Gate assembly for a railroad hopper car

A gate assembly having a rectangularly shaped discharge outlet including both lateral and lengthwise dimensions, with said discharge outlet being defined by a generally rectangularly shaped frame including a pair of generally parallel side walls rigidly joined to each other by a pair of end walls, a door slidably mounted on said frame for movement along a predetermined path of travel and for closing said outlet, said door having a pair of opposed generally parallel sides which are laterally spaced apart by a distance greater than the lateral dimension of said discharge outlet defined by said frame, rack structure slidably mounted on said frame, an operating shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, pinion structure mounted on said operating shaft for engaging said rack structure such that said rack structure is positively moved upon rotation of and in a direction dependent upon the direction of rotation of said operating shaft, and wherein said rack structure is lost motion connected to said door through a manually operated apparatus including a control member extending generally parallel to the operating shaft assembly, and wherein said manually operated apparatus enables free rotation of said operating shaft and thereby sliding movement of said rack structure in a door opening direction during collapse of the lost motion connection and whereby a relatively high impactual force is imparted to said door upon collapse of the lost motion connection to facilitate initial movement of said door toward an open position.

A discharge gate assembly for a railroad hopper car, said gate assembly comprising:

• a rigid frame defining a generally centralized opening;
• a first element carried by said frame and extending across said opening;
• a second element carried by said frame and extending across said opening, said first and second elements being arranged in vertically spaced relation relative to each other;
• and
• a drive mechanism carried on said frame for imparting movement to either said first or second elements relative to said frame and toward an open position, said drive mechanism including an operating shaft assembly supported on said frame and a rack and pinion assembly arranged in combination with said operating shaft assembly, with said rack and pinion assembly including a pair of pinions mounted on said operating shaft assembly in laterally spaced relation relative to each other and a pair of laterally spaced racks in intermeshing relation with said pinions, with said racks being slidably mounted on said frame for reciprocal movement relative to said first and second elements, and wherein said drive mechanism further includes a manually operable apparatus arranged in operative combination with said rack and pinion assembly for selectively coupling either said first element or said second element to said operating shaft assembly, and wherein said manually operable apparatus includes a lost motion connection for permitting said pair of racks of said rack and pinon assembly to linearly move a predetermined linear distance and relative to said first and second elements during collapse of the lost motion connection thereby allowing a predetermined degree of free rotation of said operating shaft assembly in a direction to open the door.

A discharge gate assembly for a railroad hopper car, comprising:

• a rigid frame defining a discharge opening;
• a first element carried on said frame for generally linear sliding movement along a predetermined path of travel and in opposed directions extending across said opening and between open and closed positions;
• a second element carried on said frame in vertically spaced relation relative to said first element, said second element being slidably movable along a generally linear predetermined path of travel and in opposed directions extending across said opening and between open and closed positions;
• and
• a single operating shaft carried on said frame for rotation about a fixed axis for imparting sliding movements in opposed directions to said first and second elements;
• and
• a manually conditioned apparatus engagable with said first and second elements and operable to selectively move said first or second element from its closed position to its open position or releasably lock said first and second elements relative to said frame depending upon the condition of said apparatus, and wherein said manually operated is lost motion connected to said shaft thereby allowing a predetermined range of free rotation of said operating shaft prior to said first element being moved toward an open position and relative to said frame.

A discharge gate assembly for a railroad hopper car, said gate assembly comprising:

• a generally rectangularly shaped frame defining an opening, said frame including a pair of generally parallel, laterally spaced and opposed side walls and a pair of generally parallel end walls;
• a first element carried by said frame for reciprocal movement along a generally horizontal path of travel between a closed position, whereat said first element extend across and closes said opening, and a second open position, with said first element having upper and lower generally parallel surfaces;
• a second element carried by said frame for reciprocal movement along a generally horizontal path of travel between a closed position, whereat said second element extends across and closes said opening, and a second open position, said first and second elements being arranged in vertically spaced relation relative to each other, and wherein said second element has upper and lower generally parallel surfaces;
• a drive mechanism for moving said first and second elements relative to said frame;
• and
• a first seal arranged in combination with said first and second elements, said first seal extending generally parallel to said end walls of said frame and is operably disposed between the lower surface of said first element and the upper surface of said second element to effectively seal the frame along with said first and second elements relative to each other, said first seal comprising an elongated elastomeric member laterally extending between the opposed side walls of said frame.

A discharge gate assembly for a railroad hopper car, said gate assembly comprising:

• a generally rectangularly shaped frame defining an opening, said frame including a pair of generally parallel, laterally spaced and opposed side walls and a pair of generally parallel end walls, said side wall and end walls combining with each other to define a discharge plenum arranged in registry with said discharge opening;
• a door carried by said frame for linear movement along a generally horizontal path of travel between a closed position, whereat said door extends across and closes said opening, and a second open position, said door having upper and lower generally parallel surfaces;
• a manually operated drive mechanism for moving said door between the closed and open positions;
• a plate disposed beneath the lower surface of said door for linear movement relative to the frame between a closed position, whereat said plate extends across and closes said discharge plenum such that debris is inhibited from entering said discharge plenum and contaminating the lower surface of said door, and a second open position, said plate having upper and lower generally parallel surfaces;
• and
• a first seal extending generally parallel to said end walls of said frame and operably disposed between the lower surface of said door and the upper surface of said plate to effectively seal the frame along with said door and plate relative to each other, said first seal comprising an elongated elastomeric member laterally extending between the opposed side walls of said frame.