US3316858A

US3316858A - Railway hopper car closure actuating device

Info

Publication number: US3316858A
Application number: US232729A
Authority: US
Inventors: William E Fritz
Original assignee: Union Tank Car Co
Current assignee: Union Tank Car Co
Priority date: 1962-10-24
Filing date: 1962-10-24
Publication date: 1967-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 1984-05-02

Description

M y 1967 w. E. FRITZ 3,316,858

RAILWAY HOPPER CAR CLOSURE ACTUATING DEVICE Filed Oct. 24, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Mm, 6 my BY Jy/M, 74 4/22; 0 Q [/emw/ 4/fa/w J.

May 2; 1967 w. E. FRITZ RAILWAY HOPPER CAR CLOSURE ACTUATING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 24, 1962 INVENTOR. i 51%;, Zyrm, vV me, ham 6 (km/1f y 2, 1967 w E. FRITZ 3,316,858

RAILWAY HOPPER CAR CLOSURE ACTUATING DEVICE Filed Oct. 24, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

4/11/10, A. m; BY

United States Patent 3,316,858 RAILWAY noarnn CAR CLOSURE ACTUATING nnvron William E. Fritz, Hinsdale, IlL, assignor to Union Tani:

This invention relates to hopper cars and, more particularly, to a hopper car door assembly that elfects unloading of the hopper car.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hopper car adapted to be unloaded while moving.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide for a hopper car a hopper door assembly that is openedand closed by wayside equipment while the hopper car is moving.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a hopper car hopper door assembly adapted to deposit material during unloading between the rails on which the hopper car rides.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for a hopper car a hopper door assembly adapted to effectively prevent the loss of material from the hopper car during transit.

The above and further objects more apparent hereinafter are accomplished by the hopper car of the present invention having a hopper door assembly adapted to be automatically opened and closed by wayside means to unload the hopper car while it is moving. The hopper car is unloaded over unloading bins positioned below the rails upon which the hopper car rides, the hop-per door assembly assuring that the material is unloaded be tween the rails to prevent the accumulation of material on the rails which could cause derailing of trailing cars. In addition, the hopper door assembly of the present invention, when closed, assures that material will not leak from the hopper car.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, taken with further objects and advantages thereof, will be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a hopper car embodying the features of the present invention, illustrating the hopper car in selected positions during an unloading operation;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away, side view of the hopper car of FIG. 1, illustrating a hopper door assembly embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially cut-away plan view of the hopper car illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the hopper door assembly of the hopper car shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded fragmentary view, partially cutaway, of the gearing arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2;

and

FIG. 8 is an exploded fragmentary view of the gearing arrangement illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, a hopper car embodying the features of the present invention is illustrated generally by reference numeral 10. It will be understood that the hopper car It) is just one of many such hopper cars which may be connected to form a freight train moving, for purposes of illustration, from left to right on tracks 12 when viewing FIG. 1

as indicated by arrowed line 13. The hopper car 10 may be loaded, for example with solid particulate material or the like and its hopper door assembly, indicated generally by reference numeral 16 (FIGS. 2-4) is closed. In the unloading zone 14, the hopper door assembly 16 is opened, the solid particulate material in the hopper car 10 is unloaded, and the hopper door assembly 16 is closed in a sequential operation as the hopper car 10 moves on the track 12 at a speed in the range of about one to ten miles per hour. To this end, the unloading zone 14 includes a wayside door opening mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral 18, an unloading bin 20 positioned below the tracks 12, and a wayside door closing mechanism, indicated generally by reference numeral 22.

When the locomotive (not shown), for example, of the freight train passes the wayside door opening mechanism 18, it trips a switch (not shown) to raise the wayside door opening mechanism 18 into an operative position with respect to the trailing hopper car 10. As the hopper car 10 moves along side the wayside door opening mechanism 18, the hopper door assembly 1 6 of the hopper car 10 is opened and the solid particulate material in the hopper car 10 falls by gravity from the bottom of the hopper car 10 between the rails 12 and into the unloading bin 20.

