Hopper railcar with automatic individual door system
View Patent ↗The door operating system of the present invention can be applied to new railcar or retrofitted to existing railcar designs. The hopper car will have a pair of doors on opposed sides of the center sill which are connected through a door spreader. The pneumatic, individual door operating system is connected to the door spreader through an adjustable spreader fulcrum in which the sliding adjustment may add in a proper connection force or tension between the door operating system and the individual doors.
1. A hopper railcar comprising:
A plurality of hopper sections spaced along a center sill of the railcar, wherein each hopper section has a pair of hopper doors positioned on opposites sides of the center sill, wherein the hopper doors pivot between an open and closed position; and
A plurality of automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanisms, each mechanism including a single actuating piston/cylinder associated with at least one pair of hopper doors, each mechanism including:
i) a frame mounted to the center sill,
ii) said actuating piston/cylinder rotationally mounted to the frame and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill, iii) a cylinder lever rotationally mounted to the frame, the cylinder lever coupled to and rotated by the piston/cylinder and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill, and
iv) a door lever extending between the cylinder lever and the hopper doors for opening and closing the doors through actuation of the piston/cylinder.
2. The hopper railcar of claim 1 further including a lock engaging each hopper door when the door is in the closed position.
3. The hopper railcar of claim 1 wherein the frame of each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism comprises a pair of side frame angles extending along and coupled to the center sill.
4. The hopper railcar of claim 3 wherein the piston/cylinder of each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism comprises a double acting pneumatic cylinder rotationally mounted in the side frame angles through a cylinder fulcrum pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
5. The hopper railcar of claim 3 wherein the cylinder lever of each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism is rotationally attached to the side frame angles through a fulcrum stop pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
6. The hopper railcar of claim 5 wherein the door lever of each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism includes a cutout which rests against the pin in the over-center closed position.
7. An automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism including a single actuating piston/cylinder for operating at least one pair of hopper doors of a hopper railcar, the mechanism comprising:
A frame configured to be mounted to a center sill of the railcar;
said actuating piston/cylinder rotationally mounted to the frame and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill;
A cylinder lever rotationally mounted to the frame, the cylinder lever coupled to and rotated by the piston/cylinder and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill; and
A door lever coupled to the cylinder lever and configured to be coupled to the hopper doors for opening and closing the doors through actuation of the piston/cylinder.
8. The automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism of claim 7 further including a lock engaging each hopper door when the door is in the closed position.
9. The automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism of claim 7 wherein the frame comprises a pair of side frame angles extending along and coupled to the center sill.
10. The automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism of claim 9 wherein the piston/cylinder comprises a double acting pneumatic cylinder rotationally mounted in the side frame angles through a cylinder fulcrum pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
11. The automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism of claim 9 wherein the cylinder lever is rotationally attached to the side frame angles through a fulcrum stop pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
12. The automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism of claim 11 wherein the door lever includes a cutout which rests against the pin in the over-center closed position.
13. A method of retrofitting a railcar having a plurality of hopper sections spaced along a center sill of the railcar, wherein each hopper section has a pair of hopper doors positioned on opposites sides of the center sill, wherein the hopper doors pivot between an open and closed position, the method comprising the steps of:
A) Providing at least one automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism including a single actuating piston/cylinder for operating at least one pair of hopper doors of a hopper railcar, the mechanism comprising:
i) A frame configured to be mounted to a center sill of the railcar;
ii) said actuating piston/cylinder rotationally mounted to the frame and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill;
iii) A cylinder lever rotationally mounted to the frame, the cylinder lever coupled to and rotated by the piston/cylinder and configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is substantially perpendicular to the center sill; and
iv) A door lever coupled to the cylinder lever and configured to be coupled to the hopper doors for opening and closing the doors through actuation of the piston/cylinder;
B) Mounting the frame to the center sill of the railcar; and
C) Attaching the door lever to the hopper doors of the railcar.
14. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 13 further including providing a lock engaging each hopper door when the door is in the closed position.
15. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 13 wherein the frame for each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism comprises a pair of side frame angles extending along and coupled to the center sill.
16. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 15 wherein the piston/cylinder for each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism comprises a double acting pneumatic cylinder rotationally mounted in the side frame angles through a cylinder fulcrum pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
17. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 15 wherein the cylinder lever for each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism is rotationally attached to the side frame angles through a fulcrum stop pin that extends perpendicular to the center sill.
18. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 17 wherein the door lever for each automatic railroad hopper door actuating mechanism includes a cutout which rests against the pin in the over-center closed position.
19. The method of retrofitting a railcar of claim 13 further including the step of removing an existing door operating mechanism from the railcar.