| 摘要 |
<p>Apparatus for actuating and locking the hopper doors of a hopper car of the type having a center sill of inverted U-shaped cross section and a plurality of hopper doors extending transversely of the center sill. The hopper doors can be arranged singly to close a chute, in opposed cooperating pairs, and both. The actuating and locking apparatus of the present invention comprises a shaft extending transversely of the center sill and located between adjacent pairs of hopper doors when the hopper doors are so arranged and adjacent each single hopper door when present. Each such shaft is rotatively mounted. A lever is mounted on each shaft. Each lever has an arm for each door to which it is adjacent and a link pivotally connected to each such arm and the adjacent hopper door. Each lever also has an upright arm extending into the center sill and pivotally affixed to a segmented actuating beam located within the center sill and extending longitudinally therein. A cylinder and piston is located within the center sill and the free end of the piston is operatively connected to one end of the actuating beam. The piston and actuating beam are shiftable longitudinally between a first position wherein the levers, links and hopper doors are maintained in an over-center, locked, door-closed position, and a second position wherein the levers, links and hopper doors are rotated over-center to a door-open position. A latch may also be provided to lock the piston and the beam in the first door-closed position.</p> |