In addition, as the locomotive passes the wayside door closing mechanism 22 it trips another switch (not shown) raising the wayside door closing mechanism 22 into an operative position to close the hopper door assembly d6 of the trailing hopper car 10 as it passes along side of it. In this manner, the hopper cars 10 of the freight train, while traveling at speeds in the range of about one to ten miles per hour, are opened, unloaded and closed as they move through the unloading zone 14, thereby rapidly unloading the hopper car 10 without the necessity of stopping the freight train. The caboose, for example, of the freight train actuates additional switches (not shown) to lower the wayside door opening mechanism 18 and the wayside door closing mechanism 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 26, the hopper car 10 and its associated hopper door assembly 16 embodying the features of the present invention are illustrated in greater detail. The hopper car 10 includes a main body 24 having a generally tear-shaped cross-section mounted upon trucks, indicated generally by reference numeral 26, which ride upon the tracks 12. The ends of the body 24 of the hopper car 1t have inclined bottom portions 28 which converge inwardly toward each other and aid in unloading the particulate material from the hopper car 10 by directing the material toward the hopper door assembly 16.

The upper portion of the hopper car .10 has a hatch opening 3h longitudinally extending along its entire length. A hatch cover assembly, indicated generally by reference numeral 32 is pivotally attached to the main body 24 and includes a cover means 34, a cam track 36, and a pivot actuator means 38. Basically the hatch cover assembly 32 is adapted to automatically open prior to the hopper car 10 being loaded and automatically close after the loading operation and, while open, actuate the loading means. The hatch cover assembly 32 is described and illustrated in detail in applicants co-pending application, Ser. No. 232,803, filed Oct. 24, 1962, now abandoned, and therefore need not be discussed in detail herein. It will be understood that the hatch cover assembly 32 does not constitute a part of the present invention. As disclosed in the above-mentioned co-pending application, the hatch cover assembly 32 may have a walk-way 40 mounted thereon, which is usable when the hatch cover assembly 32 is in its closed position.

The hopper door assembly 16 includes, in this instance, two pair of opposing hopper doors 42 which are pivotally (.3 attached at their upper ends by a plurality of hinge pins 44 or the like to the under part of the body 24 of the hopper car 10. The hopper doors 42 are pivotable about longitudinally extending axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hopper car 10. The hopper doors 42 swing in opposite directions away from one another When moving to their fully open positions in which the doors .2 hang vertically as shown in phantom in FIG. 3. Conversely as the doors 42 are being closed they swing in opposite directions toward one another to their fully closed position seen in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6.

The hopper doors 42, when closed, cooperate with the main body 24, a transverse gear housing 25 and longitudinally extending central partitions 46 to prevent material from falling out of the hopper car It). To these ends, the partitions 46 are inverted V-shaped members having diverging, downwardly extending legs 48 (FIGURE 6), the ends of which abut against the hopper doors 42 when the latter are closed to prevent material from flowing therebetween. The transverse gear housing 25, which houses part of the door hopper assembly 16 in a manner more apparent hereinafter, has

legs

25a and 25b and the main body 24 has vertically disposed plates 27 (FIG. 2) which cooperate with the hopper doors 42 to prevent loss of material at the ends thereof.

Furthermore, the main body 24 has vertically disposed, longitudinally extending lips 50 (FIGS. 3 and 6) which cooperate with a vertically extending lip 52 on the upper edge of the hopper door 42 to prevent the loss of material between the main body 24 and the doors 42 at these points. The lip 52 also extends along the ends of the hopper doors 42 to cooperate with the

legs

25a and 25b and the plates 27 described hereinbefore. The lower end of the hopper door 42 has an upwardly extending lip 54 which, as will be more apparent hereinafter, directs the material being unloaded from the hooper car 18 between the rails 12 and prevents it from being scattered on the rails 12 with hazardous consequences.

The hopper doors 42 are adapted to be automatically opened and closed by the cooperation of

friction wheels

56 and 58 with the wayside door opening mechanism 18 and the Wayside door closing mechanism 22, respectively, by a gearing arrangement to be described in more detail hereinafter. 'In this instance clockwise rotation of the friction wheel 56 opens the hopper doors 42 and clockwise rotation of the friction wheel 58 closes the hopper doors 42. To these ends, the

friction wheels

56 and 58 comprise automobile tires or the like rotatably secured at opposite sides of the hopper car upon shafts 6t and 62, respectively. The wayside door opening mechanism 18 and the wayside door closing mechanism 22 each comprise pneumatic cylinders 64 supporting traction surfaces 66, such as a piece of railroad track or the like. The door opening mechanism 18 is mounted on one side of the tracks 12 and the door closing mechanism 22 is mounted on the opposite side of the tracks 12.

As discussed hereinbefore, when the locomotive passes the door opening mechanism 18 it trips a switch that actuates the pneumatic cylinder 64 and causes the rail 66 to move upwardly into an operative position with respect to the friction wheel 56, as shown in FIG. 3. In this manner the friction wheel 56 engages the traction surface or rail 66 and the Wheel 56 rotates in a clockwise direction. This causes the shaft 60 to rotate also in a clockwise direction and, through a gearing arrangement to be described in more detail hereinafter, the hopper doors 42 to swing to their fully opened position shown in phantom in FIG. 3.

After the hopper car 10 is unloaded it approaches the wayside door closing mechanism 22, which has been actuated into an operative position in the same manner as the door opening mechanism 18. Accordingly the friction wheel 58 engages the rail 66 of the mechanism 18 so that the shaft 62 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed 4 in FIG. 2. Through the gearing mechanism this causes the hopper doors 42 to move back to their closed, locked position and the hopper car 10 is ready to be loaded again with material. It will be understood that the

friction wheels

56 and 58 and the traction surfaces 66 may be pinions and racks, respectively.

Considering now in more detail the gearing arrangement and assuming that the friction wheel 56 and shaft are rotating in a clockwise direction when viewing FIG. 2, i.e., the hopper car doors 42 are being opened, the shaft 60 has mounted thereon a pinion 68 which cooperates with a spur gear 70 (FIGS. 2 and 3) mounted upon a transversely extending shaft 72. A worm gear is mounted upon an end of the shaft 72 and cooperates with a worm wheel mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft 76 to form a worm gear arrangement indicated generally by reference number 74 (FIG. 4). In this manner, as the shaft 60 rotates in a clockwise direction, the shaft 72 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction and, through the worm gear arrangement 74, the longitudinally extending shaft 76 is rotated in a clockwise direction when viewing FIGS. 3 and 5.

Mounted on the shaft 76 are a plurality of linkage mechanisms indicated generally by reference numeral 78. As seen in FIG. 2 there is a linkage mechanism 78 at each end of the hopper doors 42 and therefore, since in this instance there are two pairs of opposing hopper doors 42, there are four linkage mechanisms 78. The linkage mechanism 78, in a manner more apparent hereinafter, upon rotation of the shaft 76 causes the hopper doors 42 to open or close depending upon the direction of rotation of the shaft 76. The linkage mechanism also locks the hopper doors 42 when they are in their closed position in a manner more apparent hereinafter.

The linkage mechanism 78, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, includes crank

arms

80 and 82 which are fixedly mounted in spaced axial relationship upon the longitudinally extending shaft 76. The crank

arms

80 and 82 are identical in construction but are angularly displaced with respect to one another at an angle of about Pivotally attached to the outwardly extending ends of the

crank arms

80 and 82 are connecting

arms

84 and 86, respectively, these pivotal attachments being effected by

pins

88 and 98, respectively, or any other suitable means. The other ends of the connecting

arms

84 and 86 are pivot ally connected to opposite hopper doors 42 in a manner more apparent hereinafter. It will be understood that upon clockwise rotation of the shaft 76, when viewing FIG. 5, that the crank

arms

80 and 82 rotate in a clock wise direction causing the connecting

arms

84 and 86, respectively, to move the hopper doors 42 outwardly to their fully open position as shown in phantom in FIG. 5. The position of the

crank arms

80 and 82 and the connecting

arms

84 and 86 when the hopper doors 42 are in their fully open position is also shown in phantom in FIG. 5.

The ends of the connecting

arms

84 and 86 are pivotaliy connected to the lower ends of the opposing hopper doors 42 by means of eye-bolts 92 pivotally connected thereto by pins 94 and )6, respectively. The eye-bolts 92 extend through sleeves 98 which have been welded or the like to the hopper doors 42.

Nuts

100 and 102 are placed on and threadedly engage the shank of the eyebolts 92. The

nuts

100 and 102 may be adjusted to assure that the hopper doors 42, when they are in their closed position, fit tightly against the main body 24 and the central partitions 46 in the manner described herein before. Accordingly this arrangement affords an adjustment means to assure that material does not pass downwardly between the hopper doors 42 and the main body 24 when the doors 42 are in their fully closed position.

Assuming that the hopper doors 42 have reached their open position, such as shown in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 5, it will be noted that the lips 54 form downwardly extending angles with respect to the horizontai of greater than 30", thereby assuring that there will be no material retention on the lip 54 to prevent proper closing of the hopper door 42 thereafter. In addition, the flanges or lips 54 extend inwardly toward one another to deflect material between the rails 12 rather than on the rails 12. It is important that the material not be deflected onto the rails 12, since this could cause derailing of subsequent hopper cars or a subsequent train riding over these rails.

Assuming now that the material in the hopper car has been unloaded via the openings left exposed when the hopper doors 42 are in their open position, the hopper car 10 (see FIG. 1) approaches the wayside door closing mechanism 22. Accordingly, the friction wheel 58,

and the shaft 62 are rotatably driven in a clockwise direction when viewing FIG. 2. The shaft 62 has mounted thereon a pinion 104 which likewise rotates in a clockwise direction and cooperates with the pinion 68, the latter being rotated in a counterclockwise direction. It will be understood that at this time the friction wheel 56 no longer engages the mechanism 18 and is therefore free, along with the shaft 60, to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. The counterclockwise rotation of the pinion 68 causes the spur gear 70, and its associated shaft 72, to rotate in a clockwise direction whereby through the worm gear arrangement 74, the longitudinally extending shaft 76 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. In this manner, the crank

arms

80 and 82 are returned to their original position as shown in FIG. 5 and the hopper doors 42 closed.

It is a feature of the linkage mechanism 78 that it is self-locking in its closed position. As shown in FIG. 5 when the hopper doors 42 are closed the

pins

88 and 90 are over-center with respect to a center line 120 through the pin 96 and the shaft 76 and a center line 122 through the pin 94 and the shaft 76, respectively. Thus when the linking mechanism 78 has closed the hopper doors 42, the crank

arms

80 and 82 are over-center and therefore will not, without large initial force, rotate in a clockwise direction to open the hopper doors 42. In this manner the linkage mechanism 78 automatically locks the doors 42 in their closed position. The worm gear arrangement 74 inherently provides a secondary locking of the hopper doors 42, whether they be in their open or closed positions, due to the Worm gear arrangement 74 being of a self-locking type.

It will be understood that an advantage of the present hopper door assembly 16 is that the hopper doors 42 swing away from one another when moving to their respective open positions. This exposes a greater area for dumping material between the tracks 12 when compared to the use of hopper doors which swing toward one another when they are opened.

It will be further understood that the hopper door assembly 16 discussed hereinbefore is provided not only to enable the hopper doors to be successively opened and closed as the train moves in one direction, namely from left to right when viewing FIG. 1, but also will permit the opening and closing of the hopper doors 42 even if any one or all of the cars should be reversed end-to-end. If any car is reversed end-to-end the friction wheel 58 thereby opens the hopper doors 42 while the friction wheel 56 would close the hopper doors 42.

Furthermore, it will be understood that the unloading zone 14 may include a plurality of unloading bins 20 aligned with one another beneath the tracks 12 and that each loading bin may have associated therewith its own wayside door opening mechanism 18 which are selectively actuated to unload some of the hopper cars 10 in the freight train. For example, it may be desirable to unload the first few hopper cars in the first bin, the next few hopper cars in the second bin and so on. In such an instance it will, of course, only be necessary to have one wayside door closing mechanism 22 positioned at the end of the plurality of unloading bins 20 employed in the unloading area 14.

While the embodiments described herein are at present considered to be preferred, it will be understood that various modifications and improvements may be made therein and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and improvements as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is desired to be claimed and secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for controlling opening and closing of a pair of pivotable hopper doors on a. hopper car during movement of the car in a certain direction comprising said hopper doors being pivoted about longitudinally extending axes, first and second rotatable shafts positioned on opposite sides of said car, said first and second shafts having a first and second shaft rotation actuator, respectively, thereon on opposite sides of said car, said first and second shafts each having first gear means thereon, each of said first gear means directly engaging one another, said first gear means on said first shaft also directly engaging a second gear means mounted upon a third rotatable shaft, a fourth rotatable shaft extending longitudinally of said hopper car between said hopper doors, said third rotatable shaft driving said fourth rotatable shaft through third gear means, means connecting said fourth shaft and said hopper doors to open and close said hopper doors upon rotation of said fourth shaft, rotation of said first rotation actuator while said second rotation actuator is free to rotate causing said doors to open and rotation of said second rotation actuator in the same direction while said first rotation actuator is free causing said doors to close.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means connecting said fourth shaft and said hopper doors comprises a linkage mechanism including a pair of crank arms mounted on said fourth shaft, said crank arms having free ends pivotally attached to connecting arms, pivotable connection means attaching said connection arms to said hopper doors, said connection means being adjustable to assure a tight fit between said hopper doors and said hopper car when said doors are closed.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said connection means includes eye-bolts pivotally connected to said connecting arms, said eye-bolts extending through sleeves fixedly secured to said hopper door, said eye-bolt having a threaded shank threadedly engaging attachment means whereby the position of said hopper doors with respect to said hopper car may be adjusted.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the pivotal connections between said shank arms and said connecting arms are over-center when said hopper doors are closed to provide looking for said hopper doors when said hopper doors are closed.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hopper doors have free ends which swing away from one another as said hopper doors are opening and toward one another when said hopper doors are closing, said free ends of said hopper doors having longitudinally extending lips, said lips when said hopper doors are in their open position extending downwardly and inwardly toward one another to direct material being unloaded from said hopper car between the rails upon which said hopper car rides.

