US3709152A

US3709152A - Hopper car gate latching mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3709152A
Application number: US00101727A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Gutridge
Original assignee: Pullman Inc
Current assignee: Pullman Standard Inc; Pullman Inc
Priority date: 1970-12-28
Filing date: 1970-12-28
Publication date: 1973-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-09

Abstract

A transverse rotatable locking bar member carried on a hopper gate and having notched semicircular end portions mating in a similarly contoured locking block fixedly positioned alongside the sliding gate. Rotation of a centrally disposed locking bar handle moves the semicircular notched end portion of the locking bar from the locked position within the semicircular cutout in the locking block to permit sliding and opening movement of the hopper door.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Gutridge 14 1 Jan. 9, 1973 1 HOPPER CAR GATE LATCHING 2,145,173 1/1939 l-lankins ..105/282 R MECHANISM 2,751,861 ,6/1956 Withall ..10s/2s2 P 2,810,356 10/1957 [75] Inventor: Jack E. Gutridge, Dyer, Ind. 3,337,570 6/1968 [73] Assignee: Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, 111. 3'397'654 8/1968 [22] Filed: Dec. 28, 1970 I Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner1-1owar'd Beltran [21] Appl' 101527 Attorney-Hilmond O. Vogel and Richard J. Myers [52] US. Cl. ..l05/253, 105/282 P, 105/305, [57] ABSTRACT 105/308 R A transverse rotatable locking bar member carried on gg z g a-hopper gate and having notched semicircular end 5 portions mating in a similarly contoured locking block fixedly positioned alongside the sliding gate. Rotation of a centrally disposed locking bar handle moves the [56] References Cited semicircular notched end portion of the locking bar UNITED STATES PATENTS from the locked position within the semicircular cu- 1 tout 1n the locking block to permit sliding and opening 3,224,382 12/1965 Floehr ..105/282 P movement of the hopper door 1,499,155 6/1924 Christianson..;. ..10S/308 R 1,469,352 10/1923 Anderson ..105/308 R 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 20 20 v '2 20 IO PATENTEI] JAN 9 I975 SHEEI 1 OF 2 INVENTOR.

JACK E. GUTRIDGE PATENT AGENT PATENTEDJAN 91m 3,709,152

SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTOR.

JACK E. GUTRIDGE PATENT AGENT HOPPER CAR GATE LATCHING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention This invention pertains to a locking device for use on the doors of railway hopper cars and in particular, to a locking device used on a sliding type of door having a rack and pinion opening drive means.

2. Description of the Prior Art The prior art includes locking members which are spaced across the width of the door and pivoted to be engageable with the door in its closed position. Problem encountered with this type of locking arrangement is that each lock must be engaged and disengaged from opposite sides of the hopper car, thus rendering the locking and unlocking operation time consuming.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a locking device for use on a sliding type of hopper door which is operated by a rack and pinion drive means. A rotatable locking bar is secured to the sliding door member and has outer edge portions which are semicircular. The semicircular outer edge portions are receivable in a corresponding semicircular cutout of a stationary locking block. In the locked position the semicircular end portion of the locking bar is positioned within the semicircular cutout of the locking block to thereby prevent sliding movement of the hopper door. A 180 rotation of the locking bar removes the semicircular portion of the lock bar from the locking block and permits sliding opening of the hopper door.

A handle of the lock bar covers and obstructs an opening in the sliding door which is used for attachment of a cable to the door for application of high forces from a winch or other trackside device to slide open the door when it is jammed. The handle; in covering the opening, prevents attachment of a door opening cable and thereby prevents accidental power opening of the hopper door unless the lock is disengaged.

