Gate assembly for a railroad hopper car

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

• a frame structure configured for attachment to said hopper car and defining a discharge opening, said frame structure including a pair of side walls extending generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of said hopper car and a pair of end walls rigidly interconnected to said side walls;
• a first element mounted on said frame structure for sliding movement relative to said discharge opening between open and closed positions;
• a second element mounted on said frame structure beneath said first element for sliding movement relative to said discharge opening between open and closed positions;
• a first drive mechanism including a first operating shaft assembly mounted on said frame for rotation about a first axis which is fixed relative to the frame structure, and with said first drive mechanism moving said first element between said open and closed positions;
• a second drive mechanism including a second operating shaft assembly mounted on said frame in horizontally spaced relation from said first operating shaft assembly for rotation about a second axis which is fixed relative to the frame structure, with said second drive mechanism moving said second element between said open and closed positions;
• and
• wherein said first and second operating shaft assemblies each extend generally parallel to an end wall of said frame structure and are arranged in a substantially common horizontal plane relative to each other to minimize the distance said gate assembly depends from said hopper car thereby enhancing clearance under the gate assembly.

A combination gravity/pneumatic hopper car discharge gate assembly, comprising:

• a four sided frame structure defining a discharge opening, said frame structure including a pair of generally parallel side walls having diverging angular surfaces extending upwardly from said opening toward an upper surface of said frame structure and a pair of generally parallel end walls having diverging angular surfaces extending upwardly from said opening toward said upper surface of said frame structure, said frame structure further including spaced parallel beams extending from said side walls of said frame structure to define extensions thereof;
• a gate supported on said frame structure for generally linear sliding movement along a predetermined path of travel and in opposed directions extending across said discharge opening between open and closed positions;
• a vacuum pan assembly carried on said frame structure beneath said gate for generally linear sliding movement along a predetermined path of travel and in opposed directions extending across said discharge opening between open and closed positions, said pan assembly defining a chamber disposed below said gate, with said chamber having pneumatic inlet and outlet conduits leading therefrom;
• a first drive mechanism including a first operating shaft assembly arranged in combination with said beams of said frame structure and which rotates about a first axis which is fixed relative to the frame structure and which is disposed above the predetermined path of travel of and for moving said gate between said open and closed positions in response to operation of said first drive mechanism;
• a second drive mechanism including a second operating shaft assembly arranged in combination with said beams of said frame structure and which rotates about a second axis which is fixed relative to the frame structure and which is disposed above the predetermined path of travel of and for moving said pan assembly between said open and closed positions in response to operation of said second drive mechanism;
• and
• wherein said first and second operating shaft assemblies are arranged a substantially equivalent vertical distance from the upper surface of and extend generally parallel to the end walls of said frame structure.

A railroad hopper car having an enclosure for holding and transporting material and an opening through which the material in said enclosure is discharged from said hopper car, and a gate assembly for controlling the discharge of material from said hopper car either pneumatically or gravitationally, said gate assembly comprising:

• a rigid frame connected to said enclosure and disposed about said opening;
• an open top pan assembly having a pneumatic outlet allowing for material to pass therethrough under the influence of a pressure differential, said pan assembly being slidably mounted on said frame for movements between a closed position, wherein said pan assembly extends beneath and across said opening, and an open position, wherein said pan assembly is removed from beneath said opening;
• a gate operably mounted on said frame between said opening and said pan assembly, with said gate being slidably movable between a closed position, wherein said gate extends across said opening, and an open position, wherein said gate is removed from beneath said opening;
• a pan assembly drive mechanism including a first operating shaft assembly supported on said frame for rotation about an axis which is spatially fixed relative to the frame, with said first operating shaft assembly moving said pan assembly between the open and closed positions and relative to said opening in response to rotation thereof;
• a gate drive mechanism including a second operating shaft assembly supported on said frame for rotation about an axis which is spatially fixed relative to the frame, with said second operating shaft assembly moving said gate between the open and closed positions and relative to said opening in response to rotation thereof;
• and
• wherein the first and second operating shaft assemblies are arranged in a substantially common horizontal plane relative to each other to minimize a distance between an upper surface of said frame structure and a lower surface of said pan assembly.

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

• a rigid frame structure defining an upper surface for said gate assembly and having interconnected walls defining a discharge opening;
• a first element mounted on said frame structure for sliding movement relative to said discharge opening between open and closed positions;
• a second element mounted on said frame structure beneath said first element for sliding movement relative to said discharge opening between open and closed positions, with said second element defining a lower surface for said gate assembly;
• a first drive mechanism including a first operating shaft assembly for moving said first element between said open and closed positions;
• a second drive mechanism including a second operating shaft assembly for moving said second element between said open and closed positions;
• and
• wherein said first and second operating shaft assemblies are each mounted on said frame for rotation about an axis which is fixed relative to the frame and are disposed in horizontally adjacent relationship relative to each other and in a substantially common horizontal plane to minimize a distance between said upper surface and said lower surface of said gate assembly.