High volume covered hopper car with loading from below and automatic unloading
AssigneeACF Industries, Incorporated
InventorsRichard H. Dugge, Eugene J. Cordani
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high volume covered railway hopper car is disclosed which has vertical end walls so as to fully utilize the space over the trucks of the car for lading volume. An automatic pneumatic unloading system is provided so as to unload a pulverant lading from the end compartments or hoppers, as well as the center, of the car, thus eliminating the necessity of sloped end sheets. A pneumatic loading system is provided which permits loading from below and thus permits the elimination of hatches, walkways, and the like on the roof of the car so as to permit the roof to extend substantially the full extent of AAR height clearances thereby to further maximize the lading volume of the car.
Claims14
A railway car having a truck at each end thereof, a pair of spaced side sheets extending generally lengthwise of the car and forming the sides thereof, an end sheet at each end of the car spanning between the ends of the side sheets, a central floor extending between said trucks and an end floor at each end thereof above a respective truck, a plurality of pneumatic outlets constituting, at least in part, the central and end floors of said car, said outlets being generally horizontal and being in communication with a plulverant lading within said car with certain of said outlets in said end floors being disposed above said trucks such that substantially all of the space above said trucks is effectively used to carry a lading and such that the lading above said trucks is unloaded via sid certain outlets, a flow path in fluid coupled relation with each of said outlets, said flow path having an inlet end and a product discharge end, said product discharge end being selectively connectable to means for moving air and lading entrained in the air through said flow path, valve means associated with each of said pneumatic outlets for opening and closing communication between each of said pneumatic outlets and said flow path such that when one of said outlets is in communication with said flow path, said lading in said car in operative association with said one outlet will become entrained in the air moving through said flow path such that the lading is pneumatically conveyed from the car, and control means responsive to the amount of lading being conveyed through said flow path from said one outlet for opening and closing said valve means associated with said one outlet thereby to maintain the amount of lading being conveyed from said one outlet within a predetermined range.
A covered hopper car having a truck at each end thereof, a covered hopper body carried by said trucks, said covered hopper body comprising a pair of spaced side sheets, a roof spanning between the top margins of said side sheets, an end wall at each end of said car, said roof being free of hatches, walkways and the like so that the height of said car above the rails is maximized while remaining AAR clear clearances, said car further including means for pneumatically loading a particulate lading into said hopper body from below without the necessity of access into said hopper body from said roof, said means for pneumatically loading said lading into said car comprises at least one standpipe disposed vertically within said car, the upper end of said standpipe constituting an outlet end, the other or inlet end of said standpipe being disposed for operative connection to means for pneumatically conveying lading to said standpipe, said standpipe inlet end being disposed proximate the lower reaches of the exterior of said car for ready access thereto by an attendant standing on the ground substantially at track level, said outlet end of said standpipe being disposed on the interior of said car for substantially filling said car with said lading, and means for maintaining the interior of said car body substantially at atmospheric pressure during pneumatic loading, said car further comprising a central floor extending between said trucks and an end floor at each end thereof above a respective truck, and means for pneumatically unloading said lading from the car, said pneumatic unloading means comprises a plurality of pneumatic outlets disposed in said central foor and in said end floors, said pneumatic outlets being operatively connected to one another via conduit means for the forced flow of air throughs said conduit means and through said pneumatic outlets, each of said pneumatic outlets having a control valve between said conduit means and said lading within said car, said control valve being operable between a closed position in which the flow of lading from within the car via a respective outlet is blocked from entering said conduit means and an open position in which said lading is free to flow through said control valve for being entrained in the air flowing through said conduit means, power operated means for selectively opening and closing each of said control valves, and a control system for selectively operating each of said power operated means associated with each of said control valves one outlet at a time in response to changes in the flow of air and lading pneumatically conveyed out of the car via one outlet thereby to ensure that said lading in operative association with said one outlet in communication with said conduit is fully unloaded by said one outlet and so that upon the substantially complete unloading of the lading in communicaition with said one outlet, the control valve associated with said one outlet is closed, and the control valve associated with another of said outlet is opened thereby to provide continued and automatic unloading of the lading from within the car one outlet at a time until all of the lading has been unloaded, said end wall being vertical, said pneumatic outlets being generally horizontal with at least some of said pneumatic outlets being positioned above said trucks such that the space above said trucks delimited by said certain of said outlets at the bottom, said roof at the top, said side sheets and said vertical end wall is substantially fully utilized for the transport of lading and such that this lading above said trucks is unloaded by said certain pneumatic outlets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.