Apparatus for controlling operation of railroad hopper car discharge doors

An apparatus for controlling discharge of commodity from a railcar having a longitudinally extending centersill, an elongated member suspended within or directly beneath said centersill for both longitudinal and transverse movements, a hopper supported by said centersill and defining a pair of transversely spaced discharge openings through which said commodity is discharged, with said railcar further including a pair of transversely spaced doors arranged in respective alignment relative to said transversely spaced discharge openings and which are joined to each other by an elongated connector, with each door being supported by transversely spaced hinges arranged toward an upper side of each door for movement between a closed position and an open position whereby controlling the discharge of commodity from said hopper, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated operating shaft adapted to be suspended from and beneath said centersill for rotation about a fixed axis extending generally normal to said centersill, said elongated shaft being configured to allow for operation of said apparatus from either lateral side of said railcar;
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• a linkage system disposed along the length of said operating shaft so as to avoid interference with either longitudinal or transverse movements of said member, said linkage system being operably disposed between said operating shaft and said elongated connector to push said doors into their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a first direction and to pull said doors from their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, with said linkage system including two laterally spaced linkage disposed along said operating shaft such that they remain to opposite lateral sides of the elongated member after said apparatus is arranged in operable combination with said hopper car, with each linkage including multiple interconnected links, and wherein an operable length of each linkage is adjustable to compensate for tolerance variances.

An apparatus for controlling discharge of commodity from a railcar having a centersill defining a longitudinal axis for the car, a hopper supported by said centersill, said hopper defining at least two discharge openings arranged to opposite lateral sides of said axis, with said railcar further including two laterally spaced door assemblies mounted on said hopper and which are joined by an elongated connector, with each door assembly being mounted for pivotal movement between an open and a closed position relative to a respective discharge opening in said hopper, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated operating shaft rotatable about a fixed axis and adapted to extend transverse to and vertically beneath said centersill, said operating shaft being configured to extend across said railcar such that opposed ends of said shaft are each accessible from to a lateral side of the railcar;
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• a linkage system adapted to operably connect said operating shaft and said elongated connector to simultaneously push said door assemblies into their closed position in response to rotation of said operating shaft in a first direction and to simultaneously pull said door assemblies from their closed position in response to rotation of said operating shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, and wherein an operable length of said linkage system is adjustable to readily compensate for tolerance variances whereby facilitating fitting of said apparatus to said rail car.

An apparatus for controlling discharge of commodity from a railcar having a longitudinally extending centersill, an elongated member suspended within or directly beneath said centersill for both longitudinal and transverse movements, a hopper supported by said centersill and defining a pair of transversely spaced discharge openings through which said commodity is discharged, with said railcar further including a pair of transversely spaced doors arranged in respective alignment relative to said transversely spaced discharge openings and which are joined to each other by an elongated connector, with each door being supported by transversely spaced hinges arranged toward an upper side of each door for movement between a closed position and an open position whereby controlling the discharge of commodity from said hopper, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated operating shaft adapted to be suspended from and beneath said centersill for rotation about a fixed axis extending generally normal to said centersill, said elongated shaft being configured to allow for operation of said apparatus from either lateral side of said railcar;
• and a linkage system disposed along the length of said operating shaft so as to avoid interference with either longitudinal or transverse movements of said member, said linkage system being operably disposed between said operating shaft and said elongated connector to push said doors into their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a first direction and to pull said doors from their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, and
• wherein said linkage system consists of two interconnected links, with one link of said linkage system being connected to and movable with and in response to rotation of said operating shaft and a second link being connected toward one end to said elongated connector.

An apparatus for controlling discharge of commodity from a railcar having a longitudinally extending centersill, an elongated member suspended within or directly beneath said centersill for both longitudinal and transverse movements, a hopper supported by said centersill and defining a pair of transversely spaced discharge openings through which said commodity is discharged, with said railcar further including first and second transversely spaced doors arranged in respective alignment relative to said transversely spaced discharge openings defined by said hopper, with each door being supported by transversely spaced hinges arranged toward an upper side of each door for movement between a closed position and an open position whereby controlling the discharge of commodity from said hopper, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated operating shaft adapted to be suspended from and beneath said centersill for rotation about a fixed axis extending generally normal to said centersill, said elongated shaft being configured to allow for operation of said apparatus from either lateral side of said railcar;
• and
• a linkage system including first and second laterally spaced linkages operably connected to said first and second doors, respectively, with said first and second linkages being disposed along said operating shaft such that they remain to opposite lateral sides of said elongated member after said apparatus is arranged in operable combination with said hopper car, and with each linkage being configured to push the respective door connected thereto into the closed position, in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a first direction, and to pull the respective door connected thereto from their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, with each linkage consisting of two interconnected links, with a first link of each linkage being connected toward one end to and movable with said operating shaft and a second link of each linkage being connected toward one end to said elongated connector.

In combination with a railroad hopper car having a longitudinally extending centersill, an elongated rod suspended directly beneath said centersill for both longitudinal and transverse movements, a hopper supported by said centersill and defining a pair of transversely spaced discharge openings through which said commodity is discharged, said railcar further including a pair of transversely spaced doors arranged in respective alignment relative to said transversely spaced discharge openings, with each door being supported by transversely spaced hinges arranged toward an upper side of each door whereby controlling the discharge of commodity from said railroad car, with said doors being operably joined to each other for concomitant movement between a closed position and an open position by an elongated transverse connector, and a modular apparatus for controlling movement of said doors, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated manually actuated shaft suspended from and beneath said centersill for rotation about a fixed axis extending generally normal to said centersill, said elongated shaft being configured to allow for operation of said apparatus from either lateral side of said railcar;
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• a linkage system laterally disposed relative to said elongated shaft so as to avoid interference with either longitudinal or transverse movements thereof said linkage system being operably disposed between said elongated actuating shaft and said elongated connector for pushing said doors into their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a first direction and for pulling said doors from their closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, with said linkage system including two laterally spaced linkages disposed to opposite lateral sides of said elongated rod, with each linkage including multiple interconnected links, and wherein an operable length of each linkage is adjustable to compensate for tolerance variances.

In combination with a railroad car having a longitudinally extending centersill, an elongated rod suspended directly beneath said centersill for both longitudinal and transverse movements, a hopper supported by said centersill and defining a pair of transversely spaced discharge openings through which said commodity is discharged, said railcar further including first and second transversely spaced doors arranged in respective alignment relative to said transversely spaced discharge openings, with each door being supported by transversely spaced hinges arranged toward an upper side of each door whereby controlling the discharge of commodity from said railroad car, and a modular apparatus for controlling movement of said doors, said apparatus comprising:

• an elongated manually actuated shaft suspended from and beneath said centersill for rotation about a fixed axis extending generally normal to said centersill, said elongated shaft being configured to allow for operation of said apparatus from either lateral side of said railcar;
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• a linkage system including first and second linkages operably connected between said first and second doors, respectively, and said elongated manually actuated shaft, with said first and second linkages being laterally disposed along said elongated shaft and to opposite lateral sides of said elongated rod so as to avoid interference with either longitudinal or transverse movements of said rod, with each linkage being configured to push the respective door connected thereto into the closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a first direction and to pull the respective door connected thereto from the closed position in response to rotation of said elongated shaft in a second direction, with said first and second directions being opposed to one another, and wherein each linkage of said linkage system consists of two interconnected links.