The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 05, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 24, 1998
Robert H Dean, Evanston, IL (US);
Krzysztof A Pankiewicz, Elmwood Park, IL (US);
Delaware Capital Formation, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A bottom valve assembly is provided for a tank car having a top portion, a bottom portion, and a manway disposed in the top portion. The assembly includes a valve seat disposed in the bottom portion of the tank car and defining an outlet opening and a plug moveable between closed and open positions relative to the outlet opening. In the closed position, the plug is disposed against a seat to form a substantially liquid-tight seal. The assembly also includes a link pivotally mounted to the manway, operating linkage coupled to the plug and pivotally coupled to the link, and a lever fixedly secured to the link. Movement of the lever causes the plug to be moved between the open and closed positions. The assembly may also include a latch for preventing movement of the plug from the closed position and a secondary linkage for moving the latch and to provide an indication at the manway of the plug position. The assembly may also include a secondary valve or closure communicating with the outlet opening and having a lever-operated outlet cap with slip-down and swing-away capability. In another embodiment, the assembly may include a stop mechanism for preventing the lever from moving in a plug-closing direction and a safety mechanism connected to the latch to provide structure for moving the latch when the secondary linkage is damaged.