6. In an apparatus for controlling, from the wayside, opening and closing of two opposing, longitudinally pivotable hopper doors on a hopper car during movement of the car in a certain direction for controlling discharge of material from said hopper car into an unloading bin, the combination of first and second rotatable shafts carried by said car, said first and second shafts having a first and second shaft rotation actuator, respectively, thereon on opposite sides of said car, said first and second shafts each having a pinion thereon, each of said pinions on said first and second shafts directly engaging one another. said pinion on said first shaft directly engaging a spur gear mounted upon a third rotatable shaft having a worm gear associated therewith, a worm wheel cooperatively engaging said worm gear, said worm wheel being attached to a longitudinally extending fourth rotatable shaft, a linking mechanism connected to said hopper doors and mounted on said fourth shaft, said linking mechanism including two crank arms fixedly secured to said longitudinally extending shaft in spaced relationship, said crank arms being angularly disposed with respect to one another, said crank arms having free ends pivotally attached to connecting arms each of which are attached to one of said hopper car doors, whereby rotation of said first 'rotation actuator while said second rotation actuator is free to rotate causes opening of said doors and rotation of said second rotation actuator in the same direction while said first rotation actuator is free to rotate causes closing of said doors.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 including said hopper doors being connected to said connecting arm by means of eye-bolts pivotally connected to said connecting arms, said eye-bolts extending through sleeves fixedly secured to said hopper door, said eye-bolt having a threaded shank threadedly engaging attachment means whereby the position of said hopper doors with respect to said hopper car may be adjusted.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 including said hopper doors having lips on the lower edges thereof, said lips extending downwardly and inwardly toward one another when said hopper doors are open.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 including wherein the pivotal connection between said shank arms and said connecting arms are over-center when said hopper doors are closed to provide locking for said hopper doors when said hopper doors are closed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Kassler -311 Hindahl 105-303 Warner 214-63 Wright 105-250 Christianson 1105-250 Kassler 105-311 Yost 105-250 Dorey 105-250 Lunde 105-310 X Dorey 105-304 X Lingard 214-63 Giesking 105-251 X Hamilton et al 105-251 Charles et al. 105-240 References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/ 1890 Richter 2 14-18 10/1894 Roberts 105-253 7/1901 Peterler 214-58 6/1908 Ely 214-63 3/1911 Blaker 214-63 12/1912 Lawson 214-43 3/'19'14 Crawford 214-63 FOREIGN PATENTS 9/"1957 Canada.

1/ 1940 Canada.

6/ 1961 Canada.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner. H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OPENING AND CLOSING OF A PAIR OF PIVOTABLE HOPPER DOORS ON A HOPPER CAR DURING MOVEMENT OF THE CAR IN CERTAIN DIRECTION COMPRISING SAID HOPPER DOORS BEING PIVOTED ABOUT LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING AXES, FIRST AND SECOND ROTATABLE SHAFTS POSITIONED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CAR, SAID FIRST AND SECOND SHAFTS HAVING A FIRST AND SECOND SHAFT ROTATION ACTUATOR, RESPECTIVELY, THEREON ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CAR, SAID FIRST AND SECOND SHAFTS EACH HAVING FIRST GEAR MEANS THEREON, EACH OF SAID FIRST GEAR MEANS DIRECTLY ENGAGING ONE ANOTHER, SAID FIRST GEAR MEANS ON SAID FIRST SHAFT ALSO DIRECTLY ENGAGING A SECOND GEAR MEANS MOUNTED UPON A THIRD ROTATABLE SHAFT, A FOURTH ROTATABLE SHAFT EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID HOPPER CAR BETWEEN SAID HOPPER DOORS, SAID THIRD ROTATABLE SHAFT DRIVING SAID FOURTH