means mounted for relative rotation. on said shaft means and seatable in and thereupon separating said catch means from said shaft means, said latch means normally'seating in said catch means on swinging of said door member toward closed position for holding said member in said position and on subsequent rotation acting on said catch means for moving said door member to fully closed position, and latch-seatingmeans operative on failure of said latch means to seat in said catch means in said partly closed position with said door means held otherwise in said position, said latch-seating means including means on said latch means and other member and coacting on rotation of said latch means for seating said latch means in'said catch means during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

2. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, shaft means mounted on said other member for rotation relative thereto and radial shifting substantially parallel to a face thereof, latch means mounted for relative rotation on said shaft means and seatable in and thereupon separating said catch means from said shaft means, said latch means normally seating in said catch means on swinging of said door member toward closed position for holding said member in said position and on subsequent rotation acting on said catch means for moving said door member to fully closed position, and latch-seating means operative on failure of said latch means to seat in said catch means in said partly closed position with said door means held otherwise in said position, said latch-seating means including cam means fixed to said other member, and follower means connected to said latch means, said follower means on rotation of said latch means engaging said cam means for positively forcing said latch means to seat in said catch means during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

3. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, bracket means fixed to said other member, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting substantially parallel to a face of said other member, latch means mounted for relative rotation on said shaft means and seatable in and thereupon separating said catch means from said shaft means, said latch means normally seating in said catch means on swinging of said door member toward closed position for holding said member in said position and on subsequent rotation acting on said catch means for moving said door member to fully closed position, latch-seating means operative on failure of said latch means to seat in said catch means in said partly closed position with said door means held otherwise in said position, said latch-seating means including means rigid with said bracket means, and means connected to said latch means and coacting with said rigid means on rotation of said latch means for positively seating said latch means in said catch means during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

4. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, bracket means fixed to said other member, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting substantially parallel to a face of said other member, latch means mounted for relative rotation on said shaft means and seatable in and thereupon separating said catch means from said shaft means, said latch means normally seating in said catch means on swinging of said door member toward closed position for holding said member in said position and on subsequent rotation acting on said catch means for moving said door member to fully closed position, latch-seating means operative on failure of said latch means to seat in said catch means in said partly closed position with said door means held otherwise in said position, said latch-seating means including cam means fixed to said bracket means, and follower means connected to said latch means and coacting with said cam means on rotation of said latch means for positively seating said latch means in said catch means during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

5. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, bracket means fixed to said other member, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting substantially parallel to a face of said other member, latch means mounted for relative rotation on said shaft means and seatable in and thereupon separating said catch means from said shaft means, said latch means normally seating in said catch means on swinging of said door member toward closed position for holding said member in said position and on subsequent rotation acting on said catch means for moving said door member to fully closed position, latch-seating means operative on failure of said latch means to seat in said catch means in said partly closed position with said door means held otherwise in said position, said latch-seating means including cam means fixed to said bracket means, and follower means rigid with said latch means and coacting with said cam means on rotation of said latch means for positively seating said latch means in said catch means during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

6. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising a catch fixed to said frame, a bracket fixed to said door, a shaft slideable radially substantially parallel to a face of said door in a slot in said bracket, a counterweighted locking cam rotatably mounted on said shaft, said cam normally seating in said catch on swinging of said door toward closed position for holding said door in partly closed position and on subsequent rotation camming said door to fully closed position, means fixed to said bracket, and means connected to said locking cam and coacting with said fixed means on rotation of said cam is said partly closed position of said door with said cam unseated for positively seating said cam in said catch during movement of said door member from partly to fully closed position.

7. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising a catch fixed to said frame, a bracket fixed to said door, a shaft slideable radially substantially parallel to a face of said door in a slot in said bracket, a locking cam rotatably mounted on said shaft, a counterweighting leg on said cam, said cam normally seating in said catch on swinging of said door toward closed position for holding said door in partly closed position and on subsequent rotation camming said door to fully closed position, a seating cam fixed to and outstanding from said door above said cam leg, and a follower connected to said leg and contacting said seating cam on turning of said locking cam relative to said catch in said partly closed position of said door with said shaft hung in said bracket slot for positively seating said locking cam in said catch during movement of said door from partly to fully closed position.

8. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising a catch fixed to said frame, a bracket fixed to said door, a shaft slideable radially substantially parallel to a face of said door in a slot in said bracket, a locking cam rotatably mounted on said shaft, a counterweighting leg on said cam, said cam normally seating in said catch on swinging of said door toward closed position for holding said door in partly closed position and on subsequent rotation camming said door to fully closed position, a seating cam fixed to and outstanding from said door above said cam leg, and a lug rigid with and projecting from said leg and contacting said seating cam on turning of said locking cam relative to said catch in said partly closed position of said door with said shaft hung in said bracket slot for positively driving said locking cam into its seat in said catch.

9. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car, comprising a catch fixed to said frame, a bracket fixed to said door, a shaft slideable radially substantially parallel to a face of said door in a slot in said bracket, a locking cam rotatably mounted on said shaft, a counterweighting leg on said cam, said cam normally seating in said catch on swinging of said door toward closed position for holding said door in partly closed position and on subsequent rotation carnming said door to fully closed position, a seating cam fixed to and outstanding from said door above said carn leg, and a lug rigid with and projecting from said cam leg inwardly of said door and contacting said seating cam on turning of said locking cam relative to said catch in said partly closed position of said door with said shaft hung in said bracket slot for applying a downward force to and positively driving said locking cam into its seat in said catch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Wine 105308 Campbell 105-308 Shaver et al. 105308 Dorey 105-309 Wine 105308 Ingram 105-308 Dorey 105309 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primaly Examiner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, MILTON BUCHLER,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR A HOPPER DOOR MEMBER HINGED TO A FRAME MEMBER OF A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR, COMPRISING CATCH MEANS FIXED TO ONE OF SAID MEMBERS, SHAFT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID OTHER MEMBER FOR RADIAL SHIFTING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO A FACE THEREOF, LATCH MEANS MOUNTED FOR RELATIVE ROTATION ON SAID SHAFT MEANS AND SEATABLE IN AND THEREUPON SEPARATING SAID CATCH MEANS FROM SAID SHAFT MEANS, SAID LATCH MEANS NORMALLY SEATING IN SAID CATCH MEANS ON SWINGING OF SAID DOOR MEMBER TOWARD CLOSED POSITION FOR HOLDING SAID MEMBER IN SAID POSITION AND ON SUBSEQUENT ROTATION ACTING ON SAID CATCH MEANS FOR MOVING SAID DOOR MEMBER TO FULLY CLOSED POSITION, AND LATCH-SEATING MEANS OPERATIVE ON FAILURE OF SAID LATCH MEANS TO SEAT IN SAID CATCH MEANS IN SAID PARTLY CLOSED POSITION WITH SAID DOOR MEANS HELD OTHERWISE IN SAID POSITION, SAID LATCH-SEATING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS ON SAID LATCH MEANS AND OTHER MEMBER AND COACTING ON ROTATION OF SAID LATCH MEANS FOR SEATING SAID LATCH MEANS IN SAID CATCH MEANS DURING MOVEMENT OF SAID DOOR MEMBER FROM PARTLY TO FULLY CLOSED POSITION.

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