Swiss Aluminium Ltd.

Jurg Zehnder

Antal Ritzl

Erich Neumeier

Jann Grischott

An unloading flap of a stationary or mobile silo for pourable particulate material having at least one outlet opening comprises an upper part that is secured to a first silo wall and a lower part that hinges on the upper part and can be tilted into the open and closed positions by means of an actuating rod that can be power driven. The lower edge of the straight or angled lower part with respect to the upper part is in the form of a projecting support. In the closed position this support rests along a line or area on a longitudinal groove in the region of the lower edge of a second silo wall. A device attached to one of the two parts of the flap exercises a moment of rotation on the other part of the flap such that the angle (.alpha.) between the upper and lower parts is reduced to an angle (.alpha.') in the open position to such an extent that during the closing operation the projecting supporting edge can be introduced into the longitudinal groove by the actuating rod acting exclusively on the upper part of the flap.

Unloading flap for pourable particulate material

The goods truck features a superstructure which is made up of interconnected longitudinal walls, end walls and floor and is designed to form a self-supporting body which twists relatively easily. The roof features at least one longitudinal part which is attached to one longitudinal wall and, with respect to the end walls and the other longitudinal wall, exhibits freedom of movement in the longitudinal direction which accommodates the twisting action. A charging port/charging ports can be provided in the roof. By employing the concept according to the invention the danger of derailment can be reduced, and fatigue crack formation avoided in the region of the roof.

Covered goods truck, in particular silo truck

A vehicle body for railcars having endwalls and sidewalls of hollow metal sections connecting a roof and a floor comprises a floor having a first intermediate floor consisting of two portions extending from the endwalls toward each other, a second lower floor connected to the two extending portions and a third upper floor over the second floor wherein a plurality of triangular-shaped side plates connect the second lower floor and the third upper floor to the two extending portions at the corner of the side plates so as to uniformly distribute longitudinal forces to the floor while preventing the transfer of longitudinal forces to the sidewalls.

Three level vehicle body for railcars, with force distributing

A device for unloading a container used for bulk materials is such that a container floor is made up at least in part of flaps which can be tilted or swung out away from the interior. To this end at least two flaps are connected via a ridging beam or axle which runs through the interior of the container above a rotatable shaft. The rotational movement of the shaft is transmitted to the flaps to actuate same. The shaft features on opposite sides and transverse to its longitudinal axis first and second flange pairs, the former accommodating an elbow lever with the help of a push-fit bolt, and the latter a lever with the help of a bolt. The elbow lever and the lever are hinged to the flaps respectively. Further, connected to the flaps is a lock which joins up via bolts with the elbow lever or the lever, and in the closed position engages on a latching device.

Device for unloading a container for bulk materials

An arrangement of stiffening elements, in particular for a railway goods car with a longitudinal beam on both sides of a trough under a base plate which supports sidewalls connected by a lower truss and end walls of a car superstructure with upper truss, the interior (J) of the car superstructure featuring a plurality of cross-ties. Said arrangement is such that a cross beam is connected to an end face of the trough and to the base plate, the longitudinal beam meeting said cross beam and forming an abutting surface with it. Resting on the cross beam are two lengths of hollow sections which project a length (i) into the lower truss. The trough features a floor and an additional floor which are joined by strips of material in a corrugated manner. The cross-ties are tubular shaped and feature towards their ends squashed regions which are accommodated in pairs of fish-plates to which the said cross-ties are releasably attached by suitable facilities.

Arrangement of stiffening elements

A center sill for accommodating coupling facilities on a railcar comprises two substantially Z-shaped hollow sections each having an upper section strip and a lower section strip joined by a connecting member. The Z-shaped hollow sections are arranged mirror image to each other and joined at the upper section strips. Each hollow section part features a connecting member having a pair of sidewalls joining the upper and lower strips and hollow chambers formed by transverse struts running between the sidewalls. To improve its rigidity, fatigue and tensile strength and to make assembly of the sill easier, the hollow section is cut away close to one end of the railcar and a reinforcing tubular shaped part is inserted into this recess. The cut runs preferably along the lower side of the transverse strut next to upper section strip, along the upper side of the lower section strip, and between these cuts approximately perpendicular across the chambers. A tongue on the reinforcing tubular shaped part fits over the outer surface of a sidewall. A stop on the part comes to rest against the cut edges of the chambers which it at least partly covers.

Center sill, for accommodating the coupling facilities of a railroad car

With known vehicle superstructures of the above kind it has been found that in many cases relatively large amounts of deformation and damage to parts of the floor and walls occur even when the collision is very slight, that the thermal insulation is inadequate and that noises are produced in the sidewalls and floor due to vibrations during the journey. With the new vehicle superstructure the external forces acting on the sidewalls are no longer transmitted directly to the floor but reduced to a minimum level, which in most cases does not damage the floor, by means of a close-fit connection with built-in buffer zone. Also, the new design improves thermal insulation and markedly reduces the noises produced in the superstructure during a journey. Furthermore, the parts which have to be repaired can be readily removed and replaced.

Superstructure for road and rail vehicles

Very high demands are made on gondola cars which are emptied on rotating/tilting unloading devices. Such cars must provide long service lives even under these very rough conditions, and they should allow simple loading and unloading via a rotating/tilting device. In accordance with the instant disclosure, the high strength of the gondola car body is maintained in a simple manner in that the flooring sheets of the body are set into grooves in the longitudinal center sill, and into a groove in each inside of the lower side sills, and then welded to the said sills. Also the walls of the car may be set in different ways, as by setting them into a groove in the upper side of the lower side sills and into a groove in the lower side of the upper side sill, and then welded to the said side sills.

Gondola car underframe

The stops of a draft gear housing of a rail car central coupler have to meet relatively large tractive and compressive forces in service. Up to now the expense involved in the fastening of such stops has been very great. In many cases, where the stops or bearings were joined to the center or stub sill, cracks formed and/or the sill became deformed. This incurs considerable expense for repairs and means a loss of service while the vehicle is being repaired. In accordance with the instant disclosure, to avoid such problems the center or stub sill of the rail car is now made such that the front stop and the rear stop are integral parts of the sill.

Stops of a draft gear housing of a rail car central coupler arranged in

A truck for a vehicle, especially a railway car, comprising a plurality of pairs of wheels for running on rails, a plurality of axles respectively interconnecting the wheels of a pair of wheels, a cross-beam extending substantially parallel to the axles, a plurality of rocker arms, and a plurality of ball joint-type means connecting the rocker arms to the cross-beam and to the plurality of axles, respectively, whereby the axles may carry out pendulum movements in substantially vertical and horizontal directions relative to the rails, and spring means interposed between the cross-beam and the rocker arms permitting movement of the latter in the mentioned directions.

Resilient railway bogie

A railway vehicle bogie comprising a main transverse beam and two axles each carrying a pair of wheels, each axle being linked to the beam by two radius arms, one on each side of the bogie, each radius arm being pivoted to the respective axle and to the beam in a manner permitting vertical and lateral swinging of each arm relative to the beam, and a leaf spring at each side of the bogie, each leaf spring being fixed at its center to the transverse beam and having each of its two ends linked to a respective radius arm by a respective unit, each unit comprising a wire cable which is secured to the radius arm and to the leaf spring, and abutments which are attached to the radius arm and which engage the cable between the radius arm and the leaf spring when the radius arm is swung laterally relatively to the transverse beam of the bogie.

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Uitikon, Switzerland

Jurg Zehnder