Hydraulically actuated railway car dumping system

Abstract

A railroad dump car, such as a side dump rail car, uses hydraulic actuators to tilt the dump body to permit unloading of the contents of the dump body. A hydraulic booster pump is connected to the auxiliary air supply of the train. The booster pump converts the relatively low pressure (about 90 psi) air to a high hydraulic pressure (about 3000 psi). In another embodiment, a bidirectional rotary pump driven from the rail car axle pumps the hydraulic fluid. The booster pump (or the bidirectional rotary pump) pumps hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic reservoir to a hydraulic accumulator, which receives the hydraulic fluid and stores the hydraulic fluid under pressure. When the hydraulic accumulator is fully charged, the operator triggers a valve to cause dumping. The valve causes the hydraulic accumulator means to supply the pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic actuators, which pivot the dump body with respect to the car frame to unload the contents of the dump body.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.