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:
Feb. 23, 2016
Filed:
Jan. 22, 2013
National Steel Car Limited, Hamilton, CA;
James W. Forbes, Campbellville, CA;
Tomasz Bis, Ancaster, CA;
National Steel Car Limited, Hamilton, CA;
Abstract
A hopper car discharge outflow is controlled by closure members, at least one of which is movable. The doors are hingeless, being mounted on four bar linkages, such that the distal edge of the doors sweeps predominantly horizontally while the proximal edge of the door moves predominantly upwardly. The doors move through noncircular arcs, such that the size of the vertically projected door opening is abnormally large compared to the clearance heights of the door. The doors are driven by a longitudinal shaft that is mounted within the center sill. It drives a set of single input, double output bell cranks that drive adjacent pairs of doors, and that employs an over-center toggle to hold the doors in the closed position when the car is laded. The actuators may be mounted in shelters midway along the car, and may be offset from the centersill. The actuators may be mounted predominantly vertically such that gravity may obviate the need for a secondary lock. The doors of a transverse car need not all be of the same size. The over center may include a manual release having a fulcrum with a progressive decrease in mechanical advantage.