The locking bar handle is positioned on top of the sliding hopper door to allow the lock to remain in a locked or unlocked position by force of gravity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lock for a sliding gate type of hopper door, such lock rotatable 180 to lock and unlock the gate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lock for a hopper gate having a handle which obscures an opening in the hopper door which is used to forcibly pull the door open. The handle in blocking this opening prevents the opening from being utilized when the door is locked.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, appended claims and attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a typical railway hopper car;

FIG. 2 is a removed greatly enlarged side elevational view of the hopper discharge portion including the hopper gate of the hopper car illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the device illustrated in FIG. 1

FIG. 4 is a top view of the device illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the locking bar of present invention shown in two positions;

FIG. 6 is a partial pictorial view of the discharge gate of a hopper and showing in particular the locking bar of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the apparatus contained within the dotted circle indicated by the numeral 7 and contained in the lower right of FIG. 6..

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION A covered hopper type of railway car is indicated in FIG. 1 and designated by the numeral 10, and includes the usual hoppers l2 spaced by transversely extending bulkheads l4 and including slope sheets 16 used to direct lading to the discharge portion 18. The hopper car 10 also has the, usual hatch covers 20 to permit entrance of lading for storage in the hoppers 12 A side sill indicated by the numeral 22 extends longitudinally of the vehicle between the spaced trucks 24.

A hopper discharge structure generally designated at 26 includes a three-sided flange member 28 having side flange members 28a and an end flange member 28b. The

flange members

28a, 28b have a bottom horizontal portion 29 and include a sloped upper portion 29a connected by a short intermediate portion 29b. As indicated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 an inwardly and downwardly sloped sheet 30 extends generally from the side sill 22 to the discharge structure 26 and is secured to the top slope portion 29a of the side flange member 28a.

Ledge member 32 is spaced from the end flange member 28b and forms a sealing edge in abutment with the sliding gate 34. Reinforcing and guide members 33 are positioned at the comer formed by members 28a and the ledge member 32.

The sliding type of discharge gate or door is indicated best in FIG. 6 by the numeral 34 and includes a nose portion 36 containing the opening 38. The door 34 rests on the bottom ledge 29 of the three-sided flange 28, and is guided in its movement by the door clips 39 (see FIG. 2) which are fixedly secured to the intermediate connection 29b.

Attached to the underside of the door 34 are a pair of rack gears 40 which extend substantially the entire length of the door. The rack gear 40 is engageable with and aligned with a pinion driving gear 42. The pinion gear 42 is keyed to the shaft 44 which has a capstan 46 at both ends to receive an opening bar for rotation of the shaft. The shaft is supported by bearing blocks 48 which are carried by the bottom ledge 29 of the flange 28a. Additional bearing block support members 50 are indicated in FIG. 2 and function to align and support the bearing block 48.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it is noticed that the locking bar 54 of the present invention is best illustrated. The bar 54 extends transversely to the door 34 and is held in place by the U-shaped bar supports 56 which are fixedly attached tothe door 34. The bar supports 56 are fittedloosely around the locking bar 54 to permit rotation of the bar. As best illustrated in FIG. 7, the end portions of the bar 54 are semicircular and have what is called bar cutout portions 58 to provide a semicircular end 59 to the bar 54. In the central portion of the bar 54 is a handle 60 which is used to rotate the bar 54 and,

as illustrated in FIG. 6, extends from the bar to obstruct the opening 38 when the door 34 is locked. Locking block or keeper members 62 are positioned adjacent the locking bar 54 and fixedly secured to the top slope portion 29a of each side flange member 28a. Each locking block 62 includes a semicircular cutout portion 64 which matches the end portion 59 of the bar 54 and receives the same.

TI-IE OPERATION Referring now to FIG. 5, it is noticed that when an opening bar is inserted through the opening in the capstan 46 and rotated in a clockwise direction the coaction of the rack and pinion gear produces a longitudinal movement of the door 34 from left to right as illustrated in FIG. 5. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 5, it is noticed that the locking bar 54, in the locked position, has its semicircular shaft end portion 59 positioned within the cutout 64 of the locking block 62. Sliding movement of the door is prevented when the lock is in the position just described. Also, in this locked position and as best illustrated in FIG. 6, the handle 60 of the locking bar extends over the opening 38 in the nose portion 36 of the door 34 and obstructs the opening in such a manner so as to prevent the insertion of a hook or cable member through the opening in preparation for a forced opening of the sliding door should the door become jammed or otherwise refuse to open by rotation of the shaft 44.

To unlock the door, as best illustrated in FIG. 6, the handle 60 is lifted from its obstructing position indicated by the solid lines to the dotted line position. It is understood that after this operation the semicircular end portions 59 of the bar 54 will be rotated beneath the semicircular cutout 64 in the locking block 62..

Thus the door 34 is free to slide after this operation. The door locking bar 54 will remain in the unlocked position by the force of gravity which merely allows the handle 60 to rest upon the door 34 and retains the door in an unlocked position. Similarly, when the lock is rotated again to lock door the handle is placed in position above the opening 38 and the handle 60 also in this locked position, rests upon the door thus keeping the lock in a locked position after rotation.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and'the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railroad hopper car having a door support frame including spaced apart frame members defining a hopper discharge opening, a door mounted on said frame members for sliding horizontal movement on said frame, and a door lock structure for providing locked and unlocked positions of the door comprising:

an axially rotatable elongated locking member mounted on said sliding door and extending transversely between the frame members,

said locking member having opposed end locking portions,

a keeper mounted on each frame member and having aperture means to receive a respective end locking portion of said locking member when said locking member is rotated from the unlocked to the locked position, each of said end locking portions and a respective keeper being provided with means to enable said locking member to be released from said keepers when said locking member is rotated to the unlocked position, and

door lock operating member mounted on the rotatable locking member intermediate the end portions of said locking member and being positioned adjacent said door when said door is in the locked position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and

said locking member end portions each having an end projection of less cross-section than the locking member,

said aperture means of each keeper being contoured to receive the projection in the locked position and to be free of the projection in the unlocked position.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and

said door including a forward portion having an aperture intermediate the ends of the door, said operating member being positioned over the door aperture in obstructing relationship with respect thereto in the locked position of the door.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and

said support frame members each including a side flange member having a side flange extension supporting said door in the open position,

each keeper being mounted on a respective flange extension.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and

said sliding door having an underside carrying a pair of spaced rack gears,

an operating shaft and pinion gear means being operatively suspended from said flange members and engaging with said rack gears foropening and closing of said sliding door.

Claims

1. In a railroad hopper car having a door support frame including spaced apart frame members defining a hopper discharge opening, a door mounted on said frame members for sliding horizontal movement on said frame, and a door lock structure for providing locked and unlocked positions of the door comprising: an axially rotatable elongated locking member mounted on said sliding door and extending transversely between the frame members, said locking member having opposed end locking portions, a keeper mounted on each frame member and having aperture means to receive a respective end locking portion of said locking member when said locking member is rotated from the unlocked to the locked position, each of said end locking portions and a respective keeper being provided with means to enable said locking member to be released from said keepers when said locking member is rotated to the unlocked position, and a door lock operating member mounted on the rotatable locking member intermediate the end portions of said locking member and being positioned adjacent said door when said door is in the locked position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and said locking member end portions each having an end projection of less cross-section than the locking member, said aperture means of each keeper being contoured to receive the projection in the locked position and to be free of the projection in the unlocked position.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and said door including a forward portion having an aperture intermediate the ends of the door, said operating member being positioned over the door aperture in obstructing relationship with respect thereto in the locked position of the door.

4. The Invention according to claim 1, and said support frame members each including a side flange member having a side flange extension supporting said door in the open position, each keeper being mounted on a respective flange extension.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and said sliding door having an underside carrying a pair of spaced rack gears, an operating shaft and pinion gear means being operatively suspended from said flange members and engaging with said rack gears for opening and closing of said sliding